“What can I say?” Sara said. “Love at first sight happens even outside my books. I met Reid. Charming young man. So!” She looked from one to the other. “All in all, they are the most likable bunch of people I’ve ever met.” Her voice was full of disgust. “If I were stranded on a deserted island, I’d want them with me. They are interesting and nice. Am I right?”
They looked at one another and nodded.
“But one of them is a murderer,” Jack said.
“Sawed a man’s head.” Kate shrugged. “A real psycho.”
“I think we need to find the motive,” Randal said. “Everyone can be driven to murder if the cause is strong enough. We just need to figure out what it was.”
“In four days.” Sara sat down, her eyes saying that was an impossible task.
“Ask them,” Jack said.
Randal smiled. “Which one of you delightful people killed Derek Oliver?”
“And replaced his brain withmyhedgehog?” Kate was indignant.
“That I gave you.” Sara was smiling. “Was it really your favorite toy?”
Kate looked at her father.
“Her very favorite. She never put it down. She—”
Jack stood up. “I hear cars. The caterers must be arriving. We need to agree on what lies we’re going to tell.”
Sara sighed. “We’re going to have to tell them that we found the body. We don’t have time to drag this out.”
“And we’ll see what they say,” Jack said in agreement.
“Right,” Kate said. “And we’ll watch their reactions. We can—”
There was a knock on the door. Of course the caterers had questions. Where were the spoons?
When Kate saw her aunt look toward the window as though she was planning to climb through it, Kate opened the door. She followed the staff to the kitchen.
The three left behind looked at each other. The show was about to begin.
Dinner was lovely. Sara had ordered Wedgwood china, a service for twelve in the India pattern. The yellow design made a cheerful table. The food was a Florida feast of seafood, with lots of pineapple and coconut. Randal had chosen the wine. It had been a long time since he’d been taught the niceties of upper-class living by Derek Oliver’s stepmother, but he remembered them.
Randal and Kate sat at opposite heads of the table and they were easy hosts. Father and daughter were alike in their ability to make people feel at ease. Randal made them laugh with a story of his time at Lachlan House with Mrs. Meyers and how he had to fetch hats and bags and reading glasses. Kate told of playing near the fountain. Everyone expressed astonishment that she remembered anything from that week, since she was so young.
They spoke of how good the house looked. “It’s all cosmetic,” Jack said modestly. “I didn’t change the structure at all.”
Barbara asked if anyone would mind if she explored the Palm Room. Rachel told of seeing an old black-and-white movie in there the night before.
“Did you?” Barbara asked.
Only Randal noticed that when she reached for her wineglass, she almost tipped the glass over.
Lea said she was glad to see everyone had prospered in life and was doing so well. Rachel was mostly quiet. She seemed to be studying everyone.
Reid was the only one who appeared to be uncomfortable. When he said that he’d never sat at the big table before, there was an awkward silence. He’d been an employee, not a guest. But then he turned to Jack and said, “And Roy wasn’t allowed inside the house either.”
“Not in this room anyway,” Barbara said in a suggestive way.
Her meaning was so clear that they laughed and the tension was broken.
“We welcome you now,” Lea said to Reid, and they raised their glasses to him.
