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A cup of coffee had been placed in front of her, as well as a plate of petit fours that looked absolutely delicious. It was all Odelia could do not to snatch one up and pop it into her mouth, which was exactly what the writer did at that exact moment. But instead of offering her guests one of the delicious treats as well, she stayed mum, munching down on the delicacy, then licking her fingers for good measure.

“It’s about Jeb Pott,” said Odelia. “As I’ve explained to you over the phone, his family has asked me to look into the murder charges and hopefully find a way to refute them.”

Prunella leaned back in the white wrought-iron chair and flicked her hair over her shoulder. It gleamed in the early-morning sunlight. From the terrace where they were sitting, they had a good view of the golf course, where people were teeing off and enjoying the game. To their left, the tennis courts were visible in the distance, and shouts of tennis teachers trying to instruct their pupils to correct their backhand ripped through the air.

Prunella steepled her long slender fingers thoughtfully.“The thing is, I don’t really see how I can be of much assistance in this dreadful matter, Miss Poole—Mrs. Poole.”

“Muffin. Poole is Odelia’s dad’s name. My name is Vesta Muffin,” said Gran, who, even after all these years, wasn’t all that keen on the name her daughter had assumed.

“Mrs. Muffin,” the writer acknowledged. “I know Jeb well, of course. I personally selected him to play Florida Stopper.” She grimaced, as if in pain. “As you may have heard, it didn’t go well. I lost a great deal of money and the world lost a wonderful movie franchise.”

“There won’t be a sequel toChronicles of Zeus?” Odelia asked.

The writer closed her eyes.“No, there won’t be a sequel. I wrote outlines for five movies, but after the fiasco of the first one there won’t be a second, or a third or a fourth or a fifth. And I have Jeb Pott to thank for that.” She opened her eyes again. “In the middle of our big launch campaign for the first movie, when the studio was gearing up to give it a mighty push, he chose to engage in a mud-slinging contest with his ex-wife, and the media, always happy to focus on a negative instead of a positive story, associated my movie with the Jeb and Camilla circus. The negative buzz was so overpowering that it scared off my target audience: kids and young families. As you can imagine, absolutely nobody wanted to watch a movie starring a notorious wife beater. And phut went my career as a screenwriter. I don’t think I’ll ever be in the movie business again.”

“I’m so sorry,” said Odelia, and she meant it. She’d enjoyed the firstChronicles of Zeus movie, and had hoped there would be many sequels in the series.

“Where were you two nights ago between three and five, Mrs. Lemon?” asked Gran.

“Prunella, please,” said the writer, and laughed. “Oh, aren’t you the hard-hitting detective, Mrs. Muffin?”

“I like to be direct,” said Gran. “I get better results that way.”

“Yes, maybe you’re right. Well, I was fast asleep in bed, actually.”

“Anyone witness you being fast asleep in bed? A husband, a lover?”

Prunella laughed again.“My, my, you are direct. Yes, my husband was with me. And in spite of the fact that we’ve been married twenty-five years, I don’t think he would cover for me if I happened to decide to murder the star of my flop movie.” A tiny wrinkle appeared between her brows. “But I don’t understand.I thought Jeb was the murderer. The newspapers all mention how he was found covered in his ex-wife’s blood and how he was still clutching the knife?”

“It certainly looks that way,” said Odelia. “And the police are satisfied Jeb is Camilla’s killer. It’s just that his daughter and his ex-wife Helena don’t believe the official story and want to conduct a parallel investigation. They think someone is trying to set Jeb up.”

“Oh, my,” said Prunella, taken aback. “This is a very fascinating story. And who could this person be? Do you have any clues that support this theory?”

“None whatsoever,” said Odelia, who didn’t want to give Prunella any insight into their line of inquiry. She was, after all, a potential suspect.

“There are a few things that don’t add up. Little things,” said Gran, “like—ouch!”

Odelia had given her a kick under the table and Gran eyed her furiously.

“Can you think of anyone who would want to do this to Jeb?” asked Odelia.