Don

to. Free room and board I give her! And for what?' Her pale eyes pinned Nick. 'Why're you here lookin' for her? She's done somethin'. Don't try to fool me. What is it?'

'I don't know that she's done anything. I just want to talk to her.'

'About what?'

'I can't discuss it with you.'

'Well, to hell with you then!' Mrs. Fisher slammed the door.

Nick stood on the porch for a moment, thinking. Dee Fisher had been acting strangely for over a week. According to her mother she was often gone at night and had received a number of secret phone calls. Wade at the Lakeview Motel had seen her coming out of Lindstrom's room the night after Tamara Hunt's funeral. She was upset. Lindstrom was never seen again. And now he was dead.

And what about Alison Cosgrove? She'd been attacked around ten last night. Mrs. Fisher said she hadn't seen her daughter since yesterday afternoon. That left nearly twenty four hours unaccounted for. Twenty-four hours missing from the life of a woman who had loved Eugene Farley and never gotten over his death.

As much as he hated to do it, Nick knew he had to talk with Ted Hysell about the possibility that his girlfriend was a killer.

The paramedics had taken Jeff Lindstrom away over an hour ago. A couple of reporters prowled the street, but everyone had sequestered themselves in their houses, refusing comment. Just twenty minutes ago Natalie had spotted a particularly pushy female reporter for the local newspaper standing on the patio peering in the sliding glass doors at her. Natalie had drawn the vertical blinds with a crash and an expletive loud enough to be heard through the glass.

Now, numb from the shock of finding the body, she sat on the floor with her guitar and strummed absently, Blaine by her side. She hit ragged chords. Her voice quavered. She broke a string.

The phone rang. Kenny's disembodied voice floated from the answering machine. 'Natalie, I know you're there, so pick up. I want to talk to you. Let's work this out. Natalie?' A pause. 'Well, I love you, hon.'

Nothing about having read of more murders in Port Ariel and being worried about her. Nothing about thinking of her sadness after Tamara's funeral. 'Let's work this out.' He was bored, temporarily at sea without her. And, 'I love you, hon.' Two weeks ago her heart would have beat faster at hearing those words. Now they sounded hollow. No feeling ebbed behind them. Had it ever? Or had she been nothing more to Kenny than the woman of the moment, someone convenient and eager to please?

She began to play and sing, launching into 'I Can't Make You Love Me,' by Bonnie Raitt. Tears were gathering in her eyes when the phone rang again. 'Natalie, it's Lily.' Natalie put down the guitar, swallowed to control her voice, and picked up the receiver. 'What's going on?' Lily demanded anxiously. 'You found a body?'

'Do we have a Port Ariel town crier?' Natalie asked. 'How did you find out?'

'Your neighbors across the street called my father. Apparently they're afraid they're going to be dragged into something unsavory. They wanted to know if they needed representation and said they wanted the best.'

'What a pair of self-involved idiots.'

'Why didn't you call and tell me what happened?'

'I didn't want to upset you. I figured all hell was breaking loose in your world already considering the attack on Alison.'

'I didn't know anything about it until this morning when I called Dad. He was just on his way to the hospital.'

'He didn't go until this morning?'

'Apparently not.'

'Viveca called here around one A.M. wanting my father to come. I wouldn't wake him because he was wiped out and sound asleep, but I talked with her for a while. She told me she'd asked your dad to come, but he said he had his own problems.'

'You think he was unfeeling.'

'To say the least. He's supposedly in love with Viveca.'

'Well, maybe he's not as crazy about her as he thought.'

'Last night was a fine time to decide that.'

'What is it with you?' Lily asked sharply. 'I didn't know you'd become Viveca's champion. And my father has been through a lot. He's nearly reached the end of his endurance.'

'I didn't mean to offend you. It's just been quite a morning.'

'Never mind.' Lily's voice turned oddly fiat. 'About this body you found. Who was it?'

Natalie stiffened. About this body you found. Who was it? Lily sounded like Natalie had found a stray cat on the porch. She'd gone off on a tangent about her father and Viveca before she even asked the identity of the body. 'It was Jeff

Lindstrom, Lily,' Natalie answered slowly. 'His throat had been cut.'

'Like Tam's,' Lily said without expression.

'And Warren 's and Charlotte's and Alison's.' Natalie waited for Lily to say something else, but she didn't. 'Who do you think could have done this to him?'

'You sound as if you honestly expect me to have an answer,' Lily said edgily. 'Do you think I know more about all of this than you do?'

'No, I thought I was just asking if you had any ideas,' Natalie said carefully. 'I haven't talked to you since Nick found out Lindstrom was Eugene Farley's cousin.'

'His cousin!' This time Lily sounded genuinely shocked. 'What on earth was he doing here?'

'He told Nick he was gathering information to write a true-crime novel about the recent murders. Then Nick found out he was Constance Farley's nephew. When he spoke with Constance, she said she didn't know anything about a book and she was very upset that he was in Port Ariel poking around. Then he disappeared on Thursday.'

'The day of Tam's funeral.'

'Lily, did Jeff ever try to talk to you or your father about Tam and Warren?'

'The only time I ever saw him was that day in the store. You heard the conversation. And I know if he'd tried to talk to Dad about Tam, Dad would have mentioned it. He had nothing to do with Jeff Lindstrom.' Her voice rose. 'Nothing.'

'Lily, what is wrong with you?'

'What's wrong with you? You're asking me all these questions about someone who was murdered. You sound like you think my father and I know something. And what's all this with the sheriff? He's Nick now? Are you on the rebound from Kenny? Trying to score some points with the handsome young sheriff by doing his dirty work for him, badgering your oldest and supposedly dearest friends about murders?'

'Lily, for God's sake, calm down!' Natalie was stunned by Lily's outburst. 'I didn't mean anything-'

'The hell you didn't! Just keep your suspicions to yourself, Natalie, before you do a lot of damage!'

For the first time in their long friendship, Lily slammed down the phone on her. Natalie sat dumbfounded, holding the receiver for nearly a minute as Lily's words played over and over in her head: Just keep your suspicions to yourself before you do a lot of damage. But she couldn't keep her suspicions to herself, not when Lily sounded so jumpy, so frightened…

She called police headquarters. Nick had just walked in. 'What now?' he asked in a harried voice.

'Hello to you, too.'

'Natalie, if you tell me you've found another body-'

'Don't worry. I'm not setting foot outside this house unless it's an emergency. I'm calling to tell you I had a phone conversation with Lily. She'd heard about me finding a man's body this morning.' Natalie paused, fighting down her sense of betrayal. Lily was her friend, but they were dealing with multiple murders. 'She didn't know whose body it was and she didn't immediately ask, which was odd. When I finally told her it was Lindstrom, she didn't seem shocked. I asked if he'd questioned her about Tam. She said no and that she'd only seen him once, that day in her store. But when I asked if he'd talked to her father, she got really edgy. She denied it vehemently. She was nervous and belligerent.' Natalie took a deep breath. 'She didn't sound right, Nick. She's wary and she's scared. Really scared.'

SATURDAY 1 p.m.

'Mr. Peyton isn't home. I don't know when he'll be back.'