Rescue

wasn’t easy for Tucker, and I didn’t want to make it harder for him if I had a choice. “I spoke to them today, Reverend—“
    “Oh! And how are they doing?“
    “ ‘Getting by’, if I’m using your phrase right. But what I was going to say is, they still seem awfully religious.“
    “I’m so glad.“
    “Mrs. Haldon gave me the impression that she was intensely concerned about Eddie’s birthmark, though.“
    “Yes. Poor boy. Polly always has been very... sensitive about that.“
    “She called it ‘the Mark of Cain.’ “
    “Oh!“ Tucker got agitated. “Oh, my. She never mentioned anything about that to me.“
    “Reverend, what exactly is the ‘Mark of Cain’?“
    “Well, it comes from the Old Testament, the Book of Genesis. Cain killed his brother, Abel, and the Lord ‘set a mark upon Cain’ and exiled him.“
    “What kind of mark?“
    “The Scripture is rather ambiguous about that. But through history, many people unfortunately interpreted all sorts of blemishes as the Mark of Cain. A sign of evil, even deviltry.“
    “A sign of Satan, you mean?“
    Tucker grew somber. “I’m afraid so.“
    I shook that off. “Getting back to the Haldons, you wouldn’t know where they may have turned, would you?“
    “Turned? You mean, to what congregation?“
    “Or minister.“
    “I’m sorry, no.“ Tucker hung his head, causing him to actually have to catch his glasses in midair as they came off. “You must think me not much of a pastor, Mr. Cuddy.“
    “Actually, I was thinking the opposite. When I was growing up, there was a priest I really admired. He never rushed a ceremony, always had an ear when you needed one. I get the feeling you’re a lot like him.“
    “Thank you.“ In a very quiet voice. “Thank you so much for that.“
    As I stood to go, Tucker said, “By the way, how is Eddie?“
    I looked down at him. “Eddie?“
    “Yes. Didn’t you meet him?“
    “His parents said he was gone.“
    “Gone? You mean off to his new school?“
    I sat back down. “You know something about that?“
    “Only that Chris Kiernan told me he was leaving the system. But that was just last week, so I didn’t think he’d already be gone.“
    “Who’s Chris Kiernan?“
    “Christine, actually. The principal at the Elton Elementary, Eddie’s school.“
    I must be getting dim. Of course there’d be educational records here that would have to be sent on, wherever Eddie went. “Can you tell me how to get there?“

    The school lay at the center of a semicircular driveway, orange pikes in the ground to tell the winter’s snowplow where to curve its blade. A ball field with an iron-cage back-stop and rubber, permanent bases off to the left, a parking area for teachers’ cars off to the right. The building itself was two stories high, red brick and white trim, sporting a small white cupola on the roofline and a flagpole flying Old Glory. The entire effect was so reassuring it made you believe in the future of America again.
    Up three steps and inside the entrance, the office marked PRINCIPAL stared me in the face. I walked to the windowed counter next to a doorway, and a woman so old she had to be a volunteer asked from a secretarial desk if she could help me.
    “I’d like to see Christine Kiernan.“
    “And you are?“
    “John Cuddy.“
    The woman seemed to assess me, then said, “Just one moment, please.“
    She got up and entered a second, open doorway behind her. After ten seconds, she came back out and said, “This way, please.“
    I went through the doorway by the counter and past the secretary.
    From behind her oak desk, Christine Kiernan rose to greet me. And rose and rose. She had to be nearly six-five, with long chestnut hair drawn back into a flowing ponytail and ruby earrings. The blouse was white with small teddy bears in various colors printed on it, a solid skirt beneath that picking up one of the teddy colors. Her face was long, the eyes high and sparkly, all coming together to form what my grandfather’s generation would have called a handsome woman.
    In a mellow voice, Kiernan said, “Mr. Cuddy?“
    “Yes.“
    “Christine Kiernan.“ She made no move to shake hands. “Sit down, please.“
    I took one of the oak visitor’s chairs, eminently comfortable even though it wasn’t padded.
    Kiernan folded her hands on the blotter in front of her, the big, tear-off kind that show the month in review. “What brings you here?“
    “I’m a private investigator, looking