Siskiyou Boulevard did we speak again. 'When Fraymore finds out what we're up to, he's going to shit a brick. I probably will end up in jail.'
Ralph grinned. 'Don't worry,' he said, laying on his best lawyerly charm. 'If that happens, I'll make you the same deal I'm giving Tanya. Strictly pro bono. I won't charge a dime to bail you out.'
'Gee, thanks, Ralph,' I told him. 'I knew I could count on you.' And then we both laughed.
The tension in the car dissipated a little, but not very much, and not for very long. By the time we reached Live Oak Farm, it was back, as strong or stronger than before.
In the first cooling of evening, we stopped beside the uncompleted front steps leading up to the farmhouse. A pair of worn sawhorses stood nearby. An array of power tools lay scattered on the porch. Someone had spent the afternoon actively working on the reconstruction project, although now it was apparently break time. Several new eight-by-twelve support posts were visible underneath the flooring, but the jack still stood in place; the steps remained an unusable skeleton.
Although I could detect no distinct cooking aromas, dining-room-type noises emanated from the open windows as soon as I turned off the car engine. Ralph and I piled out of the Porsche and walked up to the edge of the front porch. Sunshine heaved herself to her feet and walked over to examine us through cloudy, cataract- obscured eyes. From the looks and sound of her, I figured Sunshine wasn't long for this world. The old dog managed only one croaking, halfhearted bark before Marjorie Connors stepped outside.
'Hello, Mr. Beaumont,' Marjorie Connors said quite civilly for her. 'How's Kelly?'
The woman didn't act as though all was forgiven, but at least she didn't threaten to call the sheriff. That was some small progress.
'Better,' I said. 'She's out of surgery.'
Marjorie nodded. 'Good. What can I do for you?'
'We'd like to see Tanya Dunseth, if you don't mind.'
Marjorie raised one questioning eyebrow, but she voiced no objections. 'We're just now picking up after dinner,' she said. 'It's cooler out on the back deck. Why don't you wait there? I'll send Tanya out as soon as we finish.'
Halfway around the house, we walked past the entrance to that fateful basement. The wooden door was padlocked shut and sealed with strips of yellow crime-scene tape. I kept my eyes straight ahead.
On the back deck, all evidence of the late-morning buffet had been totally erased. Some more or less permanent deck furniture remained, but most of the tables and chairs and all the food, tablecloths, and garlands had disappeared from the face of the earth. It was as though everyone at Live Oak Farm wanted to forget we were all supposed to be down in Lithia Park celebrating a wedding.
I didn't blame anyone for wanting to forget. I did, too.
On the lowest level of the deck stood a redwood picnic table with two splintery benches. We both sat. While we waited for Tanya to appear, I studied Ralph Ames. Not particularly tall or powerfully built, he was an unlikely- looking candidate for the role of knight in shining armor. I knew a daily regimen of swimming laps in his Scottsdale pool kept his body in fighting-trim condition. He was dressed casually that day, which, for Ralph, meant a Polo golf shirt, impeccably creased Ralph Lauren trousers, and blemish-free Johnston amp; Murphy loafers. Wing tips. With tassels.
'What will you do if Tanya turns you down?' I asked somberly.
'She won't.' Ralph's reply was brisk and confident. 'I'm prepared to play hardball.'
Tanya, her hair pulled back in an unruly ponytail and wearing shorts and a tank top, emerged from the house a few minutes later. She was drying her hands on the back of her shorts, while Amber trailed behind, dragging along an assortment of toys. We both rose to meet them.
'Sorry it took so long, Mr. Beaumont,' Tanya apologized. 'House rules say we all have to clean up together after mealtimes.'
Plainly, Tanya Dunseth was not at all herself. Her skin seemed exceptionally pale. Ralph and I sat back down, but she didn't.
'How's Kelly?' Tanya asked anxiously. 'Is she all right?'
'I hope so,' I told her. 'According to the doctor, it's still too soon to tell.'
'And the baby?'
'Karen's fine,' I said. 'A few weeks early, but fine.'
Tanya breathed a relieved sigh. 'I was so worried. It's bad enough that Kelly's hurt. I don't know what I would have done if something happened to her baby. I know it's all my fault. None of this would have happened if Kelly hadn't been helping look for Amber.'
'Don't blame yourself. Kelly was doing what anyone would do. But that's not why we're here. Right now I'd like you to meet a good friend of mine, Ralph Ames. He's an attorney.'
At the word 'attorney,' an expression of guarded wariness crossed Tanya's face. She didn't actually move away from us, but there was a perceptible drawing back-a distancing.
'He's a personal friend of mine,' I continued reassuringly. 'I guess you two weren't introduced at the brunch.' Tanya shook her head.
Ralph smiled and reached across me to her, holding out his hand. 'The name's Ralph,' he said.
They shook hands, but Tanya's heart wasn't in it. She stood there facing us like a watchful bird poised for flight. At the slightest provocation, I was afraid she would scoop Amber into her arms and disappear. If she did that, Gordon Fraymore would be pissed off at everybody, including Ralph Ames, self-appointed attorney for the defense.
'I asked Beau here to bring me out so I could meet you,' Ralph said, speaking calmly, addressing himself directly to Tanya. 'I wanted to talk to you in private.'
She examined his face with a puzzled frown. 'How come?'
'I believe you may need our help,' he answered quietly.
Tanya's mouth tightened. She folded her arms in front of her. 'Why would I?'
With a glance at me, Ralph said, 'I presume Detective Fraymore has been by to talk to you?'
Her eyes flitted apprehensively from Ralph's face to mine. 'Several times so far, but I don't see how that's any concern of yours.'
'Do you mind my asking what he said?'
'Yes, I mind,' Tanya replied with a flash of anger. 'I mind a lot.'
She vacillated between being frightened and argumentative. Didn't she understand what was at stake here? Surely, she realized Gordon Fraymore meant to arrest her. Or did she? I couldn't tell.
Meanwhile, Ralph was growing frustrated. He's used to having his polite, understated manner achieve instant results, but this time that tried-and-true technique wasn't working. He must have drawn much the same conclusion, because his next depth-charged statement jarred me, and it shocked the hell out of Tanya Dunseth.
'Beau here and I haven't actually seen the videotape of you and Martin Shore, but we know all about it,' Ralph said quietly.
He might as well have dropped a bomb onto the middle of the wooden deck. Tanya's body stiffened. She glared at Ralph from flat, angry eyes. 'I didn't kill him,' she declared. 'I didn't kill either one of them.'
'Did Detective Fraymore ask you about them?'
Tanya ignored Ralph's question. 'Are you really an attorney?' she demanded. 'I'll bet you're from the Festival. Did they send you out here to make me quit?'
'Please, Miss Dunseth. I'm not with the Festival. We're here to do nothing of the kind.'
'Then how do you know about the tape? Who told you? Fraymore?' Her eyes darted furiously from Ralph's face to mine.
'Actually,' Ralph said, 'Mr. Beaumont is the one who first brought the tape to Gordon Fraymore's attention.'
She turned on me. 'Thanks a lot,' she jeered. 'Nice guy. Remind me to return the favor sometime.'
'You don't understand,' Ralph interjected quickly in my defense. 'He had no choice in the matter. As soon as he realized both you and Martin Shore were in the film together, he was legally constrained to turn it over to the investigating officer. That's the law, Tanya. It's the way things work.'
'Not if I didn't kill him,' she retorted.
'And you didn't?'
