PROLOGUE<br >DECEMBER<br > THE BODY WAS DISCOVERED IN<br >one of the lakes on campus by Blanche Crowley， a retired mem-<br >ber of the Saint Mary s faculty， who was seventy-three and<br >hoped to live at least a decade more. To this end she ate sensi-<br >bly， smoked only when no witnesses were present， and every<br >morning jogged along the path encircling the campus lakes，<br >going around twice before heading for breakfast with Emily<br >House， who prefelTed indoor exercise at the Loftus Center.<br > The winter scene that morning might have recalled the his-<br >toric date when Fr. Edward Sorin and his companions arrived to<br >take possession of this land， calling it Notre Dame du Lac， but<br >the temperature had risen over the past twenty-four hours，<br >causing a thaw. Now， in the morning chill， the path was glazed<br >and this dictated deliberate and sure-footed progress. Blanche<br >ran with the ritualistic dedication of the regular jogger， bringing<br >each al~hritic knee up ahnost to chin level and lowering her<br >gaudy white jogging shoes with practiced care.<br > The first time Blanche passed the point where the path ran<br >below Holy Cross House she noticed something in the shallow<br >water offshore but thought it was discarded clothing. An odd<br >thought， but then she was exercising and her blain was<br >bounced about as she ran making mental clarity elusive. Com-<br >ing around the second time， grateful for the inten uption，<br >Blanche stopped running and looked more closely.<br > It was indeed clothing in the water， female clothing.<br >Blanche edged closel， then stopped. With sudden horror she<br >realized that there was someone in the clothing， half submerged<br >