bumping him into action , she led him along the fence bottom , across the red brick deck , and did not stop until they were safe underneath the slump stone stacked at the side of the house . i did not need any physical strength , nicholas was explaining . the university sprang for a stupid fountain . the next were a mother and daughter . otherwise , we would have had some trace of them in all these years . she needed a road map to a better future in the worst way . 