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platter to Jeff and he carried it to the deck.
    “Both. We try to have someone check the house at least twice a week. We do it at random times in case anyone is watching for patterns. It usually works pretty well.”
    “Why all the questions?” Viv gave Lin a wary look while she lit the candles on the deck table. She wondered what her cousin might have in mind to drag her into.
    Lin said, “I wonder about the bone. How did it get in the ground behind the farmhouse?”
    “That bone is probably ancient.” Viv walked down the deck steps and put her arms around John from behind. “And if it is ancient, then it doesn’t matter how it got there.”
    “If it’s an old bone, it would be nearly impossible to figure out the circumstances that brought it to the farmhouse yard.” Jeff handed tongs to John so he could take the shish kebob skewers off the grill.
    When the platter was full, the four young people sat at the table and dug into the food. The smell of the meal made everyone’s mouths water.
    “Delicious,” Jeff pronounced.
    Conversation turned to other things besides a discovered bone and the dinner was devoured. The yard darkened as the sun set and the four people sat sipping drinks and watching fireflies dart about in the night. John suggested some music and he and Jeff cleared away the plates and went inside to get Viv’s guitars.
    Lin leaned close to her cousin. “My last stop today was the cemetery. I talked to Quinn Whitaker, the manager. It was strange. He said he’d been off-island for a few days.”
    Viv raised an eyebrow in question. “And?”
    “When you and I went to the cemetery last night there was a light on in one of the office back rooms. You saw it.”
    “Yeah, I remember. You didn’t want the manager to see us there so late.”
    Lin nodded. “Quinn said he wasn’t at the cemetery last night. He went to the mainland for a few days to take care of some family responsibility.”
    Viv sipped some water. “There must be a timer on the light then.”
    “I said that to him. He told me there was no timer. He said it must have been the moonlight reflecting off the window glass.” A cloud seemed to have settled over Lin’s expression. “Quinn told me that he’s the only one who has a key to the office.”
    “He didn’t say that things were missing from the office?” A shadow of concern flitted over Viv’s face.
    “He acted like everything was normal.” Lin glanced around the dark yard, thinking. She could hear the guys returning to the deck with the musical instruments. She whispered to her cousin. “Someone was in that office.”
    Viv made eye contact with Lin. “I wonder who it was.”
    “And….” Lin frowned. “What was the person doing in there?”

7
    L in stopped at Viv’s bookstore before heading off to her first gardening client of the day. Nicky pranced in and trotted right to the chair where Queenie always sat. The gray cat lifted her regal head from her paw when the little dog zoomed over and put his front paws on the chair. She slid closer to the upholstered armrest to make room for him and he leaped up, slurped her cheek and settled down next to her. Queenie raised a paw, licked it, and wiped at the spot where the dog had planted the kiss.
    Lin looked around the café section of the bookstore at the patrons sitting at tables and on sofas enjoying their morning beverages and treats. She saw Viv behind the counter waiting on someone and she gave her cousin a smile. As she turned back, Libby Hartnett, an older island native, made eye contact with Lin. Lin nodded, and Libby said something to her companions and stood up.
    Lin walked to a table and Libby joined her.
    Libby had silvery-white hair that was cut short and was feathered around her face. Her blue eyes were striking in their intensity. Libby had been friendly with Lin’s grandfather and Libby and Lin were distant relatives descended from the Witchard family, a family where many of the women had some kind of