Hooked on Murder: A Crochet Mystery

'We could try to get everybody's alibi,' Dinah offered.

'Lawrence would never talk to us, and we'd ruffle too many feathers with the others. There has to be something else we can do,' I said, taking a last sip of my red-eye. 'Maybe we can find out CeeCee's secret.'

CHAPTER 11

It was no problem getting invited to cee-cee's.Now that the afghan was the star of the auction and her name was connected with it, she was frantic about its being finished and fantastic. All I had to do was ask her to teach Dinah and me to make granny squares, and promise I would bring cake.

'Oh, yes, dear, let's make it tomorrow,' CeeCee said in her trademark cheery voice. 'Three-colored granny squares would be so much better than those plain Janes you two have been making. And I can't wait to taste your pound cake. Did you say there would be icing?'

The aforementioned cake, safely encased in a plastic carrier, sat on the backseat as we drove up to CeeCee's house. It was located just on the Woodland Hills side of the border with Tarzana, along the ridge of Corbin Canyon. Though it was only a few blocks from the level area where Ellen's house and mine were, it had a very different feel.

'Wow, not what I expected,' Dinah said, looking at the wrought-iron fence across the front of the property. We passed between two stone pillars and started up a stone walkway. The trees were so thick, it was almost like a forest,and only after we got a few feet in did we see the stone cottage. Beyond it the land went down into a ravine. All the trees made it look dark and mysterious. A rabbit ran in front of us as we proceeded toward the house, and I noticed several bird feeders hanging from the trees. I bet there were coyotes at night.

'You're not planning to do a repeat of the sneak-around-and-cough move, are you?' Dinah asked.

'No, of course not, though I have to admit the sneaking around was exciting. The adrenaline high lasted all afternoon,' I said, imagining Barry's expression if he heard me say that. 'I found this book at the bookstore-- The Average Joe's Guide to Criminal Investigation. There was a whole section on questioning and how to tell if people are lying by looking at which way their eyes move. The book recommendsmaking people comfortable first by talking about other things. And then you just direct the conversation and slip in what you want to know, and if you understand the eye thing, you can tell if they're lying.'

'Is that what we're going to do with CeeCee?' Dinah asked.

'It seems like a good plan,' I said as we approached the door. 'The book made it sound like a sure thing.'

We reached the door, but before I knocked, it opened. I was suddenly face-to-face with an attractive man with thick white hair and lively blue eyes. It took a moment for me to recognize Tony Bonnard, aka Dr. Kevin McCoy, the original heartthrob on the long-running soap opera My Family and Friends.

Gradually I began to notice that his shaggy hair was carefully styled and his face had the well-cared-for look given by night cream and facials. What I saw of his body was no slouch, either. Nice broad shoulders and a ripple of biceps showed under the sleeves of his navy blue polo shirt. He obviously hung out at the gym when he wasn't doing his make-believe medical things.

'Cees, you've got company. A couple of hot chicks . . . and they've got cake.'

Oh, ugh. Did he really call us chicks?

Dinah and I rolled our eyes at each other.

CeeCee appeared with a puzzled expression. When she saw that it was us, she almost doubled over with laugher.

Okay, come on, calling us chicks wasn't that ridiculous.

'This is Molly,' she said, indicating me.

Tony's eyes suddenly registered extra interest. 'She's the one you told me about?'

CeeCee shot him an annoyed stare, and he stopped talking.I took a wild guess and figured it had something to do with my being a murder suspect.

When CeeCee introduced Dinah to him, they exchanged a few flirty glances and Dinah suggested he stay for cake.

'Sounds good, but I've to get to the set.' Just then there was some clattering noise from inside.

'Oh, no, here come the girls,' CeeCee said. 'Somebody grab them.'

The 'girls' turned out to be a pair of Yorkshire terriers, who came tearing through the entrance hall, yapping and barking as they ran. They were fast as lightening, but Tony managed to capture them before they ran out the door. Not happy at having their travels aborted, they yipped and barked even more, if that was possible. He passed them on to CeeCee and made a quick departure.

'Come in, come in,' CeeCee said impatiently. When the door was safely shut, she released the squirming dogs. They immediately began a frantic sniff search of Dinah's shoes and mine.

'Tony's got a lot of lines today. His character has a big scene with his son, who has just come home after changing from John to Joan.' CeeCee laughed her musical laugh. 'Typical soap opera.'

'I didn't know you were seeing anyone. I thought you told us you were single,' I said, realizing that I really knew very little beyond the obvious about CeeCee.

'Actually, I said I wasn't married, which to me means single. I don't subscribe to this new definition of single, meaning you're not dating anyone. If it's even called dating anymore,' she said with a dismissive wave.

Dinah spoke up. 'I think it's called being part of a coupleor in a relationship. But technically aren't you consideredwidowed?'

'I hate that label, dear. It sounds like I should be wearinga veil and pulling out my hair or something.' I was with CeeCee on that and nodded in agreement as she continued. 'Tony and I are seeing each other, but we've been trying to keep a low profile. You know how it is these days, with the paparazzi everywhere you go. I don't want someone shootingpictures every time we go out to a deli.'

I just nodded, but I honestly doubted she had to worry about photographers popping out of the bushes. They weren't exactly Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

'I'd appreciate it if you two would keep it to yourselves. I'd rather avoid having gossip items showing up in the tabloids.' We were still standing in the entrance hall. The dogs had smelled the cake and were sitting under it, lookingup.

'I'll just put the cake on the table and give you the grand tour.' CeeCee took it out of my arms, and the dogs trotted after her as she left the room.

The idea of getting a house tour amused me. When I'd gone with Charlie to any of his celebrity clients' houses, they always wanted to give a tour as if it was some kind of exhibit. The tours covered only the public areas they wanted to show off. Nobody ever took you into their bedroomor into the bathroom with the socks on the floor.

'I can't wait to taste the cake. It looks wonderful,' CeeCee said when she returned without the dogs in tow. Apparently they had chosen to stay with the cake.

'This is the living room.' CeeCee started down the hall and pointed to a room off to the side. Dinah and I looked in. I was about to make an automatic what-a-lovely-room kind of comment, but when I actually saw it, I was speechless.

'That looks just like . . .' Dinah started.

'The living room on The CeeCee Collins Show,' CeeCee said, finishing Dinah's sentence. 'I liked the set so much, I had the designer make a replica here.' She pointed to the floral-print sofa and matching easy chairs. There were big table lamps with white shades and a coffee table with a bowl of pears made of marble.

'You know, the show was really groundbreaking for its time. Single woman inherits a family.' She shrugged. 'Now it seems like old news.'

As everybody else did, she skipped over the bedrooms and bathrooms and took us to the den. The cream- colored sectional sofa and the floor lamp shaped like a woman holding a torch were straight out of the show. But she had added a flat-screen TV on the wall and all kinds of examplesof her handiwork and other personal items. I practicallydrooled over the afghan draped across the couch arm. It was made of squares with a sunflower motif and