To the Power of Three

448 Pages·2005·1.85 MB·English

by  Laura Lippman

L AU R A L I P PM A N
to
the
power
of
three
FO R NANCY GOLDMAN GREENBERG
My Life had stood—a Loaded gun—

In Corners—till a Day

The Owner passed—identified—

And carried Me away—

. . .

Though I than He—may longer live

He longer must—than I—

For I have but the power to kill,

Without—the power to die
—EMILY DICKINSON
Three can keep a secret, if two are dead.
—BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Contents
Epigraph
Thursday
1 People would want to know what she was thinking, the… 3
Part One: The Lost Tribe of the Ka-pe-jos
Friday
2 When the shooting started, Alexa Cunningham was
looking at Anita… 13
3 When Baltimore County began training its police officers
in the… 27
4 The things we can do without thinking, Dale Hartigan
35
decided…
5 “Saving Private Ryan,”Colin said… 47
6 When Josie woke at 2:00 A.M., she had no confusion
about… 55
Third Grade
7 Josie Patel, assigned to the front row because she
was… 67
Part Two: Death, Near and Certain
Saturday
8 It was still early, not even 7:00 A.M., when Eve
Muhly… 87
9 Harold Lenhardt had made sergeant twice in his
life, first… 99
10 “Is it too late for tulips?” Susannah Goode asked the… 108
11 Josie was alone with her mother when the two
strange… 116
12 “Do you want anything from downstairs? Zip’s going
to the… 127
Sixth Grade
13 The summer before the girls were to enter sixth grade… 137
Part Three: Falling In Love With Jesus
Sunday
14 Lenhardt lay in bed, listening to his family get ready… 163
15 Alexa had her Sunday routine down pat—the gym,
then… 173
16 Out-of-towners have been known to compare the
train’seye… 182
Nineth Grade
17 Thirty years ago, back when Thornton Hartigan was still
wondering… 195
Part Four: Last Year’s Funeral
Monday
18 “What do you want?” Chloe said by way of greeting… 209
19 Alexa had neither office nor classroom in Glendale,
a situation… 218
20 Peter knew it was a bad idea to go to… 227
21 The Kahns were adamant that they did not want to… 233
22 “That was soooooooo queer,” Lila said… 243
Tuesday
23 Back when Lenhardt was coming up, he had a
sergeant… 251
24 The lot in Loudon Cemetery was desirable, assuming such
a term… 258
Eleventh Grade
25 In the spring of the girls’ junior year, three soccer… 275
Part Five: There won’t be trumpets
Wednesday
26 Infante liked to say he could smell crazy on a… 287
27 In the thirty-five years since Thornton Hartigan had first
fixed… 298
28 A floater couldn’t help losing things, Alexa told herself,
pawing… 307
29 Josie was lying on the sofa in the family room… 316
30 Dannon Estes could tell he made the detectives
uncomfortable. Some... 324
31 It was his mom’s idea to cut flowers from her… 333
32 Alexa liked the bar—“No, really,” she found herself
saying… 346
Twelfth Grade
33 Old Giff, as theater teacher Ted Gifford was known
throughout… 359
Part Six: Commencement
34 Graduat ion day started with a yellow-red haze on the
horizon… 369
35 Dale Hartigan remembered exactly one thing about his
own graduation… 380
36 Senior Ramble sucked sober, Peter Lasko was realizing.
Or maybe… 388
37 In April of junior year, Kat checked her SAT scores… 401
August
38 Every August in Maryland, there comes a moment when
the… 417
Author’s Note
About the Author
Other Books by Laura Lippman
Credits
Cover
Copyright
About the Publisher
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