Aunt Amelia stepped back into the kitchen. “I didn’t hear BB use a curse word, did I?”
“No,” Liz said. “He used all of them!”
“Pretty boy. Pretty boy,” Barnacle Bob chanted.
Brownnoser, Liz thought.
Iris came into the room from the direction of the service elevator. She wore her usual scowl and didn’t even glance in Liz’s direction. She said to Aunt Amelia, “How many for dinner?”
Aunt Amelia said, “Let’s see. There’s me, Betty, Pierre, Captain Netherton, Liz, Fenton, Ryan, and David Worth.”
At the name “David Worth,” Liz saw the housekeeper’s jaw clench.
“And if you don’t mind, dear,” Aunt Amelia said, not noticing Iris’s darkening mood, “I’d like you to serve. Pierre seems under the weather.”
Iris opened her mouth to protest, but apparently thought twice and closed it. Liz was glad. She wouldn’t allow Aunt Amelia to be bullied. Finally, the housekeeper walked into the dining room like she was marching to orders.
Aunt Amelia came close to Liz and whispered in her ear, “What are we going to serve, darling? Should I run down to the Crab Shack and pick something up?”
“Not in this weather, Auntie. I’ll come up with something, but don’t expect too much. You’re not trying to impress David Worth, are you?”
“No. We don’t need anything fancy. He told me he was Florida-born, grew up in Orlando, of modest means. I spoke to him earlier, and he volunteered the information that when he met Regina Harrington he’d made a lot of money after selling his computer graphics company. Then the poor guy actually fell asleep in the middle of our conversation. He must be on heavy pain medication or tranquilizers. I realized then where I’d seen him before. It was at the grand opening weekend of the emporium shops. Oh, you should have seen it, Lizzy. It was one of the happiest times of my life.”
“I’m sorry I missed it, Auntie. But I did catch it on the video Kate texted me when I was in New York. The closing on my loft took much longer than expected, or I would have been here in a heartbeat. You looked absolutely gorgeous, and the shops were packed.”
“David was there. I know it. I told you, I don’t forget a face. I remember spotting Shelley Winters at Schwab’s on Sunset Boulevard even though she wore sunglasses and a head scarf. I’d just come from playing in a skit for the TV series, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, where Shelley had made a guest appearance. It was something about her chin…”
“Did you happen to notice Regina at the grand opening?”
“No. I’m sure someone would have pointed her out if she’d been there.”
“Didn’t you just tell me David said he’d never been to the Indialantic before?”
“He did. Although that was in front of his wife.”
“Maybe he didn’t want Regina knowing he shopped in such a ‘lowbrow establishment’. I saw him the morning of the Spring Fling, buying something for Regina in Gold Coast.”
“Nothing about the emporium is ‘lowbrow,’ Elizabeth Holt.”
“I know that and you know that. But you must admit, we aren’t Worth Avenue. How’s he taking his wife’s murder?”
“He seems numb—and sad,” Aunt Amelia said. “Just plain sad.”
Liz glanced at her watch. “I’d better decide what to make for dinner. Something that involves lots of lobster meat, obviously.”
Aunt Amelia laughed. “Reminds me of an episode of The Patty Duke Show, when Patty wanted to impress a boy. She was a terrible cook, so Cathy said she’d do it, but then Cathy got called away. My part was cut, but it was so much fun to watch the twins work; I mean, to watch Miss Duke work. I have faith in you, my dear—you’re more of a Cathy than a Patty when it comes to your cooking ability. But like Patty, were you planning on impressing a certain boy with your gastronomic delights? A certain boy with the first initial ‘R’?”
“He’s not a boy.” He’s definitely a man, Liz thought. “I wish I had as much faith in myself as you do about preparing this meal. I feel so bad about Pierre. I thought he was doing so much better these last few days. He even seemed to take what happened to the Worths in stride.”
Aunt Amelia was an eternal optimist. “He will be as right as rain after his nap.”
“Are we able to go into the Oceana Suite yet? I think it needs a makeover. And the sooner the better.”
“Great idea. I’ll put you and Kate in charge, and I don’t plan on going inside until you’re finished. I’d better go supervise Iris. She doesn’t seem herself.”
Liz begged to differ. “I see a patrol car is still parked outside.”
“I promised your father I’d let him handle anything having to do with the police. I’m sure that lovely Agent Pearson will keep him updated.”
Lovely? Liz felt something uncomfortable twist in her gut at the thought of Agent Charlotte Pearson and her father together. Was it jealousy? It had been twenty-three years since her mother’s death; she didn’t expect her father to stay alone forever. But there was something about Agent Pearson that bothered her. She was all business. Liz didn’t see any warmth or compassion, but maybe that was because of their last encounter and the fact that the detective had to wear two hats: charming companion to her father at night and by-the-book homicide detective during the day.
After Aunt Amelia left the kitchen, Liz went to check the pantry and the fridge to see whether she had the proper ingredients to make a cohesive one-dish dinner. She’d given up hope that this would be the meal to impress Ryan, and so she looked forward to his invitation for their cook-off—the “best-laid plans” and all that.
First, she opened the fridge and found fresh corn on the cob; eggs; enough heavy cream to bathe in, because it was Pierre’s favorite old-school French
