"He's dead."
"But how can I know when you're lying and when you're not?"
"I guess you can't," I said helplessly.
She locked the camp and, on the way back, told me which turns to take. She had nothing else to say. I drove into her place. She opened the door quickly to get out.
"Wait a minute, Ruth."
Her right foot was on the ground. She sat on the corner of the seat and turned and looked back at me. "Yes?"
"I'm sorry about this."
"You've made me feel like a fool. I talked a lot to you. I believed you and so I told you things I've never told anybody. Just to help you when you had no intention of writing up Timmy."
"I tell you, I'm sorry."
"That doesn't do very much good. But I'll give you this much benefit of the doubt, Tal. Look right at me and tell me that you have no reason to be ashamed of why you came here."