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“Franklin didn’t pay because Franklin couldn’t pay,” said Marvin quietly. “My brother had gone down a very dark path, Miss Poole, but I’m sure you’re aware of that. He lost his standing in the community and his position as part of this family. My father….” He glanced up at the ceiling, then continued, “My father decided to cut him off six months ago, because he felt that Franklin had become an embarrassment, and didn’t want anything more to do with him.”

“How is your father?” she asked solicitously. “Even though he was unhappy with your brother he still must have been devastated when he heard about what happened.”

“We haven’t told him. We’re afraid that if he finds out it will kill him.” He took a deep breath, and stared out the window. Odelia could see that the death of his brother had affected him powerfully. To lose a sibling is an awful thing, but to lose a twin, she knew, was like losing part ofoneself. “Father isn’t well, you see. In fact he’s pretty much at death’s door. He’s a good deal older than Mother. Mother is sixty-six, but Father is eighty-seven, and he’s been ill for quite some time. He’s strong, and he’s holding on for as long as he can, but we’re afraid thata shock like that would be the end. So we prefer to keep him in the dark. Let him think Franklin is still out there, up to his usual mischief.”

“Was he always like that, your brother?”

A smile lit up the man’s face. “Oh, yes. Franklin and I may be twins, but we couldn’t be more different. He’s always been a troublemaker. Even as a young boy he used to run around setting off firecrackers in the kitchen or shooting at windows with a BB gun. He’d drive our parents crazy. I was always the bookish kid, never happier than with my nose stuck in a book in some corner of this big rambling place we are lucky enough to call home.” He turned back to Odelia. “Don’t get me wrong, Miss Poole. I loved my brother. I absolutely did. But he was a handful, and maybe he’s better off now, wherever he is. He was definitely a tortured soul, and the last couple of years even more so than before.”

“Do you agree with your mother that Francine is to blame for his behavior?”

“No, absolutely not,” he said emphatically. “In fact I think Francine had a positive influence on him. While they were together he was doing much better. Unfortunately he couldn’t accept the responsibility of fatherhood, and of raising a family, and so he escaped, and soon was up to his oldtricks again. Sleeping around, doing drugs…”

“Did you know he was living in a squat house?”

“No, I didn’t know that,” said Marvin softly. “He’d clearly gone downhill since the last time I saw him. Even though Father had cut him off, we still met up from time to time, and so did mother—behind Father’s back, of course.” He smiled a small smile and picked up the portrait of his brother. “All I can think is that he’s in a better place now.”

Chapter 28

After we got out of the car we looked around for any pets we could talk to. Odelia likes to get the inside track of any place she visits, and the best way to accomplish that is through us. People might keep a lot of secrets from other people, but they can’t keep secrets from their pets, and since those pets usually like to gab as much as humans do, we usually get an earful.

“Is that a horse, Max?” asked Dooley suddenly, indicating a small pen where a pony stood grazing languidly.

“I think that’s a pony,” I said.

We walked over to the pony, and it looked up from its perusal of its supply of grass.“Hey, there,” it said as soon as we hove into view. “Are you guys the new pets? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before. Are you Marvin’s? Or his mom’s? Gee, I just wish they’d get another pony. It’s not much fun being all by my lonesome out here, you know. I could really use a friend to talk to. Shoot the shit. Chew the cud. Though personally I don’t chew cud—I’m not a cow, you see. I’m a pony, if you hadn’t noticed. So who are you guys?”

“He’s a big talker, Max,” Dooley whispered.

“Yeah, he is,” I whispered back. Which is a good thing, of course. Nothing worse than a pet who won’t talk to us.

“We’re not the new pets,” I said, “either of Marvin or his mother.”

“We’re Odelia Poole’s cats,” said Dooley. “And she’s just visiting your humans—those are your humans in there, I suppose?”

“Yeah, they got me for Franklin’s kids, but then Franklin got divorced and the girls haven’t been here since. Ruth doesn’t like the girls’ mother, see. She thinks she did something to make Franklin leave her, and go down a path of self-destruction, and so she refuses to talk to her anymore, or the girls. Which is a pity, as I don’t have anyone to play with now. The girls were fun. Jaime and Marje. They’re twins, just like Franklin and Marvin. Maybe the twin gene runs in the family? I don’t know. You tell me.”