We pulled up in the large paved parking area in front of the big house. We got out of our car and looked around. Everything seemed still. It was a warm day; in fact, it felt like it was spring. But the hush seemed abnormal. I shook my head doubtfully, but after a shrug, Tolliver led the way up the brick-paved path.

The big front door swung open, and Lizzie stood framed by the rectangle. The entrance hall behind her was shadowy. Talk about abnormal; though she was obviously making a huge effort to smile at us, it seemed more like the grin of a skull. Her eyes were as round as quarters and tension screamed in every muscle.

Red alert. Our steps slowed. “Hey, you-all, come on in.” All the natural enthusiasm she’d shown when we’d met here the first time had been replaced by an intense anxiety.

“We shouldn’t have said we’d come by, we have an appointment in Dallas,” I said. “Lizzie, can we come back tomorrow? We really can’t miss this date we have.”

I saw the relief on Lizzie’s narrow face. “Well, just give me a call tonight,” she said. “You-all drive on to Dallas.”

“Oh, come in and have a drink,” Chip said from behind her.

She twitched, and her attempt at a smile vanished. “Get back in the car,” she said, “Get out!”

“You better not,” Chip said, his voice calm and level. “You better come on in.” We saw that he had revolver in his hand. That clarified our choice.

Chip and Lizzie backed up.

“I’m sorry,” she said to me. “I’m sorry. He said he’d shoot Kate if I didn’t call you.”

“I would have done it, too,” Chip said.

“I know you would,” I told him. As we eased past Lizzie and stood in the square foyer, waiting for further directions, I understood what had fascinated me about Chip. His bones. His bones were dead. This was a strange connection, and one I’d never experienced before; or if I had, I hadn’t understood its nature.

“Where is everyone?” Tolliver asked. His voice was as calm as Chip’s.

“I sent everyone on the payroll to the farthest places on the ranch I could think of, and it’s Rosita’s day off,” Chip said. He was smiling again, bright and hard, and I sure would have liked to wipe that look off his face. “It’s just me and the family.”

Shit.

Chip herded us all down the hall to the gun room. The light was still streaming in all the French doors, and the view was just as beautiful, but now I was in no mood to admire it.

Drex was standing there. He had a gun, too, which was a surprise. Kate was tied to a chair. They’d released Lizzie to lure us in the house. The ropes were loose around another chair.