It was after dinner when Adrian Chesterfield's car pulled into the front drive. Katie heard the motor as soon as the car turned in from the road. She watched from the window in the sitting room as it swung into the drive. She felt a thrill of attraction at the sight of Adrian, getting out of the driver's side of the sedan, then a cold finger of fear and shame. That was followed by a wave of relief when Walter emerged from the passenger side.

"Hmph." Ravensong Music had somehow come up behind her without Katie hearing her. She peered out the window and shook her head at Katie. "Watch yourself with that one, Katie."

Katie blushed reflexively, although there was no way the woman could know about her sexy dreams about Adrian. She turned away from the window quickly, tried to seem nonchalant. "Walter is my employer. That's all."

Ravensong smiled shrewdly. "You know I'm not talking about Walter."

Katie blushed even harder. She shook her head, but couldn't help looking back through the window again. "I barely know Mr. Chesterfield."

"You don't know him at all. That's my point." Ravensong gave Katie a very serious look. "None of us really know anything about him. Except that he's more handsome, more charming, and more confident than a young man should be, if you know what I mean."

Katie shook her head. She definitely didn't know what the woman meant. She was about to ask, but then she saw a police car coming up the drive. Walter and Adrian stood in the driveway, waiting. She murmured, "What's that all about now?"

"It's nothing good, that's for sure." The housekeeper followed her line of sight. She frowned at Katie. "You need to be careful. I'm not sure of everything that's going on here, but there are definitely bad things going on."

Katie nodded. She thought of her dream, of her grandmother's ball of light. She thought of what Ravensong had said about her grandmother. Nothing made sense right now, but could feel important things were happening. "I think you're right. What should I do?"

Ravensong seemed surprised by her answer. She drew back and stared at Katie for a moment. Then she reached out and took her by the hand. "Just pay attention. Be careful. Trust no one. There are powerful forces at work and only some of them are coming from this house. Some of them are very dangerous. Evil."

"You still feel these evil forces?" Katie nearly whispered. How could she feel evil forces, when Davicus was gone and Bill had salted and burned Arabella's bones? "Where are they coming from?"

"I can't tell." Ravensong shook her head. She lowered her voice as the sound of the front door keypad reached them. She dropped Katie's hand and moved back a step. "But they are drawn to this family, to this house. And we, you and I, are the ones who have to defend them."

"I'm telling you Marcus, you're barking up the wrong tree." Walter was saying as they entered the house. His voice carried into the sitting room. "It's pure coincidence."

They were standing in the hall, just inside the front door. Suddenly Adrian Chesterfield turned and looked at the two women in the sitting room. He smiled, and Katie smiled back without realizing. He was handsome and charming. That was very true.

"Katie." He stepped into the room, his smile growing as he got closer. "It's a pleasure to see you again so soon."

"Yes. It's..." Katie's mind filled with images from her dream—erotic images and feelings that were definitely out of place in the civilized, waking world. She couldn't think straight, answered awkwardly. "It's a pleasure."

"Miss Gallagher." Marcus Jones entered the room, pulling his notebook out of his pocket as he walked. "You're just the person I wanted to see. May I have a few moments of your time?"

"This is ridiculous." Walter shook his head. "You've already questioned her. At this point, you're just harassing my employee."

"I have to agree, Officer Jones." Adrian continued to move into the room. He took Katie's hand and it felt like electricity had shot through her skin. He must have felt it too, because he looked down at the union of their skin and smiled back up at her—a smile that made her irrationally convinced he could see into her mind, see his starring role in her nighttime fantasies.

It took great effort, but Katie dropped Adrian's hand and stepped toward Marcus Jones. She was amazed when her voice emerged from her throat as calm, smooth, and normal. "I have nothing to hide, Officer Jones. I'm happy to answer any and all of your questions."

Officer Jones smiled victoriously at Walter. "Thank you, Miss Gallagher. I'm sorry to trouble you again. I just have few questions."

"Of course." She nodded. "How can I help?"

Officer Jones glanced around the room at Walter, Adrian, and Ravensong. "If we could speak privately?"

"This is outrageous, Jones. I will not." Walter motioned to Adrian and they both moved to opposite sides of the room. Walter sat in a chair and Adrian leaned against the fireplace. "I wish you would expend this much effort into catching the killer."

Officer Jones frowned.

"It's okay." Katie shrugged. "Like I said, I have nothing to hide."

"But I will be leaving." Ravensong moved toward the door. She gave Katie a serious look as she passed. "Remember."

"Remember what?" The warning wasn't lost on Officer Jones and he turned to Katie as soon as the housekeeper had left.

"I don't know. That woman is very strange." Katie shrugged. She felt bad about saying that, but it was more than half true.

Jones was not convinced, but he was also not willing to abandon his current mission in order to pursue this new one. He consulted his notepad. "Do you mind telling me where you were last night?"

"What? What's this about?" Katie turned to Walter for explanation.

"Don't worry Katie." Walter slumped in the chair. "He thinks I'm the criminal. Not you."

"That's ridiculous." She frowned.

Jones was clearly not of the same opinion. He repeated the question. "Can you please tell me your whereabouts yesterday?"

"Just answer the question, Katie." Adrian chimed in. "He's not going to stop until you do."

"Where was I? Well... hm. The children had their normal lessons until about 3 pm. Then Delia and Blake wanted to play Xbox. I was cleaning up in the library until about 3:30 or so." Katie recalled. "And then Mr. Barrington arrived home with Clarissa and we were all together to welcome her home again. I suppose it was around 6:00 or 6:30 when we all left to go out for pizza."

Jones wrote in his notebook. "You and the children?"

"And Mr. Barrington and Bill and Archie." She nodded.

Walter sighed deeply. "I've already told you all of this."

"I'm just trying to verify the facts." Officer Jones remained professional and calm on the outside, but Katie could see from his eyes he was more than a little annoyed with Walter. "And where did you go for pizza, Miss Gallagher?"

"A little place called Starz Za." She said. "It's in the downtown area."

"Yes. I know it." Officer Jones nodded. "Near Devonne Street."

Walter interjected immediately. "Now see here, Marcus—"

"It's Officer Jones, thanks." He said to Walter, then turned back to Katie. "How long were you there, Miss Gallagher?"

Katie answered quickly. "We left around nine."

"You're sure of the time?" Jones pressed.

"Oh yes." Katie assured him. "I even apologized to Mr. Barrington for keeping the children up so late. But we were having such a good time. We were celebrating Clarissa being home from the hospital."

"I see." Officer Jones nodded, but he didn't seem at all convinced. "And again, the whole family was there?"

Katie nodded. "Yes. All of us."

"She's already said that." Walter objected.

Jones ignored him. "And no one left for any amount of time?"

"No." She shook her head. "We all left at the same time. In the same car."

"As I said before." Walter insisted.

Officer Jones looked up from his notes. "All in the same vehicle? That's a lot of people in one car."

Katie nodded. "It was my first time riding in a limo."

Adrian Chesterfield shot Katie a look of encouragement and interest. She looked away from him, lest her face give her own interest away.

"And you came straight here?" Jones pressed.

"Yes. As I mentioned, the children were up past bedtime already." She said. "I've told you this."

"Harassment." Walter heckled.

Jones ignored him. "And what did you do when you got home?"

"I sent the kids to bed." She said. "And then I talked with Mr. Barrington for a while."

Jones wrote something in his notebook. "So, Walter was here?"

"Yes!" Walter snapped.

"Yes. Of course he was." Katie was starting to get a little annoyed with the line of questioning. "We all returned home in the same car, as I said."

Jones continued to write. "And, to your knowledge, did Mr. Barrington leave the house after that?"

"No. He didn't." She shook her head.

"How can you be sure?" Officer Jones' pen stopped moving, but he continued to look at his own notes. "Could there have been a time after you each went to your separate rooms that Mr. Barrington might have left the house without you knowing it?"

Katie fumed internally. The police officer was trying to trick her into saying something that would cast doubt on Walter. She would not let that happen.

"She's answered your question, Officer." Adrian said smoothly.

Officer Jones didn't respond to the man. He looked up at Katie intently. "Again, Miss Gallagher, how can you be sure?"

Katie frowned. The truth was, she had gone to bed while Walter was still downstairs in his study. But Jones would seize that information as the opportunity to blame Walter for yet again another murder. She would have to choose her words carefully in order not to lie. "I didn't hear him leave the house."

Jones nodded. "You mean, after you went to bed?"

"Yes." Katie said carefully. "I didn't go to sleep right away. I was up for a while longer, going over the next day's lesson plans. And I do a little yoga every night before bed. And then I read for a while."

"I see." Marcus Jones wrote something in his notebook. "So how long were you awake in your room?"

Katie shrugged. "Until 11:30 or midnight."

"You see?" Walter stood up from the chair. He waved a hand as if Katie's words would totally exonerate him.

"Okay, I believe you. You didn't hear him." Officer Jones nodded. "You were awake part of the time in a practically soundproof house."

"Oh, come on!" Walter protested.

"How dare you?" Katie had had enough. She crossed her arms. "Mr. Barrington is not a suspect. He has an alibi, after all, which can be verified by several restaurant patrons. Besides all of that, he is an important member of the Willow Grove business community, and a family man."

"Thank you, Katie." Walter nodded to her.

Officer Jones wasn't having it. "That's a nice story, Miss Gallagher. But let me tell you what I know. The facts are, ever murder points this direction. Every victim—every one—has a direct link to the employer you think so highly of."

"Nonsense." Walter protested. "Last night's victim just happened to be in the same general neighborhood at the same time. Pure coincidence."

"Was it? We haven't released her name yet because we haven't been able to reach the family." Jones watched Walter's face carefully. "But I'm sure you already know, last night, the woman who was murdered was Carlee Farina, the hotel manager of your local facility."

The news hit Walter so hard that, if he hadn't caught himself and sat down in the chair behind him, he would have fallen on the ground. He gasped in disbelief. "What? No! How? Why?"

"You win the award for best actor, Walter. But you'll slip up eventually. And then you'll pay." Jones put his notebook in his pocket and smirked. He nodded to Katie. "Miss Gallagher, if you think of anything else... or want to amend your statements, call me."

Adrian stepped forward. "I'll see you out."

Officer Jones shrugged. "I can see myself out."

When he was gone, Katie turned to Walter. He was still very upset. "Mr. Barrington, I'm so sorry about your hotel manager."

Walter nodded miserably. He turned to his assistant. "That's all for tonight, Adrian."

Adrian nodded. He patted Walter on the shoulder and started to leave. His eyes caught and held on Katie as he passed. "Call me if you need anything at all."

Katie blushed, then nodded. "Thank you."

"Anything." He repeated, then left before she could respond.

Katie took a moment to compose herself, then turned to Walter. "Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Barrington?"

Walter shook his head. "Thank you, Miss Gallagher, but I'd like to be alone."

She could see his shoulders trembling and his head was down. He looked beaten. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

"Leave, Katie. I don't want to lose my composure in front of you." He sounded defeated, as well. "Please."

Katie nodded and excused herself.