Nell and CeeCee went out into the reception area and I hung back.
“The first time you’ve seen me in action,” he said with a grin. “What do you think?”
I glanced around the office and at him in the dark gray power suit. “Pretty impressive.”
Spike took the opportunity to come over and sniff my shoes. “Thanks for making Nell feel better, though I’m still worried. Even if the cops never arrest her, it doesn’t clear her name or get her job back,” I said.
“Hmm, you’re right,” he said. “You haven’t by chance figured out who really killed the two of them? It would help if we had somebody else to throw to the cops.”
“Not exactly,” I said with a wince, “but let me roll out my list of top suspects.” I mentioned Talia Canon. “She had the big three—means, motive and opportunity—at least for Robyn. She certainly gained from Robyn’s death.” I shrugged. “Maybe what Miles remembered was something about her. But I keep thinking about Becca and Derek. Being their parents, they certainly had a connection to both Robyn and Miles. It seems pretty clear that Robyn planned some kind of ambush on the show.” I shuddered. “If they were cold enough to cut their children out of their lives, is it so hard to imagine that they might have had them killed to save face?”
Mason put a hand on my shoulder in a supportive move. “I can understand how you’d have a hard time with that with the way you feel about your sons.” His phone started to ring and I knew CeeCee and Nell wanted to get going, so I quickly went through the rest of the list.
Something was up with Pierce Sheraton. The guy seemed to show up all the time, though I had no idea why he’d want to kill either Miles or Robyn. Barbara Olive Overton had to be included. Ty Holzer had done a good job of getting himself out of the running, but I still wondered about him. Then there were the people like the production assistants, D. J., Bob and even Annie Hoover, the nanny, who couldn’t be totally counted out.
Mason let out a world-weary sigh. “I’d put the parents at the top of the list. Everybody thinks they’re Hollywood’s sweethearts—the perfect couple known for all the humanitarian gestures. It sounds like Robyn was out to ruin them. It’s a cold world, Sunshine.”
“I wonder how they’d react if I showed them Robyn’s doll?”
Mason took an envelope out of his desk. “Here’s your chance to find out. I told you the law firm was buying a block of tickets for the benefit Barbara Olive Overton is putting on in Palm Springs. Becca and Derek are going to be there. I wish I could go, but I have a family thing—my daughter’s engagement party.” He seemed a little wistful. “Geez, father of the bride, what’s next, grandpa? I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”
“I bet you’ll love it,” I said as I looked inside the envelope.
“Enough talk about my future in a rocking chair. The tickets will get you into the golf tournament and the festivities afterward. There’s even a room for the night included. I assume you’ll being sharing it with Dinah.”
I gave him a thank you hug for everything. “Palm Springs, here we come.”
CHAPTER 35
MASON WAS RIGHT, MY FIRST THOUGHT FOR THE other ticket was Dinah. I caught her the next morning as she went back to the yarn department. She looked at the ticket longingly. “I wish I could, but Commander bought tickets for us to go whale watching.” Her brows were knit together in concern. “You know I love being your Watson. I’m still trying to work out a balance.” I promised her I understood and wouldn’t let anyone permanently replace her as my wingman. We were just starting to think of who else I should ask when Adele interrupted.
“Pink, you have to pick me,” Adele said. “Don’t you see, it’s destiny. It’s my chance to show Barbara the wonders of crochet.” She suddenly appeared uncomfortable. “I wasn’t deliberately eavesdropping, but you two were talking kind of loud.”
It turned out Adele won by default. I had already nixed the idea of Nell going. I think CeeCee was afraid she might end up getting arrested again. Sheila had to work. Weekends were busy at Luxe. I couldn’t picture going with either Rhoda or Elise. Eduardo? Not a chance.
PALM SPRINGS WAS ONLY ABOUT ONE HUNDRED and twenty-five miles away from Tarzana, but to me, it looked like another planet. The desert community sat at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains, but until you got close to the town, all you could see was beige.
Adele and I had both worked the morning at the bookstore, and when we left Tarzana, the sky was white and the air chilly, so typical for May. Once we hit the Mojave Desert and started to pass all the wind farms, the sky was clear blue and the temperature near ninety. I was glad I’d worn something light. The loose linen pants with a matching beige tunic top seemed perfect for the desert. I matched the sand. It must have been a challenge for Adele to find crochet items to wear that wouldn’t cause her to overheat, but she’d done it. She’d worn an open vest made of pale blue light-cotton yarn. It worked well with the white capri pants and white loose cotton top. But, of course, Adele couldn’t leave it at that. She’d added a granny-square bracelet, big circle earrings crocheted in thread, and a wide-brimmed sun hat, she’d made in cotton yarn.
Palm Springs was one of the older desert communities and had been the playground for Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Elvis and lots of others. The air was so dry it made the outlines of the landscape show up in crisp detail.
We drove through the main drag with all the small shops and restaurants. The town had kept its charm, thanks to all kinds of rules that outlawed billboards and neon signs.
I found the entrance to the resort hosting the event and turned into the driveway. It was odd after all the sand to have the rich green of golf courses on both sides of the curving driveway before I pulled in front of the two- story hotel. We’d decided to check in first.
Once we’d stowed our stuff in our room, we headed out again. Just past the low building, the setup for the event began. We passed the crowd of spectators watching the game on the golf course. Beyond there was a parking lot and an encampment of open-air tents. All the media trucks were parked together. There were also RVs that appeared to being used as dressing rooms, and the large white trucks I’d seen when there were TV or movie shoots in my area. They were called honey wagons and were portable restrooms. I’d seen the inside, and they had nothing in common with Porta-Potties beyond their basic function. They had porcelain fixtures and running water. Nothing but the best for this crowd.
One of the tents had been set up for registration. As we walked toward it, I saw people dressed in jeans, tee shirts and sneakers—or the unofficial uniform of production assistants.
“Where’s Barbara?” Adele said, shading her face with her hand and scanning the area. Adele had a messenger-style bag strapped across her chest. “I’m ready for her.” To make sure I understood how ready, she opened the bag and showed me the contents. “I brought the fancy hooks,” she said, showing me her hand-carved wooden ones. “These are my pride and joy. Who could possibly turn down crocheting with these?” She had cotton yarn as well. “And I’m going to get in a picture of her with the hooks,” she said, checking the battery level on her camera.
I had been hearing her plan over and over since we’d left the bookstore. I had my own agenda, but I hadn’t battered her eardrums with it. Mine was much simpler: show the doll to the celebrity couple and ask a bunch of questions before they had a chance to think about it. I patted my canvas bag to make sure Robyn’s doll was still in it.
There was a throng of people at the registration table as we approached. Talia Canon went by and seemed all business. D. J. was with her. She stopped short when she saw me. “I didn’t expect to see you,” she said, sounding surprised. “What are you doing here?” While I was thinking of how to answer, Adele opened her bag and mouth at the same time. I gave Adele one of CeeCee’s famous cease-and-desist looks when she started to speak. If Adele said anything about what she’d planned to do, we’d be out of there before we got in.
“We’re here for the festivities,” I said and explained a friend had given me the tickets. Pierce Sheraton joined Talia, but barely seemed to notice Adele and me.
I was so nervous that Adele was going to say something about her plan to snag Barbara and show off her hooks, I dropped my bag. I’d tried to incorporate everything in the cloth tote. D. J. gave me a friendly smile and scooped it up but grabbed the bottom instead of the handles. Everything fell out, including the doll.
They all looked at the doll and gave me a strange look. I ignored their expressions and went to retrieve my stuff. It had scattered all over. It was going to be the last time I tried to use a canvas tote bag as a purse. While I
