“Mrs. Barry, please describe the layout of the first floor of the house.”

“The foyer is large-it’s really more of a reception area. When they had large parties they would serve cocktails there before dinner. The living room is directly beyond the foyer and faces the front door. The dining room is to the left, down a wide hallway and past a service bar. The kitchen and family room are in that wing as well, while the library and Dr. Lasch’s study are in the wing to the right of the entrance.”

I got home early, Molly thought. There hadn’t been much traffic on I-95, and I was earlier than I’d expected to be. I only had one bag with me, and I brought it in and put it down. Then I locked the door and called Gary ’s name. I went directly to the study to look for him.

“I went into the kitchen,” Mrs. Barry told the prosecutor. “There were wine glasses and a tray of leftover cheese and crackers on the counter.”

“Was there anything unusual about that?”

“Yes. Molly always tidied up when they had company.”

“What about Dr. Lasch?” the prosecutor asked. Edna Barry smiled indulgently. “Well, you know men. He wasn’t much for picking up after himself.” She paused and frowned. “But that was when I knew something was wrong. I thought that Molly must have come and gone.”

“Why would she have done that?”

Molly saw the hesitance in Mrs. Barry’s face as once again she looked over at her. Mother was always a little annoyed that Mrs. Barry called me Molly and I called her Mrs. Barry. But I didn’t care, she thought. She’s known me since I was a child.

“Molly hadn’t been home when I went in on Friday. The Monday before that, while I was there, she’d left for the Cape. She seemed terribly upset.”

“Upset, how?”

The question came quickly and abruptly. Molly was aware of the hostility the prosecutor felt for her, but for some reason it didn’t worry her.