Chapter ONE - Weebly

approached the Derne house. “Except to ask you the
same thing I asked Mister Berson. Can you think of
anyone who would have wanted to hurt Miss Berson,
or anyone who wanted to hurt you so badly that he
would take vengeance on her?”
Derne sighed, sounding genuinely weary. “Jennifer
had no enemies,” he said. “I can’t imagine anyone
wanting to hurt her. But her father, and my father and I
are another matter entirely. We’re merchants. We make
enemies every day, and yes, some of them might go to
great lengths to get back at us.” He raised a hand to
forestall interruption. “I’m not thinking of someone in
particular. I’m just saying that the pursuit of wealth
makes men do foolish things, dangerous things.”
He said this last with such earnestness that Ethan
was forced to wonder if he did in fact have someone
specific in mind. But he had already pushed the man
hard enough, and he had no desire to provoke him
further, at least not yet.
“I appreciate your candor, sir,” he said, as they
stopped in front of the Derne house. “If you think of
anything that might help me find Miss Berson’s killer, I