Don

'I vote for veterinarian,' Nick said. 'Safer.'

Natalie raised an eyebrow. 'Have you ever treated a bad tempered pit bull in pain?'

'I stand corrected.' Nick sighed. 'Paige, I'm going to have a cup of coffee. Then I have to go back to the office for a while. I'm afraid that because Mrs. Collins went home, you have to go with me.' Paige made a face. 'I thought you liked police headquarters.'

'I do. It's just that you only have a little-bitty TV and Jane Eyre is on PBS at eight. I love Jane Eyre.'

'Me, too,' Natalie said.

Paige's eyes widened. 'Isn't it creepy when Mr. Rochester's crazy wife comes down from the attic and looks at Jane asleep?'

Natalie shivered dramatically. 'And when Jane comes back and Mrs. Rochester has burned down the mansion?'

'Oh, yeah! And poor Mr. Rochester is blind!'

'I see the Port Ariel Jane Eyre fan club is alive and well,' Nick laughed. 'I'm sorry, honey, but you'll have to watch it on the little-bitty TV set.'

'Sheriff Meredith, I could stay with Paige until you get back,' Natalie said.

'It's Nick and we couldn't impose. I'm sure you have things to do.'

'Actually, I don't. I'd like to stay and watch Jane Eyre with Paige.' And he remembers you as the woman who shot up the local dance hall with a gun you were carrying illegally, Natalie thought. Very reassuring. She felt ridiculous for suggesting he entrust his daughter to her when there was a murderer on the loose. 'Of course, I understand your wanting her to be with you, though,' she stumbled. 'I didn't mean to interfere-'

'I love Paige's company, but I'm going to be busy,' Nick said suddenly. 'If you're sure you don't mind staying, I would appreciate it and I know Paige would, too. I don't want to spoil the movie for her.'

'Great!' Paige burst out.

Amazing, Natalie thought. Maybe he didn't think she was a nut after all.

'I'll be home by ten,' Nick promised. 'Keep the doors locked.'

'Oh, Daddy, I always do,' Paige said. 'I'm going to fix popcorn. And Cokes. Or 7Up. Or whatever you like, Natalie.'

'Sounds terrific.' Natalie looked at Nick. 'I'll take good care of her. You go do your duty. We'll be here suffering through the trials and tribulations of a nineteenth-century heroine and loving every minute of it.'

It was 10:45. He'd told Natalie he'd be back by ten. Would she be mad?

'Nick Meredith, you act like you're married,' he said aloud. 'Natalie is not your wife. She's some woman you barely know. Probably shouldn't even have trusted after that dumb stunt she pulled at The Blue Lady. If she's mad, you never have to see her again.'

He hoped she wasn't mad.

When he unlocked the front door and walked in, he saw her curled into a corner of the couch hugging an oversized pillow and watching Street Life. Her sandals lay on the floor and her long hair hung in a sloppy braid somewhere near her right ear.

'Natalie?'

She jumped, then smiled sheepishly. 'I'm afraid I was somewhere between waking and sleeping. The movie ended at ten and Paige was worn out. She and Ripley are in hypersleep.'

Nick laughed. 'I take it you two had quite an evening.'

'We did indeed. Before the movie we played the piano.'

'You actually got her to play?' Nick asked.

'Yes. She said she hated her lessons, but I taught her a few songs. She has talent.'

Nick smiled. 'Both the piano and the talent come from her mother.'

'I think she doesn't like her lessons because the teacher concentrates on classical music. It isn't her favorite. Afterward she got out her boombox and we danced and sang to some songs she does love. Did you know she's a closet rock star?'

'I've had hints.'

'So was I at her age. I've promised to give her a few guitar lessons, if you don't mind.'

'You play the guitar?'

'Yes, since I was younger than Paige.'

'Guitar lessons,' Nick said thoughtfully. 'Maybe they would spur her musical interest the way the piano doesn't. I don't have an ounce of talent myself, but I'd hate to see hers go to waste just because she's playing the wrong instrument.'

'It's not the instrument-it's the type of music. 'Fur Elise' doesn't inspire her,' Natalie told him. 'She'd prefer something more modern. Anyway, after our concert we played beauty shop. She's practicing her French braid.'

Nick grinned. 'Judging by the looks of your hair she needs more practice.'

'Don't tell her that. She said this was her best braid yet.'

'Good Lord.'

'She'll improve.' Natalie reached up and began untwining the long, shining strands of her hair. 'During the movie we ate approximately five pounds of popcorn. After the movie she was determined to stay up until you came home but her eyelids were drooping. She'll sleep late tomorrow.'

Nick looked troubled. 'Was she still frightened about the murders?'

'She stopped talking about them. I'm sure she's still afraid, though.'

'She and the rest of the town. It's been one hell of a day.'

Natalie stood. She wore faded jeans and a pale green tee shirt. 'You look tired,' she said, slipping her slender feet into the sandals.

'So tired I'll never get to sleep.'

'I'd suggest a drink but alcohol makes you sleepy, then wakes you up in the middle of the night. May I fix you some warm milk?'

'I would love some warm milk, but after the evening you've put in with my daughter, I certainly can't ask-'

'You certainly can,' she said briskly. 'Warm milk coming up, on one condition.'

'And that would be?'

'You get milk, I get information.'

'About the murders?'

'Yes.' Sensing his reluctance, Natalie said, 'Sheriff Meredith-Nick-I knew these people. Tamara was one of my closest friends. Warren was her husband. This is all striking pretty close to home.'

He sighed. 'Okay. You deserve information. Just give me a few minutes to unwind.'

Nick followed Natalie into the kitchen and took mugs from the cabinet while she got the milk. 'Sit down before you fall down,' she directed, putting the full mugs into the microwave. 'Do you like cinnamon in your milk?'

'I never tried it, but it sounds good. I feel like living dangerously tonight.'

She smiled. 'I guessed you were a risk-taker.'

When he took a sip of warm cinnamon-flavored milk he said, 'That's great. I didn't know what I'd been missing for thirty-six years.'

'My mother used to fix milk this way.' Suddenly she laughed. 'Once she read some silly article that said nutmeg had the same effect as LSD, so she rushed out and bought some for herself, sprinkled it in milk, and gulped it down. She looked so disappointed when nothing happened.'

Nick stared at her.

'Let me explain Kira to you,' Natalie went on. 'I was never allowed to call her Mommy-only Kira. Her parents lived in San Francisco. They were artists, very successful and very bohemian. Their son Peter was straight as an arrow. He and my father met in medical school. Unlike Peter, Kira was even more unconventional than her parents. She and my father were a total mismatch. I still don't understand why she married him and had me. Maybe Dad and I were an experiment for her. Anyway, when I was six she took off. She was supposed to pick me up at school. She didn't show.

Lily's mother took me home. The house was empty except for the dog. Three hours later when Dad got back from the hospital, he found a brief note in the bedroom saying she was sorry but she had to explore her inner self