Chloe suddenly stood up. “I have to go over to St. Esther’s,” she said.

“Do you mind cleaning up?” She was looking at Daria.

“No problem.” She thought Chloe was rather brave to leave her there with Ellen, when she had to know Daria was ready to rip her cousin’s throat out. But she managed to get through the washing and drying of the dishes without incident, and then she escaped to the athletic club, alone.

Ivory handed Grace the glass of lemonade, then sat down in one of the other chairs on Poll-Rory’s porch. They had the cottage to themselves.

Grace had arrived just as Zack left for the water park with Kara and her various siblings and cousins. Rory had felt nervous about this meeting between Zack and Grace, when it would be apparent she was there for some purpose other than to borrow the phone. Zack had merely mumbled a greeting to Grace, then left the cottage with Kara. He seemed truly indifferent to what ever Rory wanted to do. Maybe he was even pleased that Rory had someone to keep him occupied and off his back. ;

Grace was wearing an emerald green sundress, sandals and the blue see-through sunglasses. Her light brown bangs were long and sexy. He liked looking at her.

“Well,” Grace said, “tell me more about the child who was found on the beach.”

He was hoping she would ask that question. They’d talked about the shop she ran in Rodanthe it was part sundries and part cafe, she said and they talked a bit about Zack, and he began to wonder if his story about Shelly was not all that compelling after all. But now she seemed interested, her gaze focused on the cottage across the cul-de-sac.

“What would you like to know?” he asked.

“What do you think people would want to know about her?”

“What her life has been like,” Grace said.

“What she looks like. You said she’s beautiful?”

“She’s a beauty, all right,” Rory said.

“Tall and blond.”

“And brain-damaged.” Grace pursed her lips as though this fact made her angry.

“She’s just a little…” He didn’t want to say simple. Somehow that word was not appropriate.

“She’s… ingenuous, if you know what I mean. I don’t know her well, I’ve only spoken to her a few times, but she seems very trusting in an innocent sort of way.”

“Was she treated well by her adoptive family?” Grace asked.

“She’s loved,” he said.

“Her mother died when she was eight, though, and one of her sisters took over her care.”

“Oh…” Grace frowned.

“Poor little thing. She lost two mothers.”

“I think Daria took terrific care of her, though.”

“What about… holding a job? Can she work? How did she do in school?

What about socially? Did she”— ” Whoa. ” Rory laughed, pleased. He should be writing down her questions so he’d be sure to address them in the program.

“One question at a time. I think she had some special classes. I guess I’ll have to find out more about that. And she works as a housekeeper at a Catholic church, but Daria—her sister—told me she needs a lot of supervision.

Shelly is pretty dependent on her. “

“The brain damage… what do they attribute that to?”

“Something to do with her birth, I guess, or with the time she spent abandoned on the beach. I don’t know. I don’t know if anyone really knows.”

“I don’t see how you can possibly find out who left her on the beach after all this time,” Grace said.

“I mean, I’m a little worried about you being disappointed. It seems like an impossible task.”

He was not worried. All he had done so far was sift through the police records, but he was making a list of people to talk to, including the detective involved in the case and everyone on the cul-de-sac. He didn’t feel rushed. He had the whole summer.

“You’d be amazed the things we’ve found out through researching incidents for True Life Stories,” he said.

“Sometimes the mysteries are solved during the research itself, like the time we figured out who had murdered a little boy, even though the police and FBI had been on the case for years and had turned up nothing. Our researchers brought a different perspective to the case and were able to uncover the real murderer.” He guessed that Grace was not a regular viewer of True Life Stories or she would have known the incredible success the program had had in solving the unsolvable.

“That’s amazing,” Grace said.

“But how exactly will you try to find out who the baby’s mother is?” “By questioning people. Sometimes people remember things now that didn’t seem important enough to report to the police at the time. And they’ll disclose those things to me. Another way we’ve solved mysteries is by presenting all the details of the story on the show, and then people come forward with the truth. You’d be surprised at how often that happens.”

“How sure are you that you’ll be able to solve this one?” Grace asked.

:

“I have a feeling about it,” Rory said.

“Probably whoever abandoned Shelly confided in someone over the years. Or maybe she’s suffering from having made that decision. Maybe she would want to be reunited with her daughter after all this time.”

To his delight, the door to the Sea Shanty opened and

Shelly walked out into the yard. She was wearing her white bikini, her gauzy skirt. She turned in the direction of the beach.

“Speaking of Shelly,” Rory said, nodding in the direction of the Sea Shanty.

“Is that her?” Grace leaned forward in her chair. She lifted the sunglasses off her nose for a better look.

“It sure is,” he said.

“Would you like to meet her?” He was anxious for another opportunity to talk with Shelly himself, but she had already disappeared over the dune.

“We can catch up to her,” he said, and glanced at Grace’s fair skin.

“I have some sunscreen in the cottage you can use.”

Grace stood up.

“I already have some on,” she said.

They began walking toward the beach.

“I used to be a sun worshiper,” Grace said. She held her arm out in front of her as they walked, and studied the pale skin.

“I guess that’s hard to believe right now.”

“Well,” Rory said, “at least you won’t get skin cancer.” He winced.

That had been an insensitive thing to say. Maybe she’d had skin cancer, or some other form of cancer, and that was her problem. He wanted to ask her about her illness, but it felt too much like prying.

“Hey, Shelly!” he called as they crossed over the dune.

Shelly turned at the sound of her name and waved to him as she started walking toward them. The breeze tossed her blond hair into the air and blew her skirt against her long legs, and he wondered if Grace was as captured by the sight of her as he was.

“Hi, Rory,” she said.

“I just wanted to introduce you to a friend of mine,” Rory said.

“This is Grace.”

Shelly smiled and held her hand out to Grace.

“I’m Shelly,” she said.

She wore small, rose-colored sunglasses,

and Rory had to smile. They certainly suited her view of the world.

Grace shook Shelly’s hand, but said nothing.

“Can we walk with you awhile?” Rory asked.

“Sure,” Shelly said.

“Down by the water, okay? I want to get my feet wet.”

Once they began walking. Grace was no longer quiet. She bombarded Shelly with questions. What was her job like? What did she like best about it? What did she like least? What was growing up like for her?

Did she have friends? Shelly answered every question with the sort of childlike honesty Rory was coming to expect from her.

“Rory told me about… how you were found on the beach,” Grace said.

“Did you always know about that? Did you always know that you were adopted?”

“Oh, yes,” Shelly said. She giggled.

“It was pretty obvious, anyway. I mean, everybody else in my family has really dark hair, and they’re not very tall. And there I was, , this skinny, blond string bean.” I “But it sounds like your adopted family took great care of you, right?

Maybe it was for the best that your mother. deserted you, and you ended up with a good family. “

“Absolutely,” Shelly said.

“I got a really good family.” “Were you always very tall?” Grace asked. “I mean,;

were you the tallest girl in your class when you were growing up?

You’re nearly as tall as me. ” | ” Yup,” Shelly said.

“And I think, actually, I’m taller i, than you.”

She looked at the top of Grace’s head, measuring.

“The beach is slanted, and it’s hard to tell.” ?

“Kids always teased me when I was young,” Grace’s said. “They said I looked like Olive Oyl. Did you get i teased a lot?” “No, hardly at all. Daria wouldn’t let anybody tease me.”

“Daria is her sister,” Rory explained, m case she’d forgotten.

Grace nodded.

“Yes. The one who found her… found Shelly.”

“She’s Supergirl,” Shelly said.

“You mean… because she saved you?” Grace asked.

“Me and a lot of other people. She’s an EMT. Well, she was, anyhow.”

“She sounds like an amazing person,” Grace said.

“I’m so glad she’s taken such good care of you.”

Rory was beginning to feel superfluous to the conversation, but he didn’t mind. He was taking mental notes, trying to ascertain from Grace’s questions what aspects of Shelly’s life would be of interest to his viewers.

“Rory said you make necklaces out of shells,” Grace said.

“Not just necklaces,” Shelly said.

“All kinds of jewelry.”

“I’d like to see your jewelry sometime,” Grace said.

This was Grace’s natural style, Rory thought: passionate interest in others. He liked that about her very much. He wondered if she would be able to draw Zack out with her questions, the way she was doing with Shelly.