Behind the Seams

He reprogrammed it to have a regular ring. “That should keep you out of trouble until we can get you a new phone.”

When I looked back toward the playground, Annie was gone.

CHAPTER 24

DINAH AND I HAD LEFT MY HOUSE WITHOUT SO much as a cup of coffee. After all the excitement, we both needed something for sustenance, so we headed for Caitlin’s Cupcakes. Recently Caitlin had branched off into savory items. She called them cupcakes because they were that size, but they were more like mini quiches and popovers. As soon as we got there, I called CeeCee to tell her what I’d learned from the nanny, but as soon as she heard the word bombshell, she insisted I come directly to her place to talk because she was worried about who might be listening. Frankly, it was just a bunch of hungry Tarzanians who seemed more concerned that someone might butt in line, but I saw her point.

“Come in, come in,” CeeCee said, holding back the two yipping Yorkies as Dinah and I slipped in the door. Once we were inside and the Yorkies released, CeeCee looked at my empty hands. “I thought you were at Caitlin’s,” she said. “You didn’t bring anything with you? I’m dying to try the new items. I heard the popovers are heavenly and no sugar added,” she said. CeeCee was suddenly trying to curb her sweet tooth now that Making Amends was close to going back into production.

“I thought you were so anxious to hear what I found out. You should have seen the line.” Dinah nodded in agreement. CeeCee let out a disappointed sigh as we stood in the entrance hall.

“I’d offer you coffee, but Rosa is off today. You know me, I’d burn water.” She gestured toward the living room. “We might as well go in there.”

“I could make the coffee,” I offered and CeeCee immediately brightened.

“And,” she said expectantly. I looked at her blankly and she rolled her eyes. “Dear, nobody has just coffee. There has to be something that goes along with it.”

Dinah and I were hungry, too, since we ’d now missed breakfast and Caitlin’s, so after seeing that Rosa kept the place stocked with the basics, I offered to make a baked pancake, which was really close to a giant popover.

“How wonderful. We can talk as you cook. Let me get Nell.” We went into the kitchen, and she called Nell on the intercom. I started on the pancake while we waited for CeeCee’s niece. When she came in, I was struck by the change in her. She looked exhausted and it was the kind sleep wouldn’t help.

She greeted us and then looked at me with tense eyes. “Aunt CeeCee told me you said the cops are just pretending they know who dropped off the box of Nature’s Sweetie at the station. I’m guessing that’s why Detective Gilmore called and wants to talk to me again. She’s going to try to pin it on me?”

CeeCee put her arm around her niece’s shoulder but spoke to me. “I had to tell her. I thought it was better that she be forewarned.” CeeCee’s tone brightened. “But Molly has some bombshell information that will probably fix everything.

I wasn’t sure if it would fix anything, but it would certainly shake things up. Dinah put on the coffee while I turned on the oven to preheat and cut some butter into a heavy cake pan. I began to beat the eggs with a whisk.

“Well,” Nell said before leaning against the counter in a depressed slouch.

“You remember that Robyn said her parents were dead and how she resented your so-called connections?” I said and Nell nodded.

“How about this—her parents aren’t dead. And you’ll never guess who they are.”

All eyes were on me. Even though Dinah knew what I was going to say, she’d still gotten caught up in the suspense. “Her parents are Becca Ivins and Derek Trousedale.”

Nell looked shocked. “You mean the whole orphan thing was a scam.” There was more life in Nell’s face than I’d seen in a while as the information sank in. “That’s too weird. You know she was working on the show that featured them? The title was ‘Enduring Hollywood Couples’ or something.” Nell shook her head with disbelief. “And she was on me for having help getting the job.”

“Well, the part about Robyn doing it on her own is true. Becca and Derek weren’t really interested in being parents. They were totally involved with their careers and with each other. Robyn was brought up by the nanny until she went to boarding school. She wanted nothing from her parents, not even their name. She’s been on her own, making her own way, since she got out of college. She even worked as a nanny herself. She worked for someone who works on the Barbara Olive Overton show. That was her in.”

Nell was stunned. While I finished putting together the rest of the ingredients, she went and got her laptop. I put the pan in the oven to melt the butter and she powered up the computer. A few minutes later, I pulled out the pans and poured in the batter. I returned them to the oven and set the timer.

Nell started to search online. She found a Web site for the couple and clicked through everything, but there was no mention of any children. It did, however, speak glowingly of their charity work, describing them as being Hollywood’s sweethearts even after all these years, who selflessly used their celebrity status to help those less fortunate. Nell went through a bunch of other sites and finally found something that mentioned the couple had chosen to protect their family by refusing to talk about it.

“No doubt some publicist thought of that,” I said. My late husband, Charlie, had been in public relations, and he’d talked about how to put a spin on things so that a negative became a positive. Nell kept looking and finally found an old picture.

“Look,” she said, holding it where we could all see. There was a photo of Becca and Derek with a little girl in a sundress. The caption said, “Star couple at the beach with children.” “It says children,” Nell said, studying the picture. A little boy was crawling on the sand toward the water. “Robyn must have a brother.”

“If he didn’t drown,” Dinah said. “Even in the photo, you can see they’re not involved with the kids.” I studied the body language and realized Dinah was right. Becca was holding Robyn’s arms, but it was stiff and posed rather than loving. The actress seemed to have a much stronger connection with the camera than her daughter.

CeeCee nodded at the screen as if the picture confirmed some thought of her own. “Now maybe you understand why I didn’t have children. At least I was honest enough to acknowledge that my career came before anything and that I might be a little self-absorbed.”

Nell went and hugged her. “I love you anyway, Aunt CeeCee.”

CeeCee appeared shocked. “Oh, then you agree that I’m self-absorbed. I thought one of you would at least try to argue with that comment. Think about all my work for Hearts and Barks. I help out at the women and children’s shelter on holidays.” Her gaze moved over us and she seemed genuinely concerned. “And there’s the crochet group. If I was so self-absorbed, I’d just turn it over to Adele and say the heck with it.”

“You’re right. You do spend lots of time thinking of others,” I said. CeeCee still looked a little fragile. I nodded to Dinah and we all stepped in for a group hug.

“What would I do without my friends and niece,” CeeCee said, regaining her good humor. She sniffed the air. “I might not know how to cook, but I know how things are supposed to smell, and that pancake smells done.”

I popped it out of the oven and the fragrance was even more intense and more delicious. Nell got plates and we all sat down at the kitchen table and divided it up.

“Do you know them?” Nell asked after downing her last piece.

CeeCee laughed. “People think all celebrities know each other. The real truth is, Becca and Derek are on a different level than I am and have always been. They’re stars and I’m an actor.”

“You’re a star. What about the CeeCee Collins Show?” Nell protested. “And Caught By a Kiss? There’s even Oscar buzz. What have those two done?”

“They’ve both won Oscars, honey. But what they don’t have and I’m grateful for, is a niece like you who wants to stick up for me.”

I interrupted the mutual admiration society and got back to the real issue at hand.

I told Nell that Pierce Sheraton has mentioned that Robyn had promised him some kind of scoop. I’d also heard Talia mention something about some plan Robyn had for a surprise on the show. Nell’s eyes got big. “What if it had to do with her parents?”