“And your mother never knew?”

“Never had a clue. I’m sure it never occurred to her that my father would want me, or that anyone except her and Dad knew that he was my real father. She had no idea that my new friend, Danielle, was his niece. There’d been no reason for Billie to tell anyone about him, and sometimes even now I wonder if she remembered that I was his daughter. I don’t know what she’s like these days, but back then, she was either working or drinking. That was pretty much it.”

She brightened slightly. “In contrast, my father’s house was always calm and quiet and clean, and they made me feel very welcome. I had a little sister and baby brother, and there was none of the chaos I’d been living in. When my dad found out he was going to have to move to Michigan for work, he couldn’t leave me behind. He and his wife talked it over, and they wanted me to go with them. They knew what had been happening at home. He wasn’t about to move out of state and leave me with Billie.”

“And you wanted to go?’

“Are you kidding?” Melinda laughed. “I felt like I was living two totally different lives. I couldn’t wait to get away from her. I felt bad about leaving Jason behind, but I figured he was fourteen already, he’d be out of the house soon enough. Mom had made it pretty plain she wished she’d never had either of us. I didn’t see where it would make much difference to her.”

“And your father didn’t think he should tell her he was taking you?”

“He said she didn’t deserve me. That she’d never given me much of a proper home, and if she missed me at all, it was just too bad for her.”

“He could have tried to get custody of you legally.”

“I don’t think it occurred to him to do that, things were happening too fast. He didn’t have a lot of time before he had to leave for the new job, and some years later, he said that back then it was a hassle for a father to get custody. So he had simply asked me if I wanted to go, and I said yes.”

“How did you do it?” Lorna asked, fascinated. “How did you pull it off without anyone knowing?”

“It was simple, really. It was my birthday, remember?”

Lorna nodded. She’d never forgotten.

“I wanted to tell you, I wanted to say good-bye. I thought about you so often, when I was in Michigan, but I knew I could never get in touch with you.”

“I don’t know how I could have kept that secret, Mel,” Lorna admitted. “Especially from my mother.”

“My stepmother figured as much, and she said I couldn’t put you in that position. She was right,” Melinda nodded, “but it was still hard. Anyway, about that night. I knew my brother wasn’t going to walk me all the way back home, he never did. My dad was going to meet me a half mile down the road from our house, so when Jason stopped at Matt’s, I just kept going. That’s why it was so important to me to wear my birthday dress. It was the only thing I wanted to take with me.”

A cloud passed over Melinda’s face.

“Unfortunately, while I was running across the field, I bumped into Mike Keeler. Literally.” She shivered. “He dropped what he was carrying and took off after me. I managed to get away. I ran and hid in our secret place.”

“The wine cellar.”

Melinda nodded. “It started getting cold, so I wrapped myself in one of the blankets we left there, and I waited until I thought he was gone. I folded the blanket real small and took it, and I crept back through the field. I was scared to death. All my brother’s friends were out there, calling me, and I was afraid they were going to do something bad to me, so I went back to the place where I’d dropped the bag that had my dress in it, then ran for my life. My dad picked me up down the road-he thought I’d changed my mind ’cause I was so late, was just about to give up on me-and we left for Michigan at dawn the next day.”

“And it never occurred to you to tell someone that you saw Mike carrying a dead body? Didn’t that bother you?”

“I didn’t know what he was carrying. It just looked like a big sack to me. It was so dark, and the weeds were so tall, I honestly never saw it. I couldn’t figure out why he was mad, or why he was trying to grab me. All I knew was that he was really angry and I had to run as fast as I could and not let him catch me. It’s only been since the bodies were found here on the farm that I understood what it was he’d been carrying that night.”

“You never knew about Jason?”

“Danielle told me he’d disappeared. I figured he’d either run away or my mother had killed him. I’m relieved, I guess, to find out she wasn’t responsible for his death.”

“Your mother has changed a lot over the years, Mel. She’s not the same woman you knew.”

Melinda’s jaw tightened but she didn’t reply.

“Look, you’re the only person who knows how you feel. But I think you should know…” Lorna hesitated. “I guess you need to hear those things from her, not from me. Maybe someday…”

Melinda nodded.

“She’s living in the cottage, you know. Back near the vineyard.”

“She is?” Melinda was obviously surprised at the news.

“My mother let her live there, after Billie got sick. She hasn’t been well for the last three years, Mel.”

“And your mother?”

“We lost her about two months ago.”

“I’m so sorry.” Melinda squeezed Lorna’s hand. “She was such a good person. When we were little, and things were especially bad at home, I used to pretend she was my mother, too. I wish I could have seen her again.”

“I wish you could have, too,” Lorna told her.

“Do you suppose she would want…” Melinda pointed in the direction of the cottage.

“I think there’s nothing she’d want more.”

Melinda appeared to be at war with herself. Finally, she said, “Would you mind if I left my car here? Maybe I could just walk over…”

“You’re welcome to leave the car for as long as you want. Perhaps on your way back, you’ll stop in, and we can visit a bit more.”

Melinda nodded and set off toward the vineyard, her eyes focused in the direction of the cottage. Lorna watched until she was out of view.

“Phew.” Lorna blew out a long breath.

“ ‘Phew’ what?” Regan came up behind her.

“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t hear you drive up,” Lorna said.

“You looked like you were in a trance,” Mitch told her.

Lorna nodded. “I guess in a sense I was.”

“Who’s that, walking across the field?” Regan asked.

“That,” Lorna turned to her, “is Melinda Eagan.”

“The Melinda Eagan?” Regan gasped. “Alive and well?”

“Alive and well, the Melinda Eagan.”

“Where’d she come from?” Mitch frowned. “Where’s she been?”

“I’ll tell you over dinner,” Lorna promised.

“I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to wait that long,” Regan told her. “We just stopped by to tell you that Mitch is going to drop me off at the airport in Lancaster, then he’ll be back to help T.J. in the vineyard.”

“That explains the pretty outfit,” Lorna said. “Definitely not field hand attire.”

Regan laughed. “Did I tell you that while I was in Chicago, I placed a personal ad in all the newspapers in and around Sayreville, Illinois? Well, I got a call last night from someone who knew Eddie Kroll. I have an appointment to meet this woman tomorrow morning.” Regan’s eyes were shining. “Wait till you hear this-Eddie was one of three boys convicted of murdering one of their friends… he was thirteen at the time, and the youngest of the three. He went through the juvenile system and was released when he turned twenty-one.”

“And then?” Lorna asked.

“And then, apparently, he dropped off the face of the earth. No one has seen or heard from him since.”

“I guess that explains why your father started gathering information about him. He could have been looking into the murder for a book,” Lorna suggested.

“Maybe,” Regan said hesitantly. “Somehow I have the feeling there’s more to it than that. I don’t know why, but something tells me this was more than just another case to him.”