“That came out wrong, and I swallowed my whole foot. Of course you worried for your sweet girl. I’m sorry.” She shifted her attention to the tiny square of water. “Anyway, what I should have said is that Sumner and Graham worked out their problems and were on firm footing.”

“Their problems?”

Buffy propped her book on her knees and opened the pages.

I waited. Hoping.

She winced and as if she were fighting an internal battle, then leaned toward me and whispered, “Graham had an affair.”

That did not surprise me. “Anyone we know?”

“No one seems to know who she was—one of the secretaries or paralegals at his firm. It’s over now.”

Was it? “You’re sure?”

“I am. Sumner told me all about it. They went to counseling.”

I couldn’t argue with her source. “When did this happen?”

“Last year. But that’s a guess. You know Sumner, she plays close to the vest.” Buffy waved at the hot, humid air. “How’s marriage treating you? It must be fun to be a newlywed again.”

I took another sip of Tab. “Couldn’t be happier.”

“I must say, your husband asks very direct questions.” By which she meant, he's a nosy-parker, who needs to mind his own business.

“It is a murder investigation.” I kept my voice mild.

“I know. I know. He’s doing his job. But I was asleep when the murder happened. I have nothing to tell.”

“Then answering his questions should be easy.”

“Hmph.” She opened her book.

I picked up my magazine.

Silence fell.

I hated uncomfortable silence, and, despite her foot-in-mouth disease, I liked Buffy. “What happened last night after I left?”

“You mean after your handsome new husband rescued you from a snake, swept you into his arms, and carried you off into the night?”

She made an embarrassing situation sound like a scene from a romance novel. “Yes. That.”

“The caterer and her staff cleaned up the table, replenished the bar, and left.”

“No staff?”

“The bartender stayed.”

Had Anarchy talked to him? Given all the drinking everyone else did, he might have the clearest picture of what had actually happened last night.

“Wait. I’m wrong. The caterer didn’t leave right away. I remember because Graham told her it was the best pineapple upside-down cake he'd ever had, and I caught the expression on Sumner’s face.”

“She wasn’t pleased?”

“Nope."

Presumably Sumner also made pineapple upside-down cake.

“Bill and I spent most of the evening talking to Mel and Fred. Bill and Fred do business together.”