"So how long was it from the time you gave Fritz, or rather, put down Fritz's coffee and the woman's water for tea, and then got back to do lemonade?"

Arch shrugged. "I don't know. A long time, I guess. Twenty minutes? I can't remember. Toward the end of a party, Mom says, you don't have to pay as much attention to the guests. But I did forget the tea." He looked at me. "Sorry."

Schulz stared at Arch. "When you went back out, who asked you for lemonade?"

"Vonette, I think. We still didn't have any, so she said, Well, never mind, she'd have coffee."

"What was the next thing that happened?" asked Schulz.

"I went to the bathroom." Again he looked at me apologetically.

"Did you see Trixie again?"

"No, she was gone before I decided to go to the uh, you know. She never even got the Postum."

"Know what happened to the hot water?"

"What hot water?" Arch wrinkled his nose. "Oh, Trixie's. No."

"Then what?"

"Well, I heard Fritz sort of like moaning. So I came back out to the living room."

"Uh-huh. Now this is important, Arch. Was there anyone else around the drinks table when you came out to the kitchen to look for the tea?"

Arch closed his eyes. "There were lots of people."

"Anybody's face come to mind?" Arch thought. He said, "No."

"Okay," said Schulz, "now just a few more questions. Besides Trixie, do you remember your grandfather talking to anyone else?"

"Vonette, I think. And my dad."

"Was Fritz arguing with anyone, anything like that?" Arch sighed. "No. Everybody was just talking about Ms. Smiley, saying how nice she was. That it was really weird that she had killed herself because she was such a, you know, funny person. Nobody was arguing." Arch looked at me from behind his glasses. He lowered his voice. "Except my mom and dad. They were arguing."

I groaned and walked over to the cabinet where I'd put the cigarettes, took another one, and lit it.

"I know about that," said Investigator Schulz. "Do you know what your mom and dad were arguing about, Arch?"

Arch looked back at Schulz. "No. My dad had his new girlfriend here. I think that upset my mom. My mom and dad are divorced, you know."

"I know." I inhaled deeply on the cigarette and looked through the window at the aspens shaking in the breeze. I imagined dirty laundry hanging out there to air.

Arch said, "May I go now?"

"Just one more question, Arch. Do you know if anyone was mad at Fritz? Mad enough to try to make him sick, say?"

Arch hesitated. "Well, the only person I know who sort of didn't like Fritz... well, this sounds kind of dumb. I'm really not sure..." He furrowed his forehead and looked at me.

"It's okay," I said. "Just tell Mr. Schulz whatever it is."

"Well," Arch said again, "I don't think Ms. Smiley liked him very much. I don't think she liked Vonette either."