"You sound as if you honestly expect me to have an answer," Lily said edgily. "Do you think I know more about all of this than you do?"

"No, I thought I was just asking if you had any ideas," Natalie said carefully. "I haven't talked to you since Nick found out Lindstrom was Eugene Farley's cousin."

"His cousin!" This time Lily sounded genuinely shocked. "What on earth was he doing here?"

"He told Nick he was gathering information to write a true-crime novel about the recent murders. Then Nick found out he was Constance Farley's nephew. When he spoke with Constance, she said she didn't know anything about a book and she was very upset that he was in Port Ariel poking around. Then he disappeared on Thursday."

"The day of Tam's funeral."

"Lily, did Jeff ever try to talk to you or your father about Tam and Warren?"

"The only time I ever saw him was that day in the store. You heard the conversation. And I know if he'd tried to talk to Dad about Tam, Dad would have mentioned it. He had nothing to do with Jeff Lindstrom." Her voice rose. "Nothing."

"Lily, what is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with you? You're asking me all these questions about someone who was murdered. You sound like you think my father and I know something. And what's all this with the sheriff? He's Nick now? Are you on the rebound from Kenny? Trying to score some points with the handsome young sheriff by doing his dirty work for him, badgering your oldest and supposedly dearest friends about murders?"

"Lily, for God's sake, calm down!" Natalie was stunned by Lily's outburst. "I didn't mean anything-"

"The hell you didn't! Just keep your suspicions to yourself, Natalie, before you do a lot of damage!"

For the first time in their long friendship, Lily slammed down the phone on her. Natalie sat dumbfounded, holding the receiver for nearly a minute as Lily's words played over and over in her head: Just keep your suspicions to yourself before you do a lot of damage. But she couldn't keep her suspicions to herself, not when Lily sounded so jumpy, so frightened…

She called police headquarters. Nick had just walked in. "What now?" he asked in a harried voice.

"Hello to you, too."

"Natalie, if you tell me you've found another body-"

"Don't worry. I'm not setting foot outside this house unless it's an emergency. I'm calling to tell you I had a phone conversation with Lily. She'd heard about me finding a man's body this morning." Natalie paused, fighting down her sense of betrayal. Lily was her friend, but they were dealing with multiple murders. "She didn't know whose body it was and she didn't immediately ask, which was odd. When I finally told her it was Lindstrom, she didn't seem shocked. I asked if he'd questioned her about Tam. She said no and that she'd only seen him once, that day in her store. But when I asked if he'd talked to her father, she got really edgy. She denied it vehemently. She was nervous and belligerent." Natalie took a deep breath. "She didn't sound right, Nick. She's wary and she's scared. Really scared."

SATURDAY 1 p.m.

"Mr. Peyton isn't home. I don't know when he'll be back."

A slender woman with salt-and-pepper hair and finely crinkled fair skin looked at Nick with startlingly beautiful, innocent violet eyes. "May I come in and wait, Mrs…"

"Ebert. I'm Mr. Peyton's housekeeper." She hesitated. "I don't know. Mr. Peyton isn't really up to visitors. This is a very hard time for him."

"Yes, because his daughter was murdered. But I'm the sheriff, Mrs. Ebert. I'm investigating Tamara's death. I must talk to him."

Her hand fluttered to her chest. "Oh, no, has something else happened? Is Lily all right?"

"Lily is fine. This concerns other developments, but it's very important. Please, Mrs. Ebert."

He gave her his most ingratiating smile and she answered with a nervous smile of her own. "All right. After all, you are the sheriff and this is important. Please come in. Maybe I could get you something to drink? Tea? Coffee? A soft drink?"

"A Coke or a Pepsi if you have it. It's getting warm out."

"Oh, yes it is. Such a lovely day. Yesterday was so gloomy. Please make yourself comfortable in the living room and I'll be right back."

Nick hadn't gotten a chance to study the room after Tamara's funeral. He didn't know much about antiques, but he knew these were valuable. The room was beautiful, although much too fussy and formal for his taste. Above the fireplace hung an oil portrait of Tamara and Lily done when they were about sixteen. Both had golden blond hair brushing their shoulders, both wore pale green dresses that highlighted their hazel eyes. Their bone structure was identical, but no one who looked into their eyes would confuse them. Tamara had a gentle, shy gaze. Lily's eyes looked at him boldly, twinkling with fun. A dove and a peacock. Both beautiful, but so different.

Mrs. Ebert returned carrying a silver tray bearing a glass of Coke and a plate of Ritz crackers topped by thin slices of cheddar and Swiss cheese. "You have the air of a man who didn't have lunch," she smiled. "I could fix some soup if you like."

"No thanks. The crackers are great. You're right-I haven't eaten since this morning." He sat down on a moss green settee, took a sip of icy Coke, then reached for a cracker.

"I'll just go back to the kitchen while you wait-"

"If you're not busy, would you keep me company?" Nick tried hard to look innocent.

The woman hesitated. "No, I haven't anything to do. Mr. Peyton didn't even eat his breakfast and said he might be dining out."

"He's getting back into the world."

Mrs. Ebert sat down on a wing chair across from Nick. "No, I don't really think he has dinner plans. He simply doesn't want to eat." She crossed her long, shapely legs and pulled her navy blue skirt over her knees. "He's devastated, Sheriff Meredith. Those girls mean the world to him."

"At least he still has Lily." She smiled. "And Mrs. Cosgrove." The smile vanished. "Don't you like her?"

"I don't know her well," Mrs. Ebert said shortly.

"About as well as you'd like, I imagine. I know Lily doesn't like her and from what I've seen, I wouldn't care for her, either. There's just something about her…"

"She's overbearing," Mrs. Ebert said promptly. "She acts as if this house is already hers, redecorating, doing away with Mrs. Peyton's things."

"You were fond of Mrs. Peyton."

"She was an angel living on earth. Such a simple, unassuming woman. She considered having a housekeeper a wild extravagance, not to mention pretentious, but she really didn't have any choice because her multiple sclerosis kept her bound to the wheelchair those last few years. My first couple of months here were tense." She smiled again. "I was recently widowed and so lonely. When she realized that, everything changed. We became like sisters. She saved my life-my emotional life."

Mrs. Ebert sighed and looked at the portrait of the twins. "I think she would be horrified by the idea of Viveca Cosgrove becoming the girls' stepmother. Of course there's just Lily now…" Her lovely eyes filled with tears. "I never should have talked so much about private matters. I had no right."

"You have every right to your opinion," Nick said gently. "Of course, after what happened to her daughter, Mrs. Cosgrove won't be around here much."

"Now I feel worse. That girl is very… disturbing, but she didn't deserve what happened to her. It's horrible!"

Nick reached for another cracker. "But she's alive, not like Jeff Lindstrom."

"Jeff Lindstrom?" she asked blankly.

"His body was found this morning. He'd been murdered like Tamara and Warren."

The violet eyes flew wide. "My God! He was so young!"

Nick had mentioned Lindstrom without expecting to hit pay dirt. He tried to hide his surprise and excitement. "You knew Jeff Lindstrom?" he asked casually.