“How could you have known that this is my all-time favorite thing?”

“You look like a woman who understands good pastries.” He smiled. “My grandmother worked in a bakery back in Tuckerton, years ago. She used to bring these bad boys home for special treats. Good report cards. Winning touchdowns. Honor roll. Even college vacations, she’d drop off some before I left to go back to school.”

She held the box to her chest. “Well, I hope you bought a couple for yourself. I’m not sure I want to share.”

“Mine are in the trunk.”

“I was kidding. I’d share. Thank you. This wasn’t necessary, you know. You already apologized.”

“Some women like to drag that out awhile.”

“I’m not one of them.”

“So I won’t need to grovel?”

“Groveling is demeaning to the groveler as well as to the grovelee.”

“I’ll remember that. And thank you. I swear I didn’t mean to put you between a rock and a hard place.”

“We’re past that. Let’s just deal with what is, see what can be done.”

“Have you determined if Billie has used her get-out-of-jail card yet?” he asked.

“She’s home. I spoke with her earlier. She hitched a ride with someone who was visiting a relative out at the women’s prison earlier today.”

“Did you remind her not to leave town?”

“Yes, but she’s not going anywhere. Even she admitted she had nowhere to go but home.”

“I have the copies of the police reports, if you want to take a few minutes to look them over.”

“I would. Thanks. Come on in.” She waved him on and he followed her into the house. “I’m sorry it’s so hot in here. I’m pretty much dying without air-conditioning, but there’s only one old unit and it doesn’t work very well, especially since the humidity’s been so brutal.”

They walked into the dining room. She turned on the lamp on the sideboard, and hoped they’d finish up before it got dark enough that they’d need to turn on the overhead light. It was hot enough without it.

“Let me tuck this box into the refrigerator. Can I get you something to drink while I’m there?”

“A glass of water would be fine.”

She brought back two bottles of spring water, handed him one, and twisted the lid off the other and took a long drink.

“Thanks,” he said, setting the bottle on the table. “Where would you like to start?”

“You tell me.” She pulled out the chair at the head of the table and started to sit, gesturing for him to take a seat as well. He took the one to her left.

“I guess we’ll go in order.” He started pulling files from the leather folder.

“In order of what?”

“The crimes. Let’s start with the disappearance of your friend.”

“I remember that night very well.”

“Tell me again, everything, just as you remember it.”

She did.

“Was anyone with Jason when he arrived to pick up Melinda?”

“Not that I recall.” She chewed absently on a cuticle. “No, I’m pretty sure he was alone. I remember standing on the back porch and watching them walk out past the barn.”

“You lived here at the time?”

She nodded. “We’ve always lived here, as long as I can remember. My grandfather died when I was three, and my parents moved here so my grandmother wouldn’t be alone. We all grew up here.”

“Any chance anyone would have been waiting for Jason out near the barn?”

“I guess anything is possible. But I didn’t see anyone, and I was out there for a while.”

“Doing what?”

“Looking for a star to wish on.” She hesitated, then told him, “I was worried about Mellie’s mother finding out about the dress. We put it in a bag, and I was afraid she’d have trouble sneaking it into the house. That her mother would see it and punish her. I was looking for a star so I could wish that her mother wouldn’t hurt her.”

“You knew that Billie was rough with her kids?”

“I pretty much knew. I told myself that maybe I was wrong, but deep inside, I pretty much knew. If it turns out that it went too far that night, and that Billie really did kill her, I don’t think I could ever forgive myself for every time I suspected something wasn’t right but kept my mouth shut.”

“Is that what this is really about? You trying to decide if you have to carry that guilt around for the rest of your life?” he asked softly. “Because if it is…”

She brushed him off. “So what else do you have?”

“I have the police reports from the night Melinda disappeared. Everyone they spoke with. Billie Eagan. Your mother. Your father. You. Jason. Someone named Evie Kemp.”

“She lived next door to the Eagans. Died a few years ago.” Lorna held out a hand. “May I see what she had to say?”

He handed her the file. Lorna quickly scanned the Kemp report.

“She says she didn’t see Melinda at all that night. She saw Jason in the yard with his mother… heard Billie yelling at him. Never saw Melinda, though.” Lorna looked up at him and smiled. “And Mrs. Kemp would have known. She knew everything that everyone was doing, all the time.”

“Nothing like a nosy neighbor.”

“I guess sometimes that’s true, right? Sometimes the neighbors see things that can help out in an investigation.”

“Sometimes.”

She glanced over the other reports in the file, the early investigations following Jason’s questioning right through to finding the body in the back field. The clock in the hall chimed ten. No wonder she was tired. And T.J. still had to drive back to his home.

“I didn’t realize it was so late. May I keep this tonight?” she asked. “Then maybe we can talk tomorrow.”

“Sure.”

“I need to decide how much money and how much more time I want to put into this.”

“I don’t blame you. You take your time.” He stood up. “Actually, I’m busy tomorrow. Call Monday, anytime. I’ll be around.”

“I thought you said you sold the business. Will I be dealing with someone else?”

“No. If you go forward with this, you’ll work with me.”

She walked him to the front door.

“Thanks again for the napoleons. Unnecessary, but very much appreciated.”

“You’re welcome. Thanks for being so understanding.”

“You have any thoughts at all on this?” She went out the door with him and across the porch.

“One thing I was wondering. Was the dress ever found?”

“Her birthday dress, the one in the bag?”

“Yeah. I didn’t see any mention of it having been found that night, and it wasn’t on the evidence inventory. Actually, you’re the only person to have mentioned it.”

“I don’t know that anyone else would have been aware she’d had it with her. Her mother didn’t know she had it, and Mellie sure wouldn’t have told Jason. My mom and I knew, but I don’t recall that anyone asked me about it.” She shook her head. “I don’t really know if my mother said anything to the police about Mellie having a bag with a dress in it. But they wouldn’t have been looking for something they didn’t know was missing.”

He walked down the steps with his hands in his pockets.

“What are you thinking?” she asked from the top step.

“Melinda had to have disappeared somewhere between here and her house. According to Jason’s statement, he stopped off at a friend’s house, and his sister continued on through the field. So whatever happened to her, obviously it happened in that field. Or started in the field. Someone else had to have been there, someone had to have taken her from there. If we’re assuming someone grabbed her, chances are the bag with the dress in it would have been dropped someplace. I’d expect her to fight, wouldn’t you? And in fighting, she probably would have dropped the bag.”

“She would have fought. Melinda was tough, chippy.” Lorna nodded solemnly. “She would have fought like a demon if a stranger had tried to grab her.”

“Then where is that bag?” He opened his car door and stood next to it. The driver’s seat looked barely large enough to accommodate a man of his height and broad shoulders. “Where’s Melinda’s birthday dress?”