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eyes were troubled.
    â€œThey try, Teddy. They do the best they can. But before they can arrest somebody, they have to find out who he is. That’s why they’re talking to everybody who was here tonight. To see if any of us can help them find the bad people. And believe me, Teddy, if it’s at all possible, I believe the police will find the person who did this.”
    â€œHeather’s right about that.”
    At the sound of Thad Law’s voice, their heads came up.
    Heather wondered just how long he’d been standing there, watching and listening. As a detective, he would have been trained to listen and observe. But this seemed to be more than training. It seemed almost second nature to him. As though he’d spent a lifetime looking into people’s minds and probing the secrets of their hearts.
    Thad closed the door and leaned against it. “If you boys don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a favor.”
    The two boys’ fears were forgotten as they wondered what they could possibly do for this man, who was held in such high regard by their father.
    He crossed to the two little boys and got down on his knees, so that his eyes were level with theirs. It occurred to Heather as she watched that he was doing everything possible to make himself less intimidating. He instinctively understood that his size, his bearing, and his status as a police detective, could be misinterpreted as menacing.
    â€œI need to learn everything I can about the past couple of hours.” He turned to the older boy first. “What were you doing when you heard the sound of the gunshot, Joe?”
    â€œThat’s easy,” Joe, Jr., said solemnly. “We were in the dining room, waiting for our dad to join us for dinner.”
    â€œWere you sitting at the table?” Thad turned to the younger boy.
    Teddy shook his head. “We were standing.”
    â€œAlone?”
    The boy shook his head. “With Heather.” He glanced tentatively toward her and was relieved tosee her smiling. His own smile returned. “She was teasing us.”
    â€œTeasing you? What about?” He glanced over the boy’s head and saw the color rise to Heather’s cheeks.
    â€œAbout the clouds. She told us the sun’ll come out tomorrow.”
    Thad grinned. “Did she say it? Or sing it?”
    â€œShe said it. But in a singsong voice.” The little boy was clearly enjoying himself now that he’d discovered that the policeman had a sense of humor.
    â€œOkay. As long as she didn’t burst into song.” Thad kept his tone light. “Then what happened?”
    â€œOur mom came in and yelled at Heather.” Teddy saw the look of disapproval on his brother’s face and clapped a hand to his mouth. “Maybe I wasn’t supposed to tell.”
    â€œThat’s all right,” Thad said easily. “My mom used to yell sometimes, too. Moms do that. What did she yell about?”
    â€œShe told Heather not to come to the table in jeans. And Heather was just going to go and change when we heard the bang.”
    â€œWere you all together when you heard the sound?”
    The boy nodded, then paused. “Well, I guess our mom wasn’t here.” He turned to his brother for confirmation. “She ran out of the room a minute or so before Heather.”
    â€œSo there were only the three of you?”
    Teddy nodded. “And Inez.”
    â€œAll right.” Thad kept his tone easy. “After your mother left, what did you say and do?”
    Teddy grinned, remembering. “Heather said we were lucky, ’cause she was going upstairs to make herself glamorous.”
    â€œAnd did she?”
    Teddy shook his head. “Before she could go we heard the shot. Bam. Then Heather ran out of the room and started up the stairs. And when Joe and I tried to follow, she told us to stay downstairs.”
    Thad nodded. “That was very wise of her. And then what