“That wasn’t a very nice thing to say, Emerald,” said Abbey.
“No, not very nice at all,” Alina added.
“I apologize! I’m sorry, Verna,” said Emerald. “It’s just that I have so much on my plate right now. I didn’t mean what I said, darling. You know I love you.”
Verna hesitated for a moment, then returned to her seat.
“You really should cast a woman of color as Cleopatra,” she repeated. “In this day and age, whitewashing will only get you pilloried by your audience.”
“I could play Cleopatra,” said Gran. “I think I’d be great.”
“I don’t…” The director looked at her with a bemused expression on his face. “Wouldn’t you say you’re a little … old for the part, Mrs. Muffin?”
“That’s ageism right there,” said Gran. “I think it’s time Hollywood starts to appreciate senior citizens. We’re a large chunk of audience that goes absolutely unserved. Casting me as Cleopatra would give a signal. A signal that senior citizens count in Hollywood. That we haven’t beenforgotten.”
“You should cast a senior citizen woman of color,” said Verna. “That way you’d hit the two demographics in one fell swoop.”
Odelia glanced over to Verna, and thought back to Max’s words. They sounded pretty damning. But before she talked to Uncle Alec, she needed to be absolutely sure. She needed to hear it from the woman’s lips. So she vowed to have a little chat with Verna later on and ask her straight out. She was pretty sure she’d be able to tell if she was lying or not.
Then again, Verna was a professional actress.
To convincingly tell a lie came with the territory.
Chapter 31
That night, Emerald had planned a movie night in her private movie theater. It should have been a fun night for all, but now of course no one was in the mood. Instead, one after the other people drifted off to bed. Tomorrow was the last day, and even though the itinerary said there was horse riding planned, and a trip to the nearby town of Happy Bays, Odelia had the distinct impression there wouldn’t be much horse riding or visits to quaint little towns.
Verna and her husband had been sitting huddled together on the terrace, nursing their drinks and talking intensely, and the moment Thaw got up, Odelia saw her opportunity and seized it by approaching the actress.
“I’m so sorry,” she said by way of introduction, “but I couldn’t help overhearing you and your husband arguing this afternoon.”
Verna frowned.“You did?”
“I was in my room, on the balcony, and I couldn’t help but hear you say to Thaw that you did what he asked you to.” She lifted a meaningful eyebrow.
“So?”
“So I should probably tell you that I don’t think Kimberlee’s death was a suicide. I actually think she was murdered…”
Verna’s face cleared as understanding dawned. Astonishment mingled with amusement on the actress’s face. “You think I killed Kimberlee? Seriously?”
Odelia shrugged.“Before I talk to my uncle I wanted to talk to you first. I know how words can get twisted and lost in translation, so…”
“You came to elicit a confession from me,” said Verna, nodding. She glanced down to Odelia’s chest. “Are you wearing a wire? Is this a sting?”
“Of course not. I just wanted to give you the opportunity to explain before I talked to the police about what I heard.”
Verna leaned back and tucked her legs underneath her.“And a good thing you did, or else you would have made an absolute fool of yourself, Miss Poole. What Thaw and I were discussing was actually our divorce.”
“Your divorce?”
“The thing is… I had a brief affair with Kimberlee.”
“I know. I mean, so I’ve been told.”
“My, my. Aren’t you the busy bee?”
“There’s been a lot of talk this weekend.”
Verna leveled a critical look at her fellow actresses.“Oh, how they love to talk.” She hesitated for a moment, then said, “When Thaw found out about the affair, he went ahead and hired a lawyer. When he told me, I…” She shook her head. “It was as if I woke up from a trance. I realized I loved Thaw, and that this thing I had with Kimberlee was just a fling. So I promised Thaw I’d break it off and do whatever it took to make it up to him. I went into therapy and—”
“Wait,you broke it off?”
“I did, yes.”
“But I thought…”
“I know what you thought—what everybody thinks. That Kimberlee dumped me. But that’s not what happened. I was the one to end it—because I didn’t want to lose Thaw. And then Kimberlee started spreading vicious lies about me behind my back. Saying things like how I’d been unfaithful. How I was an addict—trying to sabotage my career, you know. Out of spite.”
“So that’s why you blew up at her. Not because she dumped you but—”
“Because she was trying to make me out to be someone I’m not. And I wanted her to stop.”
“So when you said to your husband ‘I did what you asked me to…’”
“I was referring to me breaking up with Kimberlee and starting therapy. Not,” she added emphatically, “murdering Kimberlee—I mean, really?”
“I’m sorry. It just sounded as if…”
Verna studied Odelia with an amused expression on her face.“You have quite the imagination, Miss Poole, but then I guess for a reporter that comes with the territory.”
“Odelia, please, and I’m sorry if I offended you. I just thought…”
Verna waved her apologies away.“It’s fine. At least you didn’t slap a pair of handcuffs on my wrists. But tell me—why would you think Kimberlee was murdered? I thought it was pretty obvious she killed herself.”
“A hunch, mainly,” said Odelia. She didn’t want to mention that Kimberlee’s dog had heard her mistress talk to a mystery visitor immediately before she died. It was not the kind of revelation that would stand up in court.
“Yeah, I guess reporters develop good hunches. Does your uncle think the same thing?”
“Yes, he does.”
“So it’s official?”
“Well… Officially nothing has been decided yet.”
“Murder.” She shook her head, her dreadlocks dangling pleasantly. “Incredible. But who would do that to her?”
“Take your pick,” said Odelia, gesturing at the people still present on the terrace. “From what I can tell Kimberlee wasn’t exactly Miss Popular.”
“She wasn’t. I had all the reason in the world to hate her, and so did a lot of other people.”
“So what do you think? Assuming it was murder. Who is the killer?”
Verna thought for a moment.“If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say her boyfriend. The poor guy has had to endure so much over the years. She made a complete fool of him over and over and over again.”
They both studied Kimberlee’s boyfriend Zoltan, who was sitting by himself, sipping from a vodka tonic and looking every inch the tragic widower.
“He just doesn’t seem like the type, though,” said Verna.
“They never do,” said Odelia, speaking from experience.
Chapter 32
I have to admit that in spite of the fact that we were now the guests of an obviously very accomplished hostess, I still missed my own homestead that night. There simply isn’t anything better than to take a nice snooze on your favorite spot on the couch or the foot of the bed. And I know that the beds and the couches in this part of the world were of a much better quality than those belonging to my own human, but what can I say? Sometimes that ratty old jacket you’ve been wearing for years is preferable to that brand-new and very expensive coat.
I’m obviously not speaking from experience here. Cats don’t wear jackets or coats. But you catch my drift.
Still, I’d found a nice little spot on Odelia’s very large and very comfy bed, Dooley had taken up position at Chase’s feet, and Harriet and Brutus had decided to make full use of the large space on Gran’s bed next door.
We’d all had such a nice and filling dinner we were satisfied to sleep it off for a couple of hours, this murder business the furthest thing from our minds.