One of Sergeant French’s colleagues led Bennett off the beach toward the police car parked on the street. He told Adele he’d arranged to have her car towed to a repair shop. She told him to talk to me.
The sergeant turned to me, and I spoke first. “Thanks for showing up. When I left the message, I knew it sounded kind of strange, and after the whole thing with the doll’s head-well, I wasn’t sure if-”
Sergeant French’s face broke out in an understanding smile. “I would show up,” he said, finishing my thought. “This has been one strange case. We don’t get a lot of murders up here, and they’re usually by gunshot or stabbing. Never by s’more.” He paused as if considering what he was going to say. “The truth is, Ms. Pink, I wasn’t going to come. Frankly, when I heard you had set up some kind of sting, I wanted to steer clear of it. But I got a call. Detective Greenberg said sometimes the things you did seemed off the wall, but more often than not, you turned out to be right. I take it he’s a friend of yours?”
Barry was much more than a friend, though I was still working on his exact title. I couldn’t believe what he’d done. It meant more than all the sweet talk in the world. After all his telling me to leave it to the professionals and to stay out of investigations, he’d vouched for my ability. I felt a blush rise. I had some heavy-duty thank-yous to give him when I got back.
CHAPTER 25
“SEE, THE MAN WHO LIKES YOU ISN’T A MURDERER,” I said to Dinah as we headed away from the beach. Adele was just behind and wrapped in the afterglow of her pouch bag swirling.
“Wow, that was really something,” Adele said. “Did you see how I detained the perp with my bag?” She caught up and put an arm around each of us. “Hey, you guys, we’re like the Three Musketeers.”
The purple pouch bag was hung across her chest and bounced as we walked. I was amazed to see how well it had come through its new purpose. One of the petals on the chartreuse yarn flower appeared a little smashed, but other than that it looked no worse for wear.
Sheila walked toward us as we stepped onto the boardwalk. Dinah put an arm around her and she joined us.
“Okay, maybe we’re the Four Musketeers,” Adele said in a surprisingly generous gesture. As we continued on through the dunes to the Asilomar grounds, Adele was already planning our Musketeer future. “The pouch bags can be our insignia,” she said in a happy voice. As we stepped into the peaceful grounds of the conference center, Adele stopped abruptly and threw her arms around me in a hug. “Pink, thanks for letting me be part of the action.”
When she’d released me, she grabbed Sheila’s hand. “C’mon, let’s get ready for the party. We can do each other’s hair.”
Just before they walked away, Adele mentioned that now that her car was not functional, she and Sheila needed another way to get themselves home, along with all the things they’d carted up there for the retreat.
“Do the problems ever end?” Dinah said, giving me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “I’ve got to find my writers and make sure they’re ready for their big moment at the gathering.” Figuring they might still be at dinner, she took off for the dining hall.
I stopped into the administration building to pick up the rhinestone clipboard and took the moment alone to call Barry. I was disappointed to get his voice mail. What I had to say didn’t work for a message, so I told him all was well and I’d try him again later. As I stepped out onto the deck, a cab pulled up below and CeeCee and Eduardo got out. With everything that had gone on, I’d forgotten she and the cover model crocheter had promised to come when their respective commitments were done. For a moment CeeCee glanced around, and it was hard to tell if she was taking in the untamed beauty of the tall pine trees and the wild growth underneath or if she was looking for paparazzi. Knowing the actress-reality host-Tarzana Hooker leader, it was most likely the photographers.
They both looked up as I started down the stairs. We exchanged greetings, and before I’d reached the last step, CeeCee had begun talking.
“I hope I packed the right things. Of course, it’s only overnight, but I was expecting something different. This doesn’t look like a heels sort of place.” She glanced down at the small suitcase Eduardo was holding along with his. “As soon as the charity event was over, I met up with Eduardo and we came up here,” CeeCee said. She apologized again for having to cancel out at the last minute, but assured me her presence at the fund-raiser had made a big difference. She looked like she had gone directly from the event to the airport. Her soft brown hair was freshly done, and she was dressed in a red pantsuit with gold trim and wearing heels. Eduardo looked extra tan, as if he’d been sprayed with something to make him appear to have been kissed by the sun for his photo shoot. It was a good bet the color extended under the soft green tee shirt he wore with the tan suede jacket. I’d seen some of the covers he’d done, and he was all rippling muscles and six-pack abs.
“I’m sure Bennett did fine in my place,” she said.
“I think he did a lot more than you planned,” I said, getting right to the point. I was too tired from all that had happened to ease into the story. “Bennett’s under arrest and on his way to the police station right now. He’s going to be charged with vandalizing Adele’s car, trying to kill me, and killing Izabelle Landers.”
CeeCee’s mouth fell open. “Oh dear! What happened?” I tried to stick with the main points and began with the fog delaying everything and the fact Bennett’s wife and Izabelle were twins. Izabelle recognized Nora, but due to all the changes in Izabelle’s appearance, Nora hadn’t recognized her. I recapped how Izabelle didn’t want to be a twin and had taken out her anger on her sister from the time they were kids. “Once Izabelle found out who was taking your place, she probably started planning what she thought was going to be the ultimate hurt to her sister-taking away her husband.”
“Oh dear,” CeeCee repeated when I got to the part about the peanut butter-laced s’more. “I suppose it figures some of the plot ideas would rub off on him after being on Raf Gibraltar for so many seasons. I did a couple of guest spots playing a sitcom actress. I was in show number thirty-two, and Raf passed the antidote pills to his love interest Valerie through a kiss. And my character showed up again in show number forty-nine when Buzz helped his younger brother Raf get rid of Bradley Rogers by arranging for him to sit near the kitchen of the Tidewater Inn. Bradley was allergic to shellfish, and the smell of the boiling lobsters got into his system and sent him into whatever that shock is called,” CeeCee said. “That was one of Bennett’s bigger roles, and I think he was the one who picked Bradley’s pocket before the meal and lifted one of those tubes that has some kind of emergency treatment in it.”
“You mean an EpiPen?” I said. I told her about the crocheted pouch bag and the glow-in-the-dark yarn before I moved on to Adele’s car and my wild ride. At the end, she sighed with despair.
“I’m so sorry, Molly. If only I’d done the workshop, none of this would have happened. Well, I couldn’t have stopped the fog, but if Bennett hadn’t stepped in…”
Out of curiosity, I asked her how she’d gotten him to agree to take her place for the weekend.
The story was still sinking in for CeeCee, and she had to think a moment to remember. “Bennett runs a small theater. He’s the producer, director-the works and it’s his real love. It’s one of those Equity waiver places-under fifty seats, so nobody has to be paid scale, or anything, for that matter. I said I would do the lead in an upcoming production. It meant something, because my name would draw attention to the play-get reviewers to show up and a lot of press coverage.” She stopped and swallowed. “I guess that’s all in the past for him now.”