“There was no reason ever to tell Ali. My name is on her birth certificate. And then out of nowhere Mary Beth contacted me. She told me it had been bothering her all these years and now that her husband was dead, she wanted to come clean and claim her daughter.”
“And you killed her to keep it quiet,” I said. Iris’s expression went from distraught to angry.
“Killed her? Don’t be ridiculous.” Iris got up to leave. She turned back at the door. “If you want to know who killed her, why don’t you look for Ali’s father? Mary Beth said she wanted Ali to know who both of her parents were.” She glared at me. “And no, I don’t know who he is.”
“I HAVE TO GO BACK TO CATALINA,” I SAID TO Dinah when I found her in the bookstore. My comment didn’t sit well with her even when I repeated Iris’s story.
“Molly, you can’t go back there. You’ll get arrested. That deputy will nab you as soon as you set one foot off the boat.”
“I have to see what’s hidden in the fireplace. I bet it points to Ali’s father,” I said.
“Who probably killed Mary Beth,” Dinah said softly. “And once someone has killed someone it’s not that hard to kill someone else, if you get my meaning.”
I didn’t say anything and Dinah nudged me impatiently. “Did you hear what I said? You go back there and you’ll be in double jeopardy—from the deputy and from Ali’s father.”
“Will you come with?” I asked.
Dinah said yes, then changed her answer when I told her I planned to go the next day. She had an in-class essay and had to be there. Then Dinah surprised me by suggesting I talk to Detective Heather.
“Is your scarf pulled too tight?” I said, looking at the pale pink and burnt orange combo of scarves she had wound around her neck. “I want you to stop for a minute and consider the details. She already laughed off the crochet piece. If I start telling her about people switching identities and secret fathers—”
“I see your point. It might sound a little like a soap opera plot,” Dinah conceded.
“My plan is simple. I’ll wear a hat, dark glasses and a hoodie over some jeans. I’ll blend right in with everybody else. The deputy won’t recognize me, and there’s no way for whoever Ali’s father is to know what I’m doing. I’m not going to tell anybody else about the trip.”
“But Molly, if you get caught breaking and entering, you won’t get off with a warning,” Dinah cautioned.
“No breaking and entering. There might be a key.” Dinah gave me a quizzical look and I explained. “Before Iris left the bookstore I asked her if she knew anything about a secret compartment in the fireplace. She said the only hiding place she knew about was the flower pot on the front porch where a key was buried.”
“But that was a long time ago,” Dinah said.
“I’ve been keeping my spare key in the same place since we moved into our house,” I said. “I’m betting it’s still there.”
Bob interrupted and asked if I wanted him to make up more iced tea samples. I told him my need for them was done. As he prepared to go back to the café, he asked me if I’d heard any more about who was to be the subject for Making Amends. It took me a moment to remember what he was talking about.
PANDEMONIUM WAS WAITING WHEN I ARRIVED home. The She La Las and their spouses had gathered for a pep evening before the audition. All three women were drinking hot water, lemon juice and honey spiked with vodka. My father was trying to calm the women down by telling them they were a sure thing. The other two husbands looked exhausted by the ordeal.
My mother saw me trying to slip down the hall and rushed over. “Wish me luck, honey, wish me luck,” she squealed as she held me tight. “Tomorrow’s the big day.”
I smiled and agreed it was a big day. For all of us.
THE DOGS FOLLOWED ME INTO SAMUEL’S ROOM and I shut the door. I was looking through his old hooded sweatshirts when the phone rang.
“Hi, sunshine,” Mason said, sounding fresh and upbeat. As soon as he heard the tension in my voice, he offered to come rescue me from Camp She La La. I was too focused on getting ready for my Catalina trip and without giving details, passed.
“How about tomorrow night?” Mason offered.
I gave him a pass on that, too. I didn’t want him to take it personally and I also didn’t want to explain about my trip, so I suggested Saturday. He made some comment about checking his calendar.
“It’s my grandson’s birthday. Ever since my son moved back in the area, birthdays have become an all-day affair. The whole family shows, and there’s a magician for the kids and a pitcher of sangria for the adults.”
“I could do that,” I said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a kid’s party. It would be fun.”
There was such a long pause on his end, I thought we’d been cut off. “Mason, are you still there?” I said finally.
“Molly, about Saturday,” he said with an ominous catch in his voice. “I never take my girlfriends to family things.”
Now the silence was on my end. I didn’t know what I was more upset about. The s on the end of girlfriend or being put off.
“Girlfriends,” I said finally with a huge emphasis on the s.
I heard Mason groan. “It was an unfortunate use of the plural. I meant I never take my current girlfriend to family events. There, is that better?”
“No.” The word slipped out before I really thought it out. All he was doing was offering me exactly what I’d said I wanted. Something casual with no strings, no commitments and no future. He didn’t bring any of his girlfriends to family things because they were just temporary players. I didn’t like being relegated to a list, and I didn’t like knowing the ending when we’d barely begun. “I’m sorry, Mason, that doesn’t work for me. I’m an all-access sort of person, like you’ve had with my family.”
“It’s different with your family. I knew your son first.” Mason made regretful noises. “Molly, lets just erase everything I said and start over.”
“Can’t. I have to go,” I said quickly and hung up. Good work, Molly, from too many men to none. I wondered if Mason would still bail me out if things went badly on my trip.
CHAPTER 29
I STOPPED AT LE GRANDE FROMAGE IN THE morning for a red eye before driving to Long Beach to catch the boat. There was too much hysteria at my house to even attempt to make a pot of coffee. I wished my mother good luck and left as she was yelling “Irv, I can’t find my shoes.” Nobody asked where I was going, and I didn’t volunteer the information.
Everyone in Tarzana seemed to have stopped there for coffee, and I joined the crowd at the counter. Adele found me in line. “Pink, why are you taking the day off?” Adele had a naturally loud voice, and several people turned to see what the noise was about. I tried to give Adele a vague answer, but she saw the printout of my Catalina reservation sticking out of my tote bag. She stared at my outfit—the baggy hooded sweatshirt over jeans, my hair hidden under a baseball cap.
“I get it, you’re going to Catalina incognito. But Pink, consider this: I knew it was you right away. It’s the mystery thing with that crochet piece again, isn’t it?” she said.
“Could you keep your voice down,” I said in a loud whisper. I glanced over the line behind me and saw several familiar faces. Hal was back there and just behind him, Camille. I wondered if they had heard. Then I noticed Matt was at his usual table poring over something as he ate his breakfast.
“I thought you gave that up,” she said, sticking to me like glue.