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But what woman? A
A clicking sound. I’ve heard a clicking sound in Molly’s house myself, Fran realized. I heard it yesterday when I stopped by and Je
Je
Oh my God, was it possible?There was no forced entry, no struggle. Wally saw a woman leaving the house. Gary had to have been killed by a woman he knew. Not Molly. Not A
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“No more, Je
“Oh for heaven’s sake, Moll, you’ve had a glass and a half.”
“I thought this was at least my third.” She shook her head as if trying to clear it. “You know, this wine is potent.”
“What’s the difference? With all you have on your mind, you might as well relax. You hardly touched di
“I ate plenty, and it was good. I’m just not very hungry.” She raised her hand in protest as Je
“Let it spin.”
They were seated in the study, both with their heads back, their bodies sunk into comfortable, overstuffed chairs that faced each other across a small, low table. For several minutes they sat in silence, while a jazz piano CD played softly in the background.
In a pause between songs, Molly spoke. “You know what, Jen? Last night I had a nightmare. It was very unsettling. I thought I saw Wally Barry at the window.”
“Good Lord!”
“I wasn’t scared, just startled. Wally would never hurt me; I know that. But after seeing him at the window, I turned back and all of a sudden this room looked the way it did that night when I came home and found Gary dead at his desk. And I think I’ve figured out why I made that co
Molly had kept her head back while she spoke. She was starting to feel so sleepy. She tried to keep her eyes open and to raise her head. What had she just said? Something about finding Gary.
Finding Gary .
Suddenly her eyes were fully open, and she sat forward.
“Jen, I just said something important!”
Je
“Jen, this wine tastes fu
“Well, I won’t tell the mighty Cal you said that. He would be insulted.”
“Click, snap. That’s another sound I heard.”
“Molly, Molly, you’re getting hysterical.” Je
“Fran thinks I’m going to commit suicide.”
“Are you?” Je
“I thought I was. I pla
“You always look classy, Molly,” Je
“Not classy to be clumsy,” she murmured, slumping back in her chair. “Jen, I did see Wally at the window that night. I’m sure of it. It may have been a dream last night, but it wasn’t before. Call him, okay? Ask him to come over and talk to me.”
“Molly, be reasonable.” Je
“Noo… no… no. I’ve had enough.”
My head hurts, Molly thought. Click, snap. “Click, snap,” she said.
“What are you talking about?”
“The sound I heard that night. Click… snap… click, click, click.”
“You heard that, dear?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Molly, I swear you are getting your memory back. You should have gotten a buzz on sooner. You just sit there and relax. I’ll get you that refill.”
Molly yawned as Je
“Click, click, click,” Molly said aloud, in synch with the clicking sound Je
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As he drove to Greenwich, Philip decided that he should at least give Molly a few minutes’ warning before he arrived on her doorstep. He dialed her house and waited in anticipation for either her or Je
He listened with growing concern as the telephone rang seven, eight, ten times. Either Molly was in such a dead sleep that she couldn’t hear the phone, or she had turned off the ringer.
But she wouldn’t turn it off, Philip decided. Very few people have her number, and she surely wouldn’t want to be out of touch with any one of us at this point.
He remembered his conversation with her that afternoon. Molly had sounded so listless, so depressed then-maybe she is already asleep. No, Je
But maybe Je
No. Even if he had to rout Molly out of bed to tell her about the Hilmers’ testimony, he was going to do it. Nothing short of a miracle would ease her mind more than that news. It would be worth waking her up for.
As he neared Molly’s house, a squad car with its lights flashing sped past him. Horrified, he watched as it turned into Molly’s driveway.
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Je
Molly had moved to the sofa, where she had spread out all the photographs they had been going through earlier.
“Memory lane,” she replied, her words slurred. She took the glass and lifted it in a mock toast. “Lord, look at the four of us,” she said, tossing a photo on the coffee table in front of the sofa. “We were happy then… or at least, I thought so.”
Je
“Uh-huh.” Molly took a sip of wine and yawned. “My eyes are closing. Sorry…”
“The best thing in the world for you right now is to finish that wine and get a good, long sleep.”
“The four of us,” Molly said, her tone groggy. “I like to be with you, Je
“You don’t like Cal, do you, Molly?”
“You don’t like him either. In fact I think you hate him. That’s why you and Gary…”
Molly was vaguely aware of the glass being taken from her hand, then of Je