Free Illegally Iced by Jessica Beck

seriously, too—but I thought they’d ended it.”
    “They did, but she wanted to get back together,” I told her.
    “What did James think about it?”
    “He ran hot and cold about the idea until recently.”
    “What changed?”
    “He wouldn’t say, but from the grin he sported lately, it wouldn’t surprise me to hear that he met someone else.”
    “You don’t know who it might have been, though, right?”
    “Right. All I’m sure of is that it wasn’t Rebecca.”
    “Then she goes on our list,” Grace said. “Agreed?”
    “Yes, it makes sense.” I reached over and grabbed a small embossed notebook Grace always kept beside her. “Do you mind if I use this for a minute?”
    “Go right ahead. I have a dozen more just like it at home.”
    “You hoarder, you,” I said with a smile as I opened it and took out the pencil inside.
    “Hey, I find something I like and I stick with it.”
    “That’s why we’re still friends, right?”
    “Yeah, that’ s it,” she said.
    I opened the notebook to a blank page and wrote down the names: Mrs. Pinerush, Forrest Pinerush, Mystery Cousin, Murphy Armstrong, and Rebecca Link. “We already have five names on our list. Who knew that many people might want to see harm come to James?”
    “I imagine that we both could come up with a list like that for each one of us if we put our minds to it.”
    “Me maybe, but everybody knows that you’re an angel,” I said with a smile.
    “You’d be surprised. Then again, you know me better than anyone else, so you probably realize that was a load of hooey the second you said it. I wonder if there’s anyone else we need to add to this?”
    “The only way we can find out is to keep digging,” I said. “I can miss a little sleep.”
    “I’m game if you are. Where should we go now?”
    I thought about it, and then suggested, “How about paying a visit to James’s cabin?”
    “Don’t you think Chief Martin has already been there?” Grace asked.
    “I’m counting on it. He can catch all of the obvious clues, but I can’t imagine that he got everything there is to learn out of it.”
    “Then let’s do it,” Grace said.
    By the time we got to James Settle’s place in the woods, darkness was just beginning to touch the sky. It was a rustic cabin, barely bigger than twelve feet by sixteen. The siding was weathered board and batten, overlapping sections that had all weathered into a uniform pleasing gray. I loved it, but it was a far cry from the place Grace and I had visited earlier. How could James have possibly gone from living in a place as elegant as the manor to a place as rustic as this? Then again, I was certain that this cabin had suited him better than the mansion ever had.
    “There’s just one problem. We don’t have a key, Suzanne,” Grace said as we walked up onto the porch. I was relieved to see that there was no police tape over the door. Though I knew the murder had happened in town, there was still no assurance that Chief Martin would release James’s place so quickly.
    “When I brought James donuts once when he was sick, he told me where to find the key, so unless someone’s taken it, it shouldn’t be a problem.” I looked for the loose board just off the door James had told me about, and after a few false starts, I found it. As it swung aside, I saw the key hanging there. The lock was massive, and clearly hand-forged, as were the door’s large hinges. No doubt James had made them himself.
    I slid the key in, and the door opened easily.
    “Well, at least it won’t be hard to search,” Grace said as soon as we walked inside the tight quarters. “It’s kind of small, isn’t it?”
    “You could think of it as cozy,” I countered.
    “We’re not selling it as real estate. Let’s call it what it is,” Grace said with a smile. As she searched the wall for a switch, I said, “Don’t bother. James used kerosene lamps for his lighting at night.”
    “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Grace