Marge Gunderson lied awake in bed at two in the morning. Her husband was asleep next to her, snoring. The chief of police stared up at the ceiling, thinking. She heard a car drive by. She could not sleep. Marge looked at Norm and sat up and threw her legs over to the side of the bed and placed her feet on the floor and put on her slippers. She stood up and walked out of the bedroom and went down the hall and into the kitchen. She opened the cupboard and took down a glass and filled it with water from the sink. She drank half the cup and set it down on the counter. She stood there for a minute with her eyes lowered, looking as though she were saddened by some recent news given to her.

Marge turned around and walked over and sat down at the table. She picked up a large yellow envelope and looked at the Texas address on the front of it. E. T. Bell was the name of the person who sent it to her. Marge turned over the envelope and unfolded the metal clasp and opened the flap, pulling out several files of paper and setting them down on the table. She turned the envelope upside down. An old newspaper clipping from 1954 slipped out. Marge picked it up and unfolded the article. It read about a Spanish couple who were murdered by an unknown suspect. The killer was never found. The couple was survived by their son and only child, whose birth name was Antonio J. Chigurh.

Marge set the newspaper clipping aside and picked up a copy of the vital records on Salvador and Raquel Chigurh. Birth certificates. A marriage license. Everything she needed to know about them. The envelope had arrived about a week ago and she had already gone over the documents twice. Marge looked through the papers until she discovered a black and white photograph of the Chigurh couple. A boy was with them. He couldn't have been no more than four or five years old. Marge looked at the husband and father of the family. He looked just like his son all grown up, but with a much more normal hairstyle. Marge set the photograph and papers down again and placed her elbows on the table. She folded her hands together in a prayerlike fashion and held them to her lips. Her eyes were turning misty. She sat there for a minute in silence, debating herself. She had been asked to look into the couple as a favor for a friend. Now that she had discovered what she was suppose to, she wished she hadn't.

On the first of September, Sophia had to go back to school. She woke up bright and early and got dressed and went into the kitchen. Elena was standing over by the stove, making breakfast. Sophia settled on having cereal and milk and helped herself to filling her bowl. Anton came into the kitchen, buttoning up his shirt. He walked over to Elena, who looked at him.

"Good morning", said Anton, giving her a kiss.

"Morning", said Elena, smiling.

Anton turned around and walked over to Sophia, ruffling her hair. He sat down at the table. The child fixed her hair and continued eating.

"Are you ready for your first day?" Anton asked her, taking a sip of coffee.

"Yep", Sophia answered. She looked at Anton and asked him, "You're coming to see me off, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am", Anton answered her.

Elena came over with two plates of eggs and sausage and set them down on the table and took a seat next to Anton. Just as they started eating, the phone rang.

"I'll get it", said Elena.

Anton placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "I'll answer it." He stood up and went out to the living room. He picked up the phone and put it to his ear and answered.

"Hello?...Yes...Yes...All right...Yes, Norm, I'll be there."

Anton hung up the phone and went back into the kitchen.

Sophia finished her breakfast and went to put the bowl and spoon in the sink. She turned around and walked out of the kitchen just as Anton came back in. He sat down at the table again.

Elena looked at him and asked, "Who was it?"

Anton picked up his coffee mug and looked at her. "I'll explain it to you later", he said.

Elena drove up and parked the car in front of the school. She opened the door and got out. Anton got out on the passenger side and opened the door to the back seat. Sophia got out of the car and put on her backpack, looking nervous. Elena walked around the car and kneeled down and looked at Sophia and wished her luck on her first day. She kissed her daughter on the forehead. Sophia turned to leave, but then stopped and looked back at Anton. She wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him. Anton looked down at her and stroked the top of her head. Sophia released him and turned around and walked up to the building and went inside with the other children.

When they got to the hospital, Elena turned off the engine and leaned back in her seat. She looked at Anton and asked him, "So, what did he say?"

Anton looked at her and then looked away. "He said I needed to come see him."

"About what?"

"He failed to give me an answer to that."

Elena gave him a serious look. "Anton?"

Anton looked at Elena and said, "Marge has some questions she wants to ask me."

Elena stared at him, not saying anything. She felt her heart skip a beat, fearing that something was wrong. "What are you going to do?" She asked him.

"Nothing", said Anton. "I'm going to go over and talk to them. Simple as that."

Elena shook her head and said, "I don't know if that's a good idea, Anton."

"Why?"

Elena did not answer him. She looked away from him, unable to explain.

Anton stared at her for a minute. He watched her sadden expression and reached a hand over and tucked her hair behind her ear. He stroked her face with the back of his hand. He cupped his hand to her left cheek and brought her eyes back to meet with his.

"You really think I would kill her?"

"No."

"I know how much she means to you, Elena. Remember what I said to you about trust? This is one of those examples."

"But what if she knows about what you've done?"

Anton said nothing and looked down. He placed his hand over her broken wrist, still in a cast. "We'll just have to see what happens", he said. He looked at her again.

Elena gave him something of a sad smile. She opened the door and stepped out of the car and leaned against the side with her arms crossed. She looked up toward the sky and took a deep breath and exhaled, almost as if she were thinking. Anton got out and walked around the vehicle and stood next to her. Elena turned to face him.

"If I lend you my car, can I expect you to pick me up after work?" Elena asked him.

"I have nothing else better to do this afternoon", Anton answered.

"Okay, but you know that means you'll have to pick up Sophia at three, right?"

"That's all right."

"Okay."

Elena hugged her arms around him, while Anton hugged her back in return. He kissed the top of her head and stroked her upper arm. He released her. Elena looked at Anton and stroked the side of his face with the soft touch of her hand. She turned around and walked across the parking lot and went into the building. He watched her go, standing there for a minute. Finally, he got into the driver's seat and started the car and drove out of the parking lot.

A police car pulled up next to the side of the Gunderson residence. The door opened and Marge Gunderson stepped out of the vehicle. She closed the door and went up to the house and fished the keys from her pocket and unlocked the front door and went inside.

"Hello, house! I'm home!" Marge called out, closing the door behind her. She took off her coat and went into the living room. "Hon?" Marge turned around and looked in the kitchen, but did not see her husband. She walked down the hall and went into the bedroom and was taken aback by the sight of the tall, dark-clothed man with the pageboy haircut sitting next to the desk. His face was serious. His hands were on his knees.

"Anton, what are you doing here?" Marge asked him. "Where's Norm?"

"He stepped out to run an errand."

"Oh, yah?"

"He said you needed to talk to me."

"Yes, I did."

Anton motioned his head for her to sit down. Marge walked over and sat down on the bed. She placed her hands on her knees, mirroring his exact position, but not showing the same emotion of his face. Her face was calm. Her eyes gentle and tame compared to the lack of warmth within the darkness of his.

"So, the names of those people you had me look into...Those were your parents, weren't they?"

"Yes, they were."

"Salvador and Raquel Chigurh, born in 1913 and 1918. Both died in 1954 at the ages of 41 and 36."

Anton remained silent, staring at her with cold, dead eyes. His expression never changed.

"Was there a reason why you decided to bring this up?"

"I think you already know the answer to that, Marge."

"You never did have no justice, did ya?"

"No", said Anton. "But I gave them my word."

"Oh, yah?" Marge asked him, surprised to hear this.

"Who sent you the information about my parents?"

"I got the records on account of a Sheriff Bell. Does that name have any meaning to ya?"

What neither one of them knew was that Ed Tom Bell, who had long since retired from being the sheriff of his once-peaceful town, was, in fact, the same middle-aged man who comforted Anton on the night his parents were murdered. It was Sheriff Bell who had taken it upon himself to protect the late Llewellyn Moss from Anton Chigurh some months ago, only to fail upon discovering Moss had been shot and killed by a group of Mexicans. Marge Gunderson did not know anything about this.

"I would not remember", said Anton.

"Well, I did everything just like you asked me to, but the funny thing is, there doesn't seem to be anything in the records about you at all. Almost as if you don't exist."

"I do exist, as much as you do, but there is nothing to know about me. After Vietnam, I managed to find work for myself, but my job was to remain classified."

"So, you were like an agent or something?" Marge asked him.

"Not in the way you would imagine", Anton answered.

Marge smiled and nodded her head. "Okay. So, what is it you want me to do?"

"You know what I want you to do. I want you to look into the murder and find out who killed them. You're a clever enough woman to handle this case on your own."

"Anton, that case was from twenty-six years ago."

"Yes, and it is a case that still remains unsolved", said Anton, raising his voice at her.

Marge dropped her cheerful expression and felt her eyes grow wide. Her face turned pale. She stared at Anton, fearful of his sudden change of tone. Patiently, he waited for her to respond. Marge slowly nodded her head and spoke in a low voice, "I'll do what I can."

Anton reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter and looked at it. He held the coin between his thumb and forefinger and turned it over to tails, which was painted red.

"Much much does Elena mean to you?"

"Elena?"

Anton looked at her, slightly annoyed. "Yes. How much does she mean to you?"

"Anton, she means the world to me."

"Do those same terms apply to your husband?"

"Yes, they apply to little Sophia, as well."

"Smart woman."

"So, what is it you're trying to say?"

"I want to negotiate a deal. Think of it as a peace treaty between you and me. I do not hate you as much as I used to, but I know you are a woman who is honest and dedicated to what you do for a living. You'd do anything to make sure your loved ones were safe and protected. You make it a priority to think about others before yourself. I admire that. I think it is a vain thing for you to do, but I know it is part of your job to abide by the rules of the law."

Anton walked out the door and went down the concrete path and stood on the curb for about three minutes. He looked one way and then the other. He listened to the dead silence of the neighborhood, broken only by the faint barking of a dog. He looked back at the Gunderson residence. Finally, he turned around and walked two blocks down to where he parked the car. Inside the house, Marge pulled back the curtain and looked out her living room window. She smiled.