Unfortunately, all the beauty made what had happened last night even worse.

Emergency services had been at the house until the early morning. We had only managed a couple hours of sleep, but rest would have to wait. Beatty, short for Bartholomew Barnes, the family lawyer, had called first thing as soon as he’d heard the news. Beatty handled all the legal business for Ivywood Hollow, although what had happened to poor Constance obviously wasn’t in the realm of his normal duties.

Once Izzy had arranged the tray on the table, I reached for the coffee, only to have my hand swatted away.

“Brynn, where are your manners? Guests first.”

I rubbed my hand and smiled at Beatty. “She’s right of course. Please.”

He chuckled. “I think you all might need it more than me. Oh, hello, Nora.”

Nora strode toward us wearing a dark green, gauze, kimono shawl with velvet embroidery over a fitted black dress. Her long red hair was piled up on her head, held in place with two gold hair pins. Even distraught, she managed to look terrific. The oversized black sunglasses may have been a bit much though. “Beatty,” Nora said by way of greeting before snatching up the coffee mug he was reaching for.

“Evanora!” Izzy scolded.

“Beatty doesn’t mind,” Nora said matter-of-factly, sinking into one of the oversized rattan armchairs. “After all, it’s not the coffee he’s interested in.”

Poor Izzy’s eyes widened with embarrassment. Beatty Barnes was Izzy’s crush. No one could fault her for it. Beatty was generous and thoughtful, the kind of person you could really count on, and to be completely honest, he was turning into a real silver fox, of the slightly chubby variety. He really seemed to like Izzy too, but things never progressed past cookies and coffee. It made Nora nuts. Like she was anyone to talk.

That being said, I couldn’t exactly judge either one of them. The Warren women were not lucky in love. In fact, you might even call us cursed. I know I certainly felt that way.

“Nora’s right,” I said. “It’s not the coffee Beatty’s after. It’s the baked goods.” I picked up the plate and held it out to him. “Weren’t these one of your favorites?”

“I have to admit, they’re all my favorite,” Beatty said, placing a cookie on a napkin. “Izzy always manages to outdo herself.”

My aunt shot me a grateful smile.

Nora, however, let out a disgusted sigh before moving on with, “I suppose they’ve filled you in on all the grisly details?”

“I’m not sure I would call them grisly.” Beatty reached for the notepad in his leather bag. “My understanding is Constance slipped and hit her head on the bathtub?”

“That’s our best guess. It all happened so fast. I had just been up to check on her a few minutes beforehand. Nora found her,” Izzy said. “That poor woman. I just can’t believe it. I feel terrible.”

“What is our liability in all this?” Nora asked, tapping her long crimson fingernails against her coffee mug.