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the sheriff and that I deal with dastardly crimes.”
    “Impress her, are you?” Ellie asked.
    Gemma thought she should clear the air. “I’m one of the applicants for a job that Mrs. Frazier is offering.”
    “Oh, right, cleaning out that mess she bought in England.” Ellie looked at Colin. “So where are the other two who are trying for the job?”
    “At home in the pool. Mom’s taking a nap.”
    Ellie snorted. “Your mother never took a nap in her life.”
    “I know she hasn’t,” he said, smiling.
    Ellie again looked from him to Gemma. “So what kind of sandwiches do you two want?”
    “Roast beef,” they said in unison.
    “Side dish? I have coleslaw or potato salad.”
    “Coleslaw,” they again said together.
    “Coming up.” When Ellie turned away, she was smiling.
    “Like to look around?” Colin asked.
    “So I can tell Isla about the place for when she lives here?”
    “That’s exactly what I had in mind.” He was teasing, but whether or not she got the job was no joke to her and he saw it on her face. He lowered his voice. “I’ll talk to Mom tonight, and I’ll get Dad totalk to her too. And Shamus. Maybe the three of us can persuade her to choose the right person.” He started to say more but broke off because a woman standing near the cereals started running toward him.
    “Colin!” she said. “I went by your office today but Roy said you were away on family business. I am so glad to see you.”
    “Did it happen again, Tara?” Colin asked.
    For the first time, Gemma saw his “sheriff face.” In a second he went from teasing and laughing to very serious.
    When the woman said, “Someone trampled my flowers again,” Gemma had to restrain her smile. The news on TV was full of murders and other heinous crimes, but this woman was concerned about her tulips?
    “Did Roy make casts of the footprints?”
    “Yes. She came as soon as I called.”
    Gemma’s eyes widened. Footprint casts? This sounded more serious than just flowers being knocked down.
    “Colin, I don’t know what to do,” Tara said. “I have two little kids and with Jimmie away so much . . .”
    Colin put his arm out to the woman and she laid her cheek against his chest as she tried not to cry. “Want to stay in our guesthouse?” he asked as he put his hand on her back. “The big one is taken, but you and the kids are welcome to use the second one.”
    She pulled away. “No, we’ll be all right. That man you recommended is putting the cameras up, and Jimmie will be home tonight, so we’ll be fine.” Tara pulled a tissue out of her pocket and blew her nose as she looked at Gemma. “Is this a new girlfriend?”
    “I’m one of the candidates for the job of cataloging the Frazier documents,” Gemma said quickly, stepping a little farther away from Colin. She didn’t want to be the cause of any gossip in the small town.
    Judging from Tara’s blank look, she had no idea what Gemma was referring to. “If Colin likes you, then you have my vote.” She glanced at her basket. “I have to go before this thaws. Colin, thank you for . . . for everything.”
    “You have my cell number. If you hear or see anything, call me and I’ll be there.”
    “Thanks,” she said, then wheeled her cart away.
    He turned to Gemma, looking as though nothing unusual had happened. “So this is the aisle where Ellie keeps the cereals. If you like Kellogg’s Raisin Bran—the kind that real people eat—you have me to thank for its being here. I told Ellie that if she didn’t start stocking Raisin Bran I was going to Williamsburg to—”
    “What was that all about?” Gemma asked, cutting him off. “Please say you can tell me or I’ll go crazy trying to figure it out.”
    Colin shrugged. “We don’t know anything for sure. Someone keeps walking through Tara’s flower beds in the middle of the night. Yesterday there was a light rain, so my deputy, Roy, could get some casts of the footprints. It’s an old-fashioned technique,