"It doesn't have much of a shape anyway," I said apologetically. "I guess I should have something done with it."
"Well, honey, we're going to fix that. I'd love to give you the works. Would that be okay?" Basil stared at me eagerly, like a puppy waiting for a treat.
"Um, sure." I had no idea what the works were but hoped it included cake and, at the very least, wine.
"Fabulous!" He clapped his hands with glee. "This will be a treat! Everyone else in town wants their hair the same way all the time. Oh, there are a few women who let me experiment, like Nancy. But that's only with color. For most of the people here, there's no spontaneity! No creativity!"
I looked at his reflection in the mirror. "Before you get too creative, what were you thinking of doing?"
"Just a little shaping, maybe one or two highlights." He looked at my reflection in the mirror. "But it will be dazzling, I promise. Do you trust me?"
I thought about Nancy's dyed beehive. "Okay. But seriously, nothing too over-the-top."
Maybe it would be okay. I'd had the same dirty blonde curls for years. Perhaps the hair stylist could give me a cut that screamed responsible adult to Kelly.
Basil led me to a chair and sink and proceeded to wash my hair, all the time oohing and ahhing over my bone structure and something called skin tone.
I shut my eyes to avoid the water and soap. "You were going to tell me about Aunt June?"
"Oh yes! I almost forgot." His fingers massaged my scalp. It was so soothing that I almost forgot what I was going to ask. "What do you want to know?"
I thought about my disastrous interview with Carnack. I'd botched that, and he shut down before I could find out anything useful. Dr. Morgan had been the same way.
"What was she like?"
He rinsed and handed me a towel, moving me to his chair. "She was fun, funny, smart, and a force to be reckoned with."
This was the first person who hadn't used the word eccentric. "What do you mean?"
Basil swung me around so that my back was to the mirror as he began combing. "I don't mean that she'd been a force to be reckoned with me. But I did hear of a few run-ins."
"With who?"
"Fancy Nancy, for one." He smirked. "Those two did not get along."
That was interesting. Nancy had seemed a bit closed off about Aunt June.
I started to turn back to the mirror, but Basil corrected me, swinging me back to him. I gave in. "Why was that?"
The scissors came out, and I closed my eyes. I'd always had a thing about sharp objects around my eyes. Maybe that's why I didn't get my hair cut very often.
Basil launched into hush-hush gossip mode, even though we were the only ones in the whole place.
"Well, I'm pretty sure that Nancy lost a man to her!"
How did this play into the three suitors? "Was Aunt June ever married?"
"Not that I'm aware of. I think she was a free spirit…didn't want to get tied down."
I asked, "Who was the man?"
"Not a clue! Sorry, dear!"
I had the distinct feeling that he knew exactly who but decided to change tracks.
"What did she do for a living?" I asked. "I can't find anything about her."
"No one really knows." Basil stopped clipping. "There were all kinds of rumors. You know—that she was independently wealthy, connected in all the right social circles…"
I interrupted, "The right social circles? Here?"
"Oh no, darling! Not here!" He giggled. "She was always going to LA and San Francisco. She'd come back with the most amazing clothes and shoes!"
The West Coast? I guess that wasn't too unusual. Lots of people had their favorite places to visit. "I keep hearing that she had no family."
"That's the word on the street, luv. That woman was un-en-cumbered."
Had Basil been to her place? Had she let him into her little world? "Have you seen all the pictures in her house?"
He swooned. "I would love to! But she kept the people here at arm's length. I don't think that, before yesterday, anyone else but her had been in her house."
"She had photos of herself with lots of celebrities." I listed a few off.
Basil squealed, "I'd love to see them, if it's alright with you! Barbara Streisand! Imagine that! And I'd love to look inside her closet. Maybe you'd let me try something on?"
The blow dryer started up before I could answer, and I kept my eyes shut to avoid the heat. We couldn't really talk, so I thought about the things he'd said. No family. Frequent high-end shopping trips to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Hobnobbing with the rich and famous. Fun and funny.
I really, really regretted not knowing the woman. Maybe I'd been wrong about her being a secret agent. I'd probably projected her life onto mine, even though I'd never met Barbara Streisand. I'd met the mayor of La Paz and the Agricultural Secretary of Jordan, but that was about it.
The dryer turned off, and I felt something wet slapping against the back of my head. Like a paint brush.
I opened my eyes and tried to turn around, but he blocked me. "What are you doing?"
"Shhhh! It's a surprise, and you are going to love it!" Basil giggled again.
"But nothing too weird," I insisted. "Right?"
"Of course not! I heard the girls at dinner saying you were an ex spy! I know how you people don't like to stand out."
I decided to relax. In a way, I was treating myself. Kelly did that now and then. She had a massage once a month. I could get used to this. Since he'd told me he'd overheard the girls, I had an in.
"My girls overheard you in the diner talking about three boyfriends?"
"Uh-oh! Caught gossiping again. Shame on me."
I didn't point out that we'd been gossiping this whole time.
"Why do you think that she had three