“Don’t let the bedbugs bite,” I said, finishing the little poem our mother always recited. Then I hugged her back. “Will you be able to help me with the wall tomorrow?”

  “Of course. I’ll be there by eight.”

  I sighed with relief. “Thanks, kiddo.”

  Chloe gave Mac a big hug, and then we left and walked home. As soon as we stepped into the house, Robbie went wild with joy, and both cats wove themselves like ribbons around and between our ankles.

  Mac had fed them earlier, so I changed their water, and he gave them all a treat. Then we turned off the lights and went upstairs to bed, where I fell a sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

  * * *

  * * *

  “Good morning,” Chloe said when she walked into our workroom the next morning. “I brought coffee for you.”

  “Wow, thanks. You’re, like, a goddess.” I lifted up one of the cardboard cups and took a life-affirming sip.

  “That’s even better than being queen.” She set her things down and grabbed her own cup. “So how are you feeling?”

  “A little achy, but I’m fine. What about you?”

  “Well, I truly gave myself one good knock on the head.” She brushed aside her bangs, and I got another look at the bump on her forehead.

  “Oh, honey.” I came in closer. “It’s still red. I’m so sorry. You really got the worst of it.”

  “I’m popping ibuprofen every so often, so it doesn’t hurt as much as it might. I think our fears amplified the pain.”

  “You’re right. I was scared to death for a few minutes there.”

  “Me, too.” She buckled her tool belt and straightened her shoulders.

  I knelt down to check out the condition of the base plate. “The fact that someone purposely tried to sabotage us fills me with a white-hot rage.”

  “I feel the same.” She scowled. “What can we do to find them?”

  “I’ve been thinking about it. We know it’s connected to Linda’s murder and the attack on Parks. The killer must’ve been listening to our conversation, don’t you think?”

  “Without a doubt,” she said.

  “So when we find the killer, we’ll find the person who screwed around with our wall.”

  “How do we find the killer?”

  “We’ve got to watch that video.”

  “We’ll do it this afternoon.” She took a few deep breaths, bent over and stretched to get her muscles going, then stood and gave me two thumbs-up. “Now let’s get that wall back into place.”

  “Let’s go.” But first I closed both doors. “I’m not going to lock them in case anyone needs to get in here. But at least if they’re closed, nobody can eavesdrop.”

  “Good thinking.”

  We removed the piece of damaged drywall that had been broken when the wall fell, then lifted the frame back into place, using the sawhorses to bear the weight as we went. “Hey, thanks again for last night. It’s just too bad that Eric had to leave.”

  “I know. That was a bummer. And he’s really worried about Travis.”

  “So am I. In fact, if we take a little break later, I’d like to track him down, just to let him know we’re on his side.”

  “That would be nice,” Chloe said.

  I reached for a handful of four-inch screws and put them in the front pocket of my tool belt. Then I carried the ladder down the hall to the other side of the partition.

  “Apparently,” Chloe continued, “he wasn’t allowed to stay in his house last night. It’s a crime scene for another day or two.”

  “Where did he stay?”

  “He bunked with one of his buddies who lives a few houses away.”

  “That’s good. But it still sucks.” Climbing the ladder, I went through the process, once again, of screwing the top plate into the ceiling joist and waiting for Chloe to check for plumb. She gave me a thumbs-up to reposition my ladder for the next screw.

  “It really does.” Chloe opened up the sawhorses and laid out the new drywall panels. “By the way, Eric actually enjoyed himself last night, especially when we were trying to help him figure out suspects and motives.”

  “I’m glad he considered it helping and not interfering.”

  “Why would he think that?”

  I chuckled. “Well, it took him a long time to trust me. After all, I think I was his first murder suspect in Lighthouse Cove.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  I had to think for a minute. “I guess I never told you the whole story of how I met him.”

  “Tell me now. We have nothing but time.”

  “Okay.” I got another screw in, then moved the ladder over. “It was a few months after Eric moved here and took the police chief job. People around town were talking about him. My girlfriends were googly-eyed about him. But I hadn’t met him.” I screwed in another screw. “Then one day, I went to check on a house I was refurbishing. A neighbor had reported hearing water running in the basement, so I went down and found the sump pump clogged up. And that’s when I stumbled over a dead body.”

  “Ew!”

  “Yeah, it was creepy for sure,” I said. “But here’s the kicker. I had gone out on a date with the dead guy the night before. He had tried to make a move, and I wasn’t happy about it. So I kicked him and ran away, but not before I told him that if he ever tried that again, I would kill him.”

  “Oh, great.”

  “Yeah. We were on the beach, and I had an audience of dozens of people lined up on the pier right above us.”

  “Oh God, Shannon.”

  “So anyway, I found the body and raced back upstairs to call the cops. Eric shows up looking like some kind of Viking god, and I have to walk him through this funky old house to find the basement door. I left him there and waited out on the front porch. And a while later, he comes up and shows me a plastic evidence bag with my pink pipe wrench inside, all smeared with blood.”

  “Oh, jeez.”

  “Yeah.” I could laugh about it now, I realized, and ran another screw into the top plate. “Tommy was there, and he vouched for me, but Eric didn’t know me from Adam, and he’d heard about me threatening to kill the guy. So I wound up being his prime suspect, and he interrogated me for a few hours. I thought I’d end up in a cell, but he let me go home.” I shared all the sordid details of finding more bodies and trying to figure it all out. “And then someone coshed me in the head with my own pink hammer, and Eric figured maybe I wasn’t the killer after all.”

  “Wow. I knew you had some stuff happening around that time, but I guess I never got the full story.”

  “Those were good times.”

  She shook her head. “Sounds like they were frightening times.”

  “That, too. But just around that same time, I met Mac.”

  “Ah.” She smiled. “A happy ending.”

  “And the killer kidnapped Whitney, and I ended up saving her life.”

  “Now that sucks.”

  I laughed. “I love you.”

  “Back at you.”

  I continued working with my power drill until all the screws were inserted right where they’d been a few days before. Then I got down on my hands and knees, and repeated it for the base plate.

  “Hey, I completely forgot to ask if you and Eric had a chance to watch the video last night.”

  “No. He was on the phone for an hour with Tommy, so I cleaned up the kitchen and finally went to bed.”

  “Well, maybe we can all watch it this afternoon, like you suggested.”

  “I’ll see if Eric can be here.”

  “I hope he can. I don’t like the idea of watching it without him.”

  “Neither do I. We could do it later, but you have your class tonight.”

  “Actually, I’m still debating whether to cancel it or not. What do you think?”

  She thought about it as she marked another piece of drywall. “You should go ahead with it. It can be another way to memorialize Linda.”

  “Good point.”

  “I’ll come if you want me there.”

  “I would love you to be there, but I’ll understand if you’d rather not.”

  “Let me think about it.”

  “Okay.” I remembered something else I’d forgotten to ask about. “Have we heard anything about Parks yet?”

  “Eric talked to the doctor in charge early this morning. He said that Parks hasn’t regained consciousness, but they’re confident that he will very soon. His vital signs are good. They were going to take him for a brain scan later this morning.”

  “That’s really scary.”

  “I know.”

  “I hope he comes out of it soon. He could tell us who hurt him and killed Linda.”

  “Whoever did it is going to pay.”

  “Damn straight,” Chloe said fiercely, and ran her X-Acto knife down the line she had marked. “I know you think it’s one of the writers, but why? Why would they kill Linda?”

  “Because . . . they’re squirrelly?”

  She chuckled but then said, “So far, all the incidents have happened here at Homefront. The writers have nothing to do with this place.”

  “But they do,” I insisted. “They came to Mac’s workshop that first night, and Lewis met Linda here at the same time. And he kept coming back to see her.” I pulled the leftover screws from my pocket and put them back in the box. “In fact, I had to ask him to leave the other day.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. It was the day Linda started working on the mosaic backsplashes. He just walked right over and wanted to talk to her. I knew she wouldn’t brush him off, even though she was officially on the job. So I did it for her.”

  “It does seem like it’s all connected to Homefront.”

  “Right? Lewis met Linda here and Parks was attacked here. And our partition wall was sabotaged here.”

  “But Linda was found on the beach,” Chloe said.

  “But she might’ve been killed somewhere else and taken to the beach.” I told her about the drag marks and the way her sweater was rolled up her back.

  “You keep her mosaic stuff inside one of the houses, right? Maybe she was killed right there and then taken to the beach.”

  “Why would someone do that?” I wondered.

  Chloe frowned. “Maybe the killer is trying to implicate the writers.”

  That actually made sense in a twisted kind of way. But then whoever had done this was twisted anyway.

  “I’m ready for a break.”

  “Me, too.”

  We locked the doors and walked down the hall to the café. I stopped when I saw Julia coming out of Vince’s office.

  “Julia.”

  “Oh, Shannon.”

  I gave her a big hug. “How are you doing?”

  “Not well,” she admitted. “I cry a lot and I’m angry and I don’t know what to do. She was my best friend.” She absently twisted the ends of her belt. “And the part that really gets to me is that we knew each other for years but didn’t become friends until much later. I feel like I lost all that time when we could’ve been best buds and having fun and going on adventures and . . . oh, you know.”

  “I’m so sorry. She was a sweet person and a good friend.”

  “Yeah, she was.”

  I took a deep breath. “I was wondering whether to cancel tonight’s construction class. What do you think?”

  “Personally, I don’t think I can handle it.”

  “I understand.”

  “All of the women in the class were friends of Linda’s, and you know, we lady vets have to stick together.” She smiled.

  “That’s a good rule to follow.”

  “I suppose it would make sense to get together for the class, but I just can’t do it. I’d like to cancel the class for this week and then come back next week feeling a little more prepared and ready to go.”

  “Then consider it canceled,” I said. “I’ll ask the office to make the announcement.”

  “I can make the announcement,” Julia offered. “It’ll give me a chance to commiserate with everyone.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” I thought of something else. “About her mosaics and equipment. The only person I know who does anything close to what she does is my stonemason, Niall, so I have asked him to step in and finish what she started.”

  “I know Niall,” Julia said. “He’s a fabulous artist and a really good guy.”

  “He sure is.”

  “And I guess I should ask her father if he’d like to keep her things when Niall is finished.”

  I winced. “Maybe Linda told you that he was always against her learning the craft from her grandfather. He might get a little testy about it.”

  She thought about that. “You know, I think I’ll save that conversation for another day. After all, Linda might have written out a last will, making the entire conversation moot.”

  I patted her shoulder. “That’s possible. Let me know what the verdict is when you find out.” I gave her another hug. “Call me if you want to talk.”

  “I just want to find out who hurt her.”

  “I want that, too,” I said. And I was determined to get some answers.

  * * *

  * * *

  “I’ve been craving these cookies all night,” Chloe said as we entered the café, and she quickly bought a package of three.

  “After stuffing myself with cookies and pizza yesterday, I’m sticking with something healthy.” I picked up an apple.

  “An apple. That’s not boring at all.”

  I laughed as I took my apple to the cash register and paid for all of our snacks.

  “It’s such a nice day,” she said. “Let’s walk outside for a few minutes.”

  The sky was blue with puffy white clouds, and I could smell the sea breeze. “I love it here.”

  “I can’t wait to move back permanently,” she said as she nibbled on a cookie.

  “I can’t wait, either.” I took a bite of my apple and savored the sweet, tart taste. “I’m so excited for you. And for me.”

  “I know. It’s going to be fun.”

  “Hey, Chloe.”

  We both turned and saw Travis walking our way. Chloe and I exchanged a quick glance. This was perfect. He was just the person we wanted to see.

  “Hey, Travis,” we said in unison.

  He grinned. “You two are a sight for these old eyes.”

  “You’re not that old,” Chloe said with a laugh. She hugged him. “How are you doing?”

  He hesitated, then said, “I’ve been better.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “Yeah.” He folded his arms across his chest. “I’m just stumped. I can’t believe anyone would suspect me of hurting Linda or Parks. I haven’t known either of them very long, but I already considered them two of my best friends.”

  “I know,” Chloe said.

  Then he shook himself out of his down mood. “I’ll be okay. I’m going to lay low, do my work, and write. It really helps me think. Mac was right about that.”

  I gave him a hug. “Sounds like the best thing you could do for now.”

  “Yeah. But just now I want to get some lunch.”

  “We’ll walk with you,” I said.

  As we walked, Chloe said, “Travis, we know you didn’t hurt Linda or Parks.”

  “Somebody’s trying to set you up,” I said.

  “But who would do that?” he wondered. “I’m sure I’ve pissed off plenty of people in my life, but not to this extent. I thought for a little while that it was a random thing.”

  “You mean, they just happened to pick your house?” I said.

  “Stranger things have happened.”

  “It’s not random,” Chloe insisted.

  “No, not after what happened to Linda,” I said. “And then Parks. And then our wall being sabotaged.”

  He stared at me. “What’s that about a wall?”

  Chloe told him what happened to the partition wall.

  “Oh man, that’s a whole different kind of dirty trick.” He ran his hand across the back of his neck. “So, definitely not random.”

  “And don’t forget,” I said. “Someone stole your tablet.”

  “Oh hey.” He grinned. “I found it.”

  I exchanged a look with Chloe. “You found it?”

  “Well, it sort of just reappeared yesterday. When the cops came to check out my closet, I happened to look at my desk, and it was just sitting there.”

  “Just sitting there,” I repeated slowly.

  Chloe looked at me. “Another mystery?”

  “Hmm,” I whispered. “Actually, things are getting clearer.”

  “How can you even say that?” she said. “I’m more confused than ever.”

  “Yeah,” Travis said. “What’re you thinking, Shannon?”

  “Just that whoever hid those mallets is the same person who stole your tablet. And that person is also Linda’s killer.”

  His mouth twisted into a frown. “The tablet did reappear at the same time the mallets showed up.”

  I knew Mac was convinced that Lewis had not only taken the tablet but stolen one of Travis’s story ideas. If the tablet appeared at the same time as the bloody mallets, it was one more reason to suspect that Lewis had killed Linda.

  I pulled out my phone. “I’m going to call Eric. He needs to check Travis’s tablet for fingerprints.”

  The phone call took less than two minutes. Eric thanked me and we ended the call. I looked at Travis. “He’ll probably call you later to get a look at the tablet.”

  “I won’t touch it until I hear from him.”

  “Good thinking,” Chloe said, patting his back. “Let’s go inside and get you some lunch.”

  “Sounds good. I’m starving.”

  He got a bowl of soup and a ham sandwich, and the three of us sat inside at one of the tables.