her hair flowed over her shoulders like a river of chocolate silk . he tangled his fingers in her hair and thought of the bed upstairs . after that there were some words she did n't understand , then a series of letters and numbers . putting down her book , she climbed out of bed . he did n't think she was involved , but he treated everyone as a suspect until they were proved innocent . hard times for your kind these days , even up north , i hear . he leaned closer , dropping his voice . 