—What is your name, young man?
—Emmett Watson.
—Well, Emmett Watson, perhaps you can illuminate us as to what has been transpiring here at St. Nicholas’s this morning.
Emmett felt a strong inclination to turn and walk out the door, but his inclination to answer Sister Agnes was stronger.
—I was driving a friend to the bus station in Omaha and he asked me to stop. He said he used to live here. . . .
All four sisters were looking at Emmett keenly now, the crying sister no longer crying and the hushing sister no longer hushing. The shouting sister was no longer shouting, but she took a threatening step toward Emmett.
—Who used to live here?
—His name is Duchess. . . .
—Ha! she exclaimed, turning to Sister Agnes. Didn’t I tell you we hadn’t seen the last of him! Didn’t I say that he would return some day to perpetrate some final act of mischief!
Ignoring Sister Berenice, Sister Agnes looked toward Emmett with an expression of gentle curiosity.
—But tell me, Emmett, why did Daniel lock us in our rooms? To what end?
Emmett hesitated.
—Well?! demanded Sister Berenice.
Shaking his head, Emmett gestured in the direction of the dormitories.
—As best as I can tell, he got me to stop so that he could bring the boys some jars of strawberry jam.
Sister Agnes let out a sigh of satisfaction.
—There. You see, Sister Berenice? What our little Daniel has returned to perpetrate is an act of charity.
Whatever Duchess was perpetrating, thought Emmett, this little diversion had already set them back thirty minutes; and he sensed that if he hesitated now, they might be stuck here for hours.
—Well then, he said as he backed toward the door, if everything’s all right . . .
—No, wait, said Sister Agnes, extending her hand.
Once in the hallway, Emmett moved quickly to the landing. With the voices of the sisters rising behind him, he dashed down the staircase, back through the dining room, and out the kitchen door, feeling a general sense of relief.
He was halfway down the hillside before he noticed that Billy was sitting on the grass with his backpack at his side and his big red book in his lap—while Duchess, Woolly, and the Studebaker were nowhere to be seen.
—Where’s the car? Emmett said breathlessly, when he reached his brother.
Billy looked up from his book.
—Duchess and Woolly borrowed it. But they’re going to bring it back.
—Bring it back after what?
—After they go to New York.
For a moment Emmett stared at his brother, at once dumbfounded and irate.
Sensing that something was wrong, Billy offered his assurance.
—Don’t worry, he said. Duchess promised they’d be back by the eighteenth of June, leaving us plenty of time to get to San Francisco by the Fourth of July.
Before Emmett could respond, Billy was pointing at something behind him.
—Look, he said.
Turning, Emmett saw the figure of Sister Agnes descending the hill, the hem of her long black habit billowing behind her as if she were floating on air.
* * *
—You mean the Studebaker?
Emmett was standing alone in Sister Agnes’s office talking to Sally on the phone.
—Yes, he said. The Studebaker.
—And Duchess took it?
—Yes.
There was silence on the other end of the line.
—I don’t understand, she said. Took it where?
—To New York.
—New York, New York?
—Yes. New York, New York.
. . .
—And you’re in Lewis.
—Nearly.
—I thought you were going to California. Why are you nearly in Lewis? And why is Duchess on his way to New York?
Emmett was beginning to regret having called Sally. But what choice had he had?
—Look, Sally, none of that matters right now. What matters is that I’ve got to get my car back. I called the depot in Lewis and apparently an eastbound train stops there later today. If I catch it, I can beat Duchess to New York, retrieve the car, and be back in Nebraska by Friday. The reason I’m calling is that in the meantime I need someone to take care of Billy.
—Then why didn’t you say so.
After giving Sally directions and hanging up Sister Agnes’s phone, Emmett looked out the window and found himself thinking of the day that he’d been sentenced.
Before heading into the courthouse with his father, Emmett had taken his brother aside to explain that he had waived his right to a trial. He explained that while he had intended Jimmy no serious harm, he had let his anger get the best of him, and he was ready to accept the consequences for his actions.