Warren passed through the formal dining room and went up on deck. Cool air wafted over him. Some of the fuzziness left his head. Even his vision seemed clearer. In the distance a small bell clanged into the night. Nearby a board creaked.

He whirled around with the sharp, blinding awareness that something horrible waited for him in the chill darkness. His hands shot out blindly and he felt as if he were losing control of his bowels.

He barely made a sound as the long razor plunged into his neck, stabbing through flesh, puncturing the trachea. Warren 's heartbeat soared. Blood frothed from the wound and pain seared like lightning through his gut. As he reflexively bent double, the razor ripped a quarter of the way around his neck, destroying muscles and veins. His hand flew to the wound and he futilely tried to stanch the relentless flow of his life fluid. He could see, but all he could make out was a dark shape wavering in front of him.

Warren stumbled forward. The figure sidestepped and he crashed onto the wooden deck, rolling onto his back. Still grasping his throat, opening his mouth only to emit noisy gurgles, he blinked. Someone hovered above him, but he couldn't make out the face. His attacker was only a dark shape against darkness mumbling words he could not understand.

Warren felt his consciousness slipping away. The figure moved, almost faded, backward down into the yacht…

To Charlotte.

And in the distance the boat bell went on ringing calmly in the breeze of an oblivious night.

The sun seemed unusually bright, maybe because she hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Natalie put on her sunglasses as she drove into downtown Port Ariel. Destination: Curious Things.

Natalie had not visited Lily's shop for three years. Last summer Lily had renovated, turning the nondescript brick building into a striking establishment that looked like something from the pages of Dickens. A huge bay window jutted over the sidewalk displaying an antique cradle, music boxes, crystal decanters, two of Tamara's lovely quilts, and pieces of jewelry. When she opened the dark green door with its paned window, a bell jingled merrily, announcing the arrival of a customer.

Lily stood behind the counter talking to a young man. She looked past him and smiled at Natalie.

"When I called your place this morning, your answering machine message said you'd be at the store," Natalie said. "I didn't expect you to be working today."

"I'm only here because of a shipping snafu I had to straighten out." Lily still had mauve shadows beneath her eyes and Natalie didn't like her pallor, but she looked slightly more animated than the day before. "Natalie, I'd like for you to meet Jeff…"

"Lindstrom," he supplied. "I'm vacationing here. Ms. Peyton told me about some of the places I should visit."

Natalie took his extended hand. "Natalie St. John. I grew up here. I'm back for a visit."

Jeff smiled broadly. His dark blond hair touched the collar of his denim shirt and his slightly prominent teeth were astonishingly white. Natalie guessed him to be no more than thirty.

The bell above the door jingled. Everyone glanced up as Nick Meredith-entered. Natalie felt color creeping to her cheeks. The very thought of their last meeting at The Blue Lady made her feel like running from the store in embarrassment. Please don't let him say anything about it, Natalie thought fervently. But he barely glanced at her. His solemn attention was for Lily. "Hello, Miss Peyton. Your father told me I would find you here."

"What's wrong?" she demanded tensely.

"Do you know where your brother-in-law is?"

" Warren?" Lily looked blank. "No. Why?"

"Because I need to talk with him as soon as possible and I haven't been able to reach him."

"Well, I'm sure he's around somewhere. Even he wouldn't have the nerve to leave town with the funeral tomorrow." Lily's eyes narrowed. "Why is it so important that you talk to him?"

"I just have a couple of questions." Meredith's casual tone did not ring true. "I'll try him again in an hour or so. Thanks, Miss Peyton."

The bell jingled again and a high, childish voice cried, "Daddy!"

Heads swiveled. A little girl with long auburn hair and a sprinkling of freckles beamed at Sheriff Meredith. Behind her stood a heavyset woman with short salt-and-pepper hair and dark eyes behind black-framed glasses.

"Paige," Sheriff Meredith said. "I didn't know you and Mrs. Collins were going shopping today."

"I clean forgot that today is my sister's birthday," the woman explained. "Of course I wouldn't leave Paige home alone and I absolutely had to get a gift. I hope you don't mind me bringing her. I called your office to ask, but you weren't in and it's something of an emergency or I wouldn't have thought of taking her out without your permission."

She sounded as if she'd dragged the child along on a dangerous expedition, Natalie thought. Sheriff Meredith looked faintly amused. "You don't have to get clearance for a trip to downtown Port Ariel, Mrs. Collins, unless you plan to stop in at the local bar for a sandwich and a beer at lunch."

"Oh, no!" Mrs. Collins earnestly assured him. "We're going to McDonald's."

Natalie realized the child was staring at her and smiled. "Hi."

"Hi. I'm Paige Meredith. Are you Natalie St. John?"

"I am indeed," Natalie laughed. "How did you know?"

"My best friend is Jimmy Jenkins." Natalie raised her eyebrows questioningly. "He's twelve and has black hair like yours. He met you the day Mrs. Hunt got murdered."

"Paige!" Meredith said sharply. He motioned toward Lily. "This is Mrs. Hunt's sister."

Paige's sunny smile vanished. "Oh, gosh, I'm sorry."

"It's all right," Lily murmured. "Did Jimmy describe Natalie to you?"

"Yeah." Paige looked relieved that Lily was changing the subject. Her gaze shifted back to Natalie. "Daddy says you're a vet. Do you make house calls?"

"House calls? Not usually. I don't even practice around here."

"Oh." Exaggerated disappointment throbbed in Paige's voice. "I'm so worried about my cat Ripley."

Natalie saw Nick Meredith roll his eyes. What was this all about? she wondered. "What's wrong with Ripley?"

"He's fat," Meredith said flatly.

"No he's not," Paige retorted. "But he scratches his ears a lot."

"Mites," Natalie said. "Maybe an infection."

"Infection!" Paige made it sound like plague. "Also… he limps."

"Since when?" Meredith demanded.

"Since… this morning."

"Have you checked to see if there's something between his pads?" Natalie asked. "Maybe a pebble?"

"I didn't see anything. Dr. St. John, Ripley doesn't like his usual vet, Dr. Cavanaugh. He gets all nervous and upset when he has to go see him. The last time, he scratched Dr. Cavanaugh and he yelled at Ripley. A lot. Ripley didn't eat for two days."

"That's too. bad, but surely there's more than one vet in Port Ariel."

"There is," Meredith said firmly. "Dr. Landers."

"Daddy, he's ancient," Paige wailed. "He bumbles around and talks to himself and last time we were there he called me Ripley. He might give Ripley the wrong medicine and kill him. He also says every pet has the same thing- worms!"

"Worms are fairly common, Paige." Natalie tried not to grin. The child was certainly laying it on thick-thick enough to win her admiration for dramatic tenacity. "However, if you're so worried about Ripley, I'd be happy to take a look at him."

Paige beamed. Meredith scowled. "Dr. St. John, this isn't necessary," he said. "The cat is fine-"

"Is not," Paige asserted.

"-and I know you're here on a visit," Meredith continued. "We're not going to press you into service."