He nodded.

"And Douglas," she said as the man turned to leave. "Im sorry, Im so sorry for your loss."

Douglass eyes filled and he bit his lips as if to keep himself from howling in pain. Nodding, he turned and left.

"You okay?" Dash asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close after they watched the Brooks leave.

She nodded against him and, after a moment of silence, she spoke. "Brad left everything to me, Dash. Well, almost everything. I dont know why. Honestly, I have no clue. He even made it clear that he left me the animals."

"Maybe he knew youd take care of them," Dash offered.

"Hmm, maybe. I dont know, it just doesnt make sense to me."

"I think a lot of what has happened in the past few weeks probably doesnt make a lot of sense. Starting with him asking you to come up here in the first place. Not that Im taking any issues with that," he added, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

"Yeah, no kidding," she said then gave a little shake of her head. "Whatever," she added, conceding, for the moment, to the confusion. "Maybe its just not something to think about right now. Maybe we should just go back into the kitchen and join his friends."

"Matty?" A new voice came from the hall and they both looked up.

"Chen," she said, stepping away. "Mai."

Dash watched as Chen, and the woman he assumed was Chens sister, Mai, gave Matty quick hugs and handed her a box of something Dash guessed must be food as the scent of honey and cinnamon drifted toward him.

"These were some of Brads favorites from a small bakery in Chinatown," Chen said solemnly. "We were in New York visiting family when a mutual friend from the university called to tell me."

"Thank you, both," Matty said, taking the box. "Will you stay for a bit? Some of Brads other friends are here and were reminiscing about him. Well, Im learning about him. A little late, I know," she added, her voice drifting off. Dash stepped forward and put an arm around her waist. "Chen, you remember Dash Kent," she said. Then she introduced Dash to Mai.

As Dash shook the mans hand, a bag hanging from Chens shoulder bobbed forward. "Can I take that for you?" Dash asked as the bag bumped back into place.

Chen gave him a blank look then followed Dashs eye. With a shake of his head, he spoke. "Sorry, I forgot I even had this. I was doing some consulting work while visiting family and Ive been carrying it non-stop for two days."

"And he wouldnt be caught dead without it," Mai added with a smile at her brother. "We would love to stay for a bit if its no problem? Brad has been a friend of the family for years and well miss him greatly," she added, blinking away a tear.

"Of course," Matty said with a gesture toward the kitchen.

"But perhaps I can put this down somewhere out of the way?" Chen asked, lifting the bag.

"Ill put it in the office, Matty. You three go on in," Dash said. There was something about Chen Dash just didnt really care for. But as he placed the well-heeled leather bag in the office, a bag that probably cost more than his first car, Dash acknowledged that it was entirely possible that his distaste was rooted in Chens obvious sophistication. And though Matty didnt seem to care about that sort of thing, Dash couldnt help but think someone like Chen-a professor, a traveler, a wealthy, urban man-would probably fit more into Mattys life-her life in DC-than he ever would.

"Dash?" He looked up to find Matty at the door to the office. "Are you coming?" she asked, holding out her hand.

Dash gave a small smile and reached for her. When her fingers curled around his, he tugged her toward him. She came willingly and he wrapped his arms around her. "Youre really doing okay?" he asked, drawing his head back to look at her.

She seemed to think about it for a moment before she nodded. "I am. I think its good to have everyone here. Im glad youre here, too," she added.

For a moment, he just looked down at her. He could worry about how they were going to work things out-families, jobs, houses, lifestyles. He could worry about being a small-town guy with a city girl. He could worry about her trust issues and their different backgrounds. There was a lot he could worry about. But right then, he was only interested in being there, with her, in that moment.

"Im glad Im here, too."

CHAPTER 17.

AFTER THE EMOTIONAL DAY of the impromptu wake, Matty and Dash had tried to spend a quiet evening together, but that hadnt quite worked out. First, her mother had called and insisted on coming up, which, after an hour or so, Matty had been able to talk her out of. Then Charlotte had called and insisted on the same thing. Matty had tried to talk her out of coming up too, but she was less certain of her success with her friend than with her mother. And then even Nanette, Charlottes mom, had called and offered to make the trip. After that, Dashs parents had stopped by, and though in the grand scheme of things it wasnt a flurry of activity, it was a constant stream of interruptions well into the night.

At around eleven, after seeing his parents to the door, Dash handed Matty a shot of whisky and sent her off to bed. She tossed and turned for a while, until Dash joined her, curling his body around hers, and then she fell into a fitful sleep. A sleep filled with frenetic dreams of Brad, Dash, the earthquake in Haiti, and all sorts of random images. There hadnt been a story to her dreams, as there usually was, just images. And so when she finally woke the next morning, just as the sun was creeping over the hills and shining its light through the window, she still felt exhausted.

Leaving Dash in bed, she slipped into a robe and headed downstairs. After making a pot of coffee, she headed into the office to print up the daily crossword, a habit shed had at home in DC but had fallen out of since her arrival in Windsor. She glanced around the office and a small frown touched her lips. It looked different, if only subtly so. Her laptop was off to the side and it looked like the cord connecting it to Brads printer had been pulled loose. The chair was positioned to the right side of the desk, which was odd because all the desk accessories were placed to the left, since thats where she usually sat. Not to mention that she could have sworn she hadnt even seen her laptop in the office the last time shed looked for it.

She paused in the middle of the room and turned around, surveying the rest of the space. The edge of a piece of paper was sticking out from the closed top drawer of the file cabinet and two of the three pictures on one of the bookshelves had been moved. Taking a closer look at the bookshelves, she thought it was also possible that one of the many binders that lined the bottom shelf was missing. Shed looked through them all during her search of the house but didnt remember how many there were.

"Everything okay?"

At the sound of Dashs voice, Matty whirled around, a little yelp escaping from her mouth as a hand came up to her chest.

"You startled me," she said, letting out a breath.

Dash eyed her then stepped into the room. "Obviously. Sorry, I certainly didnt mean to, but you looked like something was on your mind." He reached out and brushed his palm over her cheek.

She bit her lip and hesitated for just a moment before speaking. But then she remembered this was Dash; if she told him what she thought she was seeing, he would be a voice of reason, a voice of calm.

"It looks different. Just a little off," she said, turning back to the room.

"What looks different?" he asked, coming to her side.

Matty glanced around again before answering. "The room, the things in it." Then she pointed out all the small things shed just noticed. She watched Dashs eyes sweep the space before landing on her computer. They lingered there for a moment, before returning to hers.

"Remember, Ian, Carly, and Marcus were in here conducting a search the day you found Brad. Neither of us has really spent much time in here since then," he offered.

She tilted her head in thought. "I suppose things could have gotten moved around when they were in here searching. Or when all Brads friend were here. I didnt see anyone come into this room, but there were a lot of people and it is right off the kitchen."

"That would be my guess, but if youre concerned, given everything thats been going on, we can ask Ian," he offered.

For a moment, Matty considered it. She wasnt one to go running to the police every time someone said 'boo, but she also wasnt one to play the dumb victim, like all those horror movie kids who blithely tramp off into the woods when they know an ax murderer is on the loose. But then she thought about all the other things both Ian and Vivi were probably doing to find out what had happened to Brad, all the important things. She shook her head.

"No, its fine. Im sure youre right-its just been a few days since Ive been in here so Im seeing it with new eyes." She stepped over to her laptop and reconnected the printer cord tightly. "I was just about to print up a New York Times crossword, care to join me?" she asked, popping open her computer and keying in the URL.

"As much as I would love to, I have a few clients I need to take care of at the clinic this morning."

She could tell by the tone of his voice that he didnt like leaving her. "Ill be fine," she said.

"Im done around eleven-thirty and then I have to make a few calls out to some farms this afternoon. I wish I didnt, Matty. I could try and cancel them."

"Dont. Ill be fine," she insisted, giving him a smile. "Elise, my neighbor, was talking about showing me her collection of antique photos of New Orleans this morning. Then maybe Ill go with you this afternoon, if you dont mind the company?"

He gave her a long look and she could see the struggle in his eyes. Finally, he crossed over to her and slid a hand behind her neck. "I dont mind the company and it would be nice to have you along." He looked about to say something else but then seemed to change his mind, dropping a kiss on her lips instead. "Lock the door behind me. Ill grab some lunch and bring it back. We can eat here and then head out. Sound good?"

She smiled up at him. "Sounds perfect."

The dogs made a beeline for the fields and yard as soon as Dash opened the door. Matty followed them all out, stepping out onto the patio behind Dash. Not yet touched by the morning sun, the flagstone felt cool beneath her bare feet. Even so, she could tell it was going to be another hot day as the humid air swirled around her bare legs.

As his truck pulled down her driveway, she waved to Dash and then, in the silence that followed, took a deep breath. She could smell fresh-cut hay and hear bees already buzzing in the garden. Her eyes lifted to the hill and for a moment she stood there, caught between the peace the country seemed to bring her and the knowledge of the violence that had so recently touched it.

She knew she needed to find out what had happened to Brad, what hed been doing in Haiti and New Orleans and what, if anything, his employer thought hed been involved in. But somehow, standing there on the patio with the clean, quiet air sliding over her skin and into her lungs, she couldnt bring herself to think about it much. For the first time in a long time, Matty simply wanted to be. And so, in quiet, she went back into the house, poured herself a cup of coffee, walked back out to Brads garden-to the little swinging bench he must have put up at some point-and just sat.

But life wasnt so accommodating and within the space of two hours Lucy had been stung by a bee, one of the cats had deposited a dead mouse on the doorstep, and shed gotten caught in the wild raspberries trying to toss the thing out. She was propped on the kitchen counter with her leg hanging over the sink, cleaning out the scratches, when she heard a car pull up. Dashs reminder to lock the front door floated through her mind. Quickly scanning the counter, she spied a knife nearby. If worst came to worst, at least she had a weapon.

Then a cooler head prevailed when she realized Rufus and the other dogs werent barking their heads off. If they were relatively quiet, that meant that whoever had driven up was known to them. And sure enough, within a few seconds she heard Vivi and Ian talking to each other as they came toward the house.

"Come in," Matty called when they knocked at the door.

Vivi stuck her head around the door then stepped into the room. Ian followed.

"Everything okay?" Ian asked, eying Matty.

"Wild raspberries," she responded as she pulled out what she hoped was the last thorn. "Just give me a second, Im almost done. Help yourselves to some coffee while I finish," she gestured to the pot sitting beside the stove as she rinsed her leg.

"What were you doing in the raspberries?" Vivi asked. Matty told her about her hectic morning as Vivi poured a cup of coffee, handed it to Ian, and then poured another for herself.

"Well, unfortunately, I dont think were going to make it any better," Ian said, leaning against the counter.

"You have news?" Matty asked, drying her calf. She looked up when neither answered. Vivi wore a small frown and Ian stared at Matty with his characteristic straightforward gaze. "By the looks of it, Im not going to like what Im about to hear, am I?"

"Its, well," Vivi paused, her lips pursed this time. "We dont know what it means, but what we found is odd."

"And that is?" Matty swung herself off the counter and looked at the couple.

Vivi glanced at Ian, who answered. "The bullet that killed the guy who fell from the tree and the bullet that killed Brad were fired from the same gun."

Matty blinked. "The same gun that was found with Brad?" she asked, confused.

Vivi nodded. "Yes, but like I said, we dont know what it means."

Now it was Mattys turn to frown. "I dont understand. It seems like that would mean that Brad killed the man in the tree and then killed himself." It was a logical leap to make and, even though it didnt make any sense to her why Brad would kill someone, it also didnt make sense that Vivi was hesitating to see the logic.

Vivi lifted a shoulder. "Normally, that is what we would think, too. But there were some inconsistencies that make that conclusion less certain."

"Inconsistencies?" Matty pressed, taking a sip of her own coffee.

"We found a shoe imprint in the barn from someone other than Brad," Ian said.

"And we didnt find the levels of gunshot residue on Brad that we would normally see on someone whod recently fired a shotgun," Vivi added.

Matty looked at her visitors, trying to read their expressions, trying to figure out what they were saying. "So, maybe he didnt kill the other man? Or himself?" she asked.

Again, Vivi lifted a shoulder. "We think that either Brad killed him and then killed himself or that there was a third person involved."

"Someone who killed both of them," Ian interjected.

"And framed Brad." Matty mulled the idea over a bit before positing a scenario. "So, maybe the man in the tree saw someone kill Brad and then was killed because he was a witness?"

Ian dipped his chin. "We think thats a possible scenario."

"And then the killer went back and placed the gun in Brads hand to make it look like Brad had killed himself after killing that man," Matty voiced her thoughts out loud. Yes, she wrote thriller stories, but they were fiction. It was surreal to be having this conversation about real people, real events. Or possible real events, anyway.

"I guess its a possibility," she conceded. She hated that she didnt know Brad well enough to know if he was capable of murder or suicide. But of the two options Vivi and Ian were considering, she preferred the option where Brad was killed-it sounded harsh, even in her own mind, but shed rather not find out her half brother was a killer. There were already too many unknowns about him. And despite her own lack of relationship with her father and his wife, it was clear Douglas and Sandra cared deeply about their son and she still wouldnt wish that kind of pain on either of them.

"Did you ever find out who the man in the tree was?" Matty asked.

Vivi nodded. "We actually IDd him shortly after we last talked about him. The couple who own the property where the barn is located are weekenders and were away on a cycling holiday in New Zealand, unreachable by cell. They called as soon as they got our message and were able to give us a name," she paused to take a breath. "His name was Randy Smeltzer. He is, or rather was, a banker from New York but had taken some time off work. He was up here staying at his friends house while they were away. No one had any cause to think anything had happened to him because he was not due back in New York until after Labor Day," Vivi answered.

Matty frowned thinking how sad that must be, that hed been dead for several days while his family and friends assumed he was simply enjoying some time off. Not unlike Brad.

"Do you mind if we go through Brads things one more time?" Ian asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Wed like to see if we can find any information that would point us one way or another," Vivi added.

For a fleeting second, Matty thought about the pictures and what shed learned about the people in them. But Vivi had already seen those and Matty had no doubt that if Vivi wanted to recall the names of the people, whether they took a second look at the pictures or not, she would be able to.

Matty nodded. "Of course."

Ian gave a small nod of thanks. "Ill let Marcus and Carly know and theyll probably be out here later this afternoon. Ill come assist, but as sheriff, its better to have the police in on the search even if it is technically my jurisdiction."

"I may be out with Dash. We talked about running some of his rounds together this afternoon. I think I have an extra key, can I just give that to you?" she asked.

"That would be great," Vivi answered. "Ill probably come along too, in my capacity as a consultant to the crime lab."

Matty set her coffee down and proceeded to test the extra keys hanging by the door until she found one that worked on the kitchen door. She handed it to Ian who thanked her, looked at Vivi, then said his good-byes before walking back to his truck.

Vivi lingered for a moment, placing a hand on Mattys arm. "How are you doing?"

Matty was touched by the concern in the womans voice. "Hangin in there," she answered with a ghost of a smile. "Its all a bit surreal, thats for sure."

"Im sure it is. Ive worked with death and violence every day for years, but when it was happening to me earlier this year, right here in Windsor, it didnt feel real. It kept feeling like someone was going to jump out and yell 'Youre on Candid Camera! or 'Youve been punkd! or something like that."

Matty gave a soft laugh. "Yeah, it kind of does feel like that. Especially considering how little I knew Brad and how our lives never touched. Now, Im living in his house, going through his things, and trying to figure out if he was a murderer or a victim."

Vivi gave her arm another quick squeeze and then let go. "Its tough. If you ever need anything, you know where you can find me. Normally, wed tell people to let us do our jobs and not do any investigating on their own, but if you think of anything, maybe something you learned living here, dont hesitate to call me or Ian."

Matty let out a little breath. She wasnt sure what she was going to do in the long run about what shed found out about the people in the pictures, or the visit from bank executive, but for now she held it back. Even as she did, she didnt feel very good about the decision, but she just wasnt ready to cast an even darker shadow over her half brother now that it was possible he was a murderer. Its not that she didnt trust Ian and Vivi, but her long-held prejudice against law enforcement in general was definitely rearing its head. If she had evidence that tended to point toward Brad, she feared it would become the only path they would look at. That was something she definitely didnt want.

"Thanks, Vivi. I know you guys are working hard on this and I know its got to be hard on the community, considering what happened here with you just a few months ago. If I think of anything, Ill let you know."