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problem?”
    Terrence considered it. “I’m not inclined to allow Ms. Honore back inside Marshfield.”
    Lenore’s mouth dropped open. Her expression slid from happiness to gloom in the time it took me to blink.
    “That is,” Terrence continued, “unless she promises not to step out of line again.”
    She lit up. “I do. I promise.”
    “And no touching.”
    “No touching,” she said.
    “I mean it.” Terrence pulled out a set of handcuffs. “You see these? You touch anything at all and we’ll wrap them around your wrists and haul you out.”
    “Yes, sir,” she said, nodding vigorously.
    I hoped for her sake that nothing would “pop into her head” tomorrow that she’d feel compelled to do.
    To John, Terrence said, “You may want to consider making it a rule that no one walks away from the group alone. Institute the buddy system or something. Do whatever works for you as long as you make sure she’s never out of the group’s sight.”
    After a couple more reminders, John led Lenore away. Terrence and I walked them to the front door, where a shuttle waited to take them to the parking lot.
    “You let her off easy,” I said the minute they were gone.
    “Rodriguez vouched for her.”
    I could barely contain my surprise. Rodriguez was one of the town’s two detectives. Middle-aged and more eager for retirement than to make his mark on the world, his patience been stretched thin by two recent murders here at Marshfield. I liked the man and appreciated his style far more than that of his younger partner, the edgy, hyper-suspicious Flynn. Rodriguez giving Lenore a pass was good enough for me, but I had to ask, “She doesn’t have a record, I take it?”
    “Not a criminal one, at least. But before I could even spell her name, Rodriguez knew who I was talking about.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “Seems our Ms. On-or-ay”—he strung out the pronunciation—“arrived in Emberstowne a couple of nights ago and got lost walking back to the hotel where she was staying.”
    “Pretty hard to get lost in Emberstowne.”
    “Tell me about it. Anyway, she ran into your good friend Ronny Tooney, who made sure she was safe.”
    “And this involves Rodriguez how?”
    Terrence rubbed his eyes. “People are weird.”
    I waited.
    Fingers still massaging his eyebrows, he sighed. “You know Tooney is about as welcome at the P.D. as rats are in a restaurant, right? Well, it seems that the lovely lady in question managed to get drunk out of her skull. In her impaired state, she couldn’t find her way back to her hotel and wandered around Emberstowne until Tooney noticed her. He couldn’t be sure she had her hotel name right, so he took her to the police and let them deal with her.”
    “Seriously?”
    “The guy may be a pest, but he’s not stupid. You ask me, he was afraid the girl might turn around and blame him for some indecency. The man was covering his . . .”
    “Tracks?”
    “Yeah,” he said with a grin. “Exactly the word I was about to use. Anyway, while she slept it off at the station, Rodriguez ran her name. She may have over-imbibed, but her record is as clean as my momma’s kitchen floor on Sunday.”
    I laughed.
    He continued, “When Lenore woke up the next morning, it was like she hadn’t been drunk at all. No hangover. She ate everything the cops put in front of her. And she talked. A lot. They couldn’t get her back to her hotel fast enough. Rodriguez says he feels sorry for the lady. He even went as far to declare that if she’s a criminal, he’ll hire Ronny Tooney as his personal assistant.”
    “Whoa.”
    “Which is why I let her go. But I’m holding John responsible for her. He knows that.”
    “He’s got his hands full.”
    Terrence grinned again. “You couldn’t pay me to take on that man’s job.”

Chapter 4
    WHEN I MADE IT BACK TO MY OFFICE, FRANCES was waiting for me. Wearing a peach polyester shell and coordinating plaid slacks, she stood in front of her desk, arms