“He said that? That it would be a good Christmas because I would be coming home?”

“Yes, I think his exact words were that you would be home tomorrow. So, you see, that was the day he had the stroke. Is the date very important?”

“Yes. To me, it’s very important.” She thought for a moment before continuing. “He almost died. That’s what you said, that he almost died.”

“Yes.” Dr. Van Ripper paused for a moment, then added meaningfully, “And no one from town ever saw you again.”

“I…” There was just too much for Josie to assimilate. Everything she had thought, every hurt, every angry moment, had been, apparently, based on an untruth, a misunderstanding. She had no idea what to think. “I don’t know what to say. You… You and everyone in town… You don’t understand what happened. How… this all got started.” She looked around at the torn-apart house. The life she lived now, the life she had created for herself, was, if she could believe this woman, based on a misunderstanding.

Dr. Van Ripper was staring at her and Josie realized she should say something. She grasped at the only topic that didn’t seem to matter very much at the moment. “You mentioned Courtney. What does she have to do with this?”

“It was Courtney who told me that you still have no contact with your family.”

Josie tried to focus on the topic at hand. “I don’t think she and I spoke about that.”

“Perhaps not, but she has spoken with your family.”

“When? Recently?”

“My dear, just because you chose not to keep in touch…” She didn’t end the sentence.

“You mean other people did.”

“Others, yes, and Courtney was prominent among them.”

“You did say that she always came to the library to visit when she was in town, but I’m sure she didn’t visit my parents the same way. Of course, her mother and my mother are probably still close.”

“Yes, I’m sure they are. I don’t want to upset you more, but there are people in town who are of the opinion that Courtney has become something of a substitute daughter.”

“For my parents?” Josie realized she sounded stricken. It was almost as though she had discovered she actually did have a family only to have it taken away from her once again.

“Yes. Things have been difficult for them, of course. And since you chose not to be around-for whatever reason- they have come to depend on Courtney more and more.”

“Is that what they say?” Josie asked. Something didn’t sound right here. Unless things had changed dramatically, her parents weren’t likely to be complaining about their lives-or their daughter’s choices. Of course, she realized, things had changed dramatically. A lot had happened. She had changed. Why wouldn’t they have done so also?

She remembered the last time she had spoken with her mother. She’d called right before leaving school, thinking that the announcement of her pregnancy would be easier on the phone, that they could use the night to get over the shock and then the three of them could sit down and talk it through once she arrived home. Looking back, she knew it had been a cowardly thing to do, but she had been young, scared, and, she had to admit, stupid.

Her mother’s response to the news she had blurted out abruptly had been straightforward-or so she thought at the time. She had said nothing. After a few minutes of silence on the other end of the line, Josie had asked to talk to her father.

Her mother had finally spoken. “I’m sorry, dear, but under the circumstances, your father will not-cannot-speak with you. I’m very sorry, dear, but you’re going to have to… take care of… yourself by yourself. Your father… I… Your father and I have a lot on our plates just now-”

Josie had hung up without listening to more. That was the last time she’d spoken with either of her parents. Over the years she had replayed the conversation again and again. She had wondered about each and every word of rejection. It had never occurred to her that the circumstances her mother was referring to were something that had happened at home, not her pregnancy.

“Josie, you’re becoming a bit absentminded, dear. It’s not an attractive trait.”

It was true. She was getting absentminded. She needed to find out more about Courtney. She needed to ask questions this woman might be able to answer. She took a deep breath and opened her sandwich again. She would think, worry, mourn her relationship with her parents later. Right now she had to find out who killed Courtney Castle before her murder damaged the life Josie had-whether prompted by necessity or a foolish misunderstanding-worked so hard to create.

"SO DID COURTNEY visit my parents the way she visited you at the library?” Josie asked.

“That’s a dreadfully imprecise question. Are you asking if she visited as frequently or, possibly, whether or not she talked as intimately to them as she does to me?”

“Both, I guess.”

“Naturally, there’s no way I can compare my visits with those Courtney paid to your parents, but I believe she saw them frequently.”

“And they talked about me.”

“I don’t know that.”

“You said Courtney told you I didn’t have any contact with my family,” Josie reminded her.

“Yes, that was recently, when she and I spoke here on the island. At home, I quite frankly don’t remember her mentioning you or your family. She talked mainly about the television shows she was on. She’s been very successful, you know.”

Josie thought about the tapes she had watched the night before. Not, she knew, so very successful until recently. But she wasn’t there to trash a dead woman. “She did a lot of different types of shows. Did she ask your advice about her career?”

“She asked my advice about everything.” It was obvious that Dr. Van Ripper was proud of this fact.

Through the open doorway Josie could see her crew picking up their tools and preparing to return to work on the addition. They were a great bunch of women, responsible and energetic; she owed it to them to solve this murder before it damaged the lives of innocent people. “Really?” she asked aloud. Talk, talk, talk, she chanted silently.

“Courtney worked very, very hard for her successes. But she made time to return home at least once-and sometimes twice-a year, and we always talked about how her career was going. She had things planned out from the time she graduated from college, you know.”

“Really?” Well, it had worked the last time.

“Yes. There were changes, of course. She had hoped to make it to a network and anchor a newscast, and I think a show like Today or Good Morning America would certainly have benefited from her talent. But she changed her mind after her first job in public television.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I remember how it happened. She had been working out west somewhere for about a year and she spent the first week of her annual vacation in New York City, visiting the networks and deciding if she wanted to work for one of them. She came home quite discouraged.”

“They didn’t want her?”

“Heavens, no! I can’t imagine such a thing!” came the indignant response. “But she was upset by the greed and self-importance she found there… Excuse me?”

“Nothing.” Josie had mumbled something about how it sounded like Courtney would fit right in, but on second thought she decided that silence was best.

“She knew then and there-talking with me in the library reference room-that she would dedicate her life to public broadcasting. She wanted to share herself with the public. That’s the way she put it.”

“Very generous of her.”

Dr. Van Ripper looked up sharply. “You always were jealous of Courtney.”

“I…” Why deny it? Josie just shrugged. “So Courtney decided to work for public broadcasting.”

“Yes, and, as the network of such shows as Masterpiece Theatre and Julia Child’s Kitchen, I certainly thought she was making an excellent decision. It is the correct place for her to be. And that’s important when you choose your career.”