to interfere.
I was almost glad to see Peter Butinski come in. That’s how bored I was. He had brought in more shoes. But he didn’t return the magazine he’d lifted from Dolce’s desk.
“Have I got something for you,” he said to me. “Five fall shoes no girl can live without.” He sat himself down in one of Dolce’s padded chairs as if he belonged there. “That means you, Ms. Jewel.”
“Not for me, Peter, but I want to see what you’ve got.” When had I not been interested in the latest fashion footwear?
He opened the boxes. He was right: a girl could do worse than stocking up with his five selections—a kick-ass pair of boots in gray suede, a wooden wedge heel that could go anywhere from dusk to dawn, an updated clog, an open-back mule to wear now or later with tights, and a pump that looked totally classic but, he explained, was actually waterproof.
“You may not know this,” Peter said, “but the latest thing for fall is wearing a pair of chic socks with your strappy heels.”
“Socks, with strappy heels?” I was trying to visualize the combination.
He nodded and reached into his canvas bag. “Like these Falke over-the-knee socks in soft cotton. What do you think?”
I ran my fingers over the ribbed socks. They were incredibly soft and would look good with shorts and a pair of espadrilles.
“Fifty-five percent cotton, twenty-five percent virgin wool.”
“I love them,” I confessed, “but . . .” I was losing sight of my goal here, distracted as usual by something I just had to have. I forced myself to focus on the problem at hand. I looked at the shoes he’d set on the table.
There was just one thing missing.
“No silver stilettos, Peter?”
I expected him to tell me he could get them if I wanted them. I didn’t expect him to turn deathly pale, almost the color of gray suede.
“Wh . . . what do you mean?” he asked.
“I just wondered if you had anything like a pair of handmade silver heels,” I said as innocently as I could. “Not that I have any place to wear them like a society benefit or anything, but you never know. Always best to be prepared for any occasion, right?”
He hesitated for a moment, looking at me as if he thought I might know something I shouldn’t. Then he recovered his poise. “I have ways of special ordering any shoe you want, my dear.” Maybe he thought I might actually buy something from him. “Just let me know ahead of time. Now where’s Dolce?”
“In her office.”
“I’ll leave the shoes then and the socks. I expect they’ll fly off the shelf. Especially if you promote them. I’ll make it worth your while.” He looked at my feet. “What’s your size?”
“Eight and a half,” I said. I wondered what he had in mind. A discount on his shoes?
After he left, I went over our conversation in my mind. He knew something about MarySue’s silver shoes, I could swear he did. But what?
The rest of the day dragged by. I didn’t hear from Dr. Jonathan, Nick or the detective. I couldn’t think of how to bring up the subject of the benefit with Dolce without sounding like I was accusing her of something. So I didn’t. If Jack Wall thought it was her, let him do it. I just hoped he wouldn’t. Dolce didn’t need that kind of harassment.
The more I thought about it the more I was intrigued by the thought of MarySue returning as a vampire and going to dinner at Cafe Henri the same night I did. If only I was a true believer. If only I knew what perfume she wore. No, that was ridiculous. The woman whose shoes I’d seen at the restaurant was a living, breathing person, and I wanted to know who she was.
That night I couldn’t face going straight home alone. I realized I was getting hooked on fun and excitement, if you can call looking for a murderer fun and exciting. With my ankle feeling almost normal, I decided to sign up for one of Nick’s classes instead of resuming kung fu. It would give me something to do at night besides vegging out in front of my TV, and I didn’t mind the fact that it would bring me into close attention with Nick.
At five o’clock I left Dolce’s and took a bus to the Ocean View Gymnastics School on Vista Avenue. I wasn’t sure if Nick would be there. If he was, I’d observe his class and see if he really was a good teacher. If he wasn’t, I’d just sign up for one of his classes and take a chance. I didn’t think he’d mind if I just dropped in. Hadn’t he invited me to do just that? My action didn’t count as chasing men, did it? If only Aunt Grace were around, I’d check with her to be sure.
Before I committed to anything, though, I’d take a look around the gym to see if there were students swinging from trapezes or gyrating to rock music or jumping on trampolines. If there were, I’d slip out unnoticed and find another activity for my empty evenings.
As it turned out, Nick was there, wearing shorts and a “Romania the Land of Choice” T-shirt. He was just about to teach a tumbling class for children when he saw me at the front desk. “Rita, I am very glad to meet you again,” Nick said. “You came to join the class, yes?”
“Wouldn’t it be better if I joined one with adults?” I asked with a glance at the group of children waiting for him on the gym floor. I’d stand out like a sore thumb, being larger and less able to perform than everyone else.
“As you like, yes, if it makes you feel more comfortable.”
“I’m afraid it would make me feel uncomfortable when I saw how well the children did and I didn’t.”
“Ah, yes, I understand. A beginning class is best for you, which meets on Wednesdays. How is that for you?”
“That would be fine. Is it okay if I watch this class this evening?” I asked, thinking I’d see what his technique was and if he was patient with the slow learners. I didn’t need anyone else in my life criticizing me for making the wrong moves.
“Of course. Many parents will watch also. And afterward we can have a coffee between classes.”
I told him it sounded good, then I took a seat on the risers with a good view of the class. The other adults there must be the parents he’d mentioned. While he had the kids doing warm-up exercises, I overheard them talking.
“Isn’t he the best? Sasha just loves this class,” one woman said to another.
“His accent is to die for, and those biceps. You can tell he’s in good shape.”
“Definitely eye candy,” another mother said, her gaze focused on the gym instructor on the floor.
They were right. Nick was even better looking in shorts and a T-shirt than in his trench coat on the night I’d met him at the airport. And you couldn’t say that about everyone. Most people got worse looking the more clothes they removed. Which was why I was in the clothes and accessory business. I made women look better.
“I don’t know any other Romanians,” the first woman said. “Maybe they’re all as hot as Nick Petrescu. My au pair has a major crush on him. He asked her out to some Romanian festival, and she’s over the moon, completely gaga.”
What? My Nick was going out with someone else? I told myself he had the right to date anyone and everyone he wanted to. As long as he didn’t take her on the vampire tour too. After all, he was only one of the three men in my life. He was new in town and needed new friends just the way I did.
By the end of the class I hadn’t made up my mind about taking a class, but I was glad I’d come. When Nick joined me, he had showered and changed into street clothes and still looked very attractive in a European way. He was totally different from the other two men in my life. One was a doctor who had the money to wine and dine me, one was more concerned that I was an accomplice in a murder, and then there was Nick, who just wanted me to meet his relatives and feed me.
Over coffee in the adjacent snack bar, Nick told me how glad he was I’d decided to take gymnastics. I was reluctant to make a commitment, so I said I’d have to check my schedule first before I signed up.
He asked if I was still interested in the vampire tour. “Don’t worry,” he said, “they do not go underground or to any stops that are seriously dangerous or frightening.”
Not dangerous or frightening? Now I was worried it wasn’t going to be authentic. “Of course I’m interested,” I said. “I can’t believe I never heard of it before.”
“Aunt Meera doesn’t advertise so much. She wants only earnest students of history or her friends on her tour.
