“We all thank you very much too, Mr. Hardy,” he said huskily. “Don’t think I’ve been ungrateful by coming here and asking you to do more. I guess I didn’t realize just how hopeless it is.”

“It isn’t hopeless, exactly. Don’t think that. There’s always hope, you know. But⁠—be prepared for the worst.”

“I’ll have to be.”

With that, the boy left. Frank and Joe met him in the hallway and awkwardly tried to express their sympathy. Perry was grateful.

“I know both of you have done a lot for us in this mess,” he said. “If it hadn’t been for you we wouldn’t even have Jackley’s story to go on.”

“We’re only sorry it didn’t work out as we hoped, Perry,” Frank said. “We thought that would clear the whole thing up. Instead, it seems to have involved your father deeper than ever.”