Sunlight flashed off of the chains of the swing that Laurie currently occupied as Nancy carefully pushed her back and forth. Shaun, Laurie's new playmate, was seated on the next swing, with Maggie behind him, also working hard to keep him airborne. The two children had at first seemed wary of each other. But as the hour had passed, they seemed to be warming toward one another. Nancy felt relief that they were getting along all right. Not just because she wanted to get closer to Maggie; but because she wanted Laurie have someone her age to play with.

"Wanna play on the bars?" Shaun asked, his sandy blond hair blowing in the warm breeze.

"Ok," Laurie said. Looking up at Nancy, she ordered "Stop, Mommy. I wanna go play with Shaun."

Nancy slowed the swing and watched as Laurie hopped out and followed her new friend to the jungle gym. Wandering over to a bench near the bars, she watched the two children climb toward the top.

"Not afraid of heights, are they?" Maggie asked, sitting down next to Nancy.

"Nope. I don’t think Laurie’s afraid of much of anything. I haven’t decided if that’s a good thing or a bad thing." She smiled.

Maggie shifted in her seat. "Well, being bold and self assured certainly has its advantages." She sat quietly, watching Shaun and Laurie find their perch near the top.

"So, Nancy, how have your first few days in Bayport been?"

Nancy shrugged. "Much better than I expected, I suppose." She turned to look at Maggie. "How much of my story did Callie share with you?"

"Probably more than you wanted her too," Maggie replied.

Nancy grinned. "No, remember, I told her she could fill you in. I have no secrets to hide. Not now, anyway," she amended.

"Oh, don’t be so sure about that," Maggie said, squinting her eyes against the sun. "Everyone has secrets, whether they realize it or not."

"I guess that’s true," Nancy said. The two women sat in silence.

"About what Callie said last night. You know, about you and Laurie’s dad maybe getting back together. Is that true? I mean, I realize it’s not any of my business..."

Nancy shrugged. "I honestly don’t know. We’re kind of starting over. The plan was to get to know one another again as friends. Then we can see if there's any sparks still there. I’m relieved that I can at least say he’s my friend. That's more than I ever expected."

"Callie seems to think you still have a chance with him."

"Callie’s being nice," Nancy said.

"No, I think she's being honest." Maggie said. "I know they’ve talked a bit since Frank moved back to Bayport a couple of months ago. I imagine some of those conversations centered around you."

"Maybe. Maybe not." She smiled. "You know, Maggie, if you’re interested in Frank, don’t let me stand in your way. I don't have any right to claim him. If you want, I can introduce you to him."

Maggie turned red. "Oh, no, you misunderstood me. I’m not interested in Frank Hardy. I don’t even know him. I’ve heard of him. You can’t live in Bayport and have not heard of Frank and Joe Hardy. But I don’t know him. I..."

"Slow down," Nancy said, laughing. "Relax. I was teasing you. You were just making conversation. I got that."

"Okay," Maggie replied.

"Forgive me," Nancy glanced at the kids, then back at Maggie. "I’m so used to joking around with my friends that sometimes I forget myself. Plus, I’ve been hanging around Joe Hardy. He’s a bad influence."

Maggie laughed. "Okay, then." She paused. "What I was going to say..." She stopped. "Ok, promise not to get mad at me?"

"I'll do my best," Nancy said.

"I was going to say that if you two weren't seeing each other, maybe I could offer to set you up with someone I know. Or with one of Steve's friends. You know, after you get settled and everything. I've been the new girl in town. I know how hard it is to meet people." She blushed. "I'm sorry. You probably think I'm a busybody now. I just met you yesterday, and here I am trying to fix you up with someone."

Nancy smiled. "I appreciate that. But now's not a good time for me to start dating. It could..." she faltered. "complicate things."

"Still attached to him, huh?" Maggie replied.

Nancy fixed her gaze heavenward, on a passing cloud. "I never said that."

Maggie smiled, amused. "You didn't have to."

Carl lifted the remaining 2x4's onto the back of a red pickup truck. Checking the receipt to make sure he'd gotten the order right, he initialed it and handed it back to his current customer. Wishing the man a good day, he walked over to where Frank had been waiting patiently for the past half hour.

"Sorry about that," he told Frank. "June's a busy season for us. Seems like everyone waits for summer to revamp their homes." Wiping his brow, he smiled. "Me, I prefer to do my work in the fall. I'd rather spend my free time fishing in the summer."

"I've been doing the remodeling thing myself," Frank said. "Just finished painting my daughter's room a few days ago."

"Yeah, I've got some painting I need to do too. The trim on my house needs to be redone. Just haven't got around to it." Carl locked the gate to the lumber yard and motioned for Frank to follow him back into the hardware store. "I've been putting in a lot of hours here lately." As they entered the air-conditioned sanctuary of the store, Frank breathed a sigh of relief. Sitting in the hot sun for so long hadn't been on his agenda of things to do this afternoon.

Carl led Frank into a small office. "Have a seat," he said. Opening a small refrigerator, he offered Frank a soda. Frank shook his head. Shrugging, Carl put one back and sat across from Frank. Popping the tab, he took a sip. "Ah," he said. "I've been dying for that all morning." Sitting the soda down on the cluttered desk, he winked at Frank. "Some people are addicted to cigarettes or alcohol. Me, I'm addicted to Pepsi."

Frank smiled. "It’s all that caffeine," he said.

"That’s what it is." Settling back in his chair, he appraised Frank. "So," he spoke. "Steve tells me you’re looking into Emma’s suicide."

"Yes," Frank said.

Carl was quiet for a few minutes. "Well, I’m glad someone’s helping him out. He says the police think the suicide was staged."

Frank nodded.

"And that he may have did it."

"So I’ve heard," Frank relied.

Shaking his head, Carl got up out of his chair and looked out the window. Turning, he studied Frank intently. Finally, he returned to his chair, sipped his soda, and addressed Frank.

"I don’t know why the police think she was killed, but I can tell you this much. Steven Taylor wouldn’t have hurt that girl, not for anything. After Sara died, I thought Steve wasn’t going to recover. He moped for months. Buried himself in his work. If it wasn’t for that little boy of his, he would have completely cut himself off from the world."

"He must have really loved Sara," Frank said.

"That’s an understatement." Carl sighed. "He used to call her his soul mate. Talked about how they were going to grow old and gray together. End up sharing a room in the same nursing home."

"Then Sara killed herself." Frank prompted.

"Yeah, she did. Some people say she was suffering from some sort of depression."

"What do you think?" Frank asked.

"Something was definitely up with her. She used to be such a sunny person. Liked to joke around, have fun. She sang with the radio all the time. I remember that. The girl couldn’t sing, but that never stopped her." He grinned. "You should have seen those two together. It was like Romeo and Juliet."

"If I remember my Shakespeare, that didn’t end too well either," Frank pointed out.

"No, it didn’t." Carl fell silent. "Course those last few months, everything changed. She withdrew from her friends, her family. Fought a lot with Steve."

Frank debated on what to ask next. "Why do you think Sara was depressed?"

Carl thought about the question. "I don’t know. There were rumors..."

"About Steven?"

Carl narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Frank shifted in his seat. "Steven told me that Sara thought he was cheating on her with her best friend."

Carl met Frank’s gaze. "Yes, those were the rumors. But they weren’t true."

"You’re sure of this?"

"Positive."

Frank gauged Carl’s response, carefully searching for any sign that he might be lying.

"Look, Carl, I know Steven’s your friend. But if anything was going on between Steven Taylor and another woman, I need to know. It may make Steven look like a bad husband, but it could be relevant to clearing his name if this becomes a murder case."

Carl shook his head vehemently. "No, I’m being straight with you. Steven could have had any woman he wanted. He only wanted Sara."

"What about Maggie Westbrook? Sara’s friend? I’ve heard she had a thing for Steven."

Carl smiled. "You bet she did. Still does, for that matter."

"He didn’t have anything going on with her?"
"Like I’ve told you before, no. He wouldn’t have done that to Sara. Maggie might have done that." He paused. "She would have jumped at a chance with Steve in a heartbeat. In fact, within days of Sara’s funeral, she had taken over most of Sara’s duties. Taking care of Steve and Shaun; cooking; cleaning; grocery shopping. She would have taken care of all of Steve’s needs, if he would have let her."

He flashed a smile. "Steve wasn’t interested in her though. Not for anything more than a friend."

"Hmm. How about Emma? How did they end up together?"

"School, of course. She started teaching over at the high school and they hit it off pretty quickly. She really turned his life around. He was like a different person with her."

"Different?"

"Yeah, different. He’d spent two years in permanent grief. Moping over Sara. Oh, he’d go out on an occasional date or two, but his heart wasn’t in it. It’s like he was going through the motions of living. Just barely hanging on for Shaun’s sake." He stared past Frank at the wall. "Can you imagine what it would be like to quit living your life but still be alive? It’s a heartbreaking thing to watch a friend do that. Sara would have never wanted that for Steve." He tilted his head. "I used to think that maybe Sara sent Emma his way to break down the walls he’d built. Help him learn to love again."

Frank was silent, lost in his own thoughts. He could empathize with Steven. All those nights that Joe had tried to get him to go out with their friends after he’d lost Nancy, he’d been shutting out life. Just like Steven. Even when Joe had pointed it out repeatedly, he’d never truly believed it. Until now. No wonder Joe had went to California. That had to have been a hard thing to deal with.

"I guess with Emma in his life, he didn’t need Maggie to help out with Shaun nearly as much."

Carl shrugged. "No, he didn’t need as much help from her. Emma loved Shaun. She was planning to adopt him legally. They were even going to include him in the ceremony. She was writing something into her vows that included Shaun."

"Really?," Frank said again.

"Oh yeah," he said. "Emma wanted a family. She loved Shaun as much as if he’d been her own son." He frowned as he noticed how intently Frank had been listening to his final words. "Look, Frank, I don’t want to give you the wrong idea. I’ve met Maggie. She’s a nice enough woman. A little stuck on Steve, but not enough to hurt someone over him. If you’re thinking she did something to Emma to get her out of the way, you’re barking up the wrong tree."

"No, I’m not," Frank told him. "I just have to cover all the bases, so to speak."

"Um hmm," Carl said. "Why don’t I believe you?"

"I honestly don’t know," Frank said. "All I’m doing right now is trying to get a clear picture of Steven and Emma’s life. And a picture of everyone who was a part of it."

Carl glanced at his watch. "Ok. I hope you’re right. If anyone hurt Emma, I certainly want them found and punished. But it isn’t Maggie. I can tell you that right now." He stood up. "Look, I don’t want to seem rude, but I’m over my time on my break and really need to get to work. Do you want to continue this some other time?"

Frank stood and held out his hand. "No, it’s all right. If I need anything else, my brother Joe or I will call you."

Shaking Frank’s hand, Carl nodded. "Ok. Well, I wish you luck on this. And if you need me, just call."

"Thanks," Frank responded. "I’ll let myself out. Have a good afternoon."

Nancy held tightly to Laurie’s hand as they walked home from the park. Maggie had offered her a ride, but she’d turned it down. By way of explanation, she’d told her that she used to take Laurie for walks in Los Angeles, and this was the perfect opportunity to start that back up. Maggie had accepted her explanation and headed out, with Shaun waving wildly to Laurie as they left the park.

What she’d really wanted was a few minutes to process what little information she’d finally gotten out of Maggie at the end of the play date. After a frustrating conversation that covered everything from the weather to the latest styles of shoes, not to mention their nonexistent love lives, she’d decided that she was going to get nothing new from Maggie. Nothing useful. Until it was time to go.

The sound of a car honking behind Nancy caused her to jump. She whipped around, yanking Laurie close behind her, only to find Frank’s car had pulled up alongside the curb. Grinning, he rolled down the window.

"You’re losing it Drew," he said to her. "I not only managed to sneak up on you, in a car with the radio playing, but I also managed to scare the daylights out of you."

"Yeah, well," she said. "Maybe I knew you were there and only pretended to be startled."

"A likely story," he said. "You guys want a ride home? We can swap interview tales."

"Yes!" Laurie cried, turning loose of Nancy’s hand and twisting the door handle. "Let’s go home with Daddy, Mommy!"

Nancy laughed. "Ok, why not?" She opened the door and waited for Laurie to buckle herself in. Slipping in the front seat beside Frank, she closed the car door. Turning, she smiled and asked. "So, how was your day?"

"Pretty good," he said. "I stopped by Chief Collig’s office today. Autopsy reports are finally in."

"And?" Nancy asked.

"There was bruising on her upper right arm, made from someone with small hands. Hands smaller than a man like Steven Taylor. Someone had a pretty firm grip on her at some point that day. Like maybe she'd been in a fight and they'd grabbed her by the arm. That's it."

Nancy turned toward him. "So, it was death from an overdose?"

"You bet," Frank said. "She definitely overdosed. I'm not sure how the killer, if there was one, got her to take the pills, though."

Nancy let that sink in for a moment. "Killer? Do you mean someone like Maggie?"

Frank nodded. "After my conversation with Steve’s friend Carl, well, let’s just say it doesn’t look good for her." He glanced over at Nancy. "Unless you came up with something different."

"No, in fact, I almost came up empty handed." She looked out the window, surprised to see that they were already pulling into her driveway. Turning back to Frank, she started to continue.

"That's ok," he said. "Joe is supposed to be talking to some of their coworkers from the high school. Maybe he'll come up with something new."

"Now you're the one not paying attention," she said mischievously. "I said I almost came up empty handed."

Frank looked up with interest. "Almost?"

"Yes, almost. We have an invitation to dinner tomorrow. You, me, Joe and Vanessa. Laurie too."

"Me?" Laurie’s voice came from the backseat.

"Yup. At Maggie’s house."

Frank’s eyes shone brightly. "Really? That’s great, Nan. How did you manage that?"

She shrugged. "I didn’t. Maggie offered. She would have invited you guys herself but she has to work tonight."

Frank unbuckled his seatbelt and helped Laurie out of the car. "Well, that’s nice of her. Assisting us without realizing she’s that she‘s assisting."

Nancy waited. "Aren’t you going to ask me where she works?"

Frank looked at her over the top of the car. Warning bells were sounding off in his head. "Where?"

Nancy leaned against the car, smiling. "Bayport Memorial Hospital. In the pharmacy."