“By them bushes,” the handyman answered, nodding at the azaleas, rhododendrons, and roses that
flanked the west side of the house. “Making trouble,
mark my vords.”
“I wonder,” Judith murmured, heading down the
driveway.
There was, however, no one in sight. She moved on
to the front of the house. An unfamiliar white car was
parked in the cul-de-sac. There were no markings on it.
Judith moved on to the other side of the house.
A tall man in a dark suit and hat stood between the
house and the hedge that divided Judith and Joe
Flynn’s property from their neighbors, Carl and Arlene
Rankers. The man had his back to Judith and appeared
to be looking up under the eaves.
“Sir!” Judith spoke sharply. “May I help you?”
The man whirled around. “What?” He had a beard
and wore rimless spectacles. There was such an oldfashioned air about him that Judith was reminded of a
character out of a late-nineteenth-century novel.
“Are you looking for someone?” Judith inquired,
moving closer to the man.
He hesitated, one hand brushing nervously against
his trouser leg. “Well, yes,” he finally replied. “I am. A
Mr. Terwilliger. I was told he lived in this cul-de-sac.”
Judith shook her head. “There’s no one by that name
around here. Unless,” she added, “he intends to stay at
my B&B.” She made an expansive gesture toward the
old three-story Edwardian house. “I run this place. It’s
called Hillside Manor. There’s a sign out front.”
The man, who had been slowly but deliberately
backpedaling from Judith, ducked his head. “I must
have missed it. Sorry.” He turned and all but ran around
the rear of the house.
Judith’s hip replacement didn’t permit her to move
much faster than a brisk walk. Puzzled, she watched
the man disappear, then returned to the front yard. He
was coming down the driveway on the other side of the
house, still at a gallop. A moment later he got into the
car parked at the curb and pulled away with a burst of
the engine.
“Local plates,” she murmured. But from where Judith stood some ten yards away, she hadn’t been able
to read the license numbers. With a shrug, she headed
back to the toolshed. She’d mention the stranger’s appearance to Joe when he got home. If she remembered.
Five hours later, when Joe arrived cursing the dead
end he’d come up against in a missing antique clock
case, Judith had forgotten all about the man who’d
shown up at Hillside Manor.
It would be two months before she’d remember, and
