Page 56 of Paws & Order

Me: Gomez is a known liar.

Cassian: If you want, I'll stop by at lunch.

Me: If you want, you can stop pretending you're a hard-ass.

A pause.

Then:

Cassian: You're the hard-ass in this relationship.

I smile so hard my face hurts.

A few minutes later, Zadok calls.

Apparently there's an urgent contract issue.

And an equally urgent visitor from the Historical Society.

Which is how I find myself sitting across from Miss Nettles.

She hands me a folder.

Inside is a photograph of Whitmore House before it became apartments.

Rose gardens.

White fence.

The bay in the background.

And standing in front of it:

Theodore Whitmore.

His name is neatly typed beneath the image.

Miss Nettles taps the photo.

"He was well-liked. Generous. Funded half the town's early projects."

"Never married."

"Never married," she agrees.

Then she slides another document toward me.

An old newspaper clipping.

Most of it is missing.

Only the headline remains.

ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCED

And beneath it:

E. S. to wed local patron Whitmore...