Nathan made a face. "Don't do that; he'll think I've gone soft. Give him my regards, instead."

"You men are something else. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside just hearing it," I said.

Nathan smiled, and then ducked into his office. I hadn't managed to shake Sandra up enough to talk to me in detail, but I had a feeling that if I took another run at her later, I might have more luck.

In the meantime, I'd spoken with everyone in Parson's Valley that I needed to, at least for the moment.

It was time to head back home and organize my thoughts concerning everything that I'd learned so far.

I WALKED INTO THE COTTAGE, FLIPPING THROUGH THE MAIL as I went. It was mostly bills, but I found a long envelope with my name on it among them, and I tore into it. My syndicate was a little erratic in my pay schedule, but the envelope was unmistakable. I pulled out the check, and realized that it would be quickly devoured by the bills already sitting on the counter.

Such was the life of a midlist puzzlemaker.

I threw the stack of letters on the coffee table and saw Joanne's puzzle still sitting there from the day before.

Picking it up, I glanced at it to see how difficult she'd made her first puzzle. I could remember my first one, as complicated as I'd ever made one. I had been petrified that everyone would be able to figure it out instantly. Instead, I got several complaints about how hard it had been, and after that, I'd lowered my sights a little. At least Joanne hadn't made that mistake, too. As puzzles went, it wasn't bad. I liked the way she'd used threes as a theme in one of the logic puzzles, and I was surprised that she'd been able to come up with it. It was a little more sophisticated than a neophyte's puzzle should be, with patterns appearing within the puzzle beyond just the solution.

I kept staring at it long past when I should have chucked it into the recycling bin.

There was something familiar about it.

And then it hit me.

There was every reason in the world it should look memorable to me.

I was pretty sure that I was the one who'd created it.

"ZACH, I'VE GOT A PROBLEM," I SAID A FEW MINUTES LATER when I called my husband's cell phone.

"Did someone threaten you? I told you to be careful nosing around town, Savannah."

"That's not it," I said, "but it's still bad news. It turns out I may have had more of a motive to kill Joanne than we first realized."

"What are you talking about?"

I took a deep breath, and then plunged into it. "Do you remember the puzzle she published in the Asheville paper?"

"I'm not likely to forget it. Why?"

I tapped the paper with a finger as I explained, "I took a good look at it today, and there was something about it that looked really familiar. It should. I created it two years ago."

There was a long pause, and then Zach asked, "Savannah, I don't mean to be obvious, but how can you be certain? There have to be a limited number of ways to come up with those puzzles. Isn't it possible it's just a coincidence?"

"Not a chance," I said.

"How can you be so sure?"

I tried to keep the exasperation I was feeling out of my voice. "Zach, a puzzle has the creator's fingerprints all over it. It just takes a trained eye to see it. This is one of mine. I dug through my files and found the original. She didn't change a thing on hers. The empty s.p.a.ces are identical, along with every solution. It's mine. There's no doubt about it."

"Who have you told about this?"

"n.o.body. The second I discovered it, I called you. Why?"

I could hear him take a deep breath on the other end of the line, and then he said, "Don't share this with anyone just yet, okay?"

I thought about that for a few seconds. "Isn't that concealing evidence? You can't just bury this. Your principles are too important to you, Zach."

"Savannah, don't be stupid. Do you honestly want North to think you killed Joanne? Don't worry, I'll handle it."

"How do you propose to do that?" I knew my husband loved me, and that he'd do just about anything in the world for me, but I couldn't let him cover up information on an active case, no matter how bad it would make me look.

"I'll come up with something. In the meantime, put that paper and your original puzzle in a safe place. We might need them both."

"I'll take care of it, but I don't like this one bit."

"What do we gain by telling North right now? It's only pertinent if you killed Joanne. You didn't, did you?"

"Of course not."

"Then we're not even obstructing justice, as far as I'm concerned."

I whistled into the phone. "Are you listening to yourself, Zach?"

"Good-bye, Savannah."

After we hung up, I wondered about Zach's decision to conceal this new evidence from Captain North, but I had to trust his instincts about it. What he'd said made sense. I hadn't committed the crime, so there was no reason the state police captain needed another motive for me to have done it. Was that really true, or was I starting to slide on the slippery slope that had already gotten Zach? As I sat there, I realized that acting rash would only get me in trouble, so I decided to do what my husband had asked me to, at least for the moment. I took both papers and stashed them in our fireproof safe in the master bedroom closet. Why anyone would want to steal them was beyond me, but I trusted my husband's gut feelings.

After the safe was locked, I made myself a cup of hot chocolate and sat outside. I'd started to reach for the tea bags automatically, but the thought of Joanne's poisoning was enough to stay my hand. The more I thought about one of my puzzles being pirated, the madder I got. I couldn't believe the nerve Joanne had exhibited, stealing something I'd created and taking credit for it as her own. I felt betrayed by the action, and more than a little angry. I wouldn't kill her over it, but I was certain that if she were still alive, I'd do my best to publicly berate and humiliate her with the truth. Hadn't she realized that, or did Joanne think she was so clever that I'd never uncover the truth? It had been the height of arrogance to steal my puzzle, but even brasher was that she'd waved it in front of my face.

If I was being honest about it, I knew that I'd heard of worse motives for murder in my life.

There wasn't anything I could do about that at the moment, though. I was just going to have to forget my own motive and continue to look for whoever had killed Joanne.

I was torn from my thoughts by the sound of a car coming up the drive. For a second I thought it might be Zach coming home, but instead, it was Rob's pickup truck. It was easily recognizable, since he used it for deliveries and it had the hardware store's name embossed on both door panels.

"Hey, mister, you've got the wrong house. I didn't order anything from the hardware store," I said as I stepped off the porch to greet him.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," he said as he held up a replacement doork.n.o.b for one of my kitchen cabinets that I'd asked him about weeks ago.

I laughed as I took it. "I nearly forgot about this. What did it cost me, two dollars?"

"Sorry, they went up to two fifty," he said.

"I might be wrong, but isn't it a little expensive to make a delivery on something this small?"

He shrugged. "I was out this way delivering a load of pine straw to Steve Waverly, so I thought I'd drop this off to you while I was here. What have you been up to today?"

"Oh, a little of this and that," I said.

"Don't hold back on me, Savannah," he said with a grin. "I'm still a member of the investigating team, right?"

"I hate getting you involved," I said.

"I believe we've already gone over that." He glanced at my mug. "Is that coffee?"

"Hot chocolate," I admitted.

"Even better. I've got some time before I have to head back, and I'd love a cup if you've got it to spare."

"Come on in," I said.

"If it's all the same to you, I think I'll stay out here and enjoy one of these rocking chairs. I don't get to sit and rock nearly enough."

"I'll be back in a minute," I said.

I made his cocoa, and freshened mine up with a dash more of the hot chocolate while I was at it.

Rob was rocking away when I handed him his mug. "Thanks." He took a sip, and then smiled. "That's outstanding. You know, you and Zach have done a wonderful job with these flowers."

I looked at the raised beds, and their nearly spent buds. "We have vegetables, too, but I love surrounding myself with blossoms and blooms."

"Don't tell anyone, but I do, too. My garden feeds my body, but my flower beds feed my soul."

I smiled gently at him. "I never realized you had a poet's heart, Rob."

He shook his head. "I wouldn't say that, exactly, and I surely wouldn't spread it around town. After all, I've got a reputation to uphold."

"Don't worry, I won't give you away."

"Good," he said as he took another sip of cocoa. "So, what's new on the murder investigation?"

"I don't even know where to begin," I said.

"Start anywhere, and I'll stop you if I've heard it before."

I started to tell him about the conversations I'd had so far without him, but I held back on mentioning my visit to the Asheville Botanical Gardens, and what I'd discovered there. I didn't think Zach would want me to tell anyone about the poison that had been used to kill Joanne, so I decided to err on the side of caution until I discussed it with him first.

After I was finished recounting what I could, Rob whistled softly under his breath. "Do you realize something? If we're right, you've talked to a murderer in the past twenty-four hours."

I hadn't really thought of it that way, but what he said was valid. "I'm still no closer to knowing who did it than I was before."

"I might be able to help you with that," he said a little smugly.

"Go on. You've got my attention."

Chapter 10.

"WOULD IT HELP IF YOU HAD A CHANCE TO GO through Joanne's house without anyone looking over your shoulder?" Rob asked. "Could there be a clue hiding there about what happened to her?"

"There might be, but I doubt Laura would let me near the place, even if Zach approved of it."

"You have to get his permission to snoop?" Rob asked softly.

"When it comes to getting actively involved in one of his investigations I do. I wouldn't do it any more than he would pick up a pencil and change a number in one of my puzzles. There have to be some boundaries."

Rob thought about that, and then nodded. "I can see that. a.s.suming he gives you the green light, would you like to look around her place?"

I took another sip of cocoa, and then said, "I'm not at all certain that Laura would appreciate me doing that. If she's Joanne's nearest living relative, she's not going to just invite me in."

"Maybe not, but you could come with me," Rob said with a grin.

"How did you get the magic key?"

He took a sip, and then said, "That's closer to the truth than you know. A magic key is exactly what I've got."

"What are you talking about?"

He held a key up and waved it in the air. "Laura came by an hour ago and gave me this key to Joanne's house. She's paying me to change all of the locks in the place, and to give the new keys just to her. She seems concerned that someone's going to get in there without permission."

"Couldn't you get in trouble for bringing me along?"

"Not if you're my helper," he said. "Have you ever thought about moonlighting at the hardware store for real? You were teasing with Lee yesterday, but we could make it official. I can only hire you for one job, and there won't be any salary or benefits attached, but it's yours if you want it."

I smiled despite the serious nature of our investigation. "How can I turn down an offer like that? When are you going to do it?"

"As a matter of fact, I'm heading there right now," he said. "Laura's paying me double time for a rush job, and I wasn't about to turn her down."

"Let me grab something first, and then I'll need to call Zach."

"I'll be right here waiting," he said.

I called my husband, and he answered on the second ring. "Savannah, did you put those papers in the safe yet?"

"The second we hung up," I answered. "Let me ask you something. Have you been through Joanne's house yet?"

"I didn't get a chance to go myself," he admitted. "North had it checked out while we were interviewing suspects. I would have loved to go through it, too, but she's already released it to Laura Moon. Why do you ask?"

"I've got a chance to snoop around a little right now, but I didn't want to step on your toes."

I could hear him taking a deep breath before he asked, "How did you manage that?"