Harry is the only heir, you see. Neither of Walter's brothers have children, and his sister isn't married. There's hemophilia in the family. Edwin suffers from it, and Peter's wife, Susannah, is his first cousin, his mother's sister's child. So when Harry was born, Walter's father put his name down for Harrow, where all the heirs have gone for generations. It's a family tradition. And I have nothing to say about that. I just didn't want Harry to go so soon."

"Where is your husband's family now?"

"Driving around, searching for Walter. They spoke to the police, and then hurried away. They believed he must still be in the vicinity."

"And your son?"

"My sister Mary has been caring for him. We've tried not to worry him. And he enjoys staying with her. She spoils him so."

There was nothing more he could ask her, and so Rutledge, assuring her that everything possible was being done, took his leave.

He went next to look at Teller's room, but it offered nothing. The cupboard where patients kept their street clothes was empty, and nothing in the drawer by the bed or even under the mattress offered any clues to the man's state of mind or his intentions.

He spent the next half hour meeting with Teller's physicians, and found that they were reluctant to admit that they had no idea what had struck the man down. The general opinion was that he was in mental distress.

Thanking them, Rutledge remembered Bowles's fear that Teller might be carrying a new plague and asked if there was any possibility that Teller was contagious.

There was immediate assurance that he was not. But Rutledge wouldn't have been surprised to learn that they had crossed their fingers behind their backs.

Dr. Harmon said, "The mind is a curious thing, Mr. Rutledge. It can create demons where there are none and remember events that never happened, and it can cause the body to fall ill." He smiled. "My son is sick whenever he has an appointment with the dentist. Quite sick, with a fever. That's a simple example, but it illustrates the power of the mind."