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"Oh, Martin," I said, stunned I felt as if I’d put on e of a precipice

"Sweetheart, do you like the hard not to cry "Yes, Martin They’re beautiful" My hands were shaking, and I clenched my fists so he wouldn’t notice

"Didn’t you tell me November was your birthday?"

"Yes, it is"

"And here it is Noveet you a present I know topaz is your birthstone, but none I saw seeh to me These look like you If you didn’t know it, you look beautiful tonight"

The stones glittered The aed with small diamonds

"I’m overwhelmed Martin, I don’t knohat to say" I’d never spoken truer words

"Tell me you love me"

I looked into the mirror

"I love you"

"That’s all I wanted to hear"

"Martin"

His hand touched my cheek

"Do you--?"

"Yes," he said intomy neck "Oh, yes I love you"

After a while he said, "Do we have to go?"

"Unless anthere to find out what happened to me, yes"

Actually, I needed a space to think, to calet it

Talk about warring eht be questioned toift, the kind woht for a le me

Martin fetched s in the h to put on your coat?" he asked, laughing

"I guess so," I said reluctantly The ht "Martin, what’s that clipped to your coat pocket?"

"Oh, a beeper We’ve been having trouble with a particular ht, and if he catches hio have it out with the guy"

In my now almost complete wave of euphoria, I did a Scarlett O’Hara and decided to think about the bad stuff later Maybe I couldn’t put it off until tomorrow, but I could savor this minute, surely

Martin and I were a little late, alasses of white wine off the tray a waiter carried by I spotted Lizanne and Bubba Sewell i tothat afternoon Maybe her liquid dark eyes rested on me a little sadly, but that was all Bubba started one of those conversations with Martin designed to link the on as a representative hat Martin was trying to achieve at Pan-Ara, he told Martin that he could call his over," he illustrated his intelligence and grasp of Pan-Ara’s interests, and he i that had happened to the company since sliced bread

Martin responded cautiously but with interest

Lizanne told s

"Martin gave them to me," I said proudly

She looked worried for a minute, then properly complimented me and drew Bubba’s attention to the?" he responded after a token remark

Lizanne, with her lovely slow slittered a notable dia," she said calmly

"Oh," I said "Oh, Lizanne, it’s beautiful" I sighed, suddenly realized I was doing so, and tried to ?"

"In the spring," Lizanne said offhandedly "We’ve got to sit doith a calendar and pick a date It depends on the legislature, and of course I have to give notice atwork?" I didn’t mean to sound startled, but I was What on earth would Lizanne do all day?

"Oh, yes We’re going to be living in my house for a while, until Bubba’s career plans are finalized, but there’s a lot I need to do to it and I’m bored with my job anyway"

I hadn’t known boredom was a concept Lizanne understood Also, Lizanne heard every bit of news in her job, since the power coo sooner or later, and she had thecapacity to attract confidences I would have supposed Bubba would want Lizanne right where she was

"Congratulations, Lizanne," I said quietly as Bubba drew Martin off to meet another Lawrenceton mover and shaker

She bent down to kiss me on the cheek "Thanks, honey," sheto take your friend in to to tell you how I know"

That hy she was so popular She never told how she knew And she certainly hadn’t told her fianc?; otherwise, he wouldn’t be sucking up to Martin He’d be avoiding hih Martin were a leper

"Thanks, Lizanne," I said in almost as low a voice Suddenly curious, I asked, "Why are you telling me?"

"You helped me the day my parents were killed"

I nodded, and pressed her hand I had never been sure Lizanne had been aware of ave each other a look and drifted apart, and I strolled over to rip

"Where’d you get the earrings?" she asked instantly "They’re gorgeous"

"Martin gave the et the full effect, all the ti what I could do to prevent to

"He did?" Mother raised her perfect brows "But you’ve only known each other such a short tiot it bad," she said darkly "But at least he does, too They’re very nice, dear"

"What are you ad, Mrs Queensland?" Patty Cloud, in her favorite pink, this time a rose shade, appeared ata delicate cloud of expensive perfuly handsome date, so, she ed to letconversation about white- water canoeing before Martin rescuedwith Bubba Sewell?" I murmured as ent to our places around the table "He’s on the rise," Martin said thoughtfully "I won’t be surprised if he makes US Senate some day"

"Really?" I tried not to sound skeptical

"He’s doing everything right A lawyer, but not a criminal lawyer Comes froh law school, practiced for a while before running, going to marry a beautiful ho can’t possibly offend anyone She’s planning to quit work and stay at hoht picture, and I bet they have a baby before they’ve been n poster, a family picture"

I tried to think about this, to care about Bubba’s career, all the while turning nonsensical schemes over in my mind I should tell Martin Then he could brace hiht off) I should not tell Martin, so he would show unfeigned surprise when the police ca taken from his office, his humiliation; at least the people orked for hiination; surely the police could not arrest hi, on the little or no evidence they had But still

Of all the people I knew, the one best qualified to fend for hi?

I yankedto introduce Martin to Franklin Farrell and his date, ere seated across fro his reserve list, the day he’d called me; maybe this woman had been next, in alphabetical order She was in her late forties, reood littered in a hard way, and her practiced conversation aroused my instant distrust Her nalib co up to Franklin in a rather desperate way, and I could tell they hadn’t been out together before He was being courteously cool

The meal was served, and I talked to Mackie on ht, and Franklin and Miss Glitter across the way, though what I said I couldn’t have told you afterward

Even through the worry, I could tell Martin and I were attracting a certain ae U Martin and I were seated on the outside of one arm of the U, and as Franklin bent to retrieve his lady friend’s napkin, I realized someone across fro With sonizedwith his wife, hoett S at ether and his fingers dru to Eileen Norris, who had coe that the single ladies had just decided to cohtly, and Arthur looked down, flushing red

I knew then that Lizanne was right Martin was under suspicion Perhaps I hadn’t been quite sure Lizanne had gotten the true word before, but I knew it now

"Are you all right?" Martin asked ht I need to--" I started to say "talk to you later," but what an irritating thing that is to do to someone "I’m fine," I said clearly "Do you like this salad?"

"Too ," he said critically, but his sharp look toldwas in the wind

Soh the islation for the real estate industry, I was able to tune out completely In fact, it was hard to keep nawed at my problem, poked at my fear, which was like aarrested, afraid of losing him, afraid of what it would do to his job and self-esteem to be questioned at the police station; and uilty

My eyes traveled across the faces around the Carriage House’s elaborate wine-and-cream banquet room All these faces, almost all familiar One of these people was most probably the person the police really wanted, if I could just make them see it

The murderer was a realtor, or connected with realty in soet the key replaced

The murderer had been able to arrive at the Anderton house without a car and had been part of the scenery while doing so--so

The murderer had to be so to risk a lot for, since it seemed pretty certain Idella had replaced the key

I looked at Mackie’s dark neck as he turned his face politely to the speaker His date beyond hi a courteous face turned in the right direction Across the roo her lips with her napkin Beside her, Terry, in a dark blue dress with big fake dia to Bubba with a skeptical lift to one corner of herwith the practiced posture of those who listen to many speakers; his partner, Jae Adah her date was doing soht a tiny secret s Debbie Lincoln, ht possible, was turned to Bubba and trying to pay attention, though her date was openly, elaborately bored Conspicuously alone, Donnie Greenhouse had deliberately left an empty chair beside him to remind people that he was a brand-neer Somehow I’d known he wouldn’t miss an opportunity to star in a public drama, even if he had to point it out himself

Close to Lizanne, ally to one side, her resemblance to Lauren Bacall especially pronounced John was resting his aro home Across the table from Martin, Miss Glitter appeared riveted Franklin was listening with slightly drawnhis cloth napkin

He pleated it, unpleated it I returned e back into my fears and my dreadful burden of love Then my attention shot back to Franklin He pleated, unpleated Then he folded the napkin into neat triangles, triangles that got sers sain, the triangles Meticulously neat triangles Where had I--?

His eyes began to turn toward

Through no great feat of ratiocination, I, Aurora Teagarden, had solved a mystery

Franklin Farrell was thehis napkin in the sa had been treated It was as unerprint

Franklin Farrell