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more hell than heaven. The meals she had hosted with Paul, the ones where the dishes had been used, hadn’t turned out to be what Ali had hoped for or expected. Yes, Paul Grayson had loved entertaining and had done so lavishly, but there had been an element of one-upmanship in everything he did. Dinner guests were invited because of who they knew or what they had to offer in terms of deal making. Places at his table were generally assigned based on who could provide the best political advantage at work. For him love had counted far less than leverage.
    On this occasion, an inexpensive and simple meal—reheated deli food—had been served to guests in a mobile home that had once belonged to Aunt Evie, someone Paul, in his arrogance, had summarily dismissed as mere “trailer trash.” Ali found herself smiling at the irony. Paul Grayson’s command-performance entertaining was far in the past, and tonight’s low-key celebration had fulfilled Ali’s long-ago dream of how those lovely but costly dishes would be used.
    Ali was drying the last of the plates when she heard the front door open. She peeked around the intervening wall, expecting to see Chris returning. Instead, Dave Holman let himself into the room.
    “Sorry,” he apologized. “Chris was outside with Athena. He said I should go on in.”
    Dave and Ali’s decision to put their romance on hold while maintaining their friendship had led to a certain amount of confusion on both sides. Glad to see him under any circumstances,Ali put down her dish towel on the counter and hurried over to kiss him hello. He kissed her back with a lot more enthusiasm than mere friendship warranted.
    “Sit down,” she said, ushering him over to the leather couch. “Don’t be such a stranger. How are the girls?”
    “Great,” Dave said. “Cassie’s the same as she always was—never a bit of trouble. As for Crystal? She’s back to being her old self—going to school, getting good grades, playing goalie on her soccer team. It’s like she’s really turned a corner.”
    Months earlier, unhappy that her mother and stepfather had moved away from Sedona, Crystal Holman had staged an adolescent insurrection by getting involved with an online predator. Her rash behavior had come close to being fatal for her and for Ali Reynolds. But Ali wasn’t the least bit surprised to know that Crystal was now happy as a clam. The child was a master manipulator. Risky though it had been, everything she had done had been calculated to bring her back home to her father. And it worked like a charm, Ali thought a little ruefully.
    “Glad to hear it,” she said aloud. “So this is work?”
    Dave nodded. When the girls had come back to Sedona, Dave had moved out of his bachelor-pad apartment and into a three-bedroom rental near the old downtown business district.
    “So who’s looking after them while you’re off on a case?” Ali asked. That had been one of Crystal’s complaints—that cases were more important to her father than family. Ali suspected that was still true.
    “Crystal promised she’d see to it that Cassie gets to bed on time,” Dave said. “Believe me, I’m keeping the computer under lock and key these days. The only time Crystal gets to use it is when I’m there to supervise.”
    Crystal was an experienced thirteen, and not in a good way.Ali wouldn’t have left her in charge of a younger sibling on a bet, but Dave hadn’t asked for her advice about child care any more than Athena and Chris had asked for wedding advice. With some difficulty, Ali managed to keep her mouth shut.
    “Meanwhile, you’re working the Forester homicide?” she asked.
    Dave nodded. “That’s why I’m here—to ask you some questions. I really do need to track Bryan’s movements today.”
    “Is he under arrest?”
    Dave shook his head and pulled out a notebook and pen. “Nothing like that,” he said. “This is all very preliminary. We’re just trying to get the lay of the land. What can