Chapter 1

Charles Adlington was in the process of trying to drown his wife in the pool when Lyra Brazier walked into the walled garden behind the mansion.

At least that's what it looked like.

Lyra froze, trying to process the surreal scene. Everything appeared so normal-the California sun dancing on the water, the umbrella-shaded lounge chairs, the pitcher of martinis on the table, the bag of golf clubs leaning against a garden bench. Just another postcard-perfect day in the seaside paradise that was Burning Cove.

Except that Adlington was attempting to murder his wife.

Lyra told herself the Adlingtons might be playing some kind of boisterous game. The violent splashing made it difficult to be sure what was going on. She couldn't even be absolutely certain that Marcella and Charles Adlington were the two people in the pool. She had never met the couple. That seemed the most logical conclusion, however, given that the villa belonged to them and there was no one else around, not even a housekeeper or gardener.

But the husband was supposed to be playing golf. That left another horrifying possibility-that Marcella was being attacked by a stranger.

The woman in the pool managed to surface long enough to scream.

"Help me. My husband is trying to kill me."

So much for the assaulted-by-a-stranger theory.

Charles looked up from his task of trying to hold Marcella's head underwater, saw Lyra, and immediately released his victim. He splashed frantically toward the pool steps.

"You're next, you interfering bitch. How dare you try to put me away? Do you know who I am?"

He moved with surprising speed for such a big man. He reached the top step just as Lyra overcame the shock that had bolted her to the ground. She was not imagining things. She really had walked in on a murder in progress. The smart thing to do was run. But Adlington was a strong, athletic man and he was wearing only a pair of belted swim shorts. He could move fast.

She, on the other hand, was dressed for what was supposed to have been an interview with a wealthy client. Her fashionable stacked-heel sandals, stockings, and snug-fitting, calf-length skirted suit were not designed for running.

There was another factor as well. She could not leave the woman in the pool alone to deal with a violent man who was apparently in a killing mood.

Adlington was closing in fast. There was madness and rage in his eyes.

She rushed toward the golf bag and grabbed an iron. Adlington was almost upon her now.

Using the proper two-handed grip, she swung the club with all the strength she could muster. The years of being captain of the golf team at the elite women's college she had attended paid off. She aimed for Adlington's head. The club slammed into the side of his skull with a stomach-churning thud. Blood spurted.

Adlington toppled to the side and went down hard. He landed on the tiled patio and did not move. A crimson lake began to form around his head.

Lyra stared at him, shocked at her own act of violence, unnerved by the possibility that she might have just killed a man, and light-headed with the certainty that she had almost been murdered. Her pulse was skittering and she could not catch her breath.

"Thank God you arrived when you did." The woman in the pool staggered through the water to the steps. "Charles was trying to murder me. The doctors at the asylum...