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why you dumped an entire salt dish on your food?”
    “A bad habit, I’m afraid. Acquired after the war. Salt was a rare commodity then and nonexistent in Andersonville.” He shrugged. “It’s since been my salvation. I can’t stand my own cooking without it.”
    She laughed. She didn’t mean to; it just bubbled out of her. A grin inched across his face, and a moment of rapport sprang between them. It was the very thing she had hoped to accomplish. Still, that one unguarded moment worried her. She’d been trained to control her emotions, but at the moment was having a hard time managing even her thoughts.
    Turning her attention to the dishwater, she practically scrubbed the painted design off a dinner plate. When she agreed to take on this job, she thought her biggest challenge would be hiding her loathing for him. The opposite appeared to be the case, and that was a problem. Liking a suspected killer was not an option—no matter how blue his eyes or devastating his smile.
    “Is there anything else I should know?” she asked, staying focused on the task at hand. “Anything I should avoid besides corn bread?”
    “That about covers it. Just don’t let Toby talk you into going to the moon.”
    “I’m sorry?”
    “I’m afraid the boy’s imagination runs away with him at times. He’s now working on a contraption to take him to the moon.”
    “Oh, I see.” Since he had introduced the topic of his son, she felt confident in pursuing it. “I got the feeling from your aunt that there’s… something I should know about him.”
    He took his time answering. “He’s got an inquiring mind,” he said at last. “I’m afraid he was too much for Aunt Hetty to handle. The housekeepers, too, which is why I couldn’t keep one.”
    His inability to keep a housekeeper explained the shabby condition of the house but hardly explained the difficulty with Toby. Since that seemed to be all he was willing to concede, she let the matter drop.
    “Would you object to my teaching the children to say grace before meals?” If things worked out the way she hoped, she would soon have proof enough to send him to the gallows. Without their earthly pa, Toby and Elise would need their heavenly Father more than ever.
    “If you feel you must.” He hesitated. “You should know I have no regard for religion.” This time his voice had a steel-like edge. She’d gathered as much but remained silent. If a suspect wanted to talk, you let him talk.
    “I hope you can live with that,” he said. Without another word he tossed down his towel and left the room.

Chapter 6
    W hat kind of work was required of a tinker after hours? Maggie couldn’t begin to guess, but that was the excuse Thomas gave for locking himself in his room for the remainder of the evening.
    In a way she was grateful. Tonight she was feeling oddly vulnerable and in no condition to deal with him. She couldn’t afford to make a mistake. Not this time.
    After overseeing that both children had washed their faces and brushed their teeth, she settled down on the divan in the parlor, a child on each side of her. Elise read a story from McGuffey’s. She struggled with every word, and the going was slow. Toby’s reading skills were better, but he was far more interested in working on a sketch.
    “What are you drawing?” Maggie asked.
    He held his paper up so she could see. “A catapult to take me to the moon.”
    “The moon is a long way away,” Maggie said.
    “That’s why the catapult has to be big.” His eyes grew round. “As big as a mountain.”
    “I would imagine so.” It was hard to believe that this was the very same boy who gave his father’s aunt such a bad time. “Why do you want to go to the moon?”
    “So I can see everything that’s happening on Earth.”
    The thought made her smile. “Just like God.”
    Elise looked up from her book. “Is God on the moon?”
    Maggie leaned over and tapped Elise’s cute button nose with her finger. “God is