Bonnie Albright worked part-time in the lingerie department at Saks Fifth Avenue. They found her in a back room, opening a box of bras. She had a box cutter in her hand and red lipstick smeared above her lip. Bonnie had been selected by Gretchen and Nina for several reasons; she was the club’s president, and she was the most indefatigable gossip of the bunch. She would help them with the leg-work. Or in this case, the lipwork.
“Here’s the list you asked for,” Bonnie said, opening a locker and removing a sheet of paper from her purse. “I’ve highlighted the active members. Now tell me what this is all about?”
A snarl filled the room, and one of Bonnie’s penciled eyebrows shot up. “What’s that?” she asked.
“Shhh,” Nina said into the purse. “That’s just Enrico. Ignore him.”
“I’d like to call each of the club members,” Gretchen explained, “and ask them about Martha and my mother. It’s been six days since Martha died and my mother disappeared, and we still don’t know what happened.”
“Matty’s working on it,” Bonnie said with exaggerated pride. “You don’t need to get involved. He’ll solve it.”
“I need to keep busy.”
“Should we tell her?” Nina said to Gretchen, and both of Bonnie’s penciled eyebrows quivered.
Gretchen nodded on cue.
“We found a bag of Martha’s belongings,” Nina said. “One of her friends gave it to us, and it has a few very interesting items inside.”
“What?” Bonnie said, wringing her hands in anticipation. “What?”
“I don’t think we should say until we know more,” Gretchen said. “It wouldn’t be right.”
Nina nodded. “We’ll keep the bag in Caroline’s workshop for now.”
“We should probably notify the police,” Gretchen said.
“Soon,” Nina agreed.
“Well, my, my,” Bonnie said, running her hand over her stiff hair. “Isn’t this a new wrinkle.”
Afterwards they strolled through the open-air mall.
“I bet she’s on the phone right this minute,” Nina said, handing her cell phone to Gretchen.
“I have to get another phone,” Gretchen said, dialing. “Hey, April, how are you?”
“Tired, achy, I think I need to rest more. This valley fever has me down in bed. I shouldn’t have worked out so soon.”
Gretchen repeated the same story she had told Bonnie, with the same response.
“Well, isn’t that something?” April said. “I’ll call around for you and see if any of the club members have any information. There weren’t any dolls in that bag, were there?”
“I really can’t say right now. Police orders.”
“Ahhhhh,” April said.
After several more calls, Nina nudged Gretchen. “Don’t look behind you, but we’ve picked up a tail.”
Gretchen stopped at a shop window beside a garden courtyard and slowly turned her head.
Their eyes met. Matt smiled, bright and warmly, wearing casual, Southwestern garb as usual. No hint in his attire of his real occupation. Tan. A certain scrappiness about his walk as he approached them.
“Are you always undercover?” Gretchen said.
“Usually,” he replied. “I’m coming from a visit with Daisy at the hospital, on my way to Saks to see my mother. I’m off-duty.” His eyes traveled over the purses, noting their contents, gazing at Gretchen. “There’s something new about you since I saw you last.” He ran one finger along his jawline. “I know, new makeup, a slightly pinker shade than before.”
“You should never comment on a woman’s cosmetics,” Nina advised. “You aren’t supposed to notice that we wear anything.”
“It goes well with the cast on your wrist; sharp contrast. And it matches the color of your feet. Nice.”
“She’s a pro at accessorizing,” Nina said.
“Now that you’ve had your fun,” Gretchen said, “maybe you can tell us how Daisy’s doing?”
“I’ll tell you over coffee,” he said, guiding them toward the Cheesecake Factory.
It was just after five o’clock, and Gretchen realized how hungry she was. With Nimrod and Enrico in hide mode, they slid into a corner booth and kept a careful eye out for waitresses and management staff while stowing the pups in the purses on their laps. Matt seemed amused at their efforts but refrained from comment.
They ordered a large pizza and two cheesecakes to share-White Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Nut and Tiramisu-both selected by Nina.
“Daisy’s fine,” Matt said. “She’s settled right in and isn’t in any hurry to be released, but the doctors say she’s ready to go if she can find a quiet place to recover.” He wrapped his hands around a cup of coffee. “The investigation into her accident didn’t reveal any conclusive evidence, but the team found inconsistent paint chips on the back bumper.”
“Inconsistent?” Gretchen said.
“They didn’t match the car paint,” Nina said.
“We aren’t taking Daisy’s word for it. She isn’t a very reliable witness,” Matt said.
“Why? Because she doesn’t have a mailing address?”
“No,” Matt said carefully. “Because she’s the driver and there weren’t any other witnesses.”
“She seemed confident of the facts when I talked to her.”
Matt shrugged. The waitress brought the pizza, and the pups stayed out of sight. Nina plucked sausage from the pizza, and her hand disappeared under the table. The waitress returned with the cheesecakes and a pot of coffee. She refilled Matt’s cup. A growl grew under the table.
“What’s that?” the waitress said, glancing quickly at Nina.
Nina rubbed her hand on her stomach. “I must be really hungry.”
“We won’t need any more coffee refills,” Matt said. “In fact, we won’t need anything else.”
“Smart thinking,” Nina said to him when the waitress walked away. “I don’t mind getting kicked out, but I’d like to finish eating first.”
“Good thing I’m off-duty, Nina, or I’d have to arrest you.”
Nina laughed.
“Why would someone run Daisy off the road?” Gretchen said. “Unless they thought she was my mother.”
“If we can believe her account,” Matt said, “that would be a logical assumption. But why? Where’s the motive? I think she’s covering for herself, making excuses for her own inattentive driving.”
“I don’t think Caroline ran away from the police,” Nina said. “I think she’s hiding from someone. The attack on Daisy proves she’s in danger.”
“Sounds melodramatic,” Matt said, biting into a piece of pizza.
“Is Daisy being charged with anything?” Gretchen asked.
“No. She had a valid driver’s license and cooperated with the investigation. We could find something to charge her with, but why bother? There’s an issue of whether she had permission to drive the car, but until we locate Caroline, we have to assume she drove it with the proper approval. Unless you know something we don’t.”
Gretchen shook her head distractedly. She was surprised that Daisy had a driver’s license. She sliced into the macadamia nut cheesecake with the side of her fork.
“Do either of you know someone named the Inspector?” Matt asked.
“I’ve heard that name before,” Nina said, frowning in concentration.
Gretchen remembered exactly where she’d heard the name. Martha had complained to Joseph about someone called the Inspector. “Why do you ask?” she said.
“Martha mentioned him to Daisy. According to Daisy, she was extremely upset over something he had done. Daisy said she never saw Martha so angry. I want to find him.”
“Or her,” Nina said. “This Inspector could be a woman. Right?”
“I suppose,” Matt said, reluctantly. “I just assumed it was a man.”
“What kind of inspector? A building inspector?” Gretchen asked. “Housing inspector?” Gretchen thought about Nacho’s makeshift home and wondered if the state had laws against cardboard construction on public land. Probably.
They rearranged the puppies in their respective purses, and Gretchen wandered ahead while Nina and Matt traded witty repartees. Their laughter floated on the breeze. The palm trees in the mall’s courtyard swayed, and the sun vanished in a darkening sky. The monsoon and another rain squall were moving in.