The telephone rang at a little before noon, and Devon
plopped on the sofa, grateful for the interruption. It
was probably Meredith, now a junior at SUNY Albany, who'd
doubtless just opened her eyes and was eager to fill Devon
in on the week's academic and social highlights.

Talking to her kid sister would be good medicine.

Devon plucked the phone off its
receiver. "Hello?"

"Devon Montgomery?" an official voice asked.

A prickle of apprehension. "Yes?"

"This is Sergeant Bill Jakes. I'm with the
Warren County Sheriff's office."

Warren County? That's where Lake Luzerne was.

The prickle turned into a jab.

"Does this concern my mother?" Devon asked.

"Sally Montgomery. Yes, I'm afraid so. There's
been a fire. It started sometime around eight o'clock
this morning at the cabin where your mother was staying.
Unfortunately, that area's fairly isolated. It took a
while for someone living across the lake to spot the blaze
and call it in. The air was so cold and dry that the fire
spread like crazy. The cabin was already burned to the
ground by the time the firefighters got to the scene.
Even the surrounding woods were in flames. It took hours
to bring things under control." He cleared his
throat. "We're still searching the debris, but human
remains have been found."

Denial screamed inside Devon's head. But she
forced her thorough, analytical side to kick in. "Do you
have any confirmation that any of those remains are my
mother's?"

"No, ma'am." Another pause. "But, like I said,
the fire destroyed everything. What's left-- let's just
say that it'll take dental records to make any positive
ID's."

"In other words, whoever was inside that cabin
was burned beyond recognition," Devon heard herself
say. "In which case, we don't know who the victim or
victims were. It's possible my mother wasn't even there
at the time."

"Possible, but unlikely." He fell silent,
clearly uncomfortable about divulging too much detail. As
an officer in a small rural community, violent loss of
life was something he rarely dealt with.

Well, he was dealing with it now.

"Go on, Sergeant," Devon pressed. "I want
details. This is my mother we're talking about."

"I realize that." He blew out a breath. "Look,
as I mentioned, the location of that cabin is fairly
isolated. We've combed the area, by car and by foot. We
even did an aerial search. No sign of your mother. We
did find a set of footprints leading into the village of
Lake Luzerne. We followed them. We spoke to every single
shop owner and employee. The baker and the coffee shop
proprietor remembered your mother. She was in the village
around seven-thirty. The baker said she'd stopped in, and
mentioned being on her way back to the cabin. There were
footprints confirming that."

"Surely there were other sets of footprints in
the village."

"Yes, ma'am, but none that led back to the
cabin. Just hers."

"What about the car? Maybe she..."

"The Mercedes she came in was still parked in
the driveway. There were no new tire treads. The car
hadn't been moved. We traced the license plate. The
vehicle belonged to Pierson and Company, which was no
surprise. We'd already spoken with the owner of the
cabin, who's a business associate of Frederick Pierson's.
He confirmed that he'd loaned the place to Mr. Pierson and
a lady friend for the weekend. So there's little doubt
that he and your mother were there. I just notified the
Pierson family. They gave me your mother's contact
information."

Devon didn't want to talk about the Piersons.
She wanted to talk about her mother. "What was the cause
of the fire?"

"Undetermined. Maybe a cigarette. Maybe a
candle. Maybe even a spark from the fireplace. A
thorough investigation to determine the origin of the
blaze is under way."

"So you're not convinced it was an accident."

"We have no reason to believe otherwise." He
paused. "Do you?"

Devon gritted her teeth. "I'm not acquainted
with Mr. Pierson, so I can't speak for him. But, as for
my mother, she doesn't have an enemy in the world."

"And yet you're wondering if the fire was
intentionally set."

"I'm a police detective's daughter, Sergeant. I
ask questions."

"Fair enough. I'll try to answer them. Like I
said, the cause of the fire is undetermined. The fire
investigation unit is conducting its search. The coroner
is on his way to the scene. Should anything suspicious be
found, the investigation division of the Sheriff's office
will take over. Given the loss of life, the state police
will probably get involved. If need be, they'll bring in
specially trained dogs to sniff for accelerants. No stone
will be left unturned. I hope that helps ease your mind."

"Nothing will ease my mind except hearing that
my mother wasn't in that cabin."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Montgomery.... pardon me, Dr.
Montgomery," he corrected himself. "I wish that were the
case. But it doesn't look good. I'd suggest you advise
your family."

"I intend to." Devon was far from ready to
accept what she was being told. "Sergeant Jakes..." She
grabbed a pen and pad. "Please give me your contact
information."

"Of course." He gave her his office and cell
phone number, and she scribbled them down.

"And your address?"

"We're on Route Nine in Lake George. But..."

"I'll let you know if I decide to drive up."

"Dr. Montgomery, I'd strongly recommend you stay
put," the sergeant advised her. "There's nothing you can
do here. Not yet. We'll give you a call as soon as we're
finished at the scene and know exactly what we're dealing
with."

Devon didn't respond to his not-so-subtle hint.
She merely gave him her cell phone number and her direct
line at the clinic. "Please keep me posted on every
detail," she requested. "I'll be in touch."

With a shaking hand, she dropped the phone in
its cradle.

She sank back on the sofa, tunneling her fingers
through her hair. Lane. She had to call Lane, get him on
the next plane to New York. And Meredith. She'd be a
wreck. She was so sensitive, and so attached to their
mother. On top of that, she was in Albany, halfway to
Lake Luzerne. Restraining her from rushing up there to
try to find their mother was going to be a near impossible
task.

Dozens of thoughts tumbled through Devon's mind,
as she considered what had to be done.

But when she picked up the phone again, it
wasn't either of her siblings's numbers she punched in.