This seemed to calm Dr. Philpott down somewhat. He gave both Miguel and Rosa a look and then stood. “I have a golf appointment, so if you’ll excuse me, I will take my leave.”
Silence filled the room after he slammed the door on his way out.
16
It was silent in the police car for the first few moments.
“You stole my saying,” Miguel finally said.
“I did not.”
“Yes, you did. Por todos los santos. That’s mine. I inherited it from my grandmother.”
“Pffft,” Rosa scoffed. “Well then, consider it a tribute to her.”
“It sounds funny when you say it, though. Like the Queen ordering a burrito or something.” He glanced sideways at her and smirked.
Rosa couldn’t help but chuckle. “Thank you, by the way, for defending me back there.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Miguel stopped at a traffic light. “You know, Dr. Philpott is normally a very amiable guy.”
“Anyone would react the same way.” Rosa palmed her hairdo, reigning in any stray strands. “I don’t blame him for getting upset.”
Miguel signaled to turn, then pulled on the large cream and chrome steering wheel. “I have some matters to attend to at the office, which will probably take a few hours. Delvechio wants me to give a short instruction to a few new recruits on office protocol.”
This suited Rosa as she was ready for some time alone. “Would you mind if I spoke to Shirley Philpott again?”
“Wow, you are one brave lady,” Miguel said with a glint of admiration in his eyes. “You just royally ticked off the Mister, and now you want to pay a visit to the already highly agitated Missus? Be my guest.”
“Royally?” Rosa raised her eyebrows and shot him a sidelong glance. “Really, Miguel?”
“Sorry, I forgot you Brits are a kind of possessive of that word.”
“No . . . it’s fine. I just think you misused the word, that’s all.” Rosa held in a grin.
“Well, when you see the Queen, which I am sure happens often, give her my apologies. Also, my best to that Duke of Edinburgh guy too. I’m not sure who he is, but he always seems to be lurking around Queen Lizzy for some reason.”
Rosa turned her face to the side window to suppress another grin.
Once in the back lot of the police station, they climbed out of the police cruiser, and despite their recent casual banter, offered polite, if not rather awkward goodbyes. There were moments when it was easy to forget the missing years between them. Rosa had to remember that Miguel was engaged to be married.
One must guard one’s heart!
As Rosa pulled away in the Bel Air, she decided to return to the Forrester mansion to talk to Gloria. Her younger cousin had proven invaluable in the last interview, and since this one might get testy, it would be good to have an ally. She would make Gloria promise not to divulge any information from the case to anybody.
To Rosa’s surprise, she was almost knocked over when Gloria came racing around the living room corner dragging a little cloth mouse on the end of a string.
“Oh, sorry,” Gloria said, laughing and out of breath. She sat down on one of the upholstered armchairs as Diego awkwardly ran around the same corner looking for the mouse. “He’s been keeping me busy. He’s quite the little predator.”
Rosa picked up Diego and nuzzled him to her neck, but after a short cuddle session, the kitten wriggled out of her grasp, landed on the sofa, and scampered away.
“Goodness,” Rosa said.
“Not in the mood,” Gloria said lightly.
“I’m on my way to interview Shirley Philpott,” Rosa announced. “I’m wondering if you could join me?”
“Sure. Señora Gomez won’t mind watching Diego. Give me a minute to get ready.”
Gloria disappeared up the steps while Rosa located Diego and handed him over to the housekeeper. “I do appreciate you keeping an eye on the little fellow,” Rosa said. “Please keep him out of sight of Aunt Louisa and Grandma Sally.”
“Si, Miss Rosa,” Señora Gomez said. “They don’t get along with little Diego.”
After what was definitely longer than a minute, Gloria, wearing a stylish cherry-red dress, sashayed into the kitchen where Rosa waited.
“I’m ready!”
The Philpotts lived in a comfortable neighborhood in the south end of Santa Bonita. Their house was a sprawling, single-story ranch-style home with a two-car garage and beautifully manicured front lawn. Shirley Philpott, her salt-and-pepper hair framing her round face, welcomed Rosa and Gloria with a tentative smile. Once her guests settled around the kitchen table, she poured lemonade out of a large carafe into two glasses and handed them to Gloria and Rosa.
After a short time of polite conversation, Rosa got to the point. “Do you know a man by the name of Jason Brewster?”
Mrs. Philpott blinked coldly. “Now, there’s a question that the police did not ask.”
Gloria hesitated, looked into her glass, then glanced at Rosa.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Mrs. Philpott exclaimed. “I didn’t poison your drink! Would you like me to drink first?” She poured some into her own glass and took a large gulp. After patting her lips with a tissue, she answered the question. “I believe someone by the name of Brewster assisted Florence in. . . certain unsavory ways.”
“Cocaine?” Rosa ventured.
Mrs. Philpot sniffed. “Yes. If you must be so on the nose about it.”
“Your husband says that you are not in agreement when it comes to the disbursement of the inheritance money you’re due to receive from your uncle,” Rosa said. “Is that true?”
“It is. We have enough money; that is not the issue. The truth is, I plan to donate most of it; a lot of it right here to our own polio charity. Melvin doesn’t even want it on our personal books. He can be quite stubborn sometimes. There’s not a
