Max’s office was right where Hannah remembered and it was marked with a brass nameplate on the door. Hannah opened the door, stepped inside, and played the beam of her flashlight over the walls. There were no outside windows. If they closed the door behind them, they could turn on the lights.

“Come in and shut the door,” Hannah called out to her sister.

Andrea stepped in quickly and shut the door. “Good. It’s creepy out there.”

Hannah agreed. Her knees were still shaking slightly, but she decided to make light of it for her sister’s benefit. “That’s only because it’s so big and dark. You can turn on the lights. There’s probably a switch right by the door.”

“Are you sure?” Andrea sounded very nervous.

“I’m positive. I checked and there aren’t any windows. No one will notice the light if we keep the door closed.”

Andrea located the wall switch and a moment later, bright light flooded down from an overhead fixture. Both sisters breathed a sigh of relief as they gazed around the room. Max’s office was huge and it was tastefully decorated with dark gray wall-to-wall carpeting and pale yellow grass cloth on the walls. There were several framed prints of flowers hanging in strategic positions, and the upholstered furniture, done in a striped pattern of muted coral, dark green, and gold, picked up the colors from the flower prints.

“It’s a nice color combination,” Andrea commented. “The only thing that doesn’t match is Max’s desk chair.”

Hannah glanced at the old brown leather swivel chair that sat behind the modern, executive-style desk. “I guess Max was going for comfort, not style.”

Two smaller chairs faced the front of the desk for visitors and there was a small round table between them. A conversational grouping was arranged at the side of the room and there were three doors: the one they’d just entered, another that Hannah assumed connected to Betty’s office, and a rough-hewn antique door in the center of the back wall.

“What’s that door?” Andrea pointed to the only door that didn’t match the decor.

“That leads to the old dairy,” Hannah told her, “the one in the picture that Max’s mother painted. It’s the original door and Max told us about it when we took the tour. He said the old dairy was a landmark and he decided to preserve it, even though it cost more money to incorporate it into his expansion plans. He called it his contribution to the history of this area.”

Andrea laughed. “And you bought it?”

“Bought what?”

“Max didn’t keep the old dairy intact out of the goodness of his heart. He got a huge tax break for preserving a historical landmark. All you have to do is connect one of the original walls to the new construction.”

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” Hannah just shook her head. “Everyone’s always said that Max is a shrewd businessman.”

Andrea reached down to touch the velvety carpet. “Max must have spent some of the money he saved to buy this carpet. It’s the deepest pile they make and it’s just like walking on pillows. I wanted it for our bedroom, but I decided that it would be too hard to keep up. It marks every time you step on it. It’s hideously expensive, too. For the price you’d think they could make something that’s easier to care for.”