Grief fades, he thought as he climbed in Joe's little Toyota . Like old photographs left out in the sun, the years gradually blur even the harshest colors. What was left was a gentle sort of melancholy, not unpleasant. Kind of a dark gold feeling, like the late afternoon light. He started the car.

He decided to head back to his office, where he could use his computer to access some of the online records now that he had Norblusky's social security number. He'd give Sophia Lamont a call later.

His office was in the North End, so he had to fight traffic. It was a b.i.t.c.h, but no worse than usual. But when he got there, his parking s.p.a.ce was taken. By his own car. He had to park two blocks away.

Joe must have gotten his wires crossed. He'd been supposed to drive Ethan's car home and let Ethan pick it up later. The idiot probably panicked, Ethan thought as he headed up the stairs. Didn't want to explain to Cindy why he had Ethan's car. Poor guy was henpecked. Maybe Cindy had been confusing him with all that sensitivity stuff.

When he reached the top of the stairs he heard a woman's laugh. His heartbeat scrambled into double time. Oh, Lord. That explained it. Joe must have crumbled, let Claudia use the car. But why had she brought it here? And how had she gotten into his office?

The door was open. Claudia was there, all right, sitting on his desk with her legs crossed, one leg swinging. So was another of his cousins, a cop who moonlighted part-time for Ethan. Rick was standing too close to her, and he had a gleam in his eyes. Ethan knew that gleam.

"Ethan." Claudia smiled at him. "Rick has been keeping me entertained while I waited for you. He's told me all your secrets."

Her eyes were twinkling. And they crinkled at the corners, too. He stopped, perplexed. She was furious, wasn't she? So why did she look pleased to see him?

He switched his glare to Rick.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. I don't even know all your secrets."

He knew enough. "You let her in."

Rick shrugged. He was younger than Ethan-too young for Claudia, dammit-and better-looking. He even had a dimple. "I was using your computer when she showed up. Finished my report on the Simmons surveillance-which, by the way, should be over now. Caught him at the motel with his side piece."

"Good work," Ethan said, but he was distracted. Just what had Rick told Claudia? "But it doesn't explain why Claudia is here."

"I guess I should have kicked her out. Shoved her down the stairs, maybe."

"It would take that to discourage her." He sighed and hung his coat on the coatrack.

She chuckled and shoved off his desk. "Don't look so worried. You were ready for me to throw things, weren't you? Pitch a fit? I like to win, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate an opponent's moves when they're good. Yours was. You ditched me neatly, and without ever quite lying."

She sounded ... admiring. He gave up on making sense of her. Obviously she was crazy. No point in arguing with a crazy woman. "Hope I haven't kept you waiting long."

"Less than an hour," she a.s.sured him. "I finished my end of the investigation a little faster than you handled yours. Or maybe I was luckier with traffic."

"You don't have an end of the investigation. Or a middle. Or any part in it at all."

"I didn't think you were listening." She shook her head. "I told you I was going to talk to Donna."

"Who's Donna?"

She gave him a patient look. "I told you. She runs the Meals-On-Wheels program. And her husband is some muckety-muck in the VFW, and Norblusky's application said he was a veteran. It seemed worth checking into. Donna put me in touch with someone from the post Norblusky belonged to, and he gave me the name of a friend of Norblusky's who told me that Norblusky has a sister."

He wasn't thrilled to learn she'd gotten the same lead he had. Petty of him, maybe, but there it was. "Yeah, I found her in the courthouse records. Sophia Lamont. I have her address and phone number."

"That's good. My contact didn't have that, or know her married name. Did you also find out about Norblusky's ex-wife?"

"His ... ex-wife." Ethan kept his voice level. Barely. The lousy little rat b.a.s.t.a.r.d hadn't told anyone at Baronessa that he used to be married. He hadn't even had the courtesy to get married or divorced in Middles.e.x County , where Ethan would have found the record.

An ex-wife trumped a sister all to h.e.l.l. Being full of grievances, former spouses were a lot more likely to help a P.I. find a skip than friends or family members. "No. I didn't know about her."

Claudia nodded. "I have her address and phone number. She's agreed to talk to me." At last her smile took on an edge. "Just to prove there are no hard feelings, I thought I'd see if you wanted to come along."

Four.

"You aren't going," Ethan said.

"Don't be ridiculous." The man didn't seem to realize she'd won. Claudia reached behind her for her purse and took out her lipstick and compact.

She would be gracious about her little triumph, she thought as she slicked Carnation Blush over her lips. Gloating was tacky. And she wasn't one to hold a grudge. He'd beat her fair and square earlier.

She had been upset, though. A little. Actually, it had ... hurt. When she'd realized that he had tricked her-that he had no intention of ever seeing her again-it had stung. And that was unforgivably foolish. She snapped the compact closed. Good grief, the man had kissed her exactly once. They weren't dating. They weren't even friends. Friendly opponents, maybe, with a s.h.i.+ft under way toward temporary colleagues. But he didn't owe her a thing.

Ethan was glaring at her. "You'll give me this woman's name, address and phone number, and I'll keep your appointment."

Hadn't he been paying attention at all? "No, I won't."

"Well, I'm out of here," Rick said cheerfully. "Much as I'd like to see who draws first blood, I've got a date with my bed. I'm seven and a half hours behind on my sleep this week."

Claudia smiled at him. Really, Rick had been most helpful. "I'm so glad I had a chance to meet you, Rick."

Ethan was eyeing his cousin suspiciously. Probably wondering about those secrets she'd mentioned. Rick had let some interesting things drop after Claudia hinted that she and Ethan were a couple.

"I need to see an accident report," Ethan said, and handed Rick a slip of paper. "Just what's in the public records. You can get it faster than I can."

"What accident?" Claudia demanded.

"A produce truck spilled a load of habanero peppers, causing the Baronessa truck ferrying the gelato to the tasting to be stuck in traffic. It's in the report your cousin gave me."

Claudia frowned. She needed to see that report.

"Well, kiddies, I've got to be going," Rick said, giving Claudia a wink. "Don't want to keep my bed waiting. Play nice while I'm gone." He closed the door behind him.

Claudia hitched herself back up on the desk. Negotiating time. "You have a large family," she observed. "I know what that's like. Rick told me about some of them."

"Never mind about my family. Claudia, you can't go on this interview."

"You look just like Nicholas when he's laying down the law. All steely and determined. It's very attractive."

He huffed and ran a hand over his hair. "Look, turning up the ex-wife was great, a real coup. But there's more to questioning someone than smiling while you verbally pound them until they break."

"I don't know why you keep a.s.suming I'm stupid. Surely it's not just my hair color. Maybe you think only people with paid jobs have brains?" She shook her head sadly. "Ethan, listen to me. I'm not going to tell you how to find Norblusky's ex-wife, and staring holes through me won't make me change my mind. Either you go with me, or I go on my own."

He paced a few steps, stopped and turned. "You don't seem to realize that this perp, whoever he is, may be dangerous. The gelato tampering was small change. But it didn't accomplish whatever he wanted, so he moved up to the big time. Arson."