the house, and put her fingers in her ears. Nothing happened.
“I believe it’s jammed,” Fergus said dolefully as Morton flopped inside the Jag.
“It probably has no balls,” Beth said in a disgusted voice. “There seems to be a serious lack of them around here.”
Fergus coughed softly. “Beg pardon, ma’am?”
Beth sighed and turned to Judith. “We may as well go as soon as those two idiots are out of here.”
“Why were they fighting?” Judith asked.
Beth grimaced. “Business? Moira?” She shook her head. “I don’t know. Phil and I’ve been out of the country. Moira and Marie and I email each other when we’re not here, but it’s usually girl talk—mainly about Moira’s baby, which, frankly, gets boring since Marie and I don’t have children yet. Damn, why doesn’t Seamus move that car?”
“Why has Morton been in Greece?” Judith asked.
“His health,” replied Beth. “Or so he claimed. He needed better weather. But Will told Marie that Jocko was healthy as a horse, and his leave of absence was to avoid some business problems.”
Judith recalled the get-together at the cottage by the sea but wondered how much she should reveal. “I got the impression that these Blackwell executives were fairly tight.”
Beth stared at her. “You did? Don’t believe it. The one thing they agreed on lately is that the pup, Harry, was a huge pain in the arse.”
At last Seumas started the Jag and drove out through the open gates at an accelerated speed.
“Maybe,” Beth said, “he’ll get both of them killed.” She put a hand to her mouth. “I shouldn’t say that, not after what happened to Davey.”
Driving away from Hollywood House, Judith posed a question. “Was Davey’s accident around here?”
Beth nodded. “Up ahead there’s a turnoff to the coast road. About a kilometer east is a wicked curve where it happened. Davey liked speed. He had a reckless side, but the official ruling was faulty brakes.”
“Wasn’t it a new car?”
Beth nodded. “A Lamborghini Diablo. Aptly named, it seems. It crashed onto the rocks below, and was horribly mangled. Of course Davey was…” She grimaced. “Moira was too ill to attend the funeral.”
The Daimler sped past the turnoff to St. Fergna. “Did I say that when I met Moira she was putting flowers on his grave?” Judith asked.
“Oh?” Beth smiled faintly. “Moira was very fond of Davey. She relied increasingly on him.”
“For business decisions,” Judith asked, “or…emotionally?”
Beth sighed. “Both, I suppose. Moira and Harry were already having problems. After they married, Harry turned into a completely different person. Marie and I felt as if he’d been putting on an act all the time they were going together. He was incredibly rude to Moira even in public. God only knows how badly he behaved in private. It’s a wonder she didn’t…” Beth stopped speaking as her cheeks turned pink.
“Kill him?” Judith finished for her.
Beth slowed down to take a sharp curve. “You know I don’t mean that literally.”
“Of course not.” But Judith knew from previous experience that the spouse was always the prime suspect when it came to murder.
14
The house Kate Gunn had confiscated from her late husband’s mistress was a modern, curving structure of glass and stucco set high above the sands. The landscaping looked almost tropical, with tall fronds, exotic grasses, and even a couple of palm trees.
“California style?” Judith said in surprise.
Beth laughed. “You’d be surprised—parts of this area have a very mild climate, due to the land formation and the ocean currents.”
Judith nodded. “We have a place like that in our own state on the Northwest Coast. It’s called the Sun Belt.”
“Exactly,” Beth agreed. She paused at the foot of a winding stone stairway. “Let’s hear the latest news from Mummy’s astrologer.”
The double doors were made of beveled glass decorated with intersecting mahogany arcs. Judith and Beth were greeted by a middle-aged woman wearing what Judith thought was a very bad red wig.
“Come in, Miss Beth,” she said with a deferential nod. “Mrs. Gunn has a guest in the sunroom, but I’ll tell her you’re here with…?” She looked questioningly at Judith.
“Hello, Una. This is Mrs. Flynn,” Beth said. “Who is Mummy entertaining? It can’t be the Wizard of Oz.”
“Now, now, Miss Beth,” Una said, though her blue eyes twinkled, “you mustn’t be unkind about Master Ross Wass. He’s a great comfort to your mother. In any case, he won’t be here until evening.”
Upon entering the sunroom, Judith felt as if she were walking into a jungle. Hibiscus, aphelandra, anthurium, dieffenbachia, philodendron, various ferns, and even orchids were everywhere, some growing from floor to ceiling. The east wall was all glass, and the high humidity as well as the temperature hit Judith like a blast of steam. There was so much foliage, in fact, that Judith couldn’t see any sign of Mrs. Gunn.
“Sorry about the heat,” Beth murmured after Una had shown them in and departed. “Mummy’s somewhere in
