They squabbled good-naturedly as they suggested, rejected, and finally came to an agreement. The picnic menu would consist of stuffed artichokes, shiitake mushrooms filled with goat cheese, cherry tomatoes stuffed with smoked salmon and cream cheese, asparagus spears wrapped in Prosciutto, duck pâté with crackers, and, for dessert, strawberries dipped in chocolate. It was left up to Anthony to choose the wine.

“Ah, we work so well together,” Lola said happily.

The kitchen took on an air of conspiracy as the Big Three set to work.

Heads turned when Boomer Ward walked into Eva’s restaurant. He didn’t notice, as he headed for the table in the back that he had reserved. He was the first one to arrive. A bustling waitress in a yellow uniform with a brown-checkered apron approached with a carafe of coffee and poured. “Bring a pitcher of orange juice, a bowl of fruit, and a plate of croissants. A large pot of coffee. There will be four of us,” he said.

Eva’s was a small-town restaurant favored by just about everyone in Indigo Valley, just the way the bakery was. He loved the smell of fresh coffee and the pastries that were baked on the premises. As a child, his parents had brought him to Eva’s every Saturday morning for breakfast. His dad always had a big stack of buttermilk pancakes with a side order of scrambled eggs and six slices of bacon. His mother had a fruit cup and a blueberry muffin. He almost laughed out loud when he remembered the day when he was twelve or so and gave Helen, the waitress, his order, which was the same as his father’s. She’d winked at him to show he’d grown up. He’d eaten every bit of it, too, to his father’s and mother’s dismay.

Memories were wonderful. Especially the good ones. He poured himself a second cup of coffee from the carafe. His thoughts weren’t on what would soon transpire but on Cady and the evening they’d spent together. Today might be the last time she would want to see him once she knew what had really happened that day. He was glad now that he’d told her how he felt. He was glad, too, to have finally said the words out loud.

First love. He found himself smiling at the thought. He looked up to see Pete Danson headed his way. He slid into the booth and reached for the carafe.

“How’s it going, Boomer?”

“I guess it’s going as good as can be expected. How’s it with you?” Pete shrugged. “I feel like I’m about to fall over a cliff onto the rocks down below. Andy said he’d be here, but he might be a few minutes late. Did you get hold of Amy?”

“I left a message on her answering machine. I’m sure she got it, but I don’t know if she’ll show up or not.”

“I’m not counting on it. How’s the police business?”

“Fairly calm and quiet. One of my guys picked up Jeb Wooster on Saturday night for setting fire to his garage. His wife said he did it on purpose. He said it was an accident. Seems she’s addicted to the Shopper’s Channel and stores all her purchases in the garage until she can figure out what to do with them. He figured it out for her. Dan McGruder ripped out Henry Lanson’s picket fence on Sunday afternoon because Lanson painted it robin’s-egg blue, and Dan said he couldn’t abide the color. That’s pretty much it on the crime front. What’s new in the legal profession?”