“Ah. You’re using enticement.” He sat down on the edge of the bed to put on shoes. “Any climbing to do? Tunnels?”
Sara’s face turned serious. “I don’t know. Puck wouldn’t tell me. That woman! If I didn’t like her I’d be afraid of her. This house is locked at night, and my door was locked. But she still got into my bedroom.”
“Wonder how she did it,” Jack said.
“When we see her, you can ask, but that’s not important. She said it was urgent that we get there asap.”
Jack stood up. “How are you and Byon doing on the script?”
Sara laughed. “So you heard about that. You figure it out or did Kate?”
“She did. She’s the brains—I’m the brawn.”
“Have you been running around shirtless to make her see that?”
“Oh yeah. I’ve been about to freeze, but the look on her face was worth it.”
They smiled at each other.
There was a quick knock on the door and Kate entered. She looked from one to the other. “What have you two been talking about?”
“Sex,” Sara said.
“Good,” Kate said. “You can teach Jack about it. You two ready to go?” She left the room.
Sara frowned at Jack. “You do know about boys and girls who love each other, don’t you?”
Shaking his head, Jack went through to Kate’s room. Behind him, Sara was smiling.
They tiptoed through the house, down the stairs and out through the empty kitchen. The big table was covered with bowls of chopped vegetables that Mrs. Aiken had prepared for the day’s meals.
“Dare you to mess them up,” Kate whispered to Jack.
“I value my life too much.”
Outside, the women followed Jack to find one of the little utility trucks parked under a tree.
Kate looked up. “Puck isn’t going to jump down, is she?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised by anything she did,” Sara said.
Jack drove them to Puck’s house and there were lights on inside. Outside was an old green Range Rover that looked like it had been used to ford rivers and climb rocks.
“Someone’s here,” Sara said.
“Oh good,” Jack said. “Another murder suspect.”
“Just so it isn’t another body, I’m fine with it,” Kate shot back.
Puck had to let them in through the downstairs gate. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes showed that she was excited about something.
Upstairs, they saw a woman, fortyish, with skin that looked like it had spent a lifetime outdoors. She was sturdily built, not fat, not thin, and she looked strong.
Jack and Kate stepped forward to greet her, but Sara stayed back.
“You’re Diana,” Sara said.
She smiled. “I am. I saw the paper on the newsstand. Murder at Oxley Manor. What a headline! I was going to call, but then I thought it would be better if I showed up. I do like to answer questions about my death in person. Are they all here?”