Chapter Ten

It was an hour before the Medlar-Wyatt group sat down to breakfast. Lenny had filled the sideboard in the dining room for the others, but Randal and Jack made breakfast and set it up in the small morning room. They wanted privacy so they could talk. They knew that if any of the guests started wandering around the house, Lenny would stop them. What they said wouldn't be overheard.

Kate asked them to tell her everything that had happened, especially the part where Jack received a text from her. He showed it to her. It was short, saying that she would meet him at the cottage right away.

"I'd just seen you off," he said.

"I didn't send it," Kate said. "And I didn't leave one of my cards stuck in the grass. I went to meet the client but no one was there. I came straight back."

"And you had your phone with you every minute?" Randal asked.

"Of course!" She opened her handbag. "It's always—" She broke off.

"What is it?" Sara asked.

"I keep my phone in this pocket, but now it's in the middle." She took it out. There was no text sent that morning from her to Jack.

The four of them looked at one another across the round table. The text sent to Jack said it was from Kate.

"It's someone who knows how to really work a phone," Randal said.

"That's every person in the US under thirty," Jack said.

"Eight-year-olds could do it," Sara said gloomily.

"How? When?" Kate asked.

"Did you have your phone with you at dinner?" Sara asked.

"No. It was upstairs."

They knew that last night, no one was within sight at every moment. Bathroom breaks, moving about the rooms—anyone could have sneaked upstairs.

Randal waited a moment, then said, "I have news."

"You're in love with Lea and you'll probably marry her," Sara said without interest.

"If my know-it-all sister will hold back on her condemnation of me for even three minutes, I have real news."

"Sara?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"I'll try," she said, and they turned to her brother.

"Last night Lea and I did some searching." He looked at Sara, daring her to make a smart aleck quip.

She made a zippered motion across her mouth.

"Anyway, Lea and I thought that if Derek Oliver was blackmailing people, he needed tangible proof. Documents for sure. Photos. Since he never left this house during the party, where was it?"

"Stored somewhere safe," Sara said, and they all looked at her. "Sorry. Go on with your story."

"We found it." Randal waited for that to sink in.

"Dad!" Kate said. "So help me if you don't stop putting on a drama play and just tell us, I'll—" She looked to Sara to finish that.

"Move your bed to the cottage," Sara said. "Now spill it!"

"According to the papers Lea and I found, the owner of this house, of this entire estate, is Reid Graham."

There was shocked silence.

"How?" Sara asked.

"His grandmother was married to the nephew of James Lachlan. His wife's sister's son was her husband. The papers didn't have a lot of detail, but the nephew died before their son—Reid's father—was born."

"The oldest living relative is what the will says," Jack said. "Since James's son has never been traced, it might hold up in court."

Kate was looking at her father. "What else did you find?"

"This is sad," Randal said. "There was a real estate contract for one point three million dollars for this place. It was never signed."

"It's not worth that now," Kate said.

"True, but at the time of the party it was. There was a buyer for the house and land and all those citrus trees," Randal said.

"Irony." Sara shook her head. "Poor Reid. No one knew, but he was in love with Rachel. He couldn't marry her because he was broke."

"And she was expected to marry money," Kate said.

"But if Reid had known this, he could have provided for his sister and grandmother," Jack said. "Back then, that was a truckload of money."

"Well!" Sara said. "It makes for a change to find a reason that Derek Oliver should have stayed alive. If he had, Reid, who was chopping logs and cutting grass, could have sat at the head of the big table."

"Instead," Kate said, "he was sleeping in the stable. Metaphorically speaking, that is."

"Poor guy," Randal said.

"Do we tell him?" Jack asked

"We must. By the end of the month he can take claim," Sara said. "I'm so glad that this place won't go to Billy's greedy brothers."

"Who denuded it," Reid said.

"Reid will pay lower taxes since the house is now worth less," Kate said. When they looked at her, she shrugged. "It's my job to think of these things."

It was Sara, the storyteller, who thought of something else. "Oh no! I just remembered. The Lonely Laird. Billy's story."

No one replied.

"Billy said that in 1944, James's nephew was executed for murder. Is Reid the grandson of the executed man? Do you think that would make any difference to the inheritance?"

"What kind of murder was he charged with?" Randal asked. "One that was carefully planned or a you-insulted-my-mother then one unlucky punch?" Considering Randal's background, it made sense that he'd know about this.

"In this case," Jack said, "I can't see that it would matter how a man died. Reid Graham is related to James Lachlan and that's all that counts."

"By marriage," Sara said. "There's no blood shared, but it may be close enough of a relation for a judge to turn the property over to him."

"I hope so." Kate looked at her aunt. "Maybe you could do some research, then write a report making the nephew look innocent. Unjustly accused, that sort of thing. We could tell a judge that giving Reid the property is righting a wrong." Kate didn't look at Jack. They had spoken of what they wanted with the house. This would certainly change things.

"His grandmother is still alive," Sara said. "I guess we could ask her."

Randal gave a snort. "That should go over well. ‘Was your late husband a really bad man or was it all a miscarriage of justice?' Guess which door she'll choose?"

"Especially when it could mean her grandson would inherit the property or not," Jack said.

In unison, they looked at Sara. "I know, get back to researching."

Kate nodded to the notebook on the table. "Is that what you've been doing?"

Sara picked it up and flipped the pages to show a lot of handwriting in many colors of ink. "I had a dream about a book plot and I made notes." She put the book down. "How are we going to deal with what happened this morning?" She looked at Jack. "We don't want them all packing up and leaving in fear that an active murderer is among us."

Jack clamped his teeth together. He knew what was necessary. "We'll have to keep the lie that it was an accident. It was my inability to see that a chimney was missing bricks and about to fall down."

They could see that his pride was going to be hurt.

"That leaves us with the question of whether or not we should tell Reid of his possible inheritance," Randal said.

"I'll do it!" Sara said.

Randal groaned. "So you can grill him within an inch of his life about his ancestor?"

Sara smiled. "You know me too well. I will—"

She cut off because the two couples, Kate and Jack, Randal and Lea, were giving quick glances at each other. Like all lovers, they thought no one saw them. But Sara not only saw but felt the vibrations from them. They wanted to be alone! "Anything else?" She could feel them holding their breath. Would she be like that annoying colleague who said, "I know everyone wants to go to lunch, but I have one more question."

But she didn't detain them. She waved her hand and the four of them vanished with the speed of cartoon characters. She expected to see white smoke behind them.

Passion that cannot be denied—as it was euphemistically called in her novels—was great on paper. In real life, for those not involved, it was a major nuisance.

She sat there for a moment, looking at the table that needed to be cleared, and was glad she didn't have to do it. Lenny had found others to help. He's probably the one who hired the kid with the silent mower, she thought.

When she went upstairs, she avoided looking at the two closed bedroom doors, then went inside the Palm Room. She didn't know what was "wrong" with her recently, but she seemed to be all feeling. It had started when she returned to this place where she and Cal had spent so much time.

What was causing this hypersensitivity? Why were all those memories flooding back into her mind? Was that what caused the dream that was still vivid in her thoughts? The people in it were so clear she could pick them out of a crowd.

She went to the window in the far wall and looked out. No wonder James Lachlan liked this room. She could see both ends of the garden area around the house. The guesthouse and cottage were to her right. To her left was a tropical jungle that needed cutting. It would be a good place to put a swimming pool. The only building out of sight was the garage. Which is probably why Lenny chose it, she thought.

A movement caught her eye and she turned to see the cottage. Gil was on the roof. He was removing a rope that he'd lassoed around the second chimney, the one that hadn't come down. It wouldn't surprise her if he'd attached the rope to his truck and tested if he could pull it down.

Had someone really targeted Jack?she thought. Was it to get him off the case? Or was there another reason?

Gil was wrapping the rope over his bent arm in that way men did so easily, when he suddenly halted and stared across the property.

Sara followed his eyes. Almost hidden under the trees were two people. It was Rachel and Reid—and they were kissing.

"Wow!" Sara said under her breath. "She slaps him before breakfast and kisses him afterward." Great for book heroines, but not so good in real life.

Sara looked back at Gil. He'd seen the two of them. He turned away and began circling the rope around his arm with force, like it was a noose. That poor man, she thought. He'd not had much luck with women in his life.

When the couple moved out of sight, Sara looked at Gil. Even at this distance, his expression was glum, as though he'd expected this.

In the next minute, she saw Barbara walking along the back fence. The way she was turning about, her head high, it looked as though she was searching for someone. Or something.

"Looking for a big fat emerald ring?" Sara murmured.

Barbara went out of sight behind the guesthouse.

The awful sound of a weed whacker made Sara look at the cottage. As he'd promised, Reid was clearing that area. He left Rachel so soon? she wondered. Were they back to slapping? Or still kissing?

Sara was torn between being glad for Reid and sad for Gil.

To her surprise, Rachel came out of the house. Already?

She was carrying an old-fashioned curved basket for gathering flowers. She had on a white dress that looked sweet and prim.

Sara shook her head in disbelief at how two-faced she was.

From the side, Quinn came running and stopped beside her. He was as tall as she was, and Sara had never seen the boy smile so big. She pulled a fat sandwich in plastic wrap from the basket and handed it to him.

She certainly knows the way to a teen boy's heart, Sara thought.

Still smiling, the boy went back toward the cottage. Rachel looked up at the roof, saw Gil, and raised her hand in a wave. But Gil turned away.

Sara saw the surprised look on Rachel's face. Actually, she looked hurt—and perplexed.

You were just kissing another man and you can't figure out what Gil is upset about?Sara rolled her eyes.

When there was a quick knock on the door, she gladly turned away. She was disgusted!

A large white envelope was being slid under the door. She picked it up. It was nice stationery, with a heavy vellum envelope. She withdrew the notecard. William Pendergast was printed in light blue at the top.

I hope you like the gift I've sent you. I knew who bought it, but he hasn't been able to sell it. Beauty is in the eye, I guess. Anyway, I'm sure Kate will like it—and it might remind her of a few things. Thank you for all you've done for me and I wish you the best of luck.

With my eternal gratitude,

Billy

P.S. Sorry, but you paid for this.

Nearly overwhelmed with curiosity, Sara hurried downstairs.

Abruptly, Kate sat up in the bed. She was nude, but she pulled the sheet over her body. She wasn't yet to that stage of lovers where nudity was commonplace.

Jack, half-asleep, murmured, "What is it?"

"We didn't tell Aunt Sara about the nursery."

"She's seen it."

"No! That someone was searching it."

"Maybe," Jack said. "It could have been Dora when she cleaned."

As Kate got out of bed and pulled on a robe, she made a hissing sound through her clenched teeth. "Is this what happens when I succumb to your baser urges? You start doubting my perception?"

Jack opened his eyes halfway. "I've always doubted you and you seduced me."

"I did not! I—" She tossed a pillow at him. "Get up and let's go."

"Up? Again? So soon?"

She ignored his innuendo. "Stay here. I'll tell everyone I wore you out." She stopped and listened. "Is that a truck?" She went to the front window and saw a moving van pulling out. "All the furniture I bought arrived. What's been delivered?"

Jack yawned, piled up pillows, and put his hands behind his head as he watched Kate get dressed. "Sara," he said. "If it's something weird and unexpected, it's Sara."

Kate nodded in agreement as she slipped her feet into shoes. She had on leggings and a tunic. After what happened in the early morning, she wanted to be mobile. "Wonder what it is."

"You two are the curiosity demons." Jack threw back the covers and got out of bed. He was not in the least shy at being nude. "Want to go see what she's up to?" He pulled on his usual jeans and T-shirt. After a vigorous bout of kissing, they left the room.

Kate was the first to reach the bottom of the stairs and she halted, staring in wonder. Her father was already there and he was smiling.

Before them was a huge wooden cabinet with double doors and intricately cut trellising at the top and bottom. In the middle was a solid panel with a round top. Billy had given the movers a sketch to show where the cabinet was to be placed. It was at the hub of the ground floor. From there the three doorways to the major rooms could be seen, plus the lower half of the grand staircase. The morning room and the kitchen were to the right. To get anywhere on that floor, a person had to go past the big cabinet.

"It's mashrabiya," Sara said, showing her extensive travels. "It's Arabic and quite beautiful."

"It's where you used to hide," Randal said to his daughter, then turned to his sister. "Billy told me it used to be full of silver serving pieces, but by the time of the party it was empty."

"Sold by the so-called caretakers," Sara said bitterly.

Randal shrugged. "My daughter used to hide in there and watch people." He pointed to the two lower, trellised panels. "Adults didn't notice the little eyes down so close to the floor, so she saw everything." His tone was affection personified.

Kate had a dreamy look on her face. "Billy gave us chocolate," she said softly. "We hid in there and watched it all. She said it was better than any movie."

"Who was with you?" Sara asked softly.

"Greer."

Sara opened the doors. Her gesture was obvious that Kate was to get inside. "I'll be Greer."

Smiling, Kate got in. It wasn't as easy a fit as when she was four. Sara, who was quite small and agile, got in with her.

Kate pulled on an old ribbon that had been stapled to the back of a door and closed it. She reached for the second door but her father's hand came in holding a box of chocolates he'd retrieved from the pantry. She took it and he shut the door.

Sara opened the box and held it out for Kate to take a piece.

It wasn't easy, but Kate, chocolate in hand, scrunched down to look through the lower panels. "We could see their feet and we laughed about their shoes."

Sara got down beside her. "Who do you see?" she whispered.

Kate closed her eyes for a moment. "Him! He was always chasing Greer."

"Why?" Sara's tone told of her suspicions.

"He didn't like her." Kate sat up. Outside the cabinet, the others were silent. As Kate began to talk from memory, Randal put his phone on Record.

"Shhh, he's coming," Greer said as she closed the door and held out the box of chocolates Billy had given her. "Don't let him find me."

They both knew who "he" was.

In the next second, they saw his shoes: shiny, polished, and silent. "Where is that ugly girl?" he said loudly. As always, he was angry. Trailing from his arm were half a dozen shirts he wanted ironed. "She is the most worthless creature alive. Billy!" he shouted. "Where is she?" When there was no reply, he growled. "I'll have to get that wife of mine to do it!" He stomped away.

Greer let out a sigh of relief, leaned back against the side of the cabinet, and stuck three pieces of chocolate in her mouth.

"You're not ugly." Kate searched for the coconut piece, the one she liked best.

Greer gave a chocolaty smile. "Only to you."

"Reid likes you."

Greer smiled broader. "But he's my brother. He has to. I'd like to kill that man," she added conversationally.

Kate nodded in four-year-old wisdom. "Nobody likes him."

"He's mean to Reid and all of them. He—" They heard voices so they went back down to peer through the beautiful trellising.

"It's Uncle Roy," Kate whispered when she saw the heavy black boots.

"Come on," Roy said, then Barbara's pretty shoes came into view. Greer had told her that Barbara was rich and Roy wasn't, so that was a problem.

"What if he tells?" Barbara asked as the two pair of shoes came close together. "Harry will be ruined. How did he even find out?"

"I don't know. Billy said that he nearly lived in that old room so maybe he read about it. Anyway, your husband will be forgiven."

"For murder?! Of a two-bit nobody actor? Harry was only eighteen. A child."

"Let's get out of here before someone hears us. There are too many people in this house!"

"Afraid your wife will see us?"

Roy gave a chuckle. "That's better. Jealousy is easier to deal with than fear. Let's go before Dad finds me and I get stuck cutting grass all day."

"Or making love to your wife."

As they left, Roy's laugh echoed down the hall.

Greer and Kate sat upright. "Uncle Roy likes her."

"But she likes her husband's money better," Greer said with heavy fatality. "I have to get back to work. Reid won't be happy with me if I miss too much. And all this candy is going to make me even fatter." She put her hand up to the door but drew back when she heard voices.

"It's Daddy!" Kate started to open the door.

"No," Greer whispered. "He's not alone."

They snuggled back down and saw Randal's nice shoes and Lea's broken sandal that she'd repaired with a piece of fabric like her dress. The shoes were very close together.

"Someone will see us," Lea said.

"Nobody knows about us."

At that, Greer and Kate put their hands over their mouths to stifle giggles. Everybody knew her father and Lea liked each other—and Kate was very happy about that.

Randal said, "Let's keep our secret between us."

"They'd be surprised, wouldn't they?"

"Your husband would be for sure," Randal said.

Lea snorted. "If he cared, maybe I wouldn't be here. Have you told your wife yet?"

Randal sucked in his breath in a way that sounded almost fearful. "I'll have to hide Kate before I tell her or she'll take my daughter somewhere. I'd never see her again."

"She wouldn't actually do that, would she?"

"You can't imagine what Ava is capable of. Someone's coming! Let's go."

Greer and Kate ate two pieces of chocolate each before the next couple appeared.

It was Cal with his gray hair and his muscular body. Kate didn't know him well, but he was nice. She liked his voice. He was with a boy she'd never seen before. He had lots of black hair.

"Come on, let's get you something to eat, then you can help me repair the window frames."

The boy said, "I think—" He stopped. Because he was shorter than the adults, he saw the two pair of eyes staring out of the bottom of the cabinet. He didn't give them away. Instead, he stepped in front, concealing them. "Yeah, I'm starving." He walked away and Cal followed him.

The girls sat up.

"Who is that boy?" Kate asked.

"Cal's grandson. He's Roy's son, but he doesn't like his dad."

"But Uncle Roy is so nice."

Greer shrugged. She didn't understand either. She opened the door, but again they heard footsteps. She didn't get the door fully closed before the person came into their view. Rachel ran past them, something clutched tightly in her hand.

"She has my hedgehog!" Kate tumbled over Greer as she got out of the cabinet. Greer held little Kate to keep her from running after Rachel.

"Let me go! That's mine."

"I know." Greer held on tight to Kate. "You can't start a fight with her. She'll win."

"But it's mine!" Kate was tearing up. "Aunt Sara gave it to me. She went away and Dad said—"

Greer hugged the child. "I'm sure you're right, but Rachel is... My brother would say she's ‘an absolute bitch.'"

With wide eyes, Kate pulled back to look at her. "A what?"

"It's not a nice thing to say, so forget it. Tonight I'll sneak into her room and get your toy back."

"Can you do that?"

"Sure. One advantage of being ugly is that nobody wants to look at me. Wherever I go, they ignore me. Now come on and I'll sneak you up to the old nursery. You can play there while I iron that hideous old man's shirts."

With a sniff, Kate wiped her eyes. "Maybe I could go play with Cal's grandson."

Greer laughed. "You're too young for that. Come on before we get caught spying. I don't want to give them a reason to send me home."

"You want to stay here with your brother."

"Yes I do." Greer took Kate's hand, checked that no one was in the kitchen, then they ran through. Greer grabbed half a dozen pieces of fruit and, giggling, they ran up the back stairs.

When they were out of the cabinet, Sara turned to her niece, who was looking a bit dazed. "My guess is that these encounters happened separately, not one after another."

"I think you're right, but they all seem to run together in my mind."

Jack put his arm around Kate's shoulders. "How did you remember all that? You were a kid."

"She's my relative," Sara said quickly, then smiled at Kate. "You remembered me then." They knew that Kate had grown up without any memory of her aunt or even her father.

Kate looked sad. "But I forgot everyone later."

"PTSD causes great trauma," Sara said.

They were quiet for a moment, then they heard voices. "An AUL meeting in the library," Sara said quickly. "We need to discuss everything, but give me fifteen minutes." She was busily tapping away at texts on her phone.

A few minutes later, they were assembled in the little library off the living room. It was full of books Sara had collected over the years. There was lots of medieval history and specialty books on wagons and weapons, plus underwear—which was written about extensively in romance novels.

"Well," Randal said, "it appears that we've made a big discovery." They looked at Sara, but she was interested in her phone. They waited.

Finally, Sara looked up. "Yes. We heard that when Harry Adair was eighteen years old, he murdered a man. Or I guess I should say ‘a two-bit actor.' That seems to be Hollywood speak for a person of no value. Somehow, Derek Oliver found out about it by using what's in the Palm Room. At least that's what I think is meant by ‘the old room.' Did I miss anything?" At their silence, she looked back at her phone.

"That's it?" Randal said. "Shouldn't we arrest her?" He was being snide because he was annoyed by his sister's lack of interest in this new discovery.

"Hang on," Sara said, "I'm sending you the texts I just exchanged with Billy."

They took out their phones and read.

Sara: Was Derek Oliver in this house before the party?

Billy: Yes. About three months earlier. He was trying to get my brothers to invest in one of his schemes. They told Derek that first he had to perform a task for them. They wanted him to go to Lachlan and check on me. He came here, but of course my brothers gave him nothing.

Sara: That sounds like them. What did he do?

Billy: Derek and I couldn't abide each other. He spent the week in the Palm Room watching old movies.

Sara: Any of them of interest to him?

Billy: Maybe. One night he came to dinner smiling. I didn't know he could do that. He said he'd seen something that was going to change his life.

Sara: Did he say what it was?

Billy: With him, it had to mean money but he didn't say so. Was the cabinet any help to you?

Sara: More than you can imagine. Thank you so very much.

Billy: The pleasure was mine. What you have done for me has given me the most fun I've had in years. To be needed is a gift.

"So," Randal said to his sister. "You just have to go to that room and find out what it was that ol' Oliver discovered."

"Have you seen that room?" Sara snapped. "There are shelves full of movies and whole cases of books. And I'm to read and watch it all in three days?"

Unperturbed at his sister's anger, Randal smiled. "I have the utmost confidence in you."

Jack spoke up. "So what happens if we do find out who Harry killed? They're both dead now."

"Harry was alive back then, so it makes sense," Sara said. "But why is she here now?"

"Maybe she wants to protect her husband's reputation," Kate said. "You know how the media loves to tear people apart. Look at Cary Grant. Rock Hudson."

"I'm not sure anyone would care about a deceased movie producer," Sara said.

"Barbara would," Randal said. "If that's the reason she's here now, that is."

Jack said, "She and my father really seemed to like each other." It was so unusual for him to speak of his father in a tone that wasn't angry that they looked at him.

"If Roy had divorced his awful wife," Sara said, "and married an elegant woman like Barbara, it would have changed many lives. Especially yours."

"You could have had a singing career," Randal said.

"Or been a movie star," Sara added, teasing him.

Jack gave a snort of derision.

"Do you remember seeing Greer and me in the cabinet?" Kate asked.

"I remember Grandad teaching me about window frames." His eyes sparkled. "Did you really want to ‘play' with me?" The air between them seemed to sizzle.

"Stop it!" Sara said. "You two can't disappear again. Not yet. We have work to do and little time to do it. We have to find a killer. We have lots of motive, but who did the deed? Which one of these lovely people is actually a psychopathic killer?"

"Barbara's motive for murder was strong." Randal looked at Jack. "Barbara Adair appears to be a sweetie but she's a very ambitious woman. She married a gay man because he could help her career. She gave up on love in order to keep her rich life—and Roy knew that."

"Do you think my dad committed a murder for her?" Jack sounded calm, but the look on his face was the beginning of the infamous Wyatt rage.

"I doubt it," Randal said in a dismissive tone, then turned to his sister. "As I said, you need to research and find out about Harry and what happened when he was eighteen."

Sara didn't react to her little brother's orders. "In other circumstances, I would love doing that, but Rachel puzzles me. I'd like to find out what's going on with her."

Jack was calming down. "So you can use her as a character in a new book? The one you've been writing about in that notebook you never put down?"

"I both love and hate that someone knows me so well," Sara said. "But honestly, I don't have time to dig into the entire life of some old movie producer. I'd be watching movies until—" Her eyes widened.

"What is it?" Kate asked.

"Billy and his army of bored old people. They spend their days watching reruns of Bonanza and drooling over Little Joe." Only Randal knew what she meant. She waved her hand. "If Kate can remember what happened when she was four, Billy can probably remember more about what happened both times Oliver was here."

"Like the fact that he didn't tell us that the man had been here months before the party?" Jack asked.

"Exactly. I wish I knew a tech guy to run all this. We'll need a couple of VHS machines to be hooked up. I wonder if the young man with the antique mower could do it. He obviously knows about old-timey machines."

Everyone gave her blank looks.

Sara glared at them. "Six a.m.? Silent mowing? You didn't see him?"

They were still blank.

"I'll ask Lenny. He'll know."

Jack and Kate started to get up, but Randal sat there. "You think Rachel is the murderer, don't you?"

Sara tried to suppress a smile, but the corners of her mouth turned up. "She is acting very oddly—and don't forget that she had the hedgehog. Did she raid the nursery to get it? Why?"

"Oh!" Kate said. "I forgot to tell you that someone searched the nursery. They tried to put things back, but they were rearranged."

"Did you try to find out what they were looking for?" Sara asked.

"Well... We, I mean Jack and I... We were..." Kate stumbled.

"Occupied." Jack was grinning broadly. "That's a nice rug on the floor."

Randal, studiously ignoring the two young people, said to his sister, "You were speaking of Rachel."

Jack and Kate were silent, waiting for her to explain.

"She is breaking Gil's heart, and I don't like it. I'm very interested in what she did back then and what she's up to now. Someone else can deal with Harry getting angry and killing someone long ago. Besides, I don't think Barbara did it."

"I do," Randal said softly. "I think she had a strong motive to kill. She was facing the end of her career before it even began. She married a gay man to get what she wanted. That's powerful ambition. And Derek Oliver was going to take it all away."

"Do you think she got my father to saw the man's head open?" There was warning in Jack's voice.

"I don't know!" Randal snapped. "Love and money can make a person crazy." If anyone knew about that, he did.

"I vote for Reid," Kate said. "He's so good and sweet and nice that I want to run away from him."

"He owns this place," Randal said. "But the papers were hidden. If he'd been told back then, surely he wouldn't have murdered the man who knew. But I don't think Reid was told. He certainly doesn't seem to know it now."

"Maybe," Kate said. "But you guys haven't worked in real estate as I have. People do awful things in a fight over property."

"Surely, if he'd known, he would have claimed the place after Oliver disappeared," Randal said.

"Unless Reid was the murderer," Kate said.

Sara spoke up. "I'm with Kate. He's yours. Find out all you can."

In unison, they looked at Jack. It was his turn to choose a killer.

"Lea," he said softly and looked at Randal. "It's usually the spouse."

Sara turned to her brother. "Did you saw his head open for her?"

Randal was serious. "I coveted the jewels and was tempted. But murder? I can't even deal with live lobsters."

They all nodded. What he'd said was true.

"Shall we divide and interrogate?" Sara asked. "Each to their own suspect?"

Jack looked at Kate. "I'll take Reid and you get Lea."

She smiled. "I love your jealousy. Do you think it will last forever?"

"No," Sara said. "It lasts only about four years. Kate can't take Lea. She's too close to her. We'll meet back here at four and tell all. Are we agreed?"

Again, they nodded. They'd made a pact.

As they started to leave the room, Randal said, "Might I suggest that we issue luncheon invitations to our suspects? With wine. It will help break the ice as we ask about a murder."

"Says the man who gets the movie star," Jack said.

"I'll trade you," Randal shot back.

They all knew Randal would like to have every meal with Lea, but that would leave Jack with Barbara—who tended to faint at the sight of him. "Thanks, but no." Jack smiled. "Does Lea like roses? White or red wine?"

Randal didn't take the jealousy bait. "Champagne and pink peonies."

"Hate to interrupt this male bonding," Sara said, "but we should ask each one who he or she thinks is the killer. That might give us some insight. And text me immediately with anything important that you find out."

"Good ideas," Jack said.

"I'm going to change clothes," Kate said.

"I'll help," Jack said, smiling broadly.

They started to walk out, but Sara caught Kate's arm. "I saw Reid kissing Rachel."

"I thought that now she and Gil were..."

"Me too. I think maybe she's playing both men at the same time."

"Yuck!" Kate said. "Not fair to either of them."

Sara shrugged. "To each his own, I guess. Go on. Jack is waiting for you."

"Yes, he is," Kate said, smiling happily. She left the room quickly.

When she was alone, Sara sent a text to Billy:

Sara: I want you and your resident cohorts to help us solve this murder.

Billy: I thought you'd never ask.

Sara: We don't know much, but it may be connected to a murder that probably happened in Hollywood. I think in the early 1940s. An 18-year-old man killed a so-called nobody actor. The killer's name was Harry Adair, but he may have used another name at the time of the murder. I have no idea of the victim's name. Whatever and whoever did it, Derek Oliver found out about it from the docs and videos in the Palm Room.

Billy: And you want me—us—to find out the same thing that Derek did?

Sara: Exactly!

Billy: Old as it is, I think my brain can match his.

Sara sent an emoji of a laughing face: You and me both.

Billy: Send it all. It'll be a party.

In the kitchen, she told Lenny that documents and videos needed to be pulled out of the Palm Room. He said that Dora and her friends could go through things and box them. Sara started to ask if she could do that. After all, she was sometimes called "Daffy Dora." But Lenny's look stopped her. "Anything 1940 to 1946," she mumbled.

"It will be done."

She paused at the doorway. "I want a gift sent to Billy. Does anyone know where to get one of those tall red popcorn machines? And a giant bag of corn and lots of butter?"

Lenny's nod was his answer. If he didn't know, he'd find out. And with all of that to do, he'd be too busy for kitchen duty. She didn't want to overtax him.

Sara left the room. She needed to figure out how she was going to play her interview with Rachel—a woman she had come to seriously dislike. "I think you have the personality of a killer," would not be the way to start a conversation.

Sara then did something she truly hated: she made a telephone call. Emails and texts were fine with her, but talking on a phone was something she avoided. She called Bessie at the Mitford Tea Room and asked if she would please, just this once, deliver a lunch to Lachlan House. She could even send food that had carbs in it.

"That's drastic," Bessie said, then sucked in her breath. "You have another murder, don't you?" When Sara was silent, Bessie laughed. "I knew it! I'll be there in twenty minutes. And don't worry. I won't say a word. But later, I'm going to tell everyone that I knew about it beforehand."

"I'll thank you in my book," Sara said and clicked off. So far, so good. Now she needed to find Rachel and arrange to meet in the nursery—which Sara guessed she'd probably searched. Looking for a hedgehog full of jewels?

With her teeth clenched, she went searching. Gil or Reid? Which man was Rachel going to focus on? Or both at the same time? "Over my dead body," Sara mumbled. After she met with Rachel, she was going to warn Gil.