Q Is for Quarry

table in the living room, playing a board game with only minor squabbling. I could see their Easter baskets on the floor where they'd left them. Judging from the bits of crumpled foil, it looked as though the girls had already begun to sample the hollow chocolate bunnies and foil-wrapped chocolate eggs. All three had received bright yellow plush ducks. The dining room table had been set with the good china. The centerpiece was an enormous arrangement of Easter lilies I could smell from where I stood.
    Justine proceeded down the hall ahead of us. "We're out here in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on lunch."
    "No problem," Stacey said as we followed her. The kitchen was densely heated, in part by the kettle of green beans simmering on the stove. Of course, I was starving, hoping to get on with this so Stacey and I could hit the junk food circuit. I'd already decided it wasn't my job to help Stacey reform. I'd set him on this path so I might as well keep him company while he stuffed himself.
    Adrianne stood at the counter, twisting plastic ice cube trays so the cubes dropped neatly into a big clear-glass pitcher. She passed each empty tray to Cornell, who refilled it after she handed it to him. He delivered the last tray to the freezer and then picked up a dish towel and dried his hands. In the meantime, Justine was setting out salad plates, arranging a lettuce leaf on each. She opened the refrigerator and removed a Tupperware Jell-O mold, which she ran briefly under hot water at the sink. Over her shoulder she said to Stacey, "What did you want?"
    "I was hoping your parents would be here so I wouldn't have to repeat myself. I don't know if Lieutenant Dolan mentioned this, but we're going to need a set of fingerprints from each of you. Detective Bancroft at the Sheriffs Department said she'd look for you first thing tomorrow morning."
    Cornell leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. He'd taken off his sport coat and loosened his tie. "What's this about?"
    "Elimination purposes. Anyone of you might've left prints on the Mustang. This way, if we come up with latents, we'll have something to compare 'em to. Saves time and aggravation."
    "We're supposed to get inked and rolled like a bunch of criminals ?" Cornell asked.
    "Well, no sir. Not at all. This is strictly routine, but it's a big help to us. Lieutenant Dolan would have told you himself, but he ended up at Quorum General. I suppose you heard about that."
    Cornell wasn't to be distracted by Dolan's medical woes. "What if we say no?"
    "I can't think why you would. It's common practice."
    "Well, it's not common for me."
    Adrianne looked at him. "Oh, just do it, Cornell. Why are you kicking up a fuss?"
    "He's not kicking up a fuss," Justine said. "He's asking why we have to agree to this crap."
    "I wouldn't go so far as to call it 'crap,' " Stacey said. "Left up to me, I'd let the matter slide, but Dolan seems to think it's a good idea. He's the boss on this one. Only takes a couple minutes and the place can't be any more than ten blocks away. If you want, I'll drive you over and bring you back when you're done."
    "It isn't that," Cornell said.
    "Then what?" Adrianne said. "Why are you acting like this?"
    "I wasn't talking to you. I want your opinion, I can ask."
    "Excuse the heck out of me."
    "Look, I'll go down there, okay? I just don't like being told what to do."
    Stacey said, "Tell you what. I've got an inkless pad in the car. Inked prints are superior, but I can see your point. We can take care of it right now if you'd prefer."
    "Skip it. I'll go. It just bugs me, that's all."
    "We appreciate that. I'll tell the detective the family's coming in."
    "Wait a minute. Mom and Dad have to go, too?"
    "Since the vehicle belongs to your dad, it wouldn't be unusual to find his prints on it. It's the same with your mom. No point in chasing our tails if there's an obvious explanation."
    "Oh, for Pete's sake," Cornell said. He tossed the dish towel on the counter and went out the back door, letting it bang shut behind him. I'd have bet serious money he'd be lighting a cigarette to calm himself. His sister stared after him. "What's his problem?"
    "Just drop it. He's in a bad mood," Justine said.
    Adrianne caught my eye briefly and then looked away.
    Stacey and I went to Long John Silver's for lunch, this time swooning over crisp-fried fish and chips doused in puckery vinegar the color of iced tea. Afterward, we stopped by Quorum General to visit Dolan. I