I left the two men deep in discussion of some youthful peccadillo and walked over to where Melba and Jared stood talking. Melba saw me approach and smiled. Jared nodded to acknowledge me.
“Good evening,” I said. “Jared, it’s nice to see you. It’s been a while.”
“Haven’t been out much,” he replied, and I recalled that he had lost his wife not quite a year ago. “Melba is getting me out now, though, and I’m enjoying myself.” He smiled down at her.
Jared stood a good six five, I reckoned, and Melba was probably five nine or so in high heels. They made an attractive couple despite the noticeable disparity in height. Jared sported a thick head of gray hair and distinguished features in addition to his lean height. Melba was vivacious, attractive, and always knew how to dress in a flattering style. Jared, I judged, had to be in his midsixties. I vaguely remembered that he had graduated from high school in Athena about a decade before Melba and me.
“Jared took me out for an early dinner,” Melba said. “When we finished, he suggested that we drop by the party since Gerry is his next-door neighbor.”
“I thought it was the neighborly thing to do,” Jared said. “I’ve talked to her a couple of times, and she made a special point of insisting that I show up.” He appeared suddenly a bit uncomfortable, and I had little doubt that Gerry had come on strong with him. She might not appreciate seeing him here with Melba, I thought.
I was about to find out, because I spotted Gerry making her way toward us from behind Melba. “Here comes our hostess now,” I said in an undertone.
Jared turned toward Gerry, but Melba remained facing me, a wicked glint in her eye. Watch this, her expression seemed to say.
“Good evening, Jared,” Gerry said brightly. “I’m so glad you could come tonight. I would have been so disappointed if you hadn’t.” She looked up into his face and offered a coquettish smile.
“Good evening, Gerry,” he said. “Looks like a big turnout.”
“Yes, even better than I hoped.” She frowned at Melba’s back. “Am I interrupting you?”
This was perhaps the cue Melba had been waiting for, because she turned to face Gerry. “Good evening,” Melba said.
Gerry’s mask of hospitality slipped ever so briefly, and I could read the irritation in her eyes. Then she became the consummate hostess again. “How nice to see you again. Mildred, isn’t it?”
Melba laughed. “No, it’s Melba, honey. Nice to see you again, too.” She slipped her arm through Jared’s and hugged it to her side. “I didn’t realize until tonight that you and Jared were neighbors. He was telling me about it over the most delicious dinner I’ve had in I don’t know how long.”
“How charming for you,” Gerry said, her drawl at its most exaggerated on the word charming. “Would you mind if I stole Jared away for just one little minute? I have something I really need to say to him.”
I felt Melba stiffen beside me at Gerry’s request. By then I had moved to stand on Melba’s other side, where Gerry could easily see me. She flicked a glance in my direction but otherwise didn’t acknowledge my presence.
“Of course not, honey,” Melba said sweetly. “Just remember where you got him, all right? I’m sure Charlie will be glad to keep me company for a minute or two.” She relinquished Jared’s arm, and he moved a few feet away from us with Gerry. He threw Melba a glance of apology as he went.
“Enjoying yourself?” I asked as soon as the others were out of earshot.
“Sure am,” Melba said. “Why shouldn’t I?”
“What are you up to? And since when did you and Jared become such good friends?” I said.
Melba sounded exasperated when she replied. “If you actually listened to me instead of only pretending to half the time, you’d know that Jared and I have been going out together for about three weeks now.”
“Sorry.” I felt chagrined. I really ought to pay more attention when she talked, but sometimes I couldn’t help my mind drifting onto something else. “I’ve always thought he was a nice guy.”
“He is,” Melba replied simply. “The nicest one I’ve known in a long time.”
“Is it serious?” I asked.
Melba shrugged. “Too soon to say, but so far I like him a lot. We’ll have to see whether it goes anywhere.”
Melba had been on her own for a long time, and she certainly deserved to have a good man in her life, if that was what she really wanted.
We both watched the conversation between Jared and our hostess. We couldn’t hear it with so much chatter around us, but it seemed to me that Gerry stood much closer to Jared than was necessary.
Melba evidently agreed with me. I heard the thinly repressed anger in her voice when she said, “She’d better back off, or I’m about to go over there and remove every single one of those dyed red hairs on her head and laugh the whole time I’m doing it.”
FOURTEEN
“You don’t really want to cause a scene, do you?” I asked, made more than a little uneasy by Melba’s tone.
“I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction,” Melba said. “She knows I’m watching her, and she’s doing it deliberately. Trying to goad me into embarrassing myself, but I’m not going to let her.”
Relieved, I said, “Good for you. What are you going to do?” Because I knew Melba well enough to realize that she would retaliate somehow.
She looked at me and smiled. “I’m going to chat with her guests, and I’m going to find out if anybody here knows anything about her. Who she really is, where she came from, and what she’s up to. She’s no Albritton, that’s one thing for sure.”
This was the first time today that I had seen Melba, and I realized that I still hadn’t told her about overhearing a shouting match between Gerry and Billy Albritton on Sunday.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you something,” I said in an undertone. “You may have to change your mind about her being an Albritton. On Saturday your friend Billy came to see her, and they ended up having a really loud argument.”
“And you’re only just now telling me about this?” Melba frowned at me.
“You weren’t at work yesterday,” I reminded her, “and I wasn’t there today. I figured I’d wait until I saw you at work tomorrow. I didn’t think it qualified as news that had to be shared immediately.”
“Tell me about it now, then,” Melba said.
I shared with her what I knew about the quarrel, and that wasn’t much, only that they were shouting at each other loud enough that I heard the noise from inside my house.
“But you couldn’t hear what they were saying?” Melba asked.
“No, I couldn’t,” I replied. “I thought the fact that they were arguing would be of sufficient interest to you. If they were complete strangers to each other, I can’t imagine they would carry on like that where the neighbors could hear.”
Melba looked thoughtful. “I wonder if Jared heard them. I’ll have to ask him, but not right out. I don’t want him to think I’m nosy.”
“He’ll find that out soon enough,” I said.
Melba ignored my little dig. “Time to break this up.”
I watched her move in on Jared and Gerry. The latter quickly found herself detached from Jared, and Melba bore him off to another part of the room, where they started chatting with another couple. I didn’t know the people, but I supposed either Melba or Jared did.
I looked around for Helen Louise. I had had enough of the crowd now and was ready to go home. If Helen Louise was intent on staying, though, I wouldn’t make an issue of it. She worked hard and deserved the chance to enjoy herself at a party, if that’s what she wanted. I didn’t see her in this room. With her height, she was generally easy to spot.