Page 59 of Close Up

“An early-morning tennis game?”

“Why, no. She must have packed her suitcases late last night. Looks like she took half her wardrobe with her. She left a note saying she needed some time to herself.”

Vivian tightened her grip on the phone.Don’t borrow trouble. There will be a reasonable explanation for Lyra’s absence. “Did Lyra’s note say where she was headed?”

“No, dear. Between you and me, I’m afraid your sister has a raging case of bridal jitters.”

“Lyra?”

The old Lyra might have done something unpredictable like take off without letting anyone know where she was going, but the new Lyra was never unpredictable.

“Any woman can have some second thoughts when it comes to marriage,” Dorothy said. “It’s a very big step, after all.”

“Yes.” Vivian tried to clear her head. She did not want Dorothy to know she was alarmed.

“You’re worried about your sister, aren’t you? I can hear it in your voice.”

“You know me too well, Dorothy.”

“I should after all these years. I really don’t think you need to be concerned. Miss Lyra and Mr. Merrick are a perfect couple. We all know she’s had a crush on him forever.”

“Yes,” Vivian said. “The man of her dreams. Mr. Perfect.”

“But if your sister is having some serious second thoughts—”

“Yes?”

“Well, then, maybe she should listen to her intuition,” Dorothy said.

“I agree with you,” Vivian said.

She hung up the phone and went back out to the sunlit patio. Nick got to his feet.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” Vivian said. “Dorothy, the housekeeper, said that Lyra packed her bags last night and left sometime early this morning. There was a note but Lyra did not say where she was headed. Dorothy thinks my sister is having a case of bridal jitters.”

“What do you think?”

“I have a feeling Lyra found out that the man she thought was the perfect match for her isn’t quite so perfect.”

“Well, that makes life here a little more interesting.”

Vivian frowned. “Why?”

“Mr. Perfect was on our rather vague list of suspects, remember?”

“He was on your list, not mine.”

“He was on one of our lists. That’s all that matters. If Hamilton Merrick is the one who hired a killer to get rid of you so that your sister would inherit your share of your father’s estate, it will be fascinating to see what he does now that he’s in danger of having his second chance at a Brazier bride canceled.”

Chapter 29

You’re worried about your sister, aren’t you?” Nick asked.

It was midafternoon. He and Vivian were standing in front of the Ashwood Gallery in the center of Burning Cove’s fashionable shopping district. Vivian had brought her portfolio with her.You never know,she had said.

Rex was with them, ambling along at the end of a leash, investigating interesting scents.

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