Summer in Eclipse Bay

stuff. Guess we had a communication problem." Jeremy used the chalk on the tip of his cue. "Couldn't think of any times when you had lied to me, though."
    Nick studied the table. "No offense, but I didn't even like Laura very much. Always had the feeling that she figured she'd married beneath herself when she married you."
    "No offense, but I didn't care much for Amelia. Figured she was more in love with Harte Investments than she was with you."
    "You may have been right." He took his shot and waited until the ball dropped. "But she was a good mother."
    "That counts," Jeremy said quietly.
    "Counts for a lot."
    "At least you have Carson. I found out the hard way that Laura didn't want kids. At least she didn't want them with me."
    "Carson made it all worthwhile," Nick agreed.
    The sound of the growing crowd in the other room got louder. Someone cranked up the music system another notch. The hard-driving song playing now was about guys getting drunk on cheap whiskey and engaging in bar fights over good women gone bad.
    "And to think that we both thought we knew what we were doing when it came to the female of the species." Jeremy drank some beer while he watched Nick take another shot. "Guess we had a lot to learn."
    "Yeah."
    The atmosphere around the table was more comfortable now. A lot of the tension was leaking out of it. Maybe it was the beer.
    "So," Jeremy said, "who do you think took the Upsall?"
    "Whoever is trying to pin the blame on Octavia. This is personal. I can feel it."
    "Doesn't make sense. Octavia hasn't hurt anyone here in town."
    "No, but her great-aunt did."
    "According to the old stories, Claudia Banner's victims were Hartes and Madisons." Jeremy made a bridge and angled his cue stick. "You think maybe there were others?"
    "My grandfather used the term
collateral damage
."
    Jeremy banked a shot. "You know, my grandmother was a woman in her twenties when Harte-Madison fell apart. She grew up in this burg and knew everyone. Plays bridge every week with three other women who also have a lot of history in this town. They might remember something useful about the good old days. Want me to talk to her? See if she can get anything out of her bridge group? I'm sure she'd enjoy playing Mata Hari."
    "I'd appreciate that," Nick said.
    The music got louder and so did the crowd. Other players drifted into the back room and took over the remaining tables. Smoke from the cigarettes of neighboring players started to foul the air.
    "Getting late," Nick said.
    Jeremy shrugged. "One more game?"
    "Why not?"
    Nick had just racked the balls for another round when a familiar voice rumbled from the opening that divided the pool room from the bar area.
    "Well, if it isn't the SOB who thinks he's the king of Eclipse Bay." Eugene slurred most of the s's and there were a lot of them in the sentence, but his meaning was clear. "And will you look at that, Dwayne? He's shooting a little pool with his good buddy Jeremy. Isn't that sweet?"
    The players at the other tables did not look toward the pair in the doorway. Everyone pretended to concentrate on their games. But Nick knew that the crowd was listening intently to every word. The tension was suddenly so thick he could have carved it into topiary shapes.
    "You were right," Jeremy said quietly. He did not bother to glance at Eugene and Dwayne either. "Time to go."
    "What are you doin' here, anyway, Harte?" Eugene bellowed. "Shouldn't you be with that little redheaded suspect of yours? Everyone knows she's been screwing your brains out so's you'll overlook the fact that she stole that painting."
    Nick set the cue down very slowly. On the other side of the table, Jeremy did the same. This time they both looked at Mutt and Jeff.
    The dark room fell silent. None of the other players moved so much as a finger. Everyone waited for the other shoe to drop.
    Nick looked at Eugene. "You don't want to say anything more, Eugene."
    But it was obvious that Eugene was too drunk to worry about consequences.
    "You think you can threaten me?" Eugene stalked closer, hands clenched at his sides. "You really think I'm gonna put up with that kind of shit from a Harte?"
    "He's right, Eugene," Jeremy said softly. "You don't want to do this."
    "I'm not takin' any crap off you, either, Seaton. You think you can come back to town after all these years and start actin' like you're better than the rest of us again just because your mama married a Seaton and you hang with Nick Harte? Got news for