“I came to talk to you about Kellie,” she said. Though she’d spent most of her life in the U.S., the lyrical cadence of her Brazilian-accented Portuguese still came through when she spoke English and she softened her daughter’s name to “Kayley.”

“So you said,” I replied. “Is something wrong?”

“She’s going to need another couple of days before she’s ready to come back to work,” Bianca said. “I hope that won’t be a problem. She would have told you herself, but she’s not up to facing anyone at the moment.”

Bianca had been the parent who worried about Kellie’s near meltdown at Harvard, her desire to take a year off from the pressure of Ivy League academics and the burden of what was expected of her as the next generation of the Avery dynasty. Still the fierce mother, a lioness protecting her cub whatever was required, Bianca wasn’t making excuses for her daughter. She was laying down the law. Back off. Give her time.

“Tell her to take all the time she needs,” Frankie said. “We miss her—everyone loves her here—but believe me, we all understand what she’s going through. It’s tough.”

Bianca gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Thank you.”

“I saw Scotty last night,” I said. “He mentioned that Nico went back to Brown, but he did say Kellie’s having a hard time dealing with what happened. I know she and Prescott were close.”

Bianca’s eyes flashed surprise. Scotty obviously hadn’t told his wife we’d met. “That’s right. The news stories about our family are upsetting her terribly. I’m worried about her.” As if it were an afterthought she added, “Scott forgot to tell me where you two saw each other, Lucie.”

“Your father-in-law asked me to stop by the Castle. Scott and I ran into each other as I was driving back to Mosby’s Highway.”

No point telling her it had almost been a real collision.

“I see,” she said. “I hope everything was all right with Clayton when you spoke to him. He’s devastated about what happened to Prescott, just as Scott is. And then everyone in the family being a suspect in his death. It’s been a nightmare for all of us.” She looked as if she were on the verge of tears.

“I know,” I said. “I’m so sorry.”

“The Sheriff’s Office will get to the bottom of what happened soon,” Frankie said. “They’ll find out who really did it.”

“There were over a hundred people at your party,” I said. “That’s a lot of suspects.”

Bianca nodded and reached for the water bottle. Her hand shook as she started to fill her glass. Water sloshed on the needlepointed pillow.

“Look what I’ve done … I’m so sorry.”

“It’s only water,” Frankie said. “Don’t give it another thought.”