“True words.”
“Anyway, this is her father’s house. I’m not sure if this was the family home when we were younger. Katherine lives here and runs her business out of the spare bedroom, as I understand it.”
“Gotcha. It must be where she lived when she was growing up. She told me about a grapefruit and a lemon tree her mom planted after Katherine was born, and that she still has them. I guess living here is a sweet deal for her.”
“Yeah, but she’s twenty-eight and living with Daddy. Not so sweet, in my universe.”
“Right. Are you really considering using her to plan your wedding?” I asked.
“Probably not. But since I’m a total newbie at this, I want to gather information on the process. A friend up north did it all herself, you know, with a planning app and tons of running around. It seemed like a huge amount of work for her. I’m sure Katherine’s approach is the exact opposite, with a price tag to match. It’ll be a data point.”
I smiled at her. “Ever the scientist.”
“And why not?” She grinned back. “Shall we?”
Katherine, wearing cream-colored pants and a pale green blazer, pulled open the door seconds after Alana pressed the doorbell, as if she’d been watching out the window for us. She greeted Alana with a handshake and then spied me standing behind. “You’re getting married, too, Robbie?”
I laughed. “No. Just supporting my BFF.”
Katherine blinked. “Please, follow me.”
She showed us into her office. Alana and I sat together on a sofa sized for an engaged couple, with Katherine in an armchair opposite. A small vanilla-scented candle burned on her desk, filling the air with a cloying sweetness. A binder lay on a coffee table in front of us, and Katherine held an iPad in her lap. The walls displayed perfect photographs of perfect weddings, except there wasn’t a mixed-race or same-sex couple in the bunch, and no Asians or obvious Latinos among the brides and grooms, either. Katherine didn’t exactly serve a cross-section of California’s population. The only personal touch in the whole office was one of Katherine hugging a black-and-white dog.
“Is he your pup?” Alana asked her.
Katherine’s mouth turned down. “He was. Topsie went over the rainbow bridge last year. I miss him like crazy.” She plastered a cheerleader-worthy smile on her face and brightened her tone. “Who’s the lucky man, Alana? He couldn’t be here?”
Alana batted away the notion. “No, I’m down for the reunion and a visit with my folks. And to see Robbie, of course. His name’s Antonio, and I’m sure he’s hard at work in Berkeley.”
Katherine typed into her iPad.
“Hang on, Katherine.” Alana held up a hand. “I’m only gathering information. We haven’t decided on our process at all, so you don’t need to open a record for us or anything.”
Katherine blinked, but set down the iPad. She folded her hands in her lap. “That’s fine, of course. Tell me about the kind of wedding you envision. You and Antonio, naturally.”
I stood. “Excuse me, Katherine. Can I trouble you for where I can find a bathroom?”
Katherine lowered her chin and would have gazed at me over the tops of her glasses if she wore any. She looked as if she didn’t believe me. I waited.
She ceded. “Down the hall, third door on your left.”
“Thanks.” I stepped into the hallway. I doubted Alana would hire Katherine. But an opportunity had been handed to me on an abalone shell and I wasn’t going to waste it, my vow to the detective notwithstanding. Surely Walter was at work and Cody at class. At least, I hoped they were both out of the house. I should be able to poke around for a moment or two with no one the wiser.
Various framed pictures lined the walls in the hallway. An entire wall on my left was covered with school portraits of Katherine and her brother on a timeline from kindergarten through senior year. The opposite wall showed them solo and on athletic teams: soccer for both, Cody on swim team, and beach volleyball for Katherine.
A doorway led into a messy bedroom, looking like it belonged to a guy. A young guy. The next door was open only a few inches. I peeked in to see a bedroom, impersonal-looking except for a makeup table littered with bottles, small brushes, and foundation sponges. Katherine’s room, clearly, possibly remodeled into a guest room after she’d moved out? She must have reclaimed it for her own when her marriage dissolved.
The wall between Katherine’s room and the next door seemed to be Walter’s. Walter posing with colleagues in front of the Agrosafe building. Walter with the governor, the columns and dome of the state capitol building in Sacramento looming behind them. Walter shaking hands with a heavyset man in a suit in front of a glitzy building. The building’s sign was above their heads in the background, but the only word in the shot was Casino, and the corner of the picture was signed in a scrawl I couldn’t make out. I peered at Walter’s companion and his high cheekbones. Maybe he was Native American. I was pretty sure most, or perhaps all, of the casinos in states other than Nevada were run by tribes on tribal land. Huh. There must be a casino around here. The handshake didn’t look like one between owner and addicted player. Could Walter have a business interest in the casino instead of a gambling problem?
After the door to the bathroom, the hall ended in a great room facing the rear of the property. I stood at the entrance, surveying it. Another hall led off the opposite side. I was dying to snoop in Walter’s office, if he had one at home. But I’d overstayed my bathroom break as it was.
A creak sounded from the far hall, or maybe from the kitchen. Yikes. I wasn’t doing anything wrong, but I didn’t want to have to explain myself to Walter,
