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sure she noticed the change. How could she not? I took a deep breath and turned back to her. She was sitting watching me and smiling slightly.
    "I suppose I can't get away from my insatiable curiosity," I tried to explain. "I shouldn't be surprised when I find myself in this type of situation. I'm only following my instincts."
    "And they led you here," she said quietly.
    I smiled slightly and said, "I think so." We were silent for a moment.
    "I'm glad they did. So, how long have you known Jan and Barb?"
    "I've known Jan for almost eighteen years. We went to college together and became fast friends. She's a card. I met Barb after she started seeing Jan about two years ago. So, how long have you known them?"
    "It's the opposite. I've known Barb for ten years. She was a nurse at Cook County. Thank God, she got out of that place."
    "Ten years, did you meet her in grammar school?"
    "Grammar school?" she asked frowning. "Say, what is it with you? First, it's 'my age' and now this. Do you have an age fetish? How old do you think I am?" she asked. I heard the anger rising. "Never mind, I don't think I want to know."
    "Can we drop this? I'm sorry," I said quickly. This kind of conversation could cause nothing but trouble.
    "So what else did Aunt Hannah and you discuss?"
    "Nothing. Is there more?" I asked.
    "N-no," she hesitated. "It's nothing."
    "Why don't you tell me and then we can decide if it's nothing?" I asked.
    She looked into the fire. I waited silently, hoping she'd open up.
    "Margaret, if you don't tell her I will!" Hannah exclaimed as she leaned in between us.
    I nearly jumped off the couch. As soon as my heart rate returned to normal, Hannah repeated herself.
    "Margaret!"
    "All right," Maggie started. "About two months ago--"
    "Someone tried to kill her," Hannah blurted out.
    My eyes widened as I stared in amazement.
    Maggie tensed and said, through clenched teeth, "No one tried to kill me. It was an accident."
    "Wait a minute..." I said.
    "Good heavens, someone in the stable hit you from behind--knocked you out cold--and that's not attempted murder?" Hannah asked.
    "Hold on, when--" I started.
    "Christ, Aunt Hannah, this is precisely why I didn't want anyone to know. Christ!" Maggie said. I noticed her hands beginning to shake.
    "Well pardon me for caring." Hannah turned to me. "We went to the police, and they were absolutely no help. They investigated but found nothing. Well, of course they found nothing. Whoever did it is a murderer, not an idiot!"
    But before I could even open my mouth--
    "And what about the woods?" Hannah asked. "Don't even tell me someone wasn't following you. Whoever it was scared you senseless on more than one occasion."
    "Okay, ladies, if we could--" I always wanted to be invisible.
    "Aunt Hannah, could we please stop this? I know what happened. I know you care and I know you're scared. Well, so am I dammit, and I don't know why it's happening or what to do!" She was on the verge of hysteria. "So please, can we stop this? I feel like I'm going insane." She laid her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes.
    Hannah sat on the arm of the couch and held her. "I am sorry, sweetie," she whispered, stroking Maggie's hair.
    Maggie cried softy for a minute then looked up at her.
    Her aunt reached down, dried her tears with the back of her hand and kissed her cheek.
    I coughed softly.
    "I'm sorry, Miss Ryan," Maggie said.
    "Kate, please, and there's no need to apologize. We should take this step by step, don't you think?"
    "So, where do we start?" Hannah sat next to Maggie, and held her hand.
    "Well, obviously, we've got to figure out why someone would want to kill...uh, attack you. When did this start? Was there anything going on at the time that might offer an explanation?"
    "I can't think of anything. I've been racking my brain for two months. Maybe money. All I have is money. But why now? It doesn't make sense. I've had money all my life."
    I raised an eyebrow. "Really, how much