"I don't think you did," Malachi returned, gaze fixed firmly ahead. "My memory is perfectly intact. I can prove it to you, sir--"

The young mother seemed to have said all that she wished to their tag-along, which meant that he just had to keep James from giving the constable an actual reason to bring any of them in. Malachi adjusted his grip on the handles of the cart and kept on.

"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters..."