Dottie fed Janice a steady stream of questions, so all she had time for was to glance back occasionally with a quick frown at Marina before she plastered on her fake smile again for Dottie. Adelaide elbowed Marina in the side every time Janice played split personality and Marina was fairly certain she was going to bruise.

“Is there an award for the worst acting job ever?” Adelaide asked as Dottie pulled Janice into a closet for a minute.

“If there is, Janice wins, it. Hands down. And Dottie wins the best.”

Adelaide nodded. “I don’t know how she does it. And all with that serene smile. I’m pretty sure every time I look at Janice I appear as if I have gas.”

Marina nodded. “Or smelled a port-a-john.”

“That perfect-face ability has got to be in the DNA. No way can you learn that. I know I couldn’t.”

“I don’t think I could either.”

“Oh, you’re plenty gracious enough to pull it off.”

“Not lately. I think I finally reached that stage you were born into.”

“Welcome to the best years of your life.”

Marina nodded but she wondered if she only had days rather than years to enjoy her newfound attitude. So far, the house tour had yielded nothing, and if the ring wasn’t here, then where else would it be? Few people in Last Chance had a lot of disposable income and even fewer had inherited assets, especially of the giant ruby kind. And if they had inherited that kind of stone, it probably would have been sold off long ago. Dottie and the LeDoux were two of the only families that had the money to let something like that sit around.

Marina had conjured up a theory earlier that day that maybe everything that had happened recently had been the ring working to get her to the right place. But that didn’t appear to be the case. The ring had brought her closer to Dottie and Adelaide, but Adelaide’s family wasn’t rich and she would have never held on to something that valuable. She was too practical and not at all sentimental. Dottie had already said she didn’t own anything with a large ruby, so that really only left the LeDoux. Preston and Patricia were the last of the family line and they all lived in this estate along with their children, so unless they had it in a safe-deposit box, it would be in this house. But unless it didn’t want to be found, Marina was convinced the ring wasn’t here.

She must have sighed without realizing it because Adelaide gave her a hard look.

“What’s up with you?” Adelaide asked. “Coming to this party is out of character enough, although I’m thrilled if being this perverse is part of a new you. But touring this god-awful place is enough to make a person constipated. Why in the world would you want to do it? It can’t be just to hack Janice off, although I will admit, that part has been fun.”