I was spared having to answer by Neil’s entrance. He was positively bouncing with bonhomie as he crossed the room and greeted me with a kiss on the cheek. I was so surprised I couldn’t move out of the line of fire fast enough. Micky moved away, disgust written all over his face.

“I know it’s tasteless to say so,” Neil whispered in my ear, “but Kevin’s arrest is going to make my book a bestseller. I’ve been on to my publisher this afternoon, and we’re going to have the book ready to roll as soon as the trial finishes.”

“Why don’t you get yourself a drink,” I said through clenched teeth. The guy gave a whole new meaning to sleaze.

He winked at me and made his way over to the bar. The distant sound of the gate intercom buzzer caught everyone’s attention and Gloria moved automatically towards the door to the hall.

“It’s all right, Gloria, I’ll get it,” I said, moving swiftly across the room to head her off at the pass. I went out into the hall, closing the door behind me, and opened the gates for the final arrival.

I stood in the doorway and watched as the car slowly made its way up the drive. It pulled up at the foot of the steps, in a kind of

I cleared my throat and said, “People, if I could have your attention for a moment?” The murmur of conversation triggered off by Maggie’s arrival ended as abruptly as if I’d pushed the mute button on their remote control. Jackson turned towards me and leaned against a marble-topped pier table.

“You all know about Kevin’s arrest, and I expect that most of you think that it’s only a matter of time till he’s charged with Moira’s murder. But then, you already thought that about Maggie when she was arrested. However, I was hired to find a killer, and I suspect that most of you think that’s exactly what I’ve done. But until I’ve cleared up some loose ends that are still remaining, I’m afraid I can’t regard the case as being closed. That’s why I’ve asked you all together. There are some inconsistencies in the stories I’ve been told, and I thought the best way to deal with them was to have you all together. It’s a shame Kevin can’t be here, but we’ll just have to work around that.” I looked around at their expressions, some hostile, some fascinated.

I took a deep breath and continued. “I hadn’t been working the case for very long when I discovered that someone in this house had already been trying to get rid of Moira.