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murky, Vera and Eric had joined Cookie and Elizabeth in the living room.
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    After breakfast, Eric took Elizabeth to the park and Vera, who was feeling a little under the weather, stayed behind with Cookie to help Bea clean up the kitchen.
    â€œHow’s Randy?” Beatrice asked as she handed Vera a rinsed off plate to put in the dishwasher.
    â€œI have no idea,” Vera said. “He didn’t show up last night. Neither did Paige.”
    â€œThat’s a first,” Beatrice said.
    â€œI think she’s missed once or twice before—when Randy was little and sick,” Vera said. “But you’re right, she rarely misses a Saturday night crop. I mean Randy comes and goes. Not Paige.”
    â€œI hope she’s okay,” Cookie said as she wiped off the table.
    â€œI’m sure she’ll be fine,” Vera said. “It’s Randy I’m worried about. Imagine opening the freezer door and finding a frozen dead body inside. Troubling.”
    Beatrice leaned back on the counter. “It is, but I’d think he’d need to keep busy. At least, that’s the way I think I’d handle it. If you sit around too long, that’s all you think about. It could be bad. And to happen to Randy, of all people, who just came back home from New York.”
    â€œAnnie saw the body, too,” Cookie said, looking up from her task.
    â€œYes, but she wasn’t surprised. She knew it was there. I think the shock is . . . you know . . . opening the door and finding something like that.” Vera folded a towel and patted it flat.
    â€œI have to wonder about her family,” Cookie said. “Imagine being in Mexico and receiving word about your daughter.” She smoothed over a placemat and set the sugar bowl in the center of the table.
    Beatrice had already thought about that. Each time she did, a feeling of dread overcame her. Losing your child to murder in a distant land would be a living nightmare—more horrible than she could imagine.

Chapter 6
    DeeAnn rarely left the house on Sundays as it was her day to relax. Sometimes her daughter Karen would come over for Sunday dinner. She was living in Charlottesville. It wasn’t Cumberland Creek, but it was better than Texas.
    Instead of relaxing, DeeAnn baked a coffee cake for Randy, thinking he’d appreciate it, poor guy.
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    As she stood on the front doorstep of Elsie’s B and B, the door opened.
    â€œWhy, DeeAnn, how lovely to see you,” Elsie said.
    â€œThanks, nice to see you, too. Is Randy here?”
    Elsie shook her head. “I’m afraid not. He’s at his folks’ place.”
    â€œOh, okay. I’ll catch you later,” DeeAnn said and turned to leave.
    One good thing about Cumberland Creek was most of it was so close together a person could walk almost anywhere. The town proper was only six blocks long. DeeAnn’s bakery was right in the center, along with all of the other businesses. The neighborhoods were built around it, with the park traveling the length of town along the river.
    DeeAnn stood a moment and looked over at the mountains. The fall colors were even deeper and richer than usual. Seeing the crimson, golds, and fiery oranges against the blue sky made her stop, take a deep breath, and take it all in. She wasn’t originally from Cumberland Creek; she was from Minnesota. When she’d met Jacob and they married, she’d moved to Cumberland Creek with him and never looked back, much to her family’s chagrin.
    She spotted Paige’s home with the brick chimney spouting smoke. DeeAnn was cheered at the thought of a roaring fire as she walked up the sidewalk and knocked at the front door. The coffee cake was getting heavy in her arms.
    â€œWhy, hello there,” Paige said as she opened the door. “Come on in.”
    DeeAnn never liked Paige’s country-themed décor, but she kept her mouth shut about it. It was not her