“I would have but Ted ate them all before I got a chance,” joked Lucy, feeling rather green about the gills.

“You’ve been listening to that Chris Cashman, that’s what it is. All that nonsense about cholesterol and calories and nuts are the new broccoli.”

“Sue, this is ridiculous,” said Lucy, standing up. She knew if she continued to sit there she’d throw up on the table. “I’m just not feeling well. It has nothing to do with Chris or you or your cooking. It’s probably the flu. Now, if you don’t mind, I have to go home.”

“Well, I do mind,” said Sue. “You’re ruining my barbecue.”

“I’m sorry,” said Lucy. Hoping to convince her that her distress was real, she added, “Maybe it’s a delayed reaction from finding Mimi yesterday.”

“Well, if you’re going to investigate, I know where you can start. You should have heard what your good buddy Chris had to say about Mimi yesterday at the bake sale. She was really ticked that Mimi reported her home business to the planning board.”

“I know,” chuckled Lucy, immediately realizing she’d made a mistake. Sue’s radar would zero in on this little blip.

“You’ve already talked to her?” snapped Sue.

“She called to tell me how much the sale made,” said Lucy, rising to the bait.

“And how much was that?”

“Twelve hundred dollars.”

“Well, we could have made more if she’d only let me bring my brownies.” Sue’s eyes gleamed mischievously. “In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Chris was the murderer.”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” said Lucy, heartily sick of Sue. She wanted to get home and out of her tight pedal pushers. She turned to Sid. “Thanks for having us. Everything was wonderful.”

Sue pointedly ignored her, busying herself cutting another piece of cake for Toby.

In the car, with the windows open and a cool breeze blowing on her face, Lucy felt better. “I don’t know what’s gotten into Sue,” said Bill. “She was really on your case.”

“She’s jealous of Chris Cashman,” said Lucy.

“I didn’t know you were good friends with her,” said Bill.

“I’m not. It’s completely irrational,” replied Lucy. She shrugged. “Maybe she’s worried about Sid’s job. He works for Fred Stanton, doesn’t he?”

“I asked him about that,” said Bill. “He says the work schedule hasn’t changed. Fred’s going full-speed ahead.”

Lucy sat quietly, digesting this bit of information along with her huge meal as they followed the winding road that ran along the shore, high above the rocks and seething water below.

“Mom, look, there’s Tommy,” said Zoe.