I got up to leave, but Mason shook his head and extracted my car keys from my purse. “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk,” he said, closing his hand around the keys.
“I had a half a glass of wine,” I protested
“For you, that’s enough to be impaired.”
My smile might have been a little loopy, and I was actually glad to sit down again on the pillowy sofa. “Well, at least you said we’re friends again.” Then I looked at him intently, but half joking. “But don’t get any ideas about taking advantage of me; it was only a half a glass of wine.”
Mason chuckled. “Don’t worry, Sunshine, if anything ever goes on between us, I want you to be one hundred percent present so you know exactly what’s happening.” Even the chuckle couldn’t hide the intensity of his voice, which only added to my rubber-leg feeling.
He sat back and abruptly changed the subject to something with less heat. “As long as you’re staying, you might as well tell me about the message you were so upset about.”
I think we were both relieved and I began to talk about the case. I told him about meeting Robyn’s brother and the missed phone call and what he’d said in the message.
“I can’t wait to hear what he has to say about that photograph. Did your assistant tell you why I called? It would really help if I could find out the identity of the missing head,” I said. Mason said he’d take care of it the following day. Then he asked me how my investigation was going.
“This case is so confusing. Just when I think things are going one way, something else shows up. There’s the issue of Mr. Missing. Who knows how he reacted to the breakup. Maybe he decided to cut her out of life in general. Then from what Robyn’s brother said, she was worried about Talia Canon’s reaction to her getting the promotion to segment producer. Talia certainly seems happy to have taken over. Really anybody could have sent the tainted sweetener. There are these peripheral people like Pierce Sheraton, D. J., Bob and even Barbara Olive Overton. It sounds like Robyn had taken something about the show in her own hands. Maybe the host found out and wasn’t happy about it. But then the whole issue of Robyn’s parents showed up. I don’t know if they knew she was the segment producer working on their appearance. Suppose they found out and figured out she was going to ambush them?”
“I just saw something with the celebrity couple’s name on it,” Mason said. He excused himself to go look for something. A few moments later, he returned and handed me a thick invitation for a charity celebrity golf tournament in Palm Springs. It was an all-day affair, with a banquet and auction capping it off. Becca Ivins and Derek Trousedale were the guests of honor.
“Hmm, interesting, Barbara Olive Overton is one of the sponsors,” I said. Then it rang a bell in my brain. Hadn’t the golf tournament been listed on the wipe-off board in the production office? I asked if he was going.
“I know where you’re headed,” he said with a knowing look. “You think it would be an opportunity to meet Becca and Derek.” I nodded in agreement. “I know for sure I’m not going. I have a family thing. But the firm will probably buy a bunch of tickets. I’ll see what I can do.”
By now the wine had worn off completely and Mason gave my keys back. He walked me out to my car while Spike protested at being left behind. The temperature had dropped to somewhere in the fifties and I shivered. Mason pulled off his sweatshirt and handed it to me. As soon as I put it on, I was enveloped in his scent and the remnants of his body heat.
He waited while I started the motor, and when I opened the window, he leaned in. “I’m glad we’re friends again. Call me after you talk to Barry. No matter what time.” He ruffled my hair and then stepped away from the car. As I drove away, I saw him wave before he went back to his house.
Now to deal with Barry.
CHAPTER 28
The phone ringing woke me and I sat up with a start. The lights were still on and I’d fallen asleep in a chair in the den. As I reached for the phone I looked at my watch. All I saw was the hour hand and it was on the four. It had to be Barry.
He was calling from his car. There was concern in his voice as he asked if everything was okay.
“You’re not in jail again or anything?” he said. I wasn’t sure if he was joking, trying to lighten the moment, or he really thought I was.
“I need to talk to you in person,” I said once I’d assured him there was no emergency.
By now I was no longer angry. The thing was, I understood what he’d tried to do, but just because I understood didn’t mean it worked for me. He said he’d be right over and my heart began to thud in anticipation.
I was sitting on the couch in the living room when I heard his key in the lock. Barry was a good detective, so of course, he’d figured out something bad was up. He held out a bouquet of mixed flowers, saying he’d gotten them at the all-night market. He looked exhausted, but he forced his face into an upbeat expression. “So what’s up, babe?” He glanced around for the animals. Blondie was asleep in her chair and the cats were sacked out somewhere. Cosmo woke up when he heard the door, but just like Barry, the black mutt had figured something was up and sat across the room, staring at us.
“I saw Mason,” I said. “And he told me everything.”
Barry’s expression darkened. “He’s a lawyer, I should have figured I couldn’t trust him to keep his word.” He laid the flowers on the coffee table and I made no move to get up and get a vase.
“I don’t want to move to Simi Valley,” I said. “I don’t want to make a fresh start.” He’d flopped on the couch next to me and I turned to face him. “You can’t just cut people out of my life and think suddenly everything will be different. And you can’t assume you know what makes me happy.”
Barry blew out his breath a few times but didn’t say anything. “It’s not that I don’t love you,” I said. “Can’t we just keep things the way they are?”
Barry seemed to be considering what to say. He sat forward. “They can’t stay the way they are because I want us to have a life together. I want us to live someplace that isn’t filled with memories and where I feel like a guest. I want someone who is committed to me, not hanging out with a bunch of troublemakers raiding garbage cans in the middle of the night. I don’t want to have to share you with everybody.” He didn’t say it, but I knew he meant Mason.
It was my turn, and I had a hard time saying it, but I spoke my piece. “I understand what you think goes with getting married. But I don’t want to give up the life I’ve made for myself. I love my job and my friends and even raiding garbage cans in the middle of the night. I don’t want to get married. It’s not you. I don’t want to marry anybody right now.” I paused and looked at him “Why can’t we just keep things the way they are?”
“You can’t have it both ways. Either you’re committed to me or you’re not.”
For a few moments, we sat there in silence as the gravity of the situation sank in. We had reached an insurmountable impasse, and there was only one thing left for me to do. My body felt heavy and worn down as I got up and went in the other room. I came back with the little blue box and held it out. He stared at it for a long time before standing up and finally taking it. Then he walked to the door and left without a word.
I sat on the couch, stunned. It wasn’t the same as when we’d had arguments and broken up. There was no anger, no heat, just resignation. This time, I knew it was really over. I felt like a piece of my heart had been ripped out and all the implications sunk in. I’d never find out what happened with Jeffrey and his girlfriend. With no one keeping an eye on maintenance, my house would fall apart. No more coming home to find Barry working on something. No more Barry. Just like that, gone.
I couldn’t seem to get myself off the couch and then the phone rang. For a moment, I thought Barry had reconsidered. That he’d realized something was better than nothing. But it was Mason. I heard him blow out his breath when I told him what happened.
“I didn’t think he’d be so all or nothing,” Mason said.
“Neither did I,” I said as my eyes began to water.
CHAPTER 29
DESPITE THE LACK OF SLEEP, THE NEXT MORNING I dragged myself to work, though I only made it as far as the café. The place was quiet. Two women were talking softly in the corner, and D. J. was hovering over his computer at a nearby table. I went over and told him I was sorry about the vanilla people and their interruption. He looked pretty annoyed, but then finally let it go. “It wasn’t your fault,” he said. “I talked to Talia this morning and she said they’d gotten enough for the clip.”
Bob took one look at me and said he was making me a black-eye. I was glad for the pampering and gratefully accepted the cup of coffee with two shots of espresso when he brought it to the table. I was hanging over the brew when Dinah came in a few minutes later to pick up a cup of coffee before she went to the Hooker meeting.
“Molly, you look awful,” she said.
“Geez, thanks,” I said, trying to force myself to sit up straight.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I was saying it out of concern.”
“When I tell you what happened, you’ll know why I look this way.” I smiled weakly. “You might even wonder why I don’t look worse.”
“Spill,” Dinah ordered. I began with meeting Robyn Freed’s brother and the vanillites storming the Salute to Chocolate. Then I told her about Barry. She almost choked as I told her. As bad as my news was, it was nice to have Dinah there for support.
“You broke up with Barry.” Dinah jiggled her head as if she was trying to make sense out of everything. “I can’t believe you told me that part last. I think it rates higher than Robyn Freed’s brother and a bunch of flavor freaks.” Bob set her drink down. “I’m sure Barry will come around. Is he nuts? You’re offering him every guy’s dream, a relationship with no strings.”
“Not his dream, apparently,” I said. Then I explained what had caused my showdown with Barry.
“I can’t believe he went behind your back.” She stopped a moment to think. “Though I do kind of get why he was trying to push Mason out of the picture. You guys have way too much fun together.” When I told her about Mason’s late-night phone call, she smiled. “I bet Mason wasn’t exactly brokenhearted at the news.”
“He was very supportive.”
Dinah laughed. “I just bet he was. I still say don’t count things being over with Barry. You two have broken up before and then made up.”
“Not this time. I’m sure it’s really over. He already made arrangements to pick up his tools and the things he and Jeffrey had left at my house. He wanted to take Cosmo, too. But he accepted that the little black mutt is better off with me. He has Blondie for a friend and now the two cats, too. I have a nice yard and I’m dependable about taking care of him.” I took a drag of my coffee drink, hoping the caffeine would finally kick in and I’d be able to open my eyes all the way. It was tiredness mixed with crying. “It was awful. If he’d slammed the door and been angry, it would have been different. Then I would have thought we could work it out. He was just quiet, with that inscrutable cop face.”
CeeCee came in and saw us as she headed toward the counter. She detoured to the table and waved at Bob that she wanted her usual. “Dear, you look awful. Is something wrong?” I leaned on my elbow for support and waved to Dinah to fill CeeCee in. Nell was dragging a few steps behind CeeCee and she finally slouched in one of the chairs.
“That police detective showed up again. She gave me this whole number how they knew I was the one who had dropped off the sweetener. She said they had it on videotape. Then she had the nerve to try to get me to dress up in a hooded sweatshirt and carry an umbrella to see if I matched it.” She looked at me and mumbled something derogatory about the speed of my detective skills, but both CeeCee and Dinah gave her dirty looks and explained I was in the middle of a personal trauma.
“That’s okay,” I said, taking a deep breath and sitting upright. The caffeine at last was beginning to make me feel a little more alert. “I’d rather think about murder than breaking up.”
Rhoda and Elise came in and I waited to start the update until they joined us. But then the door opened again. This time it was Sheila. Everyone looked at her and began to talk among themselves about the change in her. She walked taller and her eyebrows were no longer permanently knit together. Now that she had one job instead of a bunch of little ones, she was actually thinking about moving out of the room she’d rented in a house in Reseda and getting an apartment with a roommate. Did I mention that Adele was trying to convince her they should share a place?
Sheila took one look at me and pulled out her emergency crochet stuff. “What’s wrong, Molly? You look—”
“Terrible,” I said, finishing for her. “I know. Everyone’s been telling me.”
Adele whooshed in from the bookstore just as Dinah began to tell Sheila about the breakup. I was really tired of hearing the story over and over. It was bad enough going through it.
But as much as I was tired of hearing my own tale of woe, I loved the support everyone gave me. Even Adele’s.
“Pink, I’m here for you. We’re sisters of the hook. Musketeers in mystery solving.” She squeezed me so tightly I could barely breathe.
“Molly was just going to bring us up-to-date on what she’s found out investigating Robyn’s murder,” CeeCee said. Everyone had found chairs and pulled them up to the table. Bob was in the process of bringing drinks over. Without even looking down, the whole group had taken out their crochet projects and begun to work on them.
I didn’t know who knew what so I threw all the information out there. “Robyn’s parents aren’t dead.” When I mentioned Becca Ivins and Derek Trousedale, Rhoda started to swoon.
“I loved them in all those comedies with the great dialogue. Remember
The Sailor and the Debutante
,
Mr. and Mrs. Jones
, and
Two Weeks in Geneva
?”