“Why were you so ready to buy it?”

“Weren’t you?”

“Of course, but…”

“I was way ahead of you. I’d been thinking about a country place for a while, and I spent a weekend up here a couple of years ago with…an acquaintance.”

“And who might that have been?” Sarah asked archly.

“A woman named Amanda Dart.”

“The gossip columnist? The one who was murdered outside the Plaza Hotel?”

“One and the same.”

“Did they ever figure out who killed her?”

“No arrest was ever made.”

“But they know?”

Stone shrugged. “Maybe, but it won’t ever be solved.”

“Why not?”

“Because the people who arranged it don’t make a practice of committing murders that can be solved.”

“Stone, tell me the house you just bought wasn’t Amanda Dart’s.”

“It wasn’t. I’m not even sure exactly where Amanda’s place is. I was only there a couple of times, and it was on some back road or other.”

“You didn’t tell me you’d been to Washington before.”

“You didn’t ask.”

“Am I ever going to get to know all the nooks and crannies of your devious mind?” she asked.

“God, I hope not.”

“I’m going to have to start looking for furniture and fabrics.”

“Listen, Sarah,” he said, “we still have to be very careful.”

“With money?”

“With your safety.”

“Why? Hasn’t your suspect flown the coop?”

“Yes, but we don’t know where he’s flown to. You can’t tell anybody about this place for the time being, and maybe not for a long time.”

“But I want to tell everybody.”

“I’ll tell you when it’s okay. As far as decorating goes, I think we should buy a bed and some other necessities in the city, then furnish the place from the shops and antique shops around here. There are a lot of them.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Something else.”

“What?”

“I’m worried about your show. I know it would be difficult, but do you think you could cancel, or at least, postpone it?”

“Are you insane? Bergman has sent out a thousand invitations, at the very least.”

“I drove past the gallery yesterday; it’s very exposed, opening right onto Madison Avenue. I’d feel better if it were on a side street.”