boxes against the wall.
I went to check them out and Barry followed. “I wonder what this is about. I told Samuel not to worry about getting a place. Better for him to take his time than move in with the wrong people,” I said.
“He’s an adult. I’m sure he can figure it out.” I detected a note of pleasure in Barry’s voice and called him on it.
“Of course the idea that he’s moving on sets well with me. Then we can fix your house up and put it on the market.”
“Hey, hold on,” I said, suddenly feeling like I was being rushed into a decision.
Barry’s voice got a tired sound. “I know you still haven’t officially said yes. You know you are going to. We’re good together.” He was hesitant to act affectionate in front of Jeffrey, concerned it would make him feel uncomfortable. He hesitated to act affectionate when Samuel was around because of the way Samuel looked at him made him feel uncomfortable. But here in the hallway away from everyone, he put his arms around me and held me against him.
I started to tell him about the rest of my day. It was fine until I told him that I wasn’t buying the tainted sweetener to discredit the company theory, and I explained why I thought Becca Ivins and Derek Trousedale were valid suspects in Robyn’s murder.
He listened, but I could tell by the way he was breathing he didn’t really want to hear about it. But he still got an A for effort. He also didn’t tell me to stay out of it. It would have been nicer, though, if I could shoot ideas around with him, and if he’d share information.
Jeffrey called out that he was finished with the dogs and then said he’d forgotten he had homework. Reluctantly Barry left my side and went with him. “If we were married . . .” he said with heat coming off his eyes.
Once they’d gone, I realized I hadn’t eaten and made myself a salad out of whatever was in the crisper. It was the one part of the refrigerator that didn’t seemed to get ravaged by Samuel, Barry and Jeffrey. The house seemed quiet without Samuel there and with Barry and Jeffrey gone.
I thought about Mason. He’d be interested in hearing about my potential meeting with Robyn’s brother. He’d be interested in who I had for suspects. Or he would have been. I knew I’d said I’d only call his office from now on, but I punched in his cell number anyway. When it went to voice mail, I hung up.
CHAPTER 26
AS SOON AS THE GROUP HEARD ABOUT THE PLAN to teach crochet at the halfway house, they all wanted to help, but since it was short notice, not everyone could come. Dinah had a class, Sheila had to work, CeeCee had a meeting about the new season of her show. Oscar buzz might be nice, but she was concerned about keeping her paycheck. Nell said her reason for not going was that she felt like too much of a beginner to be much help, but I knew the truth was she didn’t want to meet Robyn’s brother. It wasn’t a secret that the cops had their eye on her in the death of his sister. How friendly would he be, even if she was there to help.
The one person I was hoping wouldn’t come, of course, did. When Mrs. Shedd heard Adele wanted time off to help at a rehab place, she was all for her going. Our boss was very generous when it came to any kind of charity or good deed. So the three of us headed over the hill and to the beach town of Venice. I was always struck by how the light was totally different by the ocean than in the Valley. All the moisture in the air caught the sun and made it iridescent.
The building appeared to be an old hotel or rooming house. Annie signed us in, and we went to a large room on the first floor.
Annie had brought balls of cotton yarn and had a cup full of hooks. I took out a wad of papers and set them on a coffee table. Rhoda had been all for the plan and agreeable about me making copies of her directions to hand out. Adele staked out the middle of the room as the participants came in. The four women and two men situated themselves on the couches and chairs around the room. A young man, holding a clipboard, came in last. He hugged Annie, and before she introduced us, I knew by his resemblance to Robyn that he was her brother, Miles.
On the drive in, Annie had told me more about him. He’d kept the last name Trousedale and was still hoping for some kind of relationship with his parents. Annie confided that she knew Miles’ problems had shut the door forever on that. It was a Pandora’s box they weren’t going to open. Robyn had stuck by her brother through everything and had found the halfway house for him.
Though he appeared to be putting on a good face, Annie said Robyn’s death was devastating to him, and he was very angry that the police hadn’t arrested anybody. She was concerned about him backsliding. “But I can only get involved so far. Don’t get me wrong, I care about Miles, but I’m not family.” Finally, she admitted that she was still being paid by their parents to stay in touch with them, though Robyn and Miles had never known.
I watched the young man in loose jeans and a blue polo shirt with the collar up perch on the arm of the sofa. He appeared to be there as a supervisor.
I was happy to give Adele center stage when it came to a demonstration. No matter what our differences were, I never denied that she was superior at crochet. And it meant so much to her to be the center of attention. Once she’d given them all the idea how to do impatient crochet, Adele supervised while Annie handed out supplies and I gave them each a copy of the directions to make a cell sock.
The three of us helped the six of them get started. Then we just watched as they worked. I took the opportunity to talk to Miles and immediately noticed that he was much softer than his sister. Something about him tugged at my heart. He seemed very needy, like someone who longed to be hugged and reassured. But at the same time, he was aware of being in charge and responsible for the residents in the room. It was as though he was handling his need by helping others. Knowing everything I did, my heart went out to him.
I took the crocheted boy doll out of my bag and offered it to him.
Miles’ eyes got round when he saw it, and then instinctively he picked it up and held it to his chest. Both dolls had been dressed in moss green crocheted clothing. Robyn’s doll had a dress with a pocket and pink flowers along the hem. Miles’ had overalls in the same color with a tiny pink hankie sticking out of the pocket on the front. A moment later, he set it down as if he’d suddenly remembered where he was.
“What were you doing with the doll?” he asked. His demeanor had changed and he seemed wary.
I didn’t give exact details about where I’d found the doll, but I mentioned I was investigating his sister’s death. I explained I was an amateur sleuth and my real job was working at the bookstore. I gave him my card as a visual aid. I was surprised when his expression hardened.
“I don’t know what they’re waiting for. Why don’t they just arrest that production assistant and lock her up?”
He didn’t want to let go of Nell as the prime suspect, but while the group continued on their project, I worked on him. I explained I’d been there when Robyn died and that I knew Nell and was sure she’d had nothing to do with it. “I have reason to believe that your sister had a plan for one of the shows she was working on. Do you know anything about it?”
He took a moment to think. “I know Robyn was worried about someone she worked with. Another person had been up for the job as segment producer. Robyn thought the woman hadn’t taken it well when she got it. Maybe it had something to do with that.”
I took a moment to absorb what he said. I had to admit that Talia hadn’t seemed very broken up about Robyn’s death. And it was impossible to ignore that Talia now had the job she’d been passed over for before. As I was thinking that she certainly could have sent the box of sweetener, Miles said something else.
“Robyn said a bunch of things about her job. I can’t remember it all. Just that she was working on something that would either make Barbara Olive Overton look really good or get Robyn fired.”
I asked him if he knew who the guests were on the shows Robyn was working on. I wasn’t really surprised when he claimed ignorance. No doubt telling him his star-couple parents were being featured would have been awkward for Robyn since the siblings’ feelings about their parents wasn’t the same.
“I asked my sister if she was sure she knew what she was doing, taking a big chance like that.” He looked me right in the eye. “I tried to get her to tell Barbara Olive Overton about what she had planned.”
“Did she?” I asked. His eyes burned with intensity and he made an uncertain shrug in response. Silence hung between us. Was it possible that the talk show host was involved in Robyn’s death? “Well, if you think of anything
