Fiction. Thomas Senestre, insomniac and half-hearted cop, is haunted by the dead. He quotes Wordsworth in the rain. He broods on the claustrophobic nature of Hitler's Bunker. He "jollies" himself through long nights by questioning...everything. Just now, he is the doing his best to impersonate a fellow delighted to be vacationing in the blustery burg of Pantego where seagulls foul the benches and high tides flood the streets. Summoned there by his mother's (alleged) friend, he's supposed to be helping discover Adora Phelps's stalker.