“What kind of strange things?”

Dulcie sat back, holding the glass in both hands as if she could soak up the cold. She started at the beginning, telling about her elderly parents, her mother’s trouble conceiving, the complete shock of the Montana property, her fear that she was Angel Beaumont.

“When I saw those yellow curtains...” She shook her head. “I know it sounds crazy, but I knew I’d seen them before. That wasn’t all. There’s a sound out there on the place...” Her voice broke.

“You felt you’d been there before?”

“I know I have. How else can I explain these feelings of déjà vu? I need to find the connection. Why leave this property to me?”

Jolene put down her glass. “You can’t be Angel Beaumont. They found her drowned in the creek. She’s buried up on the hill. I had planned to go up there—”

“What if she didn’t drown in the creek? Come on, have you seen how shallow the creek is right now and this spring is just like that one. There wasn’t enough water in the creek for her to drown.”

Dulcie sighed. “I guess I want to believe she is alive because it would explain why I inherited the property.”

“But that would mean...”

She nodded. “That I’m Angel Beaumont. My parents had to have had a reason for keeping the Montana property a secret. I feel as if it was something they couldn’t bring themselves to talk about. Something they had to let me discover on my own. I know that sounds strange.”

“Not really.”

“It’s like they were...ashamed to talk about it. See? Crazy.”

“Maybe not so crazy.”

Dulcie studied the young woman over the rim of her glass. Jolene knew more than she was saying. If there was one thing Dulcie had learned in business, it was to be patient. Let the other person fill the silence.

“You’re going to think I’m crazy now,” Jolene said finally and gave a nervous laugh.

“Try me,” Dulcie said.

“I get the feeling that the community knows something about the murder but they’ve made a secret pact not to tell.”

“A conspiracy?” That didn’t sound crazy to Dulcie at all.

Jolene nodded. “What if the little girl discovered her mother’s body and she saw the killer? Since the killer was never caught and for all we know he still lives here, what if the community is protecting him?”

“Or protecting Angel Beaumont,” Dulcie said. “Isn’t it possible the community faked her death so the killer wouldn’t find out she was alive?”

Jolene shivered and put down her glass. “The killer could be a woman.”

Dulcie stared at her. “Why would you say that?”

“It’s a possibility, isn’t it?” Jolene picked up her tea again, avoiding Dulcie’s gaze.