“Did she stab the guy?” one of the yarn shop ladies asked.

“She is not a suspect right now. In fact, I want to make sure she’s safe.”

“How does he stay so calm when he does this? I’d tell everyone to be quiet and leave.” Connor kept his voice low enough that only she could hear.

She wondered the same thing. Gossip churned in the room. People whispered and nodded. Some talked loud enough for everyone to hear and didn’t care who did. More than one person gawked at her. A few pointed.

Panic. She understood. Their orderly lives had been spun upside down. Again. The fear and frustration from last summer spilled over into winter and they didn’t like it. They wanted their quiet island back, or most did. So did she.

“I need two more minutes of your attention.” Ben held up two fingers. “If you see the woman on the flyer, call me. Don’t be a hero. Don’t try to trick her.” Ben looked at the librarian. “I’m specifically talking to you, Mary. This is not a cozy mystery. It’s real life.”

“I bet I could solve it,” the woman said in a voice filled with indignation.

Ben smiled. “You probably could, but let me try first.”

“What does this have to do with you?” Dom asked Connor directly.

Maddie felt her blood pressure rise. It ticked up and her brain scrambled to come up with a sharp answer.

Connor beat her to it. “Not a damn thing.”

“And you?” Mary looked at Jenna. “Who are you?”

Then the whole room turned to Jenna.

Maddie waited to see what the woman would do. She owned the island. She could tell them all to swim to Seattle. Instead, she shook her head. “I don’t know Owen or the woman. I’m here visiting Sylvia for a few days.” She glanced at Ben. “Maybe longer.”

A chorus of “oh” sounded around the room. A few people smiled. No one asked a follow-up.

“What just happened?” Connor asked Maddie in a low voice.

“They probably assume Jenna is Sylvia’s new girlfriend.”

“Oh.”

Maddie wished that’s exactly who Jenna was. That would make sense and erase any doubts about her motives. But her showing up when she did and not offering much in the way of an explanation still didn’t sit right with Maddie. Jenna could come and go as she pleased, but she didn’t. That was the point. No one knew her and she didn’t stop by for tea—ever.

Maddie met Jenna’s gaze across the room and nodded.

There were other things that didn’t add up. Jenna couldn’t be more than thirty-two or -three. The idea that she owned all of this had Maddie shaking her head.

“Ben?”