After my library trip, Officer Brown called me with four pieces of news.

1. He'd gone to Detective Palmer's apartment and "clobbered the front door," - his words - but there'd been no answer. "If he's still missing in twenty-four hours, we can file a missing person's report," he said gravely. (Ugh. I hoped it didn't come to that).

2. Someone called the station about seeing three fingers crossing Main Street last night. Officer Brown asked if I knew anything about that. I told ...