“Not as frantic as Lieutenant Moore,” Keegan told her. “He came by the cottage for a chat. Wanted to know if I knew where you were.” The fluorescent lights that were set into the ceiling had a wicked flicker to them—or was that pulsing just in his head?

“Look, Jim,” Eve said. “I think I can fix this whole mess. One little bit at a time. I’m going to talk to a lawyer.”

Keegan sat straighter in his chair. That one small, sudden movement made his eyes ache. He pressed his palm to his forehead. “Wait,” he said. “No. You can’t do that. That’ll just—”

“No, no,” Eve said. She laughed anxiously. “Not like that. Not a defense lawyer. Not about—you know—Uncle Nigel.”

A man’s voice on some loudspeaker drowned out the next few words Eve said, then: “He knew Merrill. He can clear all that up. He’s eager to meet you. And once all that’s straightened out, we can talk to him about going to the police and explaining everything that happened.”

“It’s too late for that.”

Eve’s voice grew firm. “Nobody murdered anyone,” she told him. “They’ll believe us if we lay it all out for them. There might be some consequences—like, I don’t know, interfering with evidence, or one of those kinds of things.” She paused, and he could hear a rumble of noises in the background, a jumble of voices and machinery. When she spoke again, her voice was solemn. “We’re not murderers, Jim. And we need to stop acting like we are. We’re not going to end up in prison over this. I can afford some very good counsel.”

“But you can’t just—”

“Don’t worry, Jim,” she spoke over him. “I won’t do anything without talking to you first. I’ve got to go. I’ve got a train to catch. Stay near a phone.”

There was another loudspeaker voice, a woman this time, but it was cut off when Eve hung up.

Keegan blew out a puff of air and hung the phone back in its cradle. At least the room had stopped moving, though the pressure behind his eyes was gaining ground. He got up and went to the door and leaned out. “If anyone asks—” he said.

“She didn’t call,” Mrs. Dodd finished the sentence for him. “I know. I know.”

IT WAS DARK out by the time Eve called again. He’d dozed off in the cottage with the side of his face on the kitchen table, a restless, dreamless patch of sleep. He woke with a heart-thudding start when the phone rang, to a dark, still kitchen and a sleeping dog. He stood unsteadily, crossed to the wall phone and picked up the receiver. He slumped back down at the kitchen table before he put the phone to his ear. He didn’t bother to turn on the light.