“An accident. That must be it. Have you—”

“No sign of any accident. And he didn’t take his car. So we have to keep looking for the answer. Is there—do you know of anyone who might have a grudge against him?”

She blinked. “What? No, of course not.”

Her sister, Carrie Meridan, spoke up with a promptness that told Finn she’d already considered the subject. “Sharon, he told us not a week ago that someone had been in the dairy office after hours, remember?”

“So what? Probably just a kid, just somebody wanting to rob the place—”

“He doesn’t keep money in the office, you know that,” Carrie pointed out. “It’s just records, paperwork. And everybody in town knows it; it’s almost a joke about how the only things of value are the cows.”

“But—”

Finn broke in to say, “There was no report.”

Sharon blinked again. “No. Well, of course not. There was no damage. He just thought somebody had been in his desk, in the filing cabinets. But it wasn’t personal. How could it have been?”

Finn didn’t know but made a mental note to check with others around the family dairy to see if anyone had any ideas about it. It might mean nothing. Or it might be important. Choosing his words carefully, he said, “So there’s no one you know of who might want Cole . . .”

“What?”

“Well, say, out of the way.”

“What’re you suggesting? That somebody might want to hurt Cole?”

“I’m just trying to cover all the bases,” he said. “Explore all the possibilities. So far, we haven’t found anyone who saw him after he left this house.”

The hectic color drained from Sharon’s cheeks. “But . . . but . . . nobody would do that. Why should they? I mean, I know Paul put people’s backs up, especially after what happened last summer, but Cole is just the sweetest guy, he really is. Nobody ever gets mad at Cole, not even me, really. We just have to thrash things out every once in a while, that’s all.”

“Okay, but—”

“Nobody would hurt Cole. Nobody. There wouldn’t be any reason. I’d know if—if—”

Carrie hurried into speech as her sister faltered, saying tensely, “People are talking. About those FBI agents coming to Salem today. About what Aylia Blackwood saw. Is it true? Is there a killer in Salem?”

Sharon gasped. “Oh, no!”

“We don’t know anything for certain,” Finn said with all the reassurance he could muster in his voice. But he couldn’t forget Hollis’s stark words, the expression in her eyes, and was afraid his own doubts showed on his face.

“Finn—”

“We don’t,” he said firmly. “Look, we’ll keep searching for Cole, you know that. My patrols will keep an eye out tonight, and first thing tomorrow we’ll start again. I just want you to think about it, and if anyone—or anything—comes to mind, and especially if you hear from Cole, give me a call, all right?”

“But—”