The only thing was that Rodney Trimble had been in the army. He might not have been around at the right time, no matter what Missy's mom thought.

But he might know something, even so. All the people who had this kind of hair were his cousins on the Lang side. And even if he got mad at her for coming, he was crippled up real bad, everyone said. So bad that he had to be in the center. His wife couldn't take care of him at home, any more. He wasn't going to hurt her.

But it wasn't that hard.

It was sort of like looking into a mirror, except that his hair was snow white.

When she said her name, he just looked at her for a while. Then he said, "Well, I guess Velma got it wrong when she decided to collect child support off the books from the lawyer who handled her divorce from Joe Lang."

Then he said, "I'm sorry I said that about your mother."

She answered, "I know Velma pretty well. I've been her daughter all my life."

"I'm not sure you know her all the way. We lived next door to each other. Ben was busy in the mines. Gloria Kay had to go to summer school every year to keep her teaching certification up because she only had a two-year degree. Velma was pretty much on her own. They counted on Irene to keep an eye on her, but she was six years older and had other things on her mind. We were fourteen when we did it the first time. We went steady all through high school. She thought that Gloria's 'keep your legs crossed' chat was a real scream, considering that it came two years to late. By then, we were doing it as often as most married people. Her folks were glad that I went into the army when I graduated. Looking back, they probably shouldn't have been. She missed it and started dating Joe Lang, Cory Joe's father. That marriage was okay for her while I was gone, I guess, but we started up again every time I came back on leave."