Camille caught up with me. She was just checking on her scarf. “You don’t know what this means to me. This is the first time I’ve ever donated something I made. It makes me fee so authentic.”
I glanced at her dress. Like an actress at the Academy Awards, she was wearing a gown from the “Who are you wearing?” category. I looked down at my dress. Nobody was likely to ask me who I was wearing. More likely they’d ask, “What are you wearing?” in a tone that made clear it wasn’t a compliment. It was my standby black dress, which I now realized was dated. If I was going to go to more of these, I’d have to buy some new clothes. I stopped myself. If I was thinking about going to more evenings like this, then I was thinking seriously about Mason’s remark. Did I want to be his girlfriend?
The jury was still out when the evening ended. As we drove back to Tarzana, I turned my attention away from my future social life and refocused it on the information I’d asked Mason to get. He played his game again, trying to withold it until we went to his house, but I held strong and he backed down.
“Okay, here is what I found out. The property where Iris Stewart has her home and business is in the name Iris Woods, and she’s owned it for almost twenty-three years. Iris married Paul Stewart twenty-one years ago. Adoption papers were filed and Catalina Woods became Catalina Stewart.”
I was rushing to write down what he said. We were standing outside my car parked in his driveway. “It’s kind of cold out here. You must be freezing,” he said, looking at the lacy mohair shawl draped around my shoulders. “Wouldn’t you rather be doing that in front of a nice fire?” He tilted his head toward his house. Okay, maybe he had backed down, but he hadn’t given up. When I asked about Matt Wells, Mason shivered and said he was getting cold. I offered him the inside of my car, but he laughed and declined.
Mason gave in and repeated Matt Wells had been married three times and was currently single. He had four kids ranging from elementary-school age to late teens. “Which amounts to a lot of child support,” Mason said. “He’s currently living in a luxury condo in Encino, and his credit rating is kind of shaky.”
“In other words, he really needs a bigger piece of the dance studios,” I said. Mason nodded in agreement.
“Well,” I said, looking toward my car. “Thanks for all the info.”
“My pleasure,” he said, taking me into a warm embrace. Sharing his body heat felt good. Too good, and I knew staying wrapped in his arms was only going to lead to trouble, so I pulled away and said good night.
“YOU LET MASON BE YOUR SLEUTHING PARTNER again,” Dinah wailed. “I thought that was strictly my job.” She paused for only a second, then said the least I could do was fill her in on everything. I had driven to her house after leaving Mason.
On the coffee table Dinah had the usual stack of papers waiting to be graded, but there was something else.
“Yay, you’ve gotten past the kids leaving,” I said, holding up the form from Date-A-Lot. “You’re ready to work on your social life. Good for you!”
She deflected the comment by asking about Mason and me. I told her the truth. “He’s fun to be with, and the fact he doesn’t want to turn it into anything too serious is appealing.”
“And the downside?” Dinah prompted.
“I’m still getting over Barry. And it’s messy because of the dog and his son Jeffrey. Jeffrey leaves and we’re a couple, and he comes back and we’re not even friends. I did tell you he rejected the friend idea and even gave me back his key, didn’t I?”
“Several times,” Dinah said. “Okay, so what do you think the information Mason gave you means?”
“The most obvious is that Paul Stewart isn’t Ali’s father,” I said. “And somehow Iris had the money to buy the house for the nursery. Things were cheaper back then, but that was still a sizeable investment for someone so young.”
“Do you think she was blackmailing Mary Beth? Maybe that’s it. Mary Beth decided to go public so she couldn’t be blackmailed anymore.”
“I considered that, but Iris doesn’t seem the blackmailing type.” I wasn’t sure what the blackmailing type was, but I doubted that the hard-working owner of a plant nursery fell into the category. “Maybe Mary Beth gave her the money for the down payment.”
“That’s a lot of money to give,” Dinah said. “There must have been something she wanted in return.”
We went back and forth, getting nowhere. I had no choice but to go home and face the She La Las. Did those women ever stop practicing?
The weather had turned cold and damp by the time I drove home. I had narrowed things down a little. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that the secret Mary Beth had wanted to settle focused on Ali. I was also sure Ali didn’t know what it was, but her mother did. How far would her mother go to keep the lid on it?
At home, I checked my phone messages. The third one made the hair on my neck stand up. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman. Just a harsh whisper telling me I was asking for trouble.
My father came in and handed me a large padded envelope with my name written in red. He said it had been on the front porch when Lana and Bunny arrived.
I ripped back the top with shaking hands. Something slid out and hit the ground.
When I looked down, I screamed. A big dead fish with a marzipan apple in its mouth had landed on my foot.
CHAPTER 27
“PINK, WHAT DID YOU DO?” ADELE DEMANDED, rushing up to the event table as I was setting up for the group. I stopped what I was doing and fortified myself with a big sip of my red eye.
I was still recovering from the previous night. It hadn’t been pretty. My father kept asking about the dead fish, and I didn’t have a good answer. Telling him it was some kind of joke didn’t work, partly because my son Samuel had told him I’d gotten involved in a couple of murder investigations.
“Molly,” he’d said, shaking his head. “I know you’ve had to make a lot of adjustments since Charlie died, but what are you doing getting mixed up with murder?” He shook his head again. “I’m not going to tell your mother.”
I had refrained from voicing my thought that she probably wouldn’t pay attention anyway. If it didn’t have to do with the She La Las and their upcoming audition, she wasn’t interested. Then I had told my father not to worry and that I had the business with the fish under control.
“Well,” Adele said, glaring at me from across the table.
“What are you talking about?” I said, putting the box of yarn out. Sheila arrived and took off the jacket of her black suit before stretching her arms and sitting down.
“I’m talking about Ali quitting the group. She wouldn’t give any details. She said you would explain.” Adele dropped into a chair. CeeCee put her things on the table and stared at Adele.
“What? Ali quit the group? She was such a nice addition. What happened?”
“Ask Pink,” Adele said with irritation.
“What’s going on?” Dinah asked as she set down her things and checked out Adele’s stormy expression. “Did somebody call us a knit group?” Dinah said, smiling. Adele glared in response.
CeeCee was used to people coming and going in the group and recovered immediately. She glanced up and down the table. “Camille’s not here, huh?” Letting out a sigh of relief, she announced, “I think I’ll go and get some of Bob’s special cookies and a latte with whole milk. Anybody else want anything?” When no one responded, CeeCee stayed put. All eyes were on me. They were waiting for an explanation.
“You remember how Ali mentioned that her mother’s name was Iris like the flowers in Mary Beth’s crochet piece?” Everyone nodded but Dinah. She already knew where I was headed. “I thought it might be just a coincidence, but I decided to talk to her mother.”