“Thank you,” Catherine said. “I like it well enough. Would you like an iced tea or some coffee? Or I have a lovely 2013 zinfandel from the Napa Valley?”

“An iced tea would be great, thanks.”

Catherine turned to the housekeeper, who was hovering in the doorway. “I’ll have some of the wine, please, Iris. Could you bring the drinks outside? It’s too nice a day to sit indoors.”

Jessica followed Catherine through a set of french doors out into a backyard with a kidney-shaped pool and a hot tub enclosed by an abundance of lush trees, plants, and flowers. The whole area was thoughtfully designed, with octagonal Saltillo pavers, a vine-covered pergola near the pool, and a porch with a dining table and a corner seating space filled with plump cushions and more ornate vases and lanterns holding tiny tea lights.

The heady, sweet fragrance of honeysuckle filled the air, and it was easy to imagine how great the place would be for al fresco parties, with the pool and fairy lights all lit up and the Napa Valley wine flowing as guests mingled in the warm evening breeze.

A nice way to live if you could afford it.

They sat at the dining table, shaded from the sun but still able to enjoy what was left of a glorious afternoon, as the rays glinted off the pool’s glassy turquoise surface and cicadas sang unseen in the surrounding foliage.

Catherine kicked off the conversation without waiting for any prompting from Jessica. Another business meeting tactic, no doubt. “So you’re a private investigator?” she said. “That must be exciting. And a little dangerous, too, I would imagine.”

Jessica smiled. “It has its moments.”

“My secretary tells me Tav-Con came up as part of one of your investigations. I’m intrigued. I sold the business twenty-some years ago. Please don’t tell me you’ve found someone I owe money to after all this time.”

Jessica laughed. “No, nothing like that. I actually wanted to ask you about one of Tav-Con’s former employees. A woman named Eleanor Lavelle?”

A shadow passed briefly across Catherine’s face. She nodded. “The young woman who was killed in Eagle Rock. I don’t think they ever found the child, did they?” She looked at Jessica. “Or is that why you’re investigating the case? Have they found the little girl or the person who killed the mother?”

“No, unfortunately not,” Jessica said. “There haven’t been any new developments. My client simply wants me to cast a fresh eye over the case, what with the twenty-fifth anniversary approaching.”

Catherine looked wistful. “Twenty-five years. How quickly time passes.”

Iris appeared with the iced tea in a tall glass and a goldfish bowl–size wineglass. She placed the drinks on a couple of napkins, like a cocktail waitress, then scuttled off back into the house. Jessica drank some of the iced tea to be polite, but it was actually pretty good.