"He was about average, I'd say with brown hair. Hard to describe, really, wasn't he, dear?" Mary looked at Paddy.

"Yes, he was. Very nondescript," Paddy said.

Lexy felt a niggle of doubt. This was not how the others had described the stranger. Was it possible there was more than one stranger? Or maybe their memories were faulty since all the witnesses were old and over fifty years had passed since they'd seen him.

"Ed Johnston mentioned something about Earl selling insurance." Lexy decided to move on to her next question.

Paddy's face turned red. Lexy noticed he avoided looking at Mary. "Insurance? I don't remember that."

Lexy wasn't surprised. She figured no one wanted to admit to being scammed by Earl.

"So, tell me what you thought of the cookies." Lexy pointed to the bakery box.

"Oh, they were very nice, dear." Mary looked down at her plate, which had a half-finished cookie on it.

"No, really," Lexy said. "You won't hurt my feelings. I've heard the recipe needs more sugar and it's important for me to know, as I want to win. I'm going up against Violet Switzer."

Mary's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, dear. She's a tough competitor."

"Oh, that's right." Lexy stood to leave. "You probably know her. I heard she used to live in the neighborhood."

"Well, a few streets over," Paddy corrected her.

"Did she know Earl?" Lexy asked.

Paddy and Mary looked at each other again.

Mary shrugged. "I can't rightly say, but if you're going up against her, good luck. She takes her contests very seriously. Maybe a little more sugar in the cookies won't hurt."

They walked Lexy to the living room. As she turned to thank them, a fuchsia sparkle from the table beside the recliner caught her eye. Lexy frowned at the table where a familiar pair of fuchsia-studded glasses was folded up beside the lamp. "Are those my grandmother's reading glasses?"

Mary and Paddy both swiveled their heads to follow her gaze.

"No. No, these are mine." Mary picked them up and shoved them on her face. "They're a very common design for reading glasses. Lots of us ladies have them."

"That's right, and you look lovely in them," Paddy said.

"Well, thanks for coming by and you have a nice day." Mary bumped her shin on the coffee table as she practically pushed Lexy toward the door.

"Thanks. You, too," Lexy said.

"Good luck with the dessert contest," Paddy called out, and then promptly shut the door before Lexy had even stepped off the first step.

"I'm beginning to think we should move," Lexy said to Jack over pizza in the kitchen of their home after her visit with the Sullivan's.

"Why is that?"

She glanced out the window. "I think we might be living in a neighborhood of murderers."

Jack chuckled. "Surely, that can't be true. There hasn't been a murder here in over fifty years."

Lexy laughed. "True, and I don't really think any of the neighbors are killers, but I am sure a few of them have been lying to me."

"I remember you were suspicious that Floyd Nichols knew the year Earl died when he claimed he hadn't heard about it on the news." Jack folded a slice of green pepper, onion and hamburger pizza and paused, holding it in front of his mouth. "Did something happen at the Sullivan's?"

"Sort of." Lexy picked a pepperoni off her slice and popped it into her mouth, then wiped her greasy fingers on a napkin. "They're really a sweet couple and you can tell they are devoted to each other. Paddy said he had to defend Mary against Earl. But I think they lied to me, too."

"About Earl being interested in Mary?"

"No, I'm sure that part is true. But I got the feeling something was off. They'd said they hadn't talked to Nans in weeks, but I saw her reading glasses there and I know Nans had those the other day."

"I think you might be reading too much into this. The Sullivan's are old-they probably just lost track of time." Jack reached over and wiped some cheese from the corner of her mouth. "When you're retired, it's harder to remember if it's been a couple of days or a couple of weeks."

"True, but I know Mary lied about the glasses because she said they were hers but she'd just read a postcard to me less than an hour before without any glasses on at all. Why would they lie if they had nothing to hide?"

Jack shrugged. "You tell me.

"There's another strange thing, too." Lexy broke a tiny piece of crust off her pizza and fed it to Sprinkles, who had been sitting next to Lexy and quietly begging for some with pleading, brown eyes. "The descriptions of this stranger everyone seems to have seen are all different."

"Again, that could be due to age and memory. A lot of time has passed. But I have to admit, this case sure is getting strange, especially with the Feds coming in."

Lexy's brows dipped together. "Yeah, what about that? Why do you think the Feds are interested?"

"I don't know. I guess Davies' insurance scam theory makes sense. The two guys they sent, Binder and Fluke, have taken over one of the interrogation rooms down at the station, but they are pretty tight-lipped about what they're doing in there. Davies is all riled up about it."

"I bet she is. Do you think we can trust her?"

"Oh, sure. She's not that bad. She just likes to do things her way and it's better than letting the Feds have total control." Jack grimaced. "From what I've seen, they don't seem too competent and I get the feeling they're more interested in getting the case over with quickly than figuring out what really happened."

Lexy's gut churned, making her wish she hadn't eaten that third piece of pizza. "You don't think they'd just pin it on someone without evaluating the evidence properly, do you?"

"I hope not. But that's why it's important we keep looking into it, too. And that we keep Davies informed so she can do things through proper police channels."

"Okay. I'll call Davies tomorrow and let her in on my conversation with the Sullivan's." Lexy rose from the table, grabbed their plates and put them in the sink. She paused, a fluttery sensation nagging at her stomach as she looked out the window at the yellow crime scene tape stretched across Jack's bulkhead. "You know, I can't help but feel like something isn't right. Like someone is leaving something out or trying to misdirect us."

"I know what you mean. With all the strange forgetfulness' going on, I have a bad feeling myself, which is why we need to get to the bottom of this before the Feds do-just in case."

Lexy turned from the window, a puzzled look on her face. "Just in case of what?"

"In case the evidence starts to hit too close to home." Jack's eyes were dark with concern. "Because from where I'm sitting, a lot of the loose ends seem to point directly toward Nans."

Chapter Seventeen.

The next morning, Lexy made a surprise visit to Nans. She couldn't shake the feeling that Nans was avoiding her and she didn't want to call ahead and tip her off, lest she make an excuse that she was going out.

She stood in front of Nans' apartment door, her fist raised to knock, her stomach full of the butterflies that had started fluttering after Jack's comment of all the loose ends leading to Nans. He'd said he didn't think Nans was involved, but sometimes evidence can be tricky. He'd pointed out that the Feds didn't know Nans and might interpret things the wrong way. It was best to stick close so they could protect her, if need be.

As Lexy stood there, the door jerked open. Lexy stumbled back.

Nans stared at her from the doorway with wide, startled eyes. "Lexy, you scared the devil out of me. What are you doing lurking around out there?"

"I wasn't lurking. I was just about to knock."

"Oh, did you call? I didn't know you were coming."

"Sorry. I was in the neighborhood and I thought I'd check on you since I haven't seen you in a while." Lexy crossed her fingers behind her back and wondered if she'd be struck by lightning for lying to her grandmother.

Nans eyes narrowed. "Really? It was just the other day we went to Tommy O'Keefe's together."

Lexy hugged Nans and pulled her inside. "Hey, I can come visit my favorite grandma if I want to, right?"

Nans smile warmed her face. "Of course, dear. I was just going down to the clubhouse to see if anyone wanted to play some cards, but that can wait."

"Oh, good, because I was afraid you were avoiding me."

"Avoiding you? Never. I've just been busy. We old ladies have stuff to do, too, you know."

"With your new boyfriend?" Lexy asked slyly.

Nans narrowed her eyes. "Have you been talking to Ida and Ruth?"

Lexy shrugged. "I cannot reveal my sources."

"Well, no worries, there's nothing serious." Nans dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand. "Can I make you some tea or coffee?"

"Coffee would be great." Lexy hung back as Nans started toward the kitchen. "I need to use the bathroom."

"Yes, go ahead, dear. You know where it is."

Lexy sprinted down the hall, a stab of guilt slicing her heart. Instead of turning right into the bathroom, she turned left into Nans' room.

Her pulse pounded as she raced to the bureau, quickly pulling out the top drawer. She stuck her nose in and sniffed. No lavender smell. She stole a quick glance toward the hallway to assure herself Nans wasn't coming and then plunged her hands into the drawer, feeling gently for the telltale bulge. No sachets. She quickly repeated the process for the other drawers then, feeling incredibly relieved at not finding any she darted into the bathroom, flushed the toilet and walked back to the kitchen.

"Having a little trouble this morning, dear?" Nans said handing her a steaming cup full of dark brown brew.

"Huh?" Lexy's heart fluttered, her face flushed. Had Nans seen her rifling the drawers?

"In the bathroom ... seems you were in there a while."

"Oh." Lexy breathed a sigh of relief. Any worries about Nans powers of observation failing in her old age were put to rest-the old lady didn't miss a thing. "I dropped my ring while I was washing my hands."

Nans raised a brow and gestured toward the dining room table, which sat just outside the kitchen. "Have a seat. Tell me about the mummy case. I'm afraid I'm a little out of touch on that."

Lexy brought her up to speed, ending with her visit to the Sullivan's the night before. "Mary and Paddy seem devoted to each other. Did you know Earl was trying to put the moves on her?"

Nans lips pressed together in a thin line. "Yes. Now that you mention it, I remember that. Mary was not in the least bit interested."

"Even so, men have killed for that."

"You're not implying Paddy killed Earl!" Nans voice rose indignantly.

Lexy shrugged. "Have you seen them recently? Talked to them about Earl?"

"No," Nans answered quickly. "Why, it must have been months since I've seen them."

Nans words squeezed Lexy's heart. Was Nans lying? And if so, what could possibly be the reason?

"So, tell me about Earl. What kind of neighbor was he?" Lexy asked over the rim of her coffee mug.

"Oh, he was awful." Nans face pinched. "He built that fence in Ed's yard and then he kept his trash all over the back, spilling into our yard. Your grandfather was not happy."

"Did Grampy fight with him?"

"I should say not," Nans bristled. "Your grandfather was a lawman. He didn't agree with having fights in the street."

"But a lot of the other neighbors did," Lexy suggested.

Nans straightened the napkin in her lap primly. "I guess so, I don't really remember exactly."

"Jack said the police talked to his landlady and she said they found holes all over his yard after he disappeared. Did you notice those?"

Nans looked up startled. "Holes? No I never did. To tell you the truth, I never actually looked in his yard ... it was too messy. I always averted my eyes. I didn't even know he was missing' really, I just hoped he'd moved out."

Lexy nodded. She could certainly understand that with the way Earl acted. "Did you see this stranger that everyone keeps talking about?"

Nans looked down at the swirly coffee in her cup. "Yes, of course. Well... I saw a shadowy figure in the back yard. Right near the McDonalds' house. I remember being worried because they were in Europe, you know."

"Yes, I know. Which makes me wonder, if they were in Europe, how did someone get the body into their basement?"

Nans' purse chimed, interrupting her from answering. She looked around, spotted the purse in the living room and grabbed it, pulling out her smartphone.

She squinted, then held the phone at arm's-length, heaving a big sigh.

"It's a text, but I can't make out what it says." She handed the phone to Lexy. "Can you read it?"

"Sure." Lexy looked at the screen. "It's Ida. They're on their way over."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." Lexy handed the phone back. She fidgeted in her chair as she asked the question she didn't really want to hear the answer to. "Why didn't you just pull out your reading glasses, though?"