Rosa yelled in the soundproof room. “She was eleven!”
Detective Sanchez shifted in his chair. “I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to speak for the sake of the recording, Miss Forrester.”
Appearing fragile and childlike, Gloria swallowed then said, “Yes.”
Miguel made a show of referring to his notes. “Miss Forrester, I understand that you were involved in parts building and electrical wiring at an aircraft plant during the war. Is that correct?”
Gloria pulled back; her forehead creased. “No. I was too young to work anywhere. Where did you hear that?”
Rosa sucked in a breath, knowing exactly where Miguel had heard the misinformation. She, herself, had told him that all the girls but Pauline and Marjorie worked at the aircraft plant during their school days. He had obviously taken it to mean Gloria as well.
Miguel made a note and then moved on to a new line of questioning.
“Miss Forrester, why did you check out a textbook on the electrician trade from the library?”
“Those were for Clarence! He knew I was going to the library and asked me to check them out.”
Rosa’s mind calculated this new information rapidly. Clarence wasn’t anywhere near being on the suspect list. As far as she knew, he hadn’t been to the fair that night. However, it wasn’t like Rosa would necessarily have seen him if he had been. The boardwalk had been extremely crowded.
“For the sake of the recording,” Detective Sanchez said, “Please state your relationship to Clarence Forrester.”
“Clarence is my brother, older by two years,” Gloria said. She narrowed her gaze at Miguel. “How did you know?”
“I visited the library today, Miss Forrester,” Miguel said, “And checked out a textbook on electricity with your name in it myself.”
If Rosa hadn’t been put off her game by Miguel’s unexpected presence, she would’ve continued looking for incriminating textbooks.
“Did Clarence say why he wanted that particular book?” Miguel asked.
“They were for our groundsman, Bernardo Diaz. The breakers in the electrical panel of the pool house kept tripping.”
Miguel lifted his chin. “Why not just hire an electrician?”
“Bernardo insisted that he knew how to do it. He likes to call himself a ‘Jack of all trades’. I think he’s afraid of losing his job to someone more educated, but Mom would never fire him. He, Bledsoe, and Señora Gomez are like family. Clarence thought Bernardo might appreciate learning from a college textbook.”
“And do a decent job in return,” Miguel said.
Gloria nodded. “Exactly.”
“Miss Forrester, you told your cousin, Rosa Reed, that you were going to the Surfside Lobster Bar at approximately eight p.m. last night, is that correct?”
In little more than a whisper, Gloria said, “That’s what I told Rosa, yes.”
Detective Sanchez glanced at Miguel before scribbling notes on a pad of paper.
Miguel continued, “But you didn’t go there.”
“No.”
“Where did you go?”
Gloria glanced up at the window as if she knew Rosa was standing behind it. She hesitated a long moment, then answered. “At the boardwalk, I danced with a man I met from my ballroom dancing class. And well, we’ve grown fond of each other, and he’s charming. After dancing together, he asked me if I wanted to go for a drive in his new convertible. I couldn’t resist.” She looked down at her lap again.
“And you went with this man?” Miguel confirmed.
“Yes. Yes, I did go with him.”
“And what was this gentleman’s name?” Miguel asked.
Again, Gloria glanced at the window. When she looked back at Miguel, she asked, “Do I have to say?”
“It would help prove your innocence in this case if we could place you somewhere else, Miss Forrester, and if this gentleman would vouch for your presence in his car when the murder was committed, you’d be free of all allegations.”
Swallowing with difficulty, Gloria took a sip of her water before asking, “And who would find out what I tell you?”
“This conversation will go in my report. Who are you concerned will learn about it?”
Gloria still did not look up. “My mother.”
“If we could confirm your alibi for last night, there would be no reason for us to share it with your mother,” Miguel said.
Gloria finally raised her head. “His name is Alfred. Alfred Yang. I’ve only known him for a few weeks, but he’s brilliant, and . . .”
Ah, now Rosa understood. Gloria liked a foreign man, and by the sound of his last name, he was Chinese, something Rosa knew keenly that Aunt Louisa wouldn’t be able to tolerate. She and Miguel had once suffered because of her aunt’s prejudices. How ironic that Miguel was the one questioning Gloria right now.
“I could never tell my mother,” Gloria continued. “She would forbid it—more than that, she wouldn’t look at me the same way again.” She appealed to Miguel with earnestness. “This was the first time we’ve chanced meeting up anywhere together.”
As if she suddenly remembered who was sitting next to her, Gloria gaped at Mr. Nabor with a new look of horror. “You can’t tell her, can you?”
Mr. Nabor grunted. “Rest assured, Miss Forrester, you and I have lawyer-client privilege. I’m forbidden by law from mentioning anything said in this interview.”
“Even though my mom is paying you?”
“Even so.”
“To confirm for the record,” Miguel said, “you were with this Mr. Alfred Yang the entire time you were apart from your cousin Rosa Reed? Would he attest to this?”
Gloria’s head snapped toward Miguel. “You’re not going to bring him in, are you?”
“I don’t know if that will be necessary,” Miguel said in an encouraging tone, but we will need to track down Mr. Yang at some point to corroborate your story. Can you tell us how we can get ahold of him?”
“Please, don’t call his home. We’re trying to keep this away from our families. At least for now.” Gloria stared hard at Miguel. “Please?”
Miguel let out a short breath. “When is your next dance class, Miss Forrester?”
19
“I can’t tell you how glad I am that is over,” Gloria said, flopping back into the passenger seat of the Bel Air.
My sentiments exactly, Rosa thought
