They started out along the track. Miles said, "It's a little discouraging seeing teen athletes zipping along next to us. It's sort of like a before-and-after video."

"Just remember that we were zipping along like that ourselves just decades ago," said Myrtle with a sniff.

"I'm not certain that I was ever that zippy."

"Let's focus on something cerebral instead, Miles. That's where we excel. What do you think about what Marshall told us?"

Miles considered this. "Well, he was certainly not being very forthcoming. He wasn't going to mention anything about Jasper or Archie until you brought it up."

"I had the feeling it was total nonsense that he didn't know anything about it. Archie is the school's star athlete and Jasper is a fellow coach at the school."

"You handled it very well."

Myrtle shrugged. "He's not that much different than he was when I taught him in school. He had the propensity to be somewhat shifty. You know—he'd claim that the dog consumed his homework. That sort of thing."

"But the dog hadn't?"

"One time I made him empty out his backpack and there was a completely untouched English handout in there. In fact, there were multiple English handouts. It was most aggravating. I'd spent a good deal of time at the mimeograph machine making those copies."

"He didn't seem to spend much time talking about Lucinda," noted Miles. "I think Olive might have been right about Lucinda and Marshall not having the fondest of marriages."

"And we'll need to speak with Lucinda. I'm afraid that I've become somewhat distracted today and led in different directions. Maybe we can visit with Lucinda after lunch. And chess."

Miles sighed. It was beginning to look like a very long and lively afternoon.

After their walk on the track (Marshall had assigned a young man to help Myrtle up the stadium steps and one who watched Miles like a hawk), Miles drove them back to Myrtle's house to meet up again with Wanda. They were all eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when Wanda suddenly paused. "Company's comin'."

Myrtle beamed at her. "This is so very convenient! I love knowing when people are about to show up at my doorstep. Are you able to see who it is?"

Wanda washed down a bite of her sandwich with her glass of milk. "That Lucinda. Comin' to see what's going on."

"Isn't that perfect? We were going to have to pay her a visit after chess this afternoon. And now she's on her way here. That's marvelous."

Myrtle quickly finished up her sandwich, ate a couple of cheese crackers, drank her milk, and then put her things away in the dishwasher. By the time she'd finished, there was a light tap at the door.

Myrtle peered out the side window (it never hurt to be cautious at her age) and saw Lucinda outside. "Just as you said, Wanda." She pulled open the door.

Lucinda looked at her a bit bashfully. "Hi, Miss Myrtle. I hope you don't mind the intrusion." She looked past Myrtle into the house and quickly said, "Oh no, you have company."

"This isn't company; it's just Miles and Wanda. Come on in, my dear. Can I get you a sandwich? We're just finishing up peanut butter and jelly."

Lucinda shook her head. "No thanks, I just ate."

She stood there on the front step looking hesitant and conflicted. Her brown hair which was streaked with gray looked a bit lackluster and her face was tired.

Myrtle steered her inside and to her recliner. "Heavens, Lucinda, you don't look at all well. Would you like a small glass of sherry?"

Lucinda looked as if she was about to turn down the offer but then hesitated. "If you'll have one with me, Miss Myrtle. Or Miles and Wanda?"

Miles and Wanda turned it down, so Myrtle quickly poured two drinks into her tiny crystal sherry glasses that had been her mother's. She gave Lucinda one and watched as Lucinda downed it as if it were a shot. Perhaps Lucinda thought it was a shot.

Myrtle gave small sips of her sherry as she watched the color return to Lucinda's face. "There now. Better?"

Lucinda gave her a grateful smile. "I think so. Thank you."

Since Lucinda still seemed at a loss for words, Myrtle decided the time had come to prompt her a bit. "Now, I'm thinking you must be paying me a visit for a very good reason, as delightful as it is to see you. Perhaps you're here because of Luther's death? And Ezra or Marshall being implicated in it?"

Lucinda looked alarmed. "Are they both suspects?"

"I think they must be, dear, don't you? But that doesn't mean they're the best suspects. There are plenty of others."

Miles and Wanda put their plates and glasses away and quietly joined them in the living room.

Lucinda looked down at her hands and picked at a nail. "Yes, I'm sure you're right. That's why I'm here, as you said. I wanted to find out if you'd spoken with Red and knew anything." She looked up, giving Myrtle a hopeful look.

Myrtle gave her a sad one in return. "Now, you know what I have to deal with when it comes to Red. He doesn't give me a lot of information."

"Is that what all the gnomes are out in the yard for?" asked Lucinda.

"That, actually, was for a different transgression. There are so many, it's a wonder that my gnomes aren't camped out in the yard all the time. But, sadly, I don't really have that much information about Luther's death."

Lucinda nodded but looked slightly deflated. "I've been so worried about Ezra through this whole thing. I just know Red thinks he's a suspect."

Myrtle said archly, "Red has been known to be wrong. Many times. I do indeed think Ezra is considered a suspect, however."

"But Ezra didn't really even know Luther. The only reason anyone thinks he's a suspect is because he has access to nightshade. Ezra is such a sensitive soul—it's just astounding that anyone could think he could murder someone."

"Yes, well, Red can be rather astounding sometimes," said Myrtle in a placid voice.

Lucinda continued, "He would never even hurt a living thing. He had this passionate argument with Olive over this tree she wanted to cut down. He just doesn't like to see anything killed. And he's being so responsible with all this; he even bought a tremendous padlock and has locked up his greenhouse."

Myrtle nodded idly, thinking that it was very interesting that Lucinda appeared to be so much more interested in defending her friend Ezra than she was in defending her husband, Marshall.

Lucinda looked earnestly at Myrtle. "If you could, put in a good word for Ezra, would you? I really appreciate it."

"Of course I will, my dear. Ezra is a friend of mine, too. As are you. And, as a friend, I'm sure you'll understand if I feel the need to ask you about Marshall's interactions with Ezra."

Lucinda became very still.

Myrtle said, "Do you think it's possible that Marshall could be very jealous over your relationship with Ezra?"

Lucinda looked taken-aback by this.

"I don't think so, Miss Myrtle. I mean, Ezra and I have been friends for a very long time. It's not as if it's something new. Marshall isn't even around enough to really register how much time I spend with Ezra." The last was said in a tone of some bitterness.

Myrtle said, "I just wondered. I have the most fanciful things cross my mind sometimes, my dear, and it just occurred to me that Marshall could have been trying to set Ezra up for Luther's murder."

Lucinda automatically shook her head at this. "No way. I'm sure Marshall would never have done such a thing. Lots of people could have gotten into Ezra's greenhouse. It would have been easy to do while he was giving a talk or something. They'd have known he was out and they could have scaled the fence and just nabbed whatever they needed."

"Like Jasper Hodges, for instance?"

Lucinda blinked at the change of direction.

Myrtle said, "I'm not at all sure that Red knows anything about it, of course, although Bradley is such a small town that word might spread soon. But my understanding is that Jasper might have had some sort of contretemps with Luther over an incident with his son, Archie."

Wanda and Miles had been sitting very quietly and listening. But Wanda suddenly said in a sympathetic tone, "Poor Archie."

Lucinda's eyes filled with tears at the kindness in Wanda's voice and she swiped them away quickly. "Yes, I feel badly for Archie, too. Marshall talks about him a lot because he's so involved in the athletic program at the high school. Of course, I'll sometimes go with Marshall to the baseball games and watch Archie play, and I agree that he is an amazing athlete. Marshall's been very impressed with him. Everyone is acting as if Archie is so blessed with talent that he couldn't possibly have any problems. But the fact that he has talent and promise is what's making Archie's life so difficult."

Myrtle said, "I suppose there are many practices, aren't there? And probably training going on in addition to the practices?"

"Exactly. I've felt terrible for Archie because I keep thinking all he wants is just a quiet, typical teenage existence. He's never known what it's like to sleep until noon." She snorted. "He's never known what it's like to sleep until eight, not unless he was in bed sick with something. There are practices, at-home games, away games, long trips on buses, early and late nights working out, and lots of serious talks about school."

"Does Jasper feel bad for Archie, do you think? I'm sure you spend time with Jasper, too, considering he and Marshall work together in the athletic department." Myrtle tilted her head slightly to one side when she looked at Lucinda.

"I'm sure he does," said Lucinda quickly. "But Jasper wants the best for Archie—everyone at the school does."

Myrtle said, "But Jasper has certain expectations for Archie? I'd imagine those might create some additional pressure for a young man who wants to please his father."

"That's right. But it's just because he's invested a lot of time and money into Archie. And love, of course. He just wants Archie to have a good, successful future."

Wanda croaked again. "But Archie wants to have fun."

Lucinda didn't seem surprised at this insight. But then, she likely read Wanda's perceptive horoscopes like the rest of the town. "He does. That's only natural, isn't it? He wants to hang out with his friends, meet girls, and yes—get into trouble. Which he did, I guess. Or he could have. It was the trouble that Jasper was worried about. Archie has a couple of new friends, according to Marshall, and I suspect they aren't the greatest influence on him." She made a face.

"They're not athletes?" asked Miles.

"Right. So they just have school and homework and that's it. From what I've seen, they have the opposite problem—they have too much time on their hands. One day, they just decided to buy some paint and spray paint graffiti on a downtown building. One of them is eighteen and was old enough to buy it." Lucinda briefly put her head in her hands. "Stupid. Jasper and the other kids' parents made them go over there and clean it all up as soon as they realized what happened. It took them a lot longer to clean it up than it did to mess it up. Anyway, I guess they thought they'd gotten away with their crime because no one drove or walked by. They thought."

"Except for Luther," said Myrtle.

"I don't even know if he technically saw them doing it or if he just put two and two together when he saw them speeding away and then saw the paint on the building. Whichever it was, he made a good show of acting like he was positive they were guilty. I'm certain Archie has been scared straight now. Marshall said he was walking around like a ghost at the school. And he hasn't seen those new friends of his since. He seems to be over those friends and over rebelling or whatever it was that he was doing when he decided to vandalize a building. Even if he did get caught, I'm sure it probably would have counted as a misdemeanor." Lucinda shrugged. "To me, it was almost like a cry for help. The poor kid has been working so hard on school and sports that he just couldn't handle it anymore."

Myrtle nodded. "Honestly, since he helped clean it up, I have the feeling Red would have just let him off with a warning. There likely wouldn't have been anything on his record at all. Red was young once, himself, and far from perfect as a teenager. I'm sure he'd have understood."

Myrtle said, "I'm guessing that Luther's accusations didn't go over too well with Jasper."

Lucinda made a face and shook her head. "Not at all. He was horrified and then furious. But I'm sure he didn't hurt Luther. Poisoning someone seems pretty passive-aggressive. Jasper, on the other hand, is outright aggressive. He'd rather have out and out warfare than do something underhanded. It's just not the way he handles conflict. And Archie was out of town, of course, at an away-game. But Marshall said that Jasper was sure that it was all the beginning of the end. That Archie was going to somehow go from being the perfect collegiate prospect to being some washed-up kid working as a grocery store bagger for the rest of his life. It was like all his hopes and dreams were invested in Archie."

Wanda croaked, "The boy is gonna be just fine."

Lucinda nodded her head, satisfied. "That's exactly what I thought." She stood up and gave them all a smile. "Now I'm going to let you get back to your day. Thanks for letting me crash your party here."

Myrtle walked her to the door, and then returned to sit with Miles and Wanda. "Was it me, or did Lucinda seem a lot more concerned about her friend Ezra than she did about her husband Marshall?"

Miles said, "It was very clear."

Wanda drawled, "But she and Ezra ain't a couple. Jest friends."

Myrtle gave Wanda a smile. "Thanks for clarifying that. I wasn't at all sure that was still the case. Of course, Marshall might not believe that Ezra's and Lucinda's relationship is purely friendly."

Miles said thoughtfully, "I wonder if she was unconcerned about Marshall because she just can't believe that he would murder Luther. Lucinda sounded convinced that he didn't have anything to do with it."

Wanda suggested, "She's worried 'bout Ezra because of the poison."

"Exactly," said Myrtle. "Lucinda is worried about the appearance of the poison since Ezra is a botanist. But she wasn't worried that he'd murdered Luther. She said it wasn't in his nature. She was over here because she was concerned that Red was automatically going to think Ezra was responsible because of his job. Sadly, I don't know what Red thinks. And now I think we should do something completely different. Chess."

Miles sighed. "I notice you're using the word 'we', but I know you have no plans on actually teaching or playing chess."

"I'm taking a chess sabbatical," said Myrtle with a shrug. "I'd rather be a bystander. Or, perhaps, a cheerleader."

Wanda gave Myrtle a gap-toothed grin. "I could use a cheerleader."

Miles looked as if he wasn't entirely sure how Myrtle could pull off being one. Nevertheless, he obediently pulled out Myrtle's ancient chessboard and the zipper bag of chess pieces and set it up.

Miles seemed to fully expect that it might take Wanda a while to catch on. That might have been because she was listening silently without asking any questions at all. Her eyes were narrowed and focused as she watched him move chess pieces around the board, explaining how each one moved and what each piece's capabilities were.

Miles ended the educational part of the program and said, "Do you have any questions right now?"

Wanda shook her head. "You done good."

"All right." He hesitated. "Would you like to do a sort of practice round?"

"Pooh on practice rounds," said Myrtle. "It's time to get to the nitty-gritty."

Miles made sure all the chess pieces were back where they were supposed to be and let Wanda make the first move. Apparently, she made a good one and Miles raised his eyebrows. Wanda concentrated on the board and seemed to be looking at each piece in turn, thinking about what would happen if she moved it or if Miles did.

Miles carefully made a move and then Wanda countered. Miles raised his eyebrows again and focused very cautiously on his next move.

Miles did win the game. After all, he was about to be part of a chess tournament. There were only a few people he regularly lost to and one of them was Myrtle. But Wanda had done exceedingly well.

"Good job, Wanda!" said Myrtle, fulfilling her role as chess cheerleader.

Wanda gave her gap-toothed grin, looking pleased.

"And you've never played before?" pressed Miles. "Not as a child, even?"

Myrtle said, "For heaven's sake, Miles. From what Wanda has told us about her background, I hardly think chess factored into it."

"First time today," said Wanda.

Miles said, "Then you did very, very well Wanda." He looked over at Myrtle. "We should pick her up a chess board at the store."

"Oh, she can take this one home with her. You know I'm done with chess."

Miles looked relieved to hear Myrtle confirm this once again.

Wanda looked thoughtfully at Miles. "Elaine weren't the same, wuz she? Bein' good at chess?"

He shook his head emphatically. "She was not. It's a pity that Elaine doesn't seem to be picking up on the basics of the game as quickly as you just did."

Myrtle added, "Especially since she tries so hard. It makes me a little sad to see her try and try and not have any sort of reward at the end."

Wanda looked very determined. "Be sure she keeps playing."

Myrtle and Miles frowned in confusion. Miles said, "But I don't think that's a very good idea. I'm certainly not going to discourage her, but if Elaine comes to the point where she's frustrated and ready to quit, I think that would be the best outcome for everyone."

Wanda shook her head, though, still looking quite resolute. "She needs to keep tryin'. Jest for a while."

Myrtle said, "This all sounds suspiciously like The Sight wending its way into our ordinary lives again. I do wish it operated differently, Wanda. Its vagaries are most disconcerting. That being said, of course I'll be sure not to shut Elaine down. She does a ghastly job with all of her pastimes and interests, but I do try to encourage her and her horrid hobbies."

Wanda looked more relaxed at Myrtle's little speech. "Good."

"For all we know, Miles, Wanda could be telling us that Elaine has finally found her perfect pastime. Perhaps she'll go on to become a chess star, become rich and famous, and will support us all."

Miles said dryly, "If that's the case, she must be having a slow start."

Wanda stood up and looked at them apologetically. "Sorry. Think it's time for me to go."

"That's rather abrupt, Wanda. I was planning on feeding you another meal at the very least." Myrtle frowned.

"Dan's about to come. Thanks, though."

Myrtle hurried off to get a cloth tote bag which she filled with the chess board, the pieces, and odds and ends of garden club food that she randomly threw into the bag. Miles topped it off with some of the cash from his wallet.

Wanda gave them a grateful look as suddenly there was a cacophony of sound outside Myrtle's house. "That'll be him," she said simply.

Myrtle and Miles watched as Wanda walked to her brother's truck. Dan, wild-looking as always, gave them a salute before taking back off again as the truck backfired.

Miles said, "I think it's time for me to head back home, too."

Myrtle put her hands on her hips. "You, too? I was going to cook something."

"You gave away most of your food to Wanda."

"Yes, but cooking is a creative endeavor, Miles. I have a little canned chicken, some beans, some cream cheese, some eggs. I'm sure I can come up with something remarkable."

Miles gave a slight shudder. "I'm certain that 'remarkable' is an excellent choice of words. Just the same, I think it's time for me to put my feet up."

"Was it the walk? Or the stadium stairs?"

"Both of them. And the fact that I didn't get enough sleep last night and have had quite a bit of chess today. Chess can be exhausting."

Myrtle said, "Yes, but wasn't Wanda wonderful?"

"She definitely seems to have a propensity for both cards and chess. It's interesting how her brain works. Maybe I'll play chess with her again soon. See you tomorrow, Myrtle."