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A look I couldn’t decipher passed over Charlotte’s face. “You’re braver than I am,” she said.

We all looked at her. She looked at each one of us, a grave expression in her brown eyes. “My first year of teacher training, I had a boyfriend a lot like Caleb Swift,” she said. “He didn’t break my wrist. But he did hit me.” She stopped and pressed a hand to her mouth. Elspeth reached out and caught her hand, and something passed, unspoken, between the two women.

“I’ve never told this to another living soul,” Charlotte said.

“You could have told us,” Rose said gently. “We know it’s not your fault.”

“It was hard to say this happened to me,” Elspeth said. “I’m supposed to be smart.”

Charlotte nodded. “I know.”

“It has nothing to do with smart,” Mr. P. said. “I’m sorry this happened to both of you.”

“Thank you, Alfred,” Charlotte said.

Elspeth took a deep breath and let it out. She seemed a bit lighter somehow. “There’s one more thing,” she said.

“What is it?” Rose asked.

“The night Lily was killed? Maybe it doesn’t mean anything, but that was Caleb Swift’s birthday.”

Before Elspeth left, Liz came over to me. I remembered what she’d said the day we’d had tea at her house: “I protect the people I care about.”

“You should have told me she was coming here,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“She asked me not to.”

“You really think I would have tried to talk her out of telling everyone what happened?” One eyebrow went up.

“No, but it wasn’t my call,” I said. “I asked Elspeth if Caleb had been abusive, because I noticed how protective you got when his name came up, but it was her idea to come and tell everyone what happened to her. She asked me not to tell you, and I didn’t. She thinks you feel guilty for not going after Caleb at the time.” I pulled hand over my neck. “You do, don’t you?”

Liz looked at me for a long moment. “I didn’t know for sure,” she finally said. “I suspected, but I wasn’t positive. Like she said, it was a long time before she told me everything.” She looked past me out the big front window and then her gaze came back to me. “I should have pushed. I definitely shouldn’t have agreed to keep it all a secret. I should have strung that young man up by his . . .” She didn’t finish the sentence.

“You took care of Elspeth,” I said. “That’s what needed to be done.”

Liz looked over to where her niece was standing with Rose and Charlotte. “It was good for her to talk about what happened,” she said. “She doesn’t have anything to be ashamed of.”

I nodded. “No, she doesn’t.”

“I need to talk to her before she goes.”

I gave Liz’s arm a squeeze as she passed me.

“The date has to mean something,” Rose said once Liz and Elspeth were outside.

“It is an awfully big coincidence,” I admitted, crossing my arms over my chest and rubbing one shoulder with the other hand.

“I keep wondering, could Caleb Swift be alive?” Rose asked. “And I know how far-fetched that sounds.”

“You don’t seriously think he came back here and killed Lily, do you?” Charlotte said.

Alfred frowned. “That is a bit of a stretch.”

“Someone should talk to Daniel Swift,” Rose said.

“I’ll go.” Liz had come back inside after walking Elspeth to her car. “I know Daniel. He was on the board of the Sunshine Camp at one time.”

Rose opened her mouth to say something, and Liz reached over and caught her hand. “I need to do this,” she said. “Four years ago, when Elspeth showed up on my doorstep in the middle of the night with her arm in a cast, I should have made her tell me what really happened. I knew she wasn’t telling me everything.”

“She came to you precisely because she knew you wouldn’t push,” Charlotte said. “She wouldn’t have told you.”

Liz gave her a sidelong glance. “Excuse me, have you met me, Charlotte?” she said. “I don’t usually take no for an answer.”

“If you’re going, I’m coming with you,” I said. “I met Daniel Swift once, years ago. Gram worked with him on the refurbishment of the Opera House.”

“Fine,” Liz said. “What time works for you?”

“How about late this afternoon?” I said. “I have a meeting with someone from the Wellington Group later this morning. It looks like that rumor Charlotte heard was right. They’ve invested in North Landing.”

Rose looked at me. “When did all this happen?”

“A little while ago,” I said. “It’ll be a sales pitch, but I thought maybe we could learn a little more about Jon West and the company if I went.”

“Good thinking, Sarah,” Mr. P. said, smiling at me and giving me a thumbs-up. “Since we haven’t been able to find out anything from the outside, we’ll just have to infiltrate them.”

“We should talk to Caroline,” Rose said.

Liz shook her head. “It won’t work. She isn’t going to tell you anything.”

“Maybe not,” Rose said. “But it won’t hurt to try.” She looked at Charlotte. “Will you come with me after work?”

“Yes,” Charlotte said. “I have a pot roast in the slow cooker. We can have supper afterward.”

“I’m going to see what else I can find on young Mr. Swift’s disappearance,” Mr. P. said.

“All right,” Rose said. “Everyone has a job. I’ll go put the tea on.” She headed for the front.

Charlotte smiled at me. “I’ll go give Mac a hand.” She must have seen something in my face because she leaned closer to me. “And I’ll keep an eye on Rose when we go see Caroline.”

“Thanks,” I said.

She headed for the shop.

I leaned over and bumped Liz with my shoulder.

“I meant what I said,” I told her. “It’s not your fault. And Elspeth is fine. Don’t lose sight of that.”

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “I would have pounded that young man into sand,” she said in a voice edged with venom.

“I don’t doubt that for a second,” I said as we started for the door.

“We’re onto something,” she said. “I can feel it in my bones.”

“Well, I’m not going to argue with your bones.”

She smiled. “Don’t get saucy with me, missy. I changed your diapers.”

I laughed. They’d all changed my diapers.

Liz’s expression grew serious again. “Elspeth said the day Lily died was Caleb Swift’s birthday. I think it means something.”

I didn’t say anything, but so did I.

Chapter 20

The Wellington Group office was in a brick building just up the street from the library. I recognized the young man at the reception desk. He’d worked as a waiter at The Black Bear for several summers. “Hello, Ronan,” I said.

He smiled up at me. He was wearing dark-rimmed glasses and a gray suit. “Hi, Ms. Grayson,” he said. “Ms. Kellogg will be out to get you in just a moment. May I get you a cup of coffee?”

“No, thank you,” I said. I looked around. “How long have you been working here?”

“It’s actually an internship,” he said, “and I’ve been here since January fifth.”

“Well, good luck,” I said.

He smiled again. “Thank you.”

Charmaine Kellogg looked exactly the way I’d envisioned her. She was wearing a black suit with a vibrant pink blouse. Her hair was slicked back in a high ponytail and, like Ronan, she was wearing glasses; hers had dark tortoiseshell frames.

We shook hands. “Ms. Redding is in her office,” she said. She pointed over her head. “I’ll take you up.”

The wooden staircase to the second floor couldn’t have been original, but the mellow wood fit the tone of the restored space.