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Sometimes going back to the beginning helps you see what you’re missing.

D alton came upstairs with her when they arrived back at the apartment.

They hadn’t talked about Lilly’s news since she’d left them on the patio.

He took Watson outside as Meg made a new pot of coffee.

Aunt Melody had let herself in, left a box of cookies on the counter, and put several things in Meg’s fridge.

Including a small ready-to-bake lasagna and several plastic containers of pre-cut vegetables.

Meg pulled out her notebook that Natasha had made notes in last night, sat down at the table, and wrote down Lilly’s alibi.

Which also took Josh off the list of suspects, since they were together.

When Dalton came back inside with Watson in tow, she was still staring at the list of names.

“I feel like we’re missing something. That we know the answer, but we haven’t put the dots together to see the animal shape. ”

“I loved those puzzles in elementary school. I always tried to guess what it was without the lines,” he said as he poured them coffee. “Oh, and the next time you have a salary discussion, make sure she throws in a few bags of that coffee with every paycheck. It was terrific.”

“I know.” She pushed the notebook aside and took the cup he offered her. “Thanks for going with me today. I’m not sure I would have had the guts to question her if you hadn’t been there.”

“I have no doubt you would have. Besides, she knew why we were there. Your aunt has been touting your mystery-solving prowess to your boss.” Dalton spotted the cookies. “Are those for something special?”

“Go ahead. Aunt Melody came in and dropped them off, filled my fridge, and probably changed the sheets on my bed, along with sweeping and dusting and starting my laundry. I need to remind her that I’m an adult.

And I will in three or four months.” Meg smiled as Watson jumped on the couch.

She’d left the television on, and it was still playing the remodel shows he liked.

“You’re lucky to have people who love you,” Dalton said as he took a seat at the table, his coffee and a cookie in hand. Then he changed the subject. “So now that Lilly’s off the suspect list, who’s next?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it? Josh was up there, but she alibied him, too.

” Meg flipped through the opened notebook and scanned the page with the notes from talking to Cissy at the ferry terminal.

She tapped the page with her pen. “I forgot to ask Cissy the last time she saw Josh on the ferry, but now that’s a moot point. ”

“For Josh, but what about his girlfriend? Tabitha? It would be a long stretch to kill someone, thinking Josh and Lilly wouldn’t alibi out. It’s not the smartest move. I would have killed the cheater and tried to frame Lilly for it.”

“Good to know. The woman who works with Cissy mentioned that she’d seen Tabitha by herself.

I’d assumed it was her coming over late to meet up with Josh.

Now, after Lilly’s confession, I’m not sure.

” Meg glanced at her watch. “Do you want to have lunch with me? I’d love to put that lasagna in the oven and eat it before I go to the bookstore. Unless you have plans.”

“I’m working the later shift today, so that would work out great for me. I can walk you to the bookstore on my way to work.” He glanced down at his clothes. “I’ll have to run and change at home, though, after that.”

“If you have time, that would be fun. I hate to make it and only eat one piece. Although, I might need my strength, since it sounds like I’m going to have to find my way home all by myself tonight.” She put the back of her hand on her forehead. “Oh, my, how will I survive?”

“Brat, I was going to ask if you wanted to ride over on the ferry after you close and chat with Cissy again to see if she remembers anything more about Tabitha.” He rolled his shoulders.

“Magpie, I’m not convinced that it’s a strong motive, but if you’re getting your strong Nancy vibes about her, I could be wrong. ”

“I love hearing you say you might be wrong.” She stood, opened the fridge, and pulled out the pan of lasagna. Aunt Melody had put a note on the top. Bake for an hour at 350°F. Meg checked the clock. “We should be done eating long before we need to leave for work.”

Dalton grabbed a pen and looked around. “Do you have an extra notebook? Let’s go through this step by step from the day Robert Meade was killed.”

“I’m putting that in the book—something about going back to the beginning when you get stuck.

” Meg went to her desk and pulled out another spiral notebook.

She loved them. Every fall she went to the back-to-school sales and bought supplies.

She even had colored pencils and crayons.

“You know what I need? A whiteboard, where we can post all the facts and see what jumps out at us. I think in notebooks, clues can get lost in the wave of words.”

“I don’t think your aunt would like us pinning things up on her walls.” Dalton looked around at what was available. He pointed to a corner of the living room. “What’s in that box?”

“Winter clothes. I need to get a plastic tub and go through what I have. Why?” Meg watched as Dalton stood up, crossed the living room, and took the box into her bedroom. When he came back, he was opening up the cardboard box to make a board. “Your bed was made, so I dumped it all there.”

“I tell you, Aunt Melody makes it feel like I’m staying at a five-star hotel with room service.” Meg waved him over to the table, and for the next thirty minutes, they scoured the notes, putting clues and even the names of alibied-out suspects, like Natasha, on the board.

Meg stared at it as they put the last name on the board. “I hate seeing her name there.”

“I know. I do, too. But maybe she knows someone else who Meade had loaned money to. Have you asked her? Or asked your uncle again about Meade’s financials?” Dalton grabbed the small piece of cardboard that they’d cut off because it kept falling over, and drew a line down the middle.

“What’s that? And no, I haven’t asked my uncle to divulge to me confidential information from an ongoing case. Do you want me to be kicked out of my digs?” She stood and watched him add points along the line.

“It’s a timeline. Here’s where Meade was murdered. You saw him twice before that, on the ferry on moving day and at Lilly’s house. What date was that?” He made a note of the ferry sighting, leaving room for more events to be added before that date.

For the next fifteen minutes, they added events to the timeline. Events like Natasha driving Meade to Summer Break. He also put in the year Natasha took the loan from Meade. He made a note in his notebook. “I need to ask Emmett when he took out the loan. That’s going to be uncomfortable.”

“Just tell him we’re working on a project to find Meade’s killer before the police do. Everyone wants to be part of a secret investigation.” The oven timer went off. She stood and took the pan out of the oven. “We need to let the lasagna set for a few minutes, so we have time to finish this.”

Dalton glanced at his notes and then back at the timeline and the murder boards. “I think we have everything. Since your aunt likes to make herself at home, do you want me to keep this at my place?”

Meg shook her head. “She won’t rat me out. Besides, she wants Uncle Troy to find someone besides Lilly to have on his suspect list. I’ll put this behind the boxes I haven’t unpacked and tell her to leave them be since I need to sort out things to donate and throw away.”

“Or put a sign on the boxes so she sees you have a plan.” He went over and glanced at her weekly schedule on the desk. “You like things in order.”

“It helps me keep track of things.” Meg snapped a picture of both boards and sent it to both Dalton’s and Natasha’s phones.

“I don’t have a regular job, where I go in the same time every day or even do the same thing.

I have the book project, which right now, only you and Natasha know about.

I don’t want Lilly to think I’m using her. ”

“Got it. Except how much work have you done on this book?” Dalton asked as he cleaned off the table so they could eat.

“Hey, being creative takes time. I’m thinking about the book a lot.

” She didn’t want to admit that all she had so far was a partial first chapter and a list of tips and tricks.

“I know it’s a long shot to get published, but if I don’t even write the book, it definitely won’t happen.

I’m going to add in what we did as an exercise. ”

“I’m not dogging you. I’m saying I didn’t see any time set aside for writing on your schedule. You need to set aside time to work on that, too.” He opened several cabinets and finally took plates out of the last one. “I know you can do it. You need to try.”

Meg stood there, staring at him.

“What? Did I say something wrong?” He paused as he opened the last drawer to find the silverware.

She shook her head and wiped away the tears before they fell. Romain would have laughed at her before dismissing the dream. Not help her plan time to pursue it. “No, you said all the right things. Thank you.”

He grabbed forks and set them on the table. “Well, if you’re done with your existential crisis, can we eat now?”

Meg went over and blocked off an hour the next morning on her paper schedule. She set down the pen. “Now we can eat.”

* * *

While she was at the bookstore, she thought about the case.

Was the perpetrator simply a jealous girlfriend?

Dalton was right. It was a stretch, but the only other possibility besides Lilly or Jolene was someone Meade had lent money to.

Emmett had an alibi, and Meg hoped that Natasha was totally off her uncle’s suspect list.

A text popped up soon after she’d arrived. It was from Dalton.