“Just how many husbands has she had?”

“I think five-or maybe six. I do know that Donald’s father was her first and Travis Dean-you know him; he works down at the Field Club-was her last.”

“The only Travis I know at the club is the bartender.”

“That’s him.”

“He couldn’t be more than twenty-five.”

“I think closer to thirty, but yes, he’s a lot younger than she is. Anyway, they’re divorced.” Susan wasn’t sure what she thought about any of this. On one hand, it seemed very liberal and up-to-date for a woman to be involved with a younger man. On the other hand, she had a twenty-one-year-old son and she sure hoped he would fall in love with someone his own age. The last thing in the world she wanted was a daughter-in-law as old as she was!

“You said they moved to town recently. Did Donald just start working for his mother?”

“No, he ran her office over in New Canaan for years and years. I got the impression that he moved here to help out his mother…” She hesitated.

“But you’re not so sure.”

“Not really. I’m not sure where I heard it or how I got the impression, but for some reason I think Donald’s mother wasn’t too thrilled with the situation. But she owned the firm so she could certainly have him work wherever she wanted.”

“Interesting. How did Nadine get along with her high-powered mother-in-law?”

“I think just fine. I know Blaine liked her. She was always saying that the best thing Donald ever did was marry Nadine. And if Nadine didn’t reciprocate those feelings, she was smart enough to shut up about it.”

Brett nodded. “It’s important for relatives to get along.”

While Susan agreed with him, that wasn’t exactly what she had been saying.

“If there’s nothing else important, I’d better get back to the crime scene,” Brett said, standing up.

“No, there’s nothing else that I can think of,” Susan lied.

TEN

THERE WAS A DINER ON A SIDE STREET IN HANCOCK THAT few residents patronized. Frequented by workmen, contractors, landscapers, and groups of disenfranchised high school students, the booths were nearly as greasy as the food, but that didn’t matter as much to the clientele as the fact that they were unlikely to run into their employers-or their parents.

A young man slouched in the rear booth, looking much the worse for wear. His silky blond roots betrayed an inept dye job on hair that drooped into his eyes. The way he fell on the food his waitress brought was a sign of recent hard times.

It was a slow night and the waitress propped one hip against his table, ready to chat. “I don’t think I recognize you. You a student at the high school?” she asked amiably.

“No.”

“Do you work here in town?”

“No.”

“Just passing through?”

He looked up from his burger and fries. “Yeah. That’s it. Just passing through.” And he was gonna keep passing. What a mistake to pause in this town. Here he was trying to avoid the police, and the house next door to the place Shannon was working was swarming with them. God, she sure could attract trouble. But she was generous. He’d say that for her. He stopped eating long enough to pat the bulging wallet in his jacket pocket. But he wasn’t going to hang around here for long, that was for sure. Staying here could bring him nothing but trouble.

Susan sat up in bed and turned on the light hanging over her nightstand. “Jed, are you asleep?”

They had been married for over three decades; he knew answering “yes” wouldn’t help him. “It’s after midnight,” he replied.

She ignored his statement and continued. “I’m worried about Chrissy. She has hardly even glanced at her baby presents.”

“I was going to talk to you about that,” he said, sitting up. “Do you think we could move them out of my library? I was going to pay some bills after dinner tonight and couldn’t even find them in that mess.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I hid them. But about Chrissy, Jed…”

He was completely awake now. “Why did you hide the bills?”

“ Shannon.” She saw the surprise on his face and continued. “We don’t really know her and she’s going to be alone in the house sometimes-well, not counting the twins. Anyway she has a lot of opportunity to go through our things and… well, I just felt more comfortable with everything put away.”

“How is she different from the dozens of people we’ve hired to clean or fix appliances over the years?”

“It’s a different situation completely. In the first place she’s here all the time. Because she was sort of dumped in our laps-or in our house, I guess is more accurate.”

“You’re saying that we don’t know anything about her-and I’m not arguing with you-but that’s also true of lots of people we hire.”

“But those people aren’t here overnight while everyone is asleep. Shannon could be downstairs right now going through everything we own and we would never know it.”

“Or she could have dashed next door this afternoon and killed Nadine?”

Susan gasped. “What do you know?”

“Nothing at all, but that’s what’s worrying you, isn’t it?”

“It is true that Shannon arrived here and then Nadine was killed.”

“And what’s the connection between the two of them?”

Susan hesitated. “I don’t really know if there is one.”

“So you suspect her of killing for no reason?”

“Jed, you’re making me sound like an idiot.”

“If you believe the woman who is taking care of our grandchildren is a murderer and you’ve decided to do nothing about it, you just might be.”

“I don’t really believe that. In fact, I know she isn’t. She and Chrissy were here together all afternoon.”

“So why in heaven’s name did you wake me up?”

“Because I’m worried about Chrissy. You were the one who changed the subject.”

Jed sighed. “Okay. You’re right and, to tell the truth, so am I. She looks horrible. Do you think she should see a doctor?”

“I suggested it and she almost bit off my head. It’s probably just fatigue. But some women do suffer from depression after giving birth and she has so much to do, so many changes going on in her life. I was wondering if perhaps we should duplicate the Canfield’s gift and hire another baby nurse. The babies need a lot of care. Maybe they’re just too much for two people.”

“Then you’d be worried about two strangers in the house.”

“Maybe not! Maybe we could find someone that someone knows… If you know what I mean.”

“It’s almost one in the morning. I don’t know what I mean. Hon, let’s leave this till tomorrow.” Without waiting for a response, he slid back down under the sheets and rolled over.

Susan frowned at his broad back and reached out to turn off the light.

She fell asleep almost immediately and, if more people were wandering up and down the stairs and in and out of rooms than was usual in the middle of the night, she wasn’t aware of it. But Clue, lying on an old Burberry blanket at the end of the bed, didn’t get as much sleep as usual and, if the Henshaws had been listening, they would have heard uncharacteristic growls coming from their dog.

The next day followed the lead of the one before, with the mayhem beginning very early. The twins were still asleep, Shannon was dozing in the rocking chair between their cribs, Jed and Stephen were driving to the train station, Chrissy was in the shower, all three dogs were exploring the backyard as though they had never been there before, and Susan was standing in the middle of her basement wondering if the big puddle on the floor of her laundry room had emerged from the hot water heater or her less-than-a-year-old washing machine, when the doorbell rang.

Pulling her flannel robe across her chest and yanking its sash tight, she ran upstairs, hoping she got to her visitor before the babies woke up. She was too late. Rosie-at least she thought it was Rosie-began to wail as she pulled open the door. Donald Baines stood on her doorstep, the very image of a shattered widower.