The mask stared up at me, and it occurred to me that all the people I'd been involved with recently had worn masks. At first I thought I'd seen them as they really were, but beneath the transparent masks there was something else. Perhaps everybody wore a mask, I thought. Maybe even I had been wearing one for years, letting people see me but not really know me.

Charlotte, of course, was the most obvious because she had worn a real mask. The face she hid beneath the elastic was beautiful by anyone's standards, but she had seen herself as hideous. She was loved by her students at the college, volunteered hours of her time working with hearing-impaired students, and acted as an interpreter for the library. No matter what the Charlotte who wore the mask had done, the Charlotte known to the people of Lickin Creek and Gettysburg would be missed.

Her husband, Mack Macmillan, had worn a mask for years. “Mack Macmillan-a man like you.” He'd been elected over and over to represent the good old boys of his district, and he wore the mask of a humble man whenever he was out in public. But at home, he lived in luxury hardly ever seen in Caven County, allowed lobbyists to buy his votes, collected stolen treasures, owned a strip joint, and kept a mistress. Not exactly the image he'd tried to portray all those years.

Who else? Woody Woodruff's mask had come off to reveal a much nicer person than I'd expected to find. He wasn't really a letch or a leech, but a kind person who worked hard and truly seemed to be in love with Moonbeam. I hadn't seen past the mask there.

Then there was Darious. I winced at the thought of him. Beautiful Darious, Apollo in his golden chariot, the artist who sacrificed his morals and finally his life to bring a carousel back to life. How could anyone who appreciated beauty as much as he did have turned out to be so rotten?

Lillie White wore a tough, slutty-looking mask, and while she wasn't exactly the “prostitute with a heart of gold” beloved by so many writers, since she'd knowingly had an affair with a married man, she was a child struggling as best she knew how to support a child, now two. Life might be a little easier for her now, I thought, for the DNA tests would surely prove Mack Macmillan had fathered her baby. Her baby would inherit all that was left of Mack's estate.

Helga Van Brackle had covered her passion for Mack with a prim, schoolmarm mask. Ken Nakamura had hidden his family's tragedy beneath a smiling face. Vesta Pennsinger pretended to be a caring professional, but her gossipy persona was the real Vesta. Thank goodness for that, I thought, or I'd never have realized how Charlotte had fooled her husband.

Moonbeam Nakamura was one of the few people I could think of who was just what she appeared to be. A good-natured kook without a mean bone in her body. I wasn't sure about her daughter, the sullen teenager who'd announced before she left that she finally had found a purpose in life. Unfortunately it was go-cart racing. Woody had cringed when he heard it, but I was sure Moonbeam, when she came to, would be grateful that her daughter was showing an interest in something.

Another person who was just what she appeared to be was Cassie. Good old dependable Cassie, who'd kept the paper going despite me. Thank goodness some people are just what they seem.

I'd left Garnet for last. Did I really know him? I wasn't sure. I thought I did, but then when he'd abruptly left me, it occurred to me that maybe I didn't. I was willing to spend more time finding out, though. As soon as he got settled in Costa Rica, and I could take some time off from the paper and finishing my book, I might head down to Central America for a long visit.

Even Lickin Creek wore a mask; on the surface it was a charming, old-fashioned town, but under its placid surface rumors and gossip moved as quickly and as surely as sewage sludge flowed beneath the streets.

My thoughts were interrupted by someone pounding on the back door. I shoved Fred from my lap, grabbed the sack of Snickers bars, threw open the door, and screamed.

Instead of the children I had expected to see, there stood a nun wearing a blue habit and a fluttering cor-nette. The nun's face was hidden by a dime-store skull mask.

Her hand came up to pull off the mask, revealing my friend Maggie Roy, the librarian.

“I didn't mean to scare you,” she said. “I thought it would be funny-me dressing up like the ghost of the Lickin Creek College for Women.”

I breathed deeply three times to slow my pounding heart then said, “It is funny, Maggie. It's just that I've had a bad day. If you've got time, why don't you come in and hear about it?”

“I was hoping you'd ask,” Maggie said. She bent over and picked up a large box, which I hoped didn't contain sticky buns. “I brought a pizza-just in case- and a video. You told me once you love old sci-fi movies, so I got The Day the Earth Stood Still. Have you ever seen it?”

I smiled and stepped aside so she could enter. “Of course I have, dozens of times. It's my favorite. Gort, Klaatu barada nikto.”

She was taken aback for a moment by my quote from the movie, then responded with, “You're welcome. What language is that, anyway?”

Sticky Buns

Dough ingredients:

3½ to 4 cups all-purpose flour ⅓ cup granulated sugar

teaspoon salt

packages active dry yeast

1 cup warm milk (scalded then cooled to about 120

degrees) ⅓ cup butter, softened 1 egg

Syrup ingredients:

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup butter

¼ cup dark corn syrup

¾ cup pecan halves, chopped if desired

Filling ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter, softened

½ cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons granulated sugar 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mix together 2 cups of flour, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, the salt, and the yeast in a large bowl. Add milk, ⅓ cup butter, and the egg. Beat on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl often. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl often. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead about 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place about 1½ hours or until it has doubled in size.

Grease rectangular pan, 13✓9✓2 inches.

Heat 1 cup brown sugar and ½ cup butter to boiling, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in corn syrup. Cool 5 minutes. Pour into pan. Sprinkle with the pecan halves.

Punch down dough. Roll out into a rectangle, 15✓10 inches, on a lightly floured surface. Spread with 2 tablespoons butter. Mix chopped pecans, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and the cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the dough rectangle. Roll up tightly, beginning at the 15-inch side. Pinch edge of dough into the roll to seal it. Stretch it and shape the roll to make it look even.

Cut roll into fifteen 1-inch slices. Place slightly apart in pan. [1]

Let rise in warm place about 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Bake as directed.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Invert immediately onto heatproof serving plate or tray. Let pan remain in place for a minute so the caramel can drizzle over the rolls.

Janet Margolies's Easy Sticky Buns

Dough ingredients:

1 package Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix 1 cup hot water egg

tablespoons butter

Syrup ingredients:

½ cup melted butter

cup light brown sugar

tablespoons water 1 teaspoon vanilla ¾ cup pecan halves