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too vile to be believed. She wondered how her aunt had acquired such a groom.
    As the two women left the house, William handed Beret a bouquet of lilies wrapped in brown paper. As it was too early for such flowers to bloom, he must have purchased them at some expense from a florist. But of course, Varina would have ordered them. Beret raised the bouquet to her nose, but there was little scent. Lillie had loved the flowers she had been named for. Of course she did, Beret thought. Her sister liked anything that called attention to herself. Still, Lillie did favor them, with her white skin, her hair the color of the stamens. And Beret had pampered her sister, ordering the expensive blooms in the winter to please her. Lillie had reciprocated, decorating the house with lilies on Beret’s birthday. Beret had thought it odd that Lillie would choose her own favorite blooms instead of Beret’s, which were tulips and daisies, but nonetheless, Beret appreciated the gesture. Now she wondered if these would be the last flowers she would give to her sister.
    Her aunt made small talk in the carriage, but when Beret didn’t reply, Varina stopped, and they rode in silence to the cemetery, which was near the South Platte River. Jonas stopped the conveyance, and the two women got out, walking through dried weeds to a plot of ground that was surrounded by an iron fence. Beret held the gate for her aunt, and the two went inside and stared at the mound of bare earth. Then Beret knelt and laid the creamy white lilies on top of the dirt. They had not brought a jar of water to set them in, and Beret knew the flowers would be scattered by the wind. But they would die anyway from the cold. It mattered only that Beret had brought them.
    “When summer comes, we will have grass planted, and flowers. Your uncle has ordered a stone, a simple one. We thought a larger one would be ostentatious,” Varina said, adding, “Under the circumstances.”
    “Yes,” Beret muttered.
    “I suppose we should have asked you if you wanted her buried here or the body shipped to New York. Perhaps Lillie should have been interred near your parents. But we thought to take care of the burial quickly. We believed it would be easier for us to make the decision, what with the way things stood between the two of you. And of course, we wanted to keep the circumstances of Lillie’s death from you.”
    Without looking at Beret, Varina reached out a hand, and Beret took it. “You acted out of kindness,” Beret murmured, and of course Varina had. Beret felt grateful for this strong woman beside her.
    As she gripped her aunt’s hand, Beret realized Varina had told her little about Lillie’s stay in Denver. “You have not told me the reason Lillie left your home,” she said.
    Varina shivered and dropped Beret’s hand. “I can’t speak of it, Beret, for the truth is, I don’t know. I was as shocked as anyone to learn Lillie had gone to that … that place. Perhaps your uncle has better insight. You must ask him.”
    “I’ll ask him tonight.”
    Varina shook her head. “Not tonight, I’m afraid. Your uncle has one of those dreadful political meetings where they smoke cigars and drink too much. I imagine it will go on until all hours. It is at his club, and most likely he will spend the night there. He sends his regrets. It distresses him that he has not yet welcomed you, but it can’t be helped. I told him you’d understand.”
    “Of course,” Beret said, although she was disappointed. It seemed strange to her that she had come all this way to find out about Lillie’s murder and would not see her uncle for two days.

 
    Chapter 3
    Now, Beret sat in the dingy café with Detective McCauley, thinking about that awful time when she had read in the World about the murder of the Denver prostitute and knew the girl was Lillie. She held her coffee cup in both hands, staring into the murky liquid, ignoring Mick.
    “Miss Osmundsen,” Mick said at last, startling