“But you’re all right? That jerk didn’t hurt you?” he said.

I was touched, and I had to admit surprised, that he was so concerned. I realized I wasn’t used to someone worrying about me like that. I softened my voice. “I’m fine. And Candace is here for-oh, but you already know.” I lowered my voice. “Kara told you. I’m beginning to think she’ll fit right into this town. It only took her a couple days to join the grapevine.”

“That’s what reporters do. I spent several hours with her, and she’s bright and funny.”

“She is, but she’s hardly ever shared that side with me,” I said quickly and with instant regret. “I’m sorry. That’s my problem, not yours. Let’s change the subject, shall we?”

“Okay, on to a safer topic. You’ll need a new phone.”

“I did plan to call you about that. Do they still make the model I had so I can get my live cat-cam feeds?” I said.

“They stop making the same model of anything techlike the day after it’s on the shelf. I’ll look at a few phones on the Internet that will support your videos, and then we can order one or maybe see if your local wireless provider has what we need.”

I liked the way he said what we need.

Then he said, “Pass me back to Kara, would you?”

“Are you putting her to work?” I said.

“I’m thinking about it,” he answered with a laugh.

I went back into the living room and handed Kara the phone. “He wants to talk to you.”

I then went down the hall and met Candace coming out of my office.

Her face was tight with anger. “What that guy did to you was downright vicious. But the audio wasn’t any good, and I didn’t see anything that you haven’t already described in excellent detail. Wait, I did learn one thing.”

“What’s that?” I said.

“I’m taking that man down, and when I do, he’s gonna get some of what he likes to dish out.”

At first Kara didn’t seem thrilled with the idea of heading into town, saying she wasn’t afraid of anyone sneaking in the back door. But when I said we’d be dropping her off at a coffee place where she could literally drink in Mercy’s atmosphere, she abandoned her reluctance.

We piled into my minivan, and once we arrived, we decided we all could use a fix of the best coffee in the South-east. We gave our orders to Candace and, no surprise, Kara ordered a large black coffee with a double shot of espresso. I pulled enough money from my purse to cover the tab. The white-haired and oh-so-sweet owner, Belle, sat at a corner table, and I led Kara over for introductions. Since I wasn’t sure whether Kara liked my calling her my stepdaughter, I simply told Belle that Kara was John’s daughter.

“Aren’t you the cutest thing?” Belle said. Her coral lipstick, as usual, was misapplied. The top lip had a straight line today, but the color on the bottom went well below her lip. Sometimes the top lip was as messy as her lower lip, but two things never changed: It was always wrong, and it always made me want to take out a tissue and fix it.

Kara’s cheeks colored, and I guessed she’d decided that cute was not her favorite word. But to her credit, she kept quiet about this and said, “Thanks. This place of yours is cute, too.”

Belle leaned close to me and whispered, “We got a whole lot of visitors in town since the murders. I heard you was with Candace when she found that first body. Horrible thing, poison. Just a miserable way to die. Heard they found strychnine at Rufus’s place of business, too.”

“What?” I said.

“Morris was in for his coffee and a nice big Danish-all sniffly and out of work on a sick day. He’s the one who told me.”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Morris is usually more careful about keeping the details of a case from the public,” I said, glancing Candace’s way. She wouldn’t like this slip one bit.

“The man’s sick. Blame it on a fever and forget you heard what I said.” Belle held her thumb and forefinger-both fingernails painted coral like her lips-an inch apart. “He’s this close to retirement. And we don’t want to get him in trouble.”

“Probably best if you don’t tell anyone else, don’t you think?” I said.

Belle examined those well- manicured nails to avoid my question.

“You already have?” I was again thinking how Candace would react to the leak in the case. And then I reminded myself that this was Mercy and I should quit worrying about who knew what.

“I mentioned it to a few people. Poor Rufus is dead, Jillian. What are we gonna do? Talk about the rain?”

“You’re absolutely right.” I glanced at Kara and could see by her wide eyes that she was surprised at how much Belle knew about the case.

“Have these visitors you mentioned earlier been in here?” I asked.

“They’re here now.” She nodded quickly at the other corner without looking at the four people seated at a table.

A woman and three men. I recognized the woman from the newspaper photo I’d found on the Internet the other day, despite the change in hair color from blond to brunette: Sarah VanKleet. I assumed the two young men with her were her sons, and the older man with his wavy head of steel gray hair and matching goatee was the boyfriend. But he was no boy; that’s for sure. He looked like an actor in one of those Viagra ads.

Kara said, “That’s the dead man’s family?”

“Well, aren’t you cute and smart. You must be proud of her, Jillian,” Belle said.

“I am proud, but I can’t take credit. She’s an accomplished young woman,” I said.

Candace arrived at the table with our coffee. Kara picked up the largest cup and sat down in the chair that offered her the best view of the town visitors.

Candace took her seat, and the strangers captured her attention, too. Out of the side of her mouth she said, “That’s them, isn’t it?”

Belle laughed, and her generous belly jiggled with the effort. “See what I was saying, Jillian? There are no secrets in this town.”

“Hush,” Candace whispered. “Don’t want them noticing us as much as we notice them.”

“Oh, Candy, you are such a naive young thing,” Belle said. “That woman over there is no dummy. By the way, I’m taking up a collection for Rufus. Word is he was about broke. Might not be enough for a casket or a burial.”

I reached in my bag and pulled out my checkbook. I wrote a fifty-dollar check from my money-market emergency fund since I’d used up most of my routine monthly cash. I gave it to Belle. Candace pulled a crumpled twenty from her pocket and handed the cash to her, too.

“Thank you, ladies,” Belle said.

Without glancing our way, Kara said. “You two can leave. I’ll be happy here with my laptop and my excellent coffee.” Kara had already set her computer case on the table.

Candace glanced at her watch. “The family should be leaving soon. They have a meeting with Chief Baca in about twenty minutes.”

“Then we need to get to your place and fetch your overnight bag.” I looked at Belle. “Kara is a writer, and she would love to hear some stories about Mercy.”

“Does she have all day? ’Cause you know me, Jillian,” Belle said with another laugh. “But what’s this about an overnight bag?” She glanced back and forth between Candace and me.

“Um… they might be painting my apartment, so I’m staying with Jillian,” Candace said.

“Now, don’t go lying to Belle. I won’t pass on that you’re staying with Jillian to protect her,” Belle said. “Even though it was passed on to me not an hour ago. I just wanted you to confirm my source.”

“Let me guess. Billy told you,” Candace said through her teeth.

“I swear that boy knows everything,” Belle replied. “He came in on the heels of that bunch in the corner. Think he followed them over here?”

“It would not surprise me,” Candace said.

I tugged on Candace’s arm. “We need to go.” I looked at Kara. “I don’t mind you sitting close and listening in on the conversation over there, but you need to pass anything important on to Candace.”