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“My ex-wife’s. She died about six weeks ago.”
Lucy crept closer to Nealy.
Williams spoke. “Ma’am, could we step inside so we can talk in private?”
She shook her head. “No, the place is a mess.”
She could see that they wanted to press the issue, and she blessed the Fourth Amendment. She decided to take a chance. “Luce, this is Agent DeLucca and Agent Williams. They’re looking for Cornelia Case.”
“And they think you’re her?”
“I guess.”
All the tension left Lucy’s body. “Nell’s not Mrs. Case! This is because she was in that contest, isn’t it? That was my idea because I wanted to win a television so my baby sister could watch Teletubbies, but all I got was a power drill.” She turned to Nealy. “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”
“You didn’t get me in trouble.” Nealy felt a twist of guilt. Lucy was defending her out of perfect innocence.
The agents exchanged glances. They knew something wasn’t right, but Lucy’s obvious sincerity had been effective, and they still weren’t certain of Nealy’s identity.
The female agent gave her a woman-to-woman look designed to inspire camaraderie. “You’d really help us out if we could sit down in the house and talk this through.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Mr. Tough Guy said. “You want in the house, you come back with a search warrant.”
Williams gazed at Nealy. “It seems to me that someone who doesn’t have anything to hide would be more cooperative.”
“It seems to me that you should have better things to do than hassle a pregnant woman,” Mat countered.
Nealy stepped in before he got himself arrested. “Maybe you’d better go. We can’t help you.”
Agent DeLucca gave her a long, clear-eyed gaze, then turned to Lucy. “How long have you known . . . Mrs. Jorik?”
“About a week. But she’s nice and everything, and she wouldn’t do anything wrong.”
“So you just met her?”
Lucy nodded slowly.
“You don’t have to talk to them, Luce,” Mat interrupted. “Go on inside.”
Lucy looked confused, but she did as he asked. Button squirmed in Nealy’s arms and reached toward Mat. “Da . . .”
He took her.
“Boy or a girl?” Agent DeLucca asked, glancing toward Nealy’s stomach.
“Boy,” Mat said without hesitation. “For sure.”
Nealy pressed her hand to the small of her back and tried to look frail. “He’s a big baby, and I’ve been having a hard time. I’m not really supposed to walk around too much.”
Mat slipped his arm around her shoulder. “Why don’t you go on in, honey, and lie down?”
“I think I will. Sorry I couldn’t help.” She gave the agents what she hoped was a wan smile and turned away.
“MA!” Button squealed at the top of her small lungs.
Nealy turned back.
Button threw up her arms—So big—then reached out.
