“No.” He ran his hand through his white hair. Beads of moisture flew backward. He looked at his wet hand in surprise and then wiped it against his khaki pants. “I’ll tell you what, though. I never would have figured Emily Peacock as a suicide.”

“She wasn’t depressed?”

“Depressed? Hell no. Happy as a lark. Said she and Jason Marley were planning on getting married this fall. Least that’s what she told Laura.”

“Really?” If it were true, it explained why Jason had been so upset the night before. What a horrible way to learn about the death of someone you loved! And then I remembered that Emily had been dead for two days with the door to her condo open. If they were engaged, how come Jason hadn’t been checking after not hearing from her for that long?

“Could they have broken up?” I asked Eddie. “Could that have been the reason she did it?” It sounded like a fairly logical explanation to me.

“Could have been, I suppose.” Eddie didn’t sound convinced. He squinted over my shoulder toward the building. “Is that Fairchild?”

I turned and saw a figure approaching through the fog. It was Fairchild, all right, dressed in a navy terry bathrobe that he lifted like a lady does an evening dress as he came up the stile steps. On his feet were flip-flops that seemed to be giving him more trouble than the long robe. Is there some law of nature that makes men incapable of walking in flip-flops?

“Good morning,” he said. “I am going swimming. Patricia Anne, if you are easily shocked, I suggest that you avert your eyes.” And with that warning, he stepped out of the flip-flops and shucked the robe, folding it neatly and laying it on the bench beside Eddie. Then, naked as a jaybird, he crossed the beach, walked into the water, which had to be chilly, and started swimming.

“Lord!” I said, remembering that Deputy Andrews had said Fairchild was a member of the Polar Bear Club.

Eddie laughed. “It’s the fog. Drove Millicent crazy.”

“He makes a habit of swimming nude in the fog?”

“Thinks no one will see him. He’s not an exhibitionist, just likes swimming in the buff.”

“But what about his blood pressure?” I looked toward the water where I could hardly see the swimmer. “Will he be all right?”

“Sure. I’m glad to see him out there. Must mean he’s feeling better.”

I wasn’t convinced. “Maybe. But the doctor’s got to have him on all kinds of medication, I’m sure. And, to tell you the truth, if I were a man it would make me nervous as hell to be swimming out there naked with all those hungry fish.”

Eddie laughed again. “Fairchild hasn’t got a thing to be nervous about.”