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behind me. “Would you like some coffee?”
    “Oh, yes. Please.” His smile seemed more genuine. I thought that perhaps he was worried about seeing me again after our last encounter. He’d come across as if he didn’t consider us a couple. Still, that was the least of our problems now. We walked to the funeral home kitchen and I started the coffee machine.
    “How are you, Basil?” I asked, trying to mask the amount of concern in my voice. I couldn’t imagine how hard these last few days must have been for him.
    “I’m not great, to be honest.” He sighed. “I’m the primary suspect, and for good reason. I was the only other person up there, except the pilot, of course – but he was obviously a little bit too busy flying the plane to…” He swallowed. “To kill Lewis. I’ve been in questioning, and it’s been awful. Obviously, they haven’t hurt me or anything, but they’ve tried everything they can that’s legal. It’s been painful, but at least they’ve let me go for now. There just wasn’t enough evidence to convict me, I suppose.”
    “That’s shocking,” I exclaimed. I just wanted to hug him, but restrained myself.
    “I’ll be off the hook if they find some DNA in the parachute,” Basil continued.
    “DNA? But there wasn’t any blood or anything.”
    “They explained it to me,” Basil said. “It’s called Touch DNA. They only need about eight skin cells. They’ve taken my DNA and if they find someone else’s DNA inside the chute and not mine, that will discount me as a suspect.”
    “Well I sure hope whoever it was wasn’t wearing gloves when they did it,” I said.
    “It would have to be quite a stupid person not to, sadly.” Basil looked upset.
    I had to agree. I thought it was highly likely that whoever murdered Lewis had worn gloves when they sabotaged his parachute.
    I smiled at him warmly, trying to raise his spirits. I figured coffee would do him good—coffee is good for anything—and poured him a cup as soon as it was ready. I knew it was upsetting him and that he was sick of talking about it, but I needed to know more about what happened to Lewis.
    “Do you have any idea what happened?” I asked.
    Basil considered for a moment before answering. “Not entirely, no, though I know Lewis jumped out earlier than he should have. He wanted to show off, I think. You probably noticed that he was more than a little competitive.” He raised an eyebrow at me and I stifled a laugh.
    “More than a little, yes,” I replied, thinking back to when I’d met him.
    “Well, I think that’s why he jumped early. He hadn’t seemed nervous or upset about anything. Honestly, though, he was a very skilled skydiver. He wasn’t lying about that. Though I’m the better accountant.” Basil shot me a genuine smile as he said it, but there was still a very real sadness in his eyes. I hadn’t liked Lewis much, but he certainly didn’t deserve what happened. I wasn’t sure that anybody did.
    Basil rested his head in his palms. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t prove that it wasn’t me, and I obviously don’t have an alibi since I was with him in the plane. I…” The bell rang before Basil could finish, and he looked up at me.
    I sighed. “I’ll be back in a second.” I was in the middle of a tender and important moment, which meant the visitor could only be one person.
    “Hi, Mom.” I said, forcing a smile as I opened the door. “Hello, Ian.”
    “Hello, Laurel,” they quite creepily said in unison. “Are you inviting us in for a coffee?” my mother asked.
    No , I thought, but you’ve invited yourself anyway . Aloud, I said, “Sure, come in. Basil is here at the moment, and I’ve just run the machine through, so your coffee should be quicker than usual.”
    “Hello, Thelma, Ian,” Basil said as we all entered the room. His tone had become considerably harsher, and it was clear that he didn’t like either of them. It was no wonder. They hadn’t exactly given him a