to the house or it was always this lovely. With grounds that looked the way theirs did, and the house so clean, they had to have help. That made Diane feel more optimistic. There had to be other people around.
‘‘What was that place we were in?’’ asked Diane.
‘‘A place of contemplation,’’ Iris said. ‘‘Please . . .’’ She gestured toward a door.
It opened into a dining room. There was a long, light oak table with matching buffets and china cabinets. Iris’ sisters were putting food on the table. All three sisters were dressed alike. Diane thought they were a little old for that.
‘‘Rose said you had eaten, but you may want to eat again. All of us are great cooks,’’ said Iris.
‘‘I’m not really dressed for dinner,’’ said Kingsley.
Iris smiled. ‘‘We will forgive you.’’
‘‘Neither of us feels very well,’’ said Diane.
‘‘Please, let’s be honest. You’re afraid that I’m going to poison you,’’ said Iris.
‘‘Yes,’’ said Diane, ‘‘there is that. We are also sick. Your brother knocked both of us unconscious and shot Kingsley.’’
‘‘Point taken,’’ said Iris. ‘‘Please sit down. I’m interested to know how you found me. I don’t mind telling you I’m impressed,’’ she said. ‘‘I had such a good plan.’’
‘‘And it worked for a long time,’’ said Diane. ‘‘But with a little Internet research it’s amazing what you can do.
They all sat down and the three sisters and Joey filled their plates with some very delicious-smelling roast beef, potatoes, and roasted asparagus.
‘‘Are you sure?’’ said one of the sisters. She smiled. ‘‘I’m Lily. We haven’t met.’’
Carley’s grandmother was right. They were like three peas in a pod. They looked so much alike. Except that Iris had a small scar near her hairline and her nose was slightly crooked. She had been knocked around.
‘‘Why did you kill Rev. Rivers?’’ said Diane. ‘‘He was a very nice man and he genuinely liked you.’’
The three sisters looked at Joey. He looked at his plate.
‘‘It was an accident,’’ he said. ‘‘I’d never hit anyone before. I did better with these two,’’ he said in his own defense.
It worried Diane that they were being so forthcoming—as if she and Kingsley weren’t going to live anyway. But the more information she could get, the better. And who knows? Perhaps conversation with them would open a rift among the sisters.
‘‘You are right. He was a nice man and he kept his word to me. He was only meant to be knocked out. I regret that he was killed.’’ She paused to eat some of the food on her plate.
‘‘I’m interested in how much you know,’’ said Iris. ‘‘Agent Kingsley, you aren’t looking too good. Rose said you were in an accident—besides being shot, I mean.’’
‘‘Yes,’’ he said. ‘‘Little Joey’s drug made me fall asleep at the wheel,’’ he said.
Iris looked at Joey and he seemed to slink down in his seat.
‘‘Why did you drug him?’’ said Iris.
Joey looked at Rose, and she smiled at him.
‘‘Well, their table had another waitress. They were very picky about me waiting on someone else’s table. The best access I had was with doing the refills for their waitress. I couldn’t be sure which glass was going to Diane, so I had to drug both of them.’’
‘‘That was one of the first clues,’’ said Diane. ‘‘That was how we found out there was a ringer among the wait staff. The restaurant was the only place both of us could have been drugged. Then I discovered his name— Bobby Banks—and there was a Bobby Banks in my apartment building....’’
Iris shot Joey a look that was starting to appear angry. He cringed.
‘‘You were supposed to change your name,’’ she said.
‘‘I didn’t think it mattered. All my identification was for Bobby Banks, my driver’s licence and everything.’’
‘‘It obviously mattered,’’ said Iris.
‘‘I had to show my driver’s license to the old landlady,’’ said Joey.
‘‘Oh, so then you had to use that name.’’ She looked back at Diane. ‘‘That doesn’t explain how you came to be here.’’
‘‘Iris,’’ said Kingsley.
Diane thought his voice sounded strained and weak. She could see he was tempted by the glass of water in front of him. But he resisted, keeping his hands in his lap.
‘‘You have to realize that people know we are here,’’ he said.
‘‘Don’t worry about that. I have an escape plan,’’ she said.
‘‘For all of you?’’ he said.
‘‘My sisters weren’t involved,’’ she said, ‘‘and you can’t prove that they were.’’
‘‘They were contributors to the pool of blood in my living room,’’ said Diane.
