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sorry,” she said, fetching the Wendy’s bag from the back of the Range Rover. “Maybe I overreacted a bit. But you sort of moved in without warning. A girl can get a little freaked.” He said nothing, so she unwrapped the hamburger and sliced it in two, offering him half. He took it and nodded in thanks. She sat on the top step, and he twisted sideways on the bottom step, resuming the position leaning against the wrought-iron railing, and looking up at her curiously. She was not like the women he usually encountered in academe. They didn’t usually kick one in the gut. He actually admired the act, even though it would leave him sore for some time.
    She extended her legs and worked her feet around to stretch her leg muscles. “I’ll be sore from all the stuff today, including that kick.” She took a bite of hamburger, and when she had swallowed it, asked, “So, if you’re not a criminal, why’d that cop call me about you?”
    “Misunderstanding. I don’t come across to people very well, sometimes.” He took a bite of his own half.
    “I’ll say you don’t. Okay, let’s start over, like we never had our little rumble. What do you want?”
    “Help with a puzzle.” He took another bite of his hamburger and a sip of beer. His stomach was slightly queasy, but it was empty. The hamburger would help him recover.
    “What kind of puzzle? Astrophysics? I don’t know anything about astrophysics. I’m a geologist.”
    “Well, actually I don’t know for sure what the puzzle is. Maybe geology. Maybe unnatural. Maybe some astrophysics.”
    “You’re sounding weird, Gerald,” Dacey warned.
    “Sorry. Look, I should explain that, because I’m a theoretician, I just think about things. Why they happen. I can’t explain it, but I kind of sense how theories should fit together. I see concepts, visualize them. I’m sorry, I just can’t—”
    “—articulate very well,” she finished his sentence. “It’s okay, I’m kinda followin’ you. I took a course in the psychology of science. Einstein was like that. And there’s Stephen Hawking. Almost intuitive.”
    “Yes, intuitive. Anyway, about six months ago … well, more like a year … I became aware of lots of strange things happening. I would read in the papers or see on TV about some strange things.”
    “Like what?”
    “I’ve got it all on my laptop in the van. I’ll get it in a minute. You’ll see what I mean.” He was so intent on his subject, he forgot his hamburger. His gaze grew distant. “Anyway, the only way I can classify them so far is they involve things appearing and disappearing.”
    “Appearing and disappearing? That’s it? That’s your big scientific theory? Boy, I’m even more sure than ever why I like rocks.”
    “I know it sounds—”
    “Stupid?”
    “—vague. But a lot of theories start out vague.”
    “Appearing and disappearing,” Dacey said again reflectively, taking a sip of beer. “Like that house. That’s why you had that article with my picture. The cops told me.” Gerald nodded. She shrugged. She was interested. “Okay, let me see your stuff.” After all, she was totally stumped by the mystery of the disappearing house. And there was the unexplained cavern. But mostly, she remembered Anita. And she remembered the woman’s daughter, little Jenny, and her confused, fearful look, not understanding where her father had gone.
    Gerald rose and walked, slightly bent over with his sore stomach, around the corner and out of sight. She felt even sorrier for having kicked him. He seemed okay, she thought as she finished the half hamburger and started on the chili, rummaging around for the plastic spoon in the bag. The chili was lukewarm, but still tasty. She was halfway through the bowl and almost done with her beer when he drove up in the van and disappeared from the driver’s seat into the back. From the rocking and squeaking that emanated from the van, she could tell he was rummaging around. He appeared out the