Her eyes were focused behind Phil, on the grey waves. Her tennis-shoe beat a tap-tap on the sand. "Please don't. You were just a kid, yourself. And maybe it was all for the best." Her words had the singsong quality of a learned speech. "When my husband found out what—what you two had been up to—I knew but I had never—I thought—Well, Stan said he would have killed Nick, if Nick hadn't beat him to it, so you see." She flung the butt of her cigarette towards the sea and turned to face Phil. "Please, don't think I meant to accuse you. Nicky didn't accuse you. I got his letters out of Stan's hands. The one to us