Rapture

Bonnie reappeared an hour later. Jeff followed her outside. She was strolling now, rather than walking purposefully. He adjusted his sunglasses, lit a cigarette, and trudged slowly a safe distance behind. She passed Memorial Church, the Widener, came out on Quincy Street, then turned up Massachusetts Avenue toward the Square. At the newsstand, she bought Interview and Elie. Jeff was ready to intercept her if it looked like she was heading back to campus, but she crossed to Au Bon Pain, where she bought iced tea and sat at a table by herself. Jeff smiled. If he had stayed there, she would have come to him. But he didn't mind, he was pleased. It was still the first day, after all, and he'd wasted very little time. He kept his sunglasses on and sat down across the table from her.

"Hello, Bonnie."

She looked up, a blank expression on her face.

"I said: Hello, Bonnie."

Now she sat back and smiled.

"Hi, Jeff. What took you so long?"

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CHAPTER TWENTY

The sunglasses didn't help. They might even be what Bonnie was smirking at, so Jeff took them off. She must have spotted him earlier, at the Science Center. He found it hard to believe, but why else would she look so unsurprised and act as if she had been expecting him?

"So you do recognize me?"

"Sure. Who else could you be?"

Jeff was trying to figure out the expression on Bonnie's face. A smile, a residual smirk, a look of curiosity and interest. It had something of the arrogance of youth about it too, as if she were thinking, I know this guy, I know what's going on here. Jeff didn't fear this, but he didn't like it either.

"I thought I would surprise you," he said, trying to smile sheepishly. "But you've surprised me instead. Did you know I was here?"

`l had no idea you were within a thousand miles of Cambridge, but I always thought we'd meet again sooner or later. Funny, isn't it? You don't look like you did last year, but I knew it was you the minute you sat down."

"Very sharp," Jeff conceded gracefully.

"Well, Mom has mentioned you from time to time, and I did think about you when I drew up my list."

"List?"

"Yeah, it must have been last October," Bonnie said, "after I'd been here long enough to get settled and know my way around. One night I sat down and made out a list of every person I knew, from family right down to the slightest, most casual acquaintance. Did you ever try to do that? It's scary how many people you know. Anyhow, you were on it, of course."

"What was the purpose?" Jeff tried to sound amused, as if he were listening to some odd college anecdote.

"I wanted to see if I could think of anyone who might have a reason for killing my father, and I thought a list would help. Most murder victims die at the hands of someone they already know."

"I've heard that," Jeff said. "What did you decide?"

A distant sadness appeared in Bonnie's eyes, but she blinked it away instantly. "Oh, I threw the list away a few days later. It didn't help, and I couldn't come up with any ideas that made sense ... and I had too much to do here. It's not healthy to let yourself be obsessed with death."

"But you must have discussed it with your mother."

"Just, you know, right after it happened, and with the police," Bonnie said. "After that, no. She wouldn't mention it, and I never wanted to bring up the subject. It's hard to talk about on the phone, and whenever I see Mom I don't want to ruin the good mood, you know?"

"Sure. It was terrible, what happened to your dad, but, as you said, you can't let it become an obsession. He'd want both of you to get on with your lives."

Bonnie nodded. "It had to be a case of mistaken identity. My father was the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I agree completely." A tightness that had been gathering in Jeffs chest began to ease somewhat. "So, what made you think we'd meet again?"

"I don't know; it was just a feeling I had." Bonnie shrugged, then smiled again. "What are you doing here?"

"I got in earlier this week. I had some business in Boston, but that's all taken care of now, and I have a couple of free days, so ... I thought I'd take a look around Harvard and see if I could find you."

"Well," Bonnie said. "Did you go to my room, or try to get me on the phone?"

"No. I was just on my way to check the student directory when I noticed you crossing the street."

"I see. That's interesting. I guess it means that my mother doesn't know you're here."

"Uh . . . no, she doesn't," Jeff said. "I didn't know I was coming east until the last minute and I wasn't sure I'd have any free time, so I couldn't really make any plans."

"And you found me, just like that." Bonnie's smirk gave way to a smile of playful complicity. "Don't worry, I won't tell Mom about it."

"We can talk about that later. What's your schedule?"

"Nothing serious," Bonnie said. "Anyway, I haven't missed a class or a lecture all year. I was just going to study this weekend. But you're the visitor-what do you want to do?"