She followed Tish onto the balcony. Tish sat in a folding chair, with her legs propped on the slats of the wooden railing. She had a drink in her hand and a cigarette smoldering in an ashtray on the floor. Her shirt slipped up, revealing a triangle of white bikini panties. Serena leaned on the balcony, which looked out on the black expanse of the lake. There was almost no bluff below them, just sixty feet of air and then dark water. Everything was calm, without even a breath of wind to stir the heat around.

Tish flicked a mosquito off her forearm. “I read about you,” she said.

“Oh?”

“I read about that guy who came after you last winter. You almost died.”

“You’re right. So?”

“That must have been terrifying.”

“It was.”

“I don’t think I would have survived an experience like that.”

“I don’t like to talk about it,” Serena said.

“Sure, I understand.” Tish added, “You know, when I first met you, I didn’t like you. I’m not sure I would have liked anyone that Stride was with.”

“Why is that?”

“Loyalty to Cindy, I guess.”

“And now?” Serena asked.

“Now I see that there’s a lot more to you than I realized.”

“How often does a girl get a compliment like that?” Serena said wryly.

“I just mean that when people meet you, I guess they don’t always see past the face and the killer body.”

“This body has a couple more pounds on it than I’d like.”

“You don’t have to be modest. Anyway, I shouldn’t have prejudged you. I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” Serena said. “But I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“Stride and I have a lot in common. He may not show it the way I do, but we’re both damaged. Losing Cindy damaged him a lot.”

“I’m sure it did.”

“I don’t like seeing that pain dragged up for him again,” Serena said.

“You mean me?”

“Yes.”

“You’re honest.”

“What about you, Tish? Are you honest?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, did you really know Cindy?” Serena asked. “Or are you making it up? Because as far as I can tell, there’s no evidence that you ever even met Cindy. So if you’re playing games with us, I’m telling you right now that I will make you regret it.”

“I did know her.”

“Then why did she never mention you to Jonny?”

“Even the most loyal of women has secrets.” Tish picked up her cigarette with two fingers. “Don’t you keep secrets about yourself?”

“Some,” Serena admitted.

“There you go.”

“If I keep a secret, there’s a reason for it. Did Cindy have a reason to hide her relationship with you?”

“Maybe I asked her to.”

“Why would you do that?”

Tish swirled the ice in her drink and then drained the rest of it. “You already told me there are places in your own past that you don’t like to visit. Is it so hard to accept that I feel the same way? I wasn’t ready to come back here and face my past. Cindy understood.”