"November 28, 1972, was on his driver's license," Amanda said. "That made him forty-four last fall."

"That's when we celebrated it, too," Jamie said.

"The birthday and the wedding dates are the same for us all." Kate pushed back her chair and headed to her room.

"Where are you going?" Amanda asked.

"I'm writing this down, like I told you. I may hire my own private investigator. If they find a living wife before me, then she will be in line for this property. If it's not mine, then I'll go home and let her worry with the legalities of the thing," Kate said. "I want to know the truth, and once I know that, I can truly have closure."

"Know the truth and the truth shall set you free," Amanda whispered. "But I will fight anyone to the death for this cabin."

"Quoting Scripture? Are you religious?" Jamie asked.

"Oh, yes, I am," Amanda said. "Conrad and I went to church every Sunday when he was home . . . Dammit!"

Both Jamie and Kate giggled.

Amanda frowned. "It's not funny. He was sitting in church with me, pretending to be all righteous when he was . . ." Tears filled her eyes and spilled down over her cheeks. "I can't believe that he even conned God."

Kate smiled. "A touch of depression is setting in, right?"

Amanda nodded. "He doesn't deserve to make me sad. I'm more depressed with myself than anything, because I was so gullible."

"That's what con men prey on," Jamie said. "Do you think I wasn't gullible? Or Kate? And honey, you can fight, but I've got a legal claim on this place that you can't unseat. Gracie is his oldest child, and she will inherit this place."

"We'll see when it all comes out that there are divorce papers hiding somewhere and that I'm his wife. And gullible? You might have been, but not Kate!" Amanda shot a glance toward Kate.

With a sigh, Kate turned around and returned to the table. "Of course I was. I'd spent my entire life working on my career. I was thirty when we married, which isn't old, but I was established in the business, had three degrees, and was working on my doctorate at that time. I have a level head on my shoulders until it comes to men, then all my common sense flies right out the window," Kate admitted. "And on that note, I have to go write down details before I forget them. Thanks for the breakfast, Jamie."

"You are welcome," Jamie said.

Kate changed from pajama pants and a tank top into shorts and a T-shirt. She wrote down every single thing that they'd discussed, and then she folded her shirt and pajama pants. When she tried to open the dresser drawer to put them away, it hung about halfway. She tugged on it, but it wouldn't budge. She tried to push it back in, but that didn't work, either.

Finally, she dropped to her knees, and with her face on the floor, she peeked under it to find the corner of a thick piece of paper jamming up the works. She needed something long and thin to slip under there. But if she removed the two top drawers, then she could reach under the back side of the bottom one and pull the paper out.

All it took was one little yank and the envelope was free. She tossed it onto the bed and shoved the drawer back, but just before it closed all the way, something else fluttered underneath. It didn't give her a problem to pull the drawer all the way out and set it on the bed with the other two.

"Good grief," she muttered at the sight before her. At least a dozen envelopes had been hidden under there. She gathered them all up and laid them on the bed with the others and then put the drawers back. Curiosity made her pull out the bottom drawer on the other side of the dresser, and she found a dozen more.

When she was sure she had everything, she sat down on the bed with letters in unsealed legal-size envelopes stacked up in front of her. Dates had been written where a stamp should have gone, starting with June 1 and ending with July 3. Nothing to indicate a year, but from the yellowed look of the paper, they'd been written a long time ago.

She held the one dated June 1 in her hand. They could have a bearing on who killed Conrad. Besides, she wanted to know more. She pulled the paper out, gently unfolded it, and gasped when she saw the first line: My dearest Darcy, I know you will find the new will and the letters I'm leaving you because this was your favorite hiding spot for treasures when you were a little girl. I must be a very strong woman in the coming days, because Conrad has threatened that if I don't do what he wants, he will divorce me, take his half of everything your father and I worked for all our lives, and then he will seduce you into marrying him. He can be very charming and I cannot bear the thought of you being taken in by that man.

Though he is very sweet when we're out, when we are alone he is mentally abusive. After the first two weeks of marriage, I moved into your old room, and he seems fine with the situation.

I love you, Darcy, and I'm very sorry for this terrible mistake I have made. There is a will in a sealed envelope. From what I found out, it had to be signed in front of two witnesses and the seal unbroken to be valid. Take it to our lawyer. He knows my handwriting and my signature. And the key taped to the bottom of this letter is to my deposit box at the bank. Conrad does not know about the box. What's in it belongs to you as well as this cabin where you grew up and whatever money that Conrad has not blown through.

Love you, Mama Kate laid the envelope with WILL written on the outside on the dresser and opened the next one in the stack. When she'd read through half of them, she lay back on the bed. Her heart weighed heavy for Iris, but why hadn't the woman mailed the letters and the will? Why had she left them hidden to be found after her death?

The next one answered her question. If Darcy knew what was going on, she'd do something about it, and Conrad had promised retribution. Evidently he'd convinced Iris that he would hurt her daughter, or worse yet, seduce her, if she breathed a word of what was happening, so she wrote letters with the hopes that Darcy would find them as soon as she was dead. She would be warned about what kind of man he was and she'd fight him for the property.

Kate laid the letters aside when she'd read them all. Iris damn sure had some grit. What should she do now? Darcy was dead, and if she had a will, how would it affect the cabin? If she didn't have one, what then? Should she share them with Amanda and Jamie? Should she give them to Waylon?

"I'll call the lawyers at the company first," she said. "But first I've got to think."

According to a report from a private investigator Iris had hired after she and Conrad had married, he'd been married twice under a different name, Swanson. One of those women died in a suspicious car wreck, and Kate would bet dollars to doughnuts that he got insurance money on the death as well as a settlement with the divorce. A copy of the full report was there. Conrad's birth certificate name was Cain Smith and he was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mother was listed as Linda Smith. Father was unknown. He was raised in foster homes because his mother had been an alcoholic-or maybe still was, if she was still living, but the detective could not find her.

Kate's blood ran cold in her veins. Maybe none of the three of them were married to him, since there wasn't anything in the report about him legally changing his name. Now wouldn't that be a royal kick in the butt?

She heard the crunch of gravel and then a vehicle door slam. She hurriedly gathered all the letters, plus the will, into a pile and shoved them into her suitcase.

Waylon was in the living room when Kate arrived. His biceps filled out every bit of the sleeves of a blue chambray work shirt, and bits of straw and hay stuck to his jeans. His sunglasses had slipped down on his nose, probably due to the sweat she could see at his hatband. He removed them and hung a stem in his shirt pocket.

"What are you doing here?" Kate asked.

"My partner called from Dallas. Do any of y'all know an Estrella Gonzales?"

Kate shook her head. "Is that who killed him?"

"Name sounds familiar. Does she live in Wichita Falls?" Amanda asked.

"There's a little girl in Gracie's class room named Estrella Gonzales. That's a really common name," Jamie said.

"Why are you asking?" Kate asked Waylon. "It must be important for you to leave the farm and come here to ask us when you could have called."

"I wanted to see your expressions, and I was coming through town on my way to Seymour for a load of feed anyway," Waylon answered. "The name Estrella Gonzales came up in the investigation when my partner went back to talk to the florist again. I thought he was holding something back, and he finally confessed that Conrad sent flowers to the woman at least once. I wanted to know if she might be a friend, especially of yours, Jamie."

"Why?" Jamie narrowed her eyes. "Because of the Hispanic name? You think all Mexicans know one another?"

Waylon took a couple of steps backward. "Just puttin' together a case. Y'all have a nice day."

Victor and Hattie stepped up on the porch with Gracie between them at the same time that Waylon opened it to go outside.

"Hello, Waylon," Victor said. "Looks like you been hard at work on the ranch today."

Hattie gave him a smile and a nod.

"Mama, guess what?" Gracie skipped across the room. "I got a new friend and her name is Lisa and guess what, I got a mommy and she's got a daddy. My daddy is dead and her mommy is dead. And guess what? Her house burned down. She lost all her Barbies and it made her sad, so I told her that she could come and play with mine anytime she wants to. Is that all right?"

"Of course it is, sweetie. I'm glad you made a new friend, but I'm sorry she's lost her house and her mommy." Jamie pulled Gracie close for a hug.

Gracie giggled. "And guess what else, Mama. Lisa is the same age as me."

"That's wonderful." Jamie beamed.

"I've got to go tell Snugglies all about my friends." Gracie danced down the hallway.

"Snugglies?" Amanda raised an eyebrow.

"The teddy bear that she's slept with since she was a tiny baby," Jamie explained.

"Got any new stuff on the murder? We really need a name so we can send the person who done it a thank-you card," Victor asked Waylon.

"If they get convicted, I'll take them a chocolate cake to whatever jail they are in once a year on their birthday," Hattie said.

Waylon chuckled. "Y'all keep talking like that and you'll go on my suspect list."

"We'd have as much right to be there as these three women," Victor told him.

"Be seein' you." Waylon tipped his hat and left.

Kate motioned Victor and Hattie into the kitchen. "Y'all want a glass of sweet tea?"

Victor removed his snap-bill hat, tossed it on a rocking chair, and followed her into the kitchen. "I would love one. Jamie, we've known Lisa since she was born, and she'll be a good friend for Gracie. They hit it right off. Lisa lost her mother last year after a six-month battle with cancer. Her daddy is the vo-ag teacher at the school."

"And I babysat her before she started school." Hattie bustled about in the kitchen, helping fill glasses with ice.

Kate made a fresh pitcher of tea and set it on the table. "Victor, do you or Hattie know an Estrella Gonzales? She might have come to the cabin with Conrad recently."

"Or maybe she lives around here," Jamie said.

Victor pulled out a chair and slumped down into it. He downed half of his tea before he came up for air. "Never heard that name, and I know everyone in these parts. Kids get younger every year and I get older. And believe me, they ain't all as well behaved as Gracie and Lisa."

"It's a different name. If I'd heard it I would remember," Hattie answered. "And Victor, quit your complainin'. We both love to be a part of Bible school, don't we?"

"Yep." Victor nodded. "Who is this Estrella Gonzales?"

"All Waylon would say is that her name came up in the investigation when they talked to the florist," Amanda said.

"You know Conrad didn't associate with none of us. Kept to himself after Iris died." Hattie sipped her tea. "He might have had this woman up here, but we never heard no names. Poor Iris. She'd turn over in her grave if she knew all this stuff."

"No, she wouldn't." Victor laughed and pointed at the ceiling. "She's so happy, she's doing a jig on the golden streets right now. And I bet Darcy is dancin' with her."

"Darcy?" Amanda asked.

"She was Iris's daughter who died not long after Iris," Hattie said.

"Did Darcy have children?" Kate asked.

Hattie shook her head. "Poor little thing never married and never had kids. Iris wanted grandbabies so bad. Me and Victor tried to share ours when they came to visit, but it wasn't the same."

"So you and Victor have lived here your whole lives?" Kate asked.

"Yep, and been best friends since we was little kids in the church nursery. We've been fightin' and tellin' each other our secrets for over eighty years," Hattie said proudly.

"And you never dated?" Amanda raised her eyebrows.

"Lord, no, darlin'. I wouldn't date this old fart."

"And I couldn't date her. She knew too much about me. Wouldn't be no fun in that." Victor laughed. "Thanks for the tea, but we got to get going. Got to get my lawn mowed this afternoon. Y'all want me to ride my mower up here and take care of yours?"

"How much do you charge?" Amanda asked.

"Well now, I reckon if you'd make up another pitcher of tea and maybe if you brought out some homemade cookies that would be plenty of payment." He grinned.

"You make the tea, I'll bring the cookies, and we'll have a front porch visit," Hattie said. "Say about three o'clock?"

"Sounds great to me, but do you have to ride yours up?" Jamie asked. "Maybe there's a mower here."

"There's not," Victor said. "Conrad had it done by someone out of Seymour, but now that things have changed, I'll be glad to take care of it for you this summer."

"He's got a new riding mower. One of them zero-turn things and the new ain't wore off yet," Hattie teased. "You know what the difference between men and boys is?"

Kate thought they were the same, especially the ones she'd met.

"What?" Amanda asked.

"The price of their toys." Hattie giggled.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

Kate almost didn't answer the phone, hearing a ringtone she'd rather avoid. But on the fifth ring, she relented. "Hello, Mother."

"I hate to do this to you as you are trying to get all this crap sorted out, but there's one small project that you were working on that we can't finish without a couple of hours of work from you. If I e-mail it, can you-"

"Yes," Kate butted in, "I'll take care of it." She paused a moment. "I probably should tell you that both of his other wives showed up here the same day I did."

"That's horrible. Why haven't you left?" Teresa's voice went all high and squeaky, but by golly, not a single I told you so came out of her mouth.

"Conrad brought all three of us here for our honeymoons, and we're trying to find some closure," Kate answered.

"That pregnant redheaded one is liable to kill you in your sleep. You can see it in her eyes. Even after all the theatrics, my money would be on her as a suspect in the murder. She might not have done it and she might be sorry about it, but I bet she knows something. Now I'll worry about you," Teresa said.

Kate held the phone out from her cheek and stared at it. Where was her mother and who had taken over her body? Kate's father had worried about her, but Teresa? Never. She barely had time to acknowledge that she even had a daughter. A savvy business partner, yes, for sure. But a daughter that she worried about?

"Are you there? Did we lose the connection?" Teresa yelled.

Kate put the phone back to her ear. "I'm fine," Kate said. "And I would love to work from home on whatever you need done. Just send it to me and I'll get right on it."

Teresa chuckled. "We're workaholics. I'll tell Joyce to send it over to you, and maybe it will keep you from killing off the other wives for one day. But if you get really bored, I could send work every day."

"It might keep them from killing me if I get bitchy from boredom. I'm not sure I want a daily regimen, but if I change my mind, I will let you know." Kate laughed.