A tap at his door and Kacy came back in, carrying two bags of McDonald’s breakfasts, and two large coffees. “I knew you’d not be able to eat. I saw it as they were loading it up. Disgusting! I got you something good tasting, even if it isn’t good for you. Eat up.”

She’d gotten him three Egg McMuffins with extra cheese, hash browns and plenty of ketchup and pepper.

“How did you know?”

Her smile faded a little, “Pete loved ’em. I took a wee chance.”

“It’s all right, Kacy. You can’t help falling into old habits. It’s kind of cool, in a way, knowing he and I liked the same things. It gives me a little connection.” He shook massive amounts of pepper on his egg and took a huge, satisfied bite. “You have no idea how good this tastes right now!”

Someone came in to take his food tray and smiled as he tried to look innocent.

“You’ve got the good stuff there, don’t ya?” The heavy set black woman said cheerfully. “Put some meat on you. You are one tall, skinny white boy!”

“Aw, come on, I bet you like your men tall and skinny.”

She raised an eyebrow, a quick flicker of her eyes at Kacy. “Well, I do at that, but not when they belong to some other woman. You just keep to yourself, honey.”

She winked. He laughed loudly, almost choking on his food in the process. He spewed a few crumbs onto the sheets.

“Yes, ma’am. You serving lunch too?”

“I might be, then again I might send someone else in here to put a collar on you. You’re getting wild. I hope they’re planning to let you out soon.”

“I promise I’ll behave. Scout’s honor.”

She took up his tray, tipping her nose in the air, she walked to the door. “Mm hm, I bet you wasn’t even a Boy Scout,” she said as the door shut behind her.

“I was too a Boy Scout for a whole semester.” He grinned broadly, taking another huge bite.

“Why didn’t you stay in?” Kacy asked.

Deacon’s smile faded slightly as he remembered. “I got moved to a new home, they couldn’t be bothered to take me, so I had to quit. It wasn’t a lot of fun anyway, since all the kids came with their moms and dads. I didn’t have anyone but Mr. Petry, and he was about seventy years old.”

“Deacon, were you ever happy growing up?”

He stayed silent so long, she thought he’d forgotten her question, but he was thinking.

“Once in a while, yeah. Mostly, I wasn’t really happy at all. I don’t think I ever got really happy until I met you.” Having said more than he intended, he concentrated on his food.

Kacy sat quietly until a telltale sniffle escaped her. “I’m sorry, I’m being bloody awful again. I can’t seem to keep my emotions in check. I feel like I’m on this roller coaster ride that has me up and down like crazy.”

Wiping his hands and lips on the napkins, he held out his arms to her. She came willingly, lowering the side rail, she lay next to him, her head on his shoulder.

“It’s all right. I’ll be out of here soon, and you won’t have to see another hospital room for a long time. That’s what is really getting to you, isn’t it?”

She nodded, wiping her eyes on the sheet. “I just keep remembering. Oh, it was awful, Deacon. He was so still, so pale and he never, ever came back so I could say goodbye. I used to sleep next to him in that horrid bed, praying he’d wake up and tell me everything was all right.”

She snuggled next to him, sniffling. He felt her tears warm and wet on his hospital gown.

“Go home with Dino and rest. When the doctor comes by I’ll find out how soon they’ll cut me loose. Maybe I’ll get lucky and they will spring me tomorrow.”

“Oh, tomorrow! I completely forgot! Pete’s parents are coming in. What am I gonna do?”

“Call them, tell them to rent a car, and have Dino give them directions.”

“Have Dino give who directions to where?” Dino walked in the door just then, carrying another bag of food. “You already ate?”

“My fault, Dino. I went for a walk, and there it was like Mecca.”

“No problem, I’m starving. Mind?” He sat down and started to eat. “Who needs directions?”

“Oh, Pete’s folks are coming in tomorrow. I was going to go pick them up, but under the circumstances….”

“I’ll go, no problem.”

“I was just going to have them rent a car and drive up.”

“With Pete’s mom as intense as she is? Hell no, I’ll get them. She’d have Ev crazy before they got out of town. I can ignore her.”

“You won’t mind?”

“Not at all. People want a friendly face coming into town. It’s been a while since I saw them. Maybe I can help prepare them.”

“For seeing me, isn’t that what you mean, Dino?”

The older man nodded. “I have to admit, it was rather a shock to me. I honestly didn’t know what to think when I first saw you. I swear, I think you guys are brothers.”

“Kacy told me Pete was adopted, it’s very possible that we were.”

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“I’ll go, you need to be here, Kacy.”

Her smile of thanks was rather weak, but the touch on his hand reassured Dino that she was grateful. She dropped her head, a deep, shuddering breath coursing through her petite frame. That and a renegade sniffle gave away her tears.

“No crying allowed, young lady,” Deacon mumbled.

“I can’t help it. I saw your face after surgery, it was so pale. You looked like you were dead! Like Pete looked when he was— I had this horrible, this awful….” She sobbed, unable to control the emotions welling up in her. “You lost so much blood!”

“I’m fine, except for this bum leg. Must have happened when I slipped off the water fountain, I felt something snap when I landed. I lost my balance, the bad leg gave out.”

“Oh, Deacon, if I lost you, I don’t know what I’d do!”

Dino walked quietly back in the room as Kacy tried to compose herself.

“Nurse says you are being given Demerol and Visteril and due for a dose in a few minutes.”

“How did you get that information out of her?” Deacon was curious.

“I told her you were my half brother, and Kacy was your wife, otherwise we’d not have been allowed in. Cindy and I used to date back in high school.” He shrugged. “Maybe I’ll call her and ask her out again, sometime.”

The door opened and a tall, blonde woman, who was built rather like a Nordic goddess, entered, carrying a syringe full of medication. She smiled broadly at Dino, nodding deferentially to Kacy as she moved toward the bed.

“I hear someone is in pain,” she grinned. Her manner was brisk and friendly.

Kacy turned her head. “I’m sorry, I’m not overly fond of needles.”

Cindy chuckled understandingly. “It’s all right, Mrs. Stewart. We’ll make this quick.”

She put the needle into his IV port, and Deacon felt a cool trickle up his arm.

Deacon grinned “Thanks.”

“So Dino tells me you two are half brothers?”

“Yes,” Deacon lied and tried to sound convincing.

“Same mom,” Dino said. “My folks got divorced when I was little. Remember, my Mom moved away and remarried.” It was partly true anyway, his mom had moved and married again.

“I see,” she looked between the two men who resembled one another in basic build and coloring. She didn’t look fully convinced, but not as if she were going to raise a stink about it either. “Dino, I go on break in about twenty minutes, want to grab a cup of coffee?”

“Sure, Cindy. That would be fantastic.”

He opened the door for her as she went out. His eyes followed her down the hall and he closed the door, the squeak of her crepe soled shoes echoing behind her.

“She’s nice,” Deacon said, his voice sounding tired.

“She’s pretty too,” Kacy added. “You could do a lot worse, Dino. Invite her to dinner soon.”

Deacon made a rather crude suggestion earning him a surly reprimand from Kacy. “Be nice!”

“I am being nice! That’s the nicest thing a man can do for a woman.”

“You only wish!”

“You two sound as if you want to be alone. I’ll cut out. Kacy, get some rest. You’ve been up all night. I’ll bring you some breakfast when I get back.”

“Thanks, Dino. You know where I’ll be.”

He leaned over, kissing her on the cheek briefly touching Deacon’s hand.

“You be more careful. Okay, little brother?” He winked.

“Will do.” Deacon laid his head wearily back against the pillows, the Demerol making him drowsy. “I’m wiped out, Kacy. I’m gonna try to sleep a little. Go home, get some rest.”

“I’m not leaving, Deacon.”

“Have Dino drive you home after you eat, okay? Will you please get some rest? I want you in top form, for when I get out of this place.”

Her smile was tender, tinged with fear and sorrow. “All right. But I’ll be back this evening, if not sooner. I’ll bring you a hamburger or Chinese or something I imagine the food is pretty bad.”

“Pizza and beer.”

“The only beer you’ll be having is root beer, my love.” She kissed him tenderly, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “You rest, I’ll be fine.”

Deacon closed his eyes, Kacy sat beside him, humming softly, songs he didn’t recognize, but they were soothing and sweet. She had a pretty voice. The last thing he was aware of, she kissed him softly on the lips.

When Deacon woke later, the sun was higher in the sky and he heard the sound of the food cart rumbling down the hall. From a distance, the food didn’t smell too bad, but he wasn’t convinced. His tray was delivered, and he was not disappointed in how nasty his meal really was. Soggy scrambled eggs, limp bacon, watery grits and a dry biscuit. A choice of hot tea or orange juice and a warm fruit cup. The tea tasted like old coffee and the biscuit would have made a good floor tile. He moved the items around, pretended to eat and shoved the tray aside.

He found the menu selection beside his plate and looked through to see if there was anything he could actually stomach, marking things at random. “I wonder if I’d get better food if I told them I keep Kosher,” he said aloud.

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Sticking his head out first to judge the drop, he was glad to see he’d been fortunate enough to come out above, but to one side of the drinking fountain. There were really two of them next to each other, at slightly different heights, but wide enough to stand on easily. Turning his body, he pushed himself out feet first. Feeling the wall with his toes, he was grateful to find the drinking fountain also held his weight, although it groaned loudly when he stood on it.

Taking a deep breath, he prepared to hop off the fountain, but slipped on the shiny metal. Hitting the floor harder than he intended, his sore leg gave out as he landed. He felt something pop, a sharp pain, followed by a dull, receding ache as if part of his mind had simply stopped functioning on that level.

Kacy screamed hysterically, pounding the door and calling his name. Now that his escape was complete, he called to her.

“It’s all right, baby, I’m coming!”

He gasped sharply as he dragged himself upright, holding onto the wall. Stumbling forward, he lost his balance, falling on the tile floor, gasping and gritting his teeth. His bad leg refused to hold his weight, so he dropped to his knees, crawling along the hallway. Groping his way to the office, he followed the sound of her voice. Keys out, he unlocked the door and Kacy fell into his arms. She was hyperventilating, although, he noticed absently, her face and eyes showed no sign of tears.

Kacy helped him up, supporting his weight on her shoulder as he propped himself against the wall. Limping, gritting his teeth, he hobbled to the door a few feet away. Together, they stumbled out into the fresh air. The door was unlocked and Deacon knew he had locked it behind them when they came in.

Kacy locked the door behind them and helped him to the car. He fell into the passenger seat, handing her the keys so she could drive home. He reclined the seat, pushing back as far as it would go, his leg screaming at him for all the abuse it had taken.

“You’re bleeding, Deacon,” her voice was tight, panicked.

He looked down and saw he’d been ripped up by the staples in the wall board, but there was something more to it that he couldn’t quite understand.

“I hurt,” he sighed, his eyes falling shut of their own accord. “God, I hurt.”

“I’m taking you to hospital.”

“No, I’m all right. Just take me home, baby. I’m fine.”

“You’re not! You aren’t in any position to argue.” She tied her bandanna tightly around his upper calf before starting the car.

She drove rapidly over the causeway and to the hospital at the base of the bridge. The emergency staff took one look at him and got a gurney. Deacon had enough energy to hand Kacy his wallet with his insurance card and driver’s license before he passed out. He only partially heard the thump of the doors as they swung shut behind him.

Deacon became aware of hushed voices, the smell of clean sheets and antiseptic. Wrinkling his nose, he tried to sit up, only to have a sharp pain stab through his lower right leg. He realized his leg was suspended at an odd angle, held in place by something he couldn’t see. The room was minimally lit, the voices seemed to be outside.

A hospital. Damn, she’d told him she was taking him there. He tried to speak, but his throat was too dry. It came out as a croak, but someone heard him and the voices outside stopped. Kacy stuck her head in the door, expectant expression on her face. She looked worried, as if she had been crying.

“He’s awake! Hey, handsome! Don’t scare me like that again, okay?”

Deacon smiled weakly, motioning for a drink. She poured him some water from the obligatory insulated pitcher and handed him a plastic cup. He drank it greedily, his throat rasping with each swallow. As if it had drained his strength, he handed the cup back, nearly spilling it on the bed. She took it carefully, set it aside and grasped his hand gently in both her own. He became cognizant of the fact that his other arm was full of needles and tubes and something was clipped to his index finger. It pinched uncomfortably, but was nothing to the throbbing pain in his leg.

“What happened?”

He saw his leg suspended at about a thirty degree angle and tried to wiggle his toes. A surge of burning misery followed the attempt, causing him to swoon again. Kacy patted his hand, trying to rouse him. A kiss on his lips did what no amount of hand slapping could, and he raised his beneedled arm, clasping her head gently.

“He’s not so badly hurt as we thought then,” he heard Dino’s voice a few feet away.

“You’d have to kill me for me not to respond to her kiss,” Deacon rasped, his throat still dry and tender. “What happened?” he repeated.

Kacy drew a chair up to the side of the bed and sat down, her head just above the railing. “Well, somewhere in your great escape, you broke your tibia clean in two and the bone decided to pop out of the skin. It was rather horrid really and you bled all over Dino’s pretty car.”

She tried to keep the concern out of her voice, to make it light hearted, but she couldn’t quite pull it off. Deacon touched her cheek gently, brushing away a stray hair.

“No worries, I’m fine. My leg hurts like a mother, what are they giving me for pain?”

“I don’t know, Deacon. I’ll ask the nurse,” she stood to go, but Dino put a restraining hand on her shoulder.

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“Yes, ma’am, I remember.” He saluted sharply and picked up the corner roller.

They worked hard for several hours, then it started to get dark and Deacon thought they should be getting home.

“I’ll take the brushes and rollers to the bathroom and start cleaning them out. You close cans and stuff. I have to go to the bathroom anyway.”

“Okay, I’ll be fine. I’ll light the lamp to see by, you take the flashlight.”

Deacon picked up the large, heavy duty flashlight and their various tools, piling them high, holding it all in one hand while he walked down the hall and across it to the restrooms. He could hear Kacy humming in the office, the door having been left open to air out a little of the fumes.

The bathroom door slammed shut behind him, giving him the odd sensation of being cut off. He dismissed it, annoyed with himself for letting his paranoia and superstitious fears get to him. He kept remembering scenes from The Sixth Sense about the little boy who sees dead people. Given the pervading chill in the restroom, it was an appropriate setting for something creepy to happen.

He used the toilet then started in on the paint pans, brushes and rollers, running the water on full. Unfortunately, there was no hot water, so clean up was a lot slower. Whistling as he worked, he thought he heard a sharp sound, like a door banging shut and a stifled scream.

“Kacy?” He shut the water off to hear better, nothing met his straining ears. “Kassandra?”

Striding to the bathroom door, he grabbed it, trying to fling it open with his right hand, his left holding the flashlight. The door didn’t move. Thinking perhaps it was a push door instead, he pushed hard, but the door still didn’t budge.

He thought he could hear Kacy calling to him, but he wasn’t sure. The doors were solid wood and the old place had been well insulated when Sophie’s husband remodeled it, so he couldn’t really tell. His own voice sounded muffled as he yelled and banged. Shining the flashlight on the door, he realized there was no keyhole or dead bolt on this side. He’d be willing to bet the same held true of Kacy’s office. He began a systematic search for another way out of the bathroom.

Kacy was quietly cleaning up their mess, closing cans, picking up drop cloths, when she heard the bathroom door slam shut. It held an ominous note of finality. Not wanting to be surprised from behind, she left the door open and made sure she was facing it while she finished her clean up, the hairs on her neck feeling creepy-crawly. She had turned partially away from the door when it banged shut. She screamed involuntarily as it did so.

“I swear, if he’s playing some kind of sick joke on me, I’ll kick his ruddy arse!”

She stormed across the room, tugging and pounding on the door. Her voice didn’t seem to carry very far, but she yelled anyway. The door was an old fashioned lock on a flange which came across the door jam. It had no dead bolt or key hole on the inside. She was trapped.

She thought of calling Deacon and chewing him out for locking her in the room, when she saw her phone was completely dead. She’d been too preoccupied last night to put it in the charger. The desk phone had no dial tone.

“Damn.”

With her lantern in hand, she set about looking for a way out of the room, but the windows were covered with metal bars on the outside, she had hardly noticed before. Digging in her desk produced a screwdriver and a hammer, but little else of any use. The closet had even less to offer, just a lot of dead Palmetto bugs and dusty old papers.

Going back to the door, she wondered why Deacon hadn’t let her out yet, when it suddenly occurred to her that maybe he couldn’t. Perhaps he hadn’t done this, suppose someone else had? They could be trapped in here. If someone set the old place on fire, they would die.

Banging and yelling at the door in panic, she screamed Deacon’s name to no avail. They were trapped until someone let them out. Determined not to give in to her fears, she hunted more, going back over the same territory, to see if there might be something she had overlooked.

Deacon explored the small windows of the bathroom and determined he could never get through them. Even if he could open them, they looked painted shut, a quick flick of his measuring tape convinced him that his shoulders wouldn’t fit, no matter how hard he might try. Reaching a hand to his belt, he went to grab his cell phone and realized, with a lurch, that he’d left it in the car. Fat lot of good it would do. Maybe Kacy’s would be in better shape and she could call. Maybe someone was already on the way.

This was getting her nowhere, Kacy decided after about ten minutes of futile struggling with the window, which had carelessly been painted shut years ago. She had nothing to pry the paint out of the seams. Deacon had been using his knife, but taken it with him when he’d gone to the bathroom.

Deciding that she was stupidly wasting her energy, she sat down in the middle of the floor, trying not to think about fires. She had always feared dying in a fire. After witnessing Pete’s accident, and the extent of his burns, she was even more terrified.

There had to be a way out, there just had to be! Leaning against her desk, she closed her eyes and tried to focus on the problem. That was far worse than having her eyes open, since she could imagine all kinds of horrible things creeping up from behind. The thought of ghosts sent a shiver up her spine. She was quite superstitious where old buildings like this were concerned, having had her own share of eerie experiences in them.

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“I’ve known Dino a long time, Mr. Stewart. He has driven some tough business deals in his time, but he’s always been honest. You can’t say that about a lot of men as rich as he is. He’s invested well, and followed principles others fault him for. In other words, he has true ethics, which can’t be said for many business people.”

“Have you looked into the cast and the other business owners along the strand? Real estate agencies, developers? Surely, someone more likely will present themselves.” Deacon drove his point home. He never would suspect Dino of such atrocities and couldn’t fathom anyone else doing so.

Reyes rose suddenly, ending the conversation. “Thank you, both. Ms. McDermitt and I have to be going now. We appreciate your time, and we’ll be in touch if we need to speak with you again.”

“Is that a polite way of telling us not to leave town?” Kacy was angry with Reyes for his innuendos concerning Dino.

“No, Mrs. Du Champs, it’s a polite way of telling you that we will contact you later.”

The two police officers walked silently out to their car and drove away. Deacon watched them from the doorway, then shut the door and walked into the living room. Kacy picked up one of his cigarettes and lit it, inhaling deeply.

“I didn’t know you smoked.”

“I don’t, but I used to. I’m so aggravated right now, I could throw things! How dare they even suspect Dino of such underhandedness! It makes me furious!” She coughed slightly and took another puff.

“Kacy, they have to work from the obvious to the less obvious. They will determine that Dino isn’t responsible, don’t worry. I wish we could get to the bottom of it, though. I’d hate to have his reputation dragged through the mud.”

“Dino is such a kind person, how could anyone think such a thing?”

“Those closest to him know it’s not possible, but society talks, my love and we both know it. Gossip is not reserved to the poor.”

“Bloody, awful, no good, rotten…!”

“People judge others by their own actions. If they would lie, cheat and steal for a buck, they expect others to go to the same lengths. We know Dino isn’t like that, but lots of people will think he is.”

“I know. I have to get out of the house and do something. I’ll go mad if I don’t!” She started pacing around the living room, the cigarette burning, forgotten in her hand.

“Want to go to the beach, or maybe go to a museum in Daytona?”

“No, I need activity.” She saw the dreamy expression in his eyes. “Other than that,” she giggled. “That only occupies us so long, and then I start thinking again. I was hoping we could go paint that bloody horrible office of mine. There’s plenty of light with all those windows. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Are you sure you want to do that? It’ll be pretty lonely and spooky there.”

“We’ll both be there, how spooky can it be with the two of us? I have a portable iPod deck with batteries, we can set that up and have a paint party. I can’t stand that color scheme another minute! I already bought the paint.” Her grin was a challenge to him.

“All right, let me change into my grungy clothing and we’ll go over. I could use something to do too. If there is enough paint, we’ll hit my office too.”

“Way ahead of you. I bought enough for both.”

They changed into their grubbiest clothing, complete with bandannas over their hair, and headed to the theater. The power company trucks were there with their heavy equipment, putting in the new pole. Deacon wondered if they could possibly finish before it got dark. He had brought a large flashlight and a Coleman lantern he’d found in Dino’s hurricane supplies, in case they needed the light later.

Kacy went into her office chattering happily and Deacon made sure the door was locked behind them. Just to satisfy his own obsessive tendencies, he went through the theater. Common sense compelled him to check every window and door he passed, explore every closet and storage cupboard until he was satisfied they were alone. He even went so far as to double check the little windows in the restrooms to be sure they were locked.

He admitted to himself that although he had been quiet, if someone had been in hiding, it would have been easy to avoid him, following him and hiding where he had already looked. He wasn’t compulsive enough to go back and recheck things in a different order, but he would be cautious.

Kacy was busily mixing the sealant for their first coat. She had bought rollers, pans, brushes and the neat little tools for around windows and cutting corners.

“You buy out the entire paint store?”

“Almost. I got some pretty stencils and such to do in here. You’ll think it fussy, but I also got a nice wall paper trim for either the top of the room or the mid-line. If we want to be really fancy, we can paint that old wood at the bottom a different shade, but I don’t think you care that much.”

“No, ma’am, I sure don’t. I could use this office, and not blink an eye.”

“You would not! These colors are horribly distracting. The last lighting designer must have been color blind.”

She applied the base coat with enthusiasm, quickly and expertly. Deacon was impressed at her speed and skill.

“Don’t just stand there gaping, do the tops of the windows and start on the corners, I can’t reach. Tall people are God’s ladders, you know.”

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“Except to be friends of Dino’s, no. We were in Florida, briefly, after our wedding. We sailed with Dino to the Bahamas and back.”

“Didn’t Father Charlie die in his sleep?” Deacon asked.

“Yes, after a long illness. It was not unexpected,” Joan McDermitt announced. “So in effect, it wasn’t an accident. It was an anticipated occurrence.”

“Could that be the angle?” Deacon stood up, pacing back and forth as he thought. “Maybe the three things aren’t really related in any normal sense. Taken literally, and at face value, none of these things was accidental. Even Pete’s incident, that could very well have been deliberate. The playhouse paint job certainly wasn’t accidental, and neither was Charlie’s death.”

“None of us had thought of it that way, Deacon. I think you’ve hit on something,” Reyes said contemplatively.

Kacy touched the photograph of Pete’s accident tenderly. “How could anyone have got this?”

“Film footage maybe? Lots of odd things get put on the Internet.”

Kacy shook her head adamantly. “No, it’s really not possible. This particular shot never made it to the movie. In fact, I had all the copies of the actual explosion confiscated by law, and destroyed. I didn’t even keep any of the negatives. They had access to private documentation, the original film or something else.”

“This can’t be a clever forgery?” Reyes asked.

Kacy and Deacon both looked at the photo again with a professional eye.

“It’s possible,” Deacon conceded, “but unlikely. With computers you can get a pretty credible looking photograph, but there are telltale signs if you know what to look for. I’m not an expert, but I’ve done some montages from time to time. That looks genuine, not enhanced. You’d have to have it analyzed by an expert to know for sure.”

“We’re back to where we started,” Kacy groaned.

“Not entirely,” Ms. McDermitt spoke up abruptly. “We have a relationship, of sorts, between incidents, however convoluted it might be.”

“Have you got a motive yet?” Deacon asked.

“After talking to the florist and the bakery owner, we’ve decided it comes down to money. Lots of it. Still doesn’t give me a perpetrator.”

“If Charlie had been married, we would be able to suspect the wife. As he was a priest, that’s one less suspect.” Ms. McDermitt gave a wry smile.

“Any other relatives besides Mr. Sawyer?” this from Reyes.

“Not in the Sawyer line,” Kacy answered. “Just Dino. His aunt died childless and there were just the three, Sophie, Charlie and Dino’s father. Dino is an only child and has no children.”

“One of the ex’s?” Deacon had to ask, considering that was foremost in his mind at the moment.

“Not likely. We checked into them first, of course. All of them married rich men, and most of them divorced quite well.”

“I gather Ms. Du Champs and I aren’t suspects then, since you are discussing this so openly with us.”

Reyes laughed. “You barely know Mr. Sawyer, a very recent acquaintance. Although the suspicious incidents occurred after your arrival, it’s unlikely. Ms. Du Champs has been a close friend for many years, also unlikely.”

“Well in movies and books, it’s always the person you least expect it to be, isn’t it?” Deacon said testily.

McDermitt smiled. “That’s fiction, Mr. Stewart. If police based their theories on Agatha Christie, we’d be in sorry shape. You’re right, normally we don’t discuss a case with those we question. However, there’s something to be said for being candid.”

Deacon suspected that part of their visit was to judge their reactions, and further eliminate suspects. They were being critically scrutinized by both officers and he had an even stronger suspicion that the McDermitt woman was more than she seemed. She was a keen observer of body language and was careful to portray a casual, open mien. Deacon was a better than fair observer himself. She and Reyes were concealing something.

“I hope you don’t seriously consider Dino a suspect.”

Deacon could play mind games as well as anyone. Being in theater for years, even backstage, you learned a lot about people and acting. He knew what to look for, and how to portray a specific role. These two police officers were playing the role of blissful ignorance, and Deacon didn’t appreciate it.

Ms. McDermitt nearly gave it away. She glanced briefly at Reyes whose lips pursed. The faintest shake of his head was hardly discernible, and probably wouldn’t have been, if Deacon hadn’t been looking so carefully.

“Because it would be a gross misuse of the police resources to even consider him. Although, it would be a perfect blind. I mean, he’s filthy rich, gains little from insurance if the old place burns, but if he could acquire the properties next to him, it would be a multi-million dollar proposition. The question is, how badly does he need the money, and do you seriously believe he would do anything so unscrupulous?”

McDermitt paled ever so slightly under her makeup, but Reyes held up better. He had known Dino for years. It was quite possible that this was the department’s theory, but not his.

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