‘The Cyrano de Bergerac method,’ said Rose. ‘So what you’re saying is they’re all a bunch of shysters.’
‘I suppose,’ Ada said, ‘but creative and energetic …’
‘And scared and desperate,’ Lil added.
‘And someone among them,’ Aaron said, in the voice of a TV announcer, ‘is a murderer.’
‘It’s not a joke, sweetheart,’ Ada said. She looked at Lil. ‘I snuck upstairs at one point and talked my way into Rachel’s room.’
‘Of course you did.’
‘There was blood in her bathroom − quite a bit.’
The room was quiet.
‘I was chatting with the trooper,’ Ada continued. ‘He told me that they had a dog team in that morning, but that the trail ended outside the estate. That she either got in a car, or was put in one. I’ll tell you something else, and obviously I’m no expert on blood spatter, but nothing looked like she’d been dragged. There were droplets, and some finger smudges that were probably hers. We know she’s a cutter, so I’m hoping − I can’t believe I’m saying this − but I’m hoping that’s what it was. She cut, maybe a little too deep. The part that’s killing me is how scared she sounded on the phone. Aaron, can you get me another?’ She held up her empty tumbler. ‘I wonder if I’ll get any sleep tonight.’
‘I have Ambien,’ Rose offered.
‘On top of booze,’ Ada said. ‘You trying to kill me, Mother?’
‘Don’t say such a thing. I certainly see how the two of you became a couple. All this interest in cutting and murder and blood spatter …’
Ada completed her mother’s sentence as Aaron returned with a generous three fingers of whiskey. ‘And a sexually predatory talk show hostess, her damaged children, her corporation which might be finished—’
‘Or might not,’ Lil said. ‘Think about it, right now Lenore Parks is more famous than ever. The show you’re filming could get huge ratings.’ She sounded pensive. ‘You’re going to be a celebrity, Ada.’
‘I’m just the hostess.’
‘True, but millions of people will know who you are once this thing airs. There are already thousands of Internet hits for you attached to this show.’
‘Are you OK with that?’ Ada asked. ‘Because I’ll tell you the truth, and I don’t feel great about it, Lil. I’m thrilled your column has taken off the way it has, but—’
Lil smiled. ‘I know, Ada, and it’s OK. You’ve been a little jealous.’
Ada winced. ‘I’d love to say it was something more noble, and your success is wonderful. It’s just, for all those years I was the wind beneath Harry’s wings.’
‘No!’ Rose interjected. ‘You weren’t just the cheering squad, you did the work. Don’t think I didn’t see it. Without you, Harry would have run Strauss’s into the ground. He could charm the habit off a nun, but he had no head for business. That was you. You pushed the expansion into multiple stores. You got the volumes to where you could buy at the price point you needed. And it was you, Ada – because Harry’s memory had already started to slip – who orchestrated the buy out at the height of the market. Harry was Harry, no more and no less. He could close the deal, but without you, there’d have been no deal to close.’
‘Huh?’ Ada stared at her mother.
‘You think I didn’t know? You think I’m not proud of what you’ve accomplished?’ She looked from her daughter to Aaron, and then to Lil. ‘Look at us. When I was born women couldn’t even vote. And now, Aaron, God willing, you’ll be able to marry the man of your dreams … as long as he’s Jewish.’
‘Would it be fine if these two got married?’ he asked.
Rose fixed him with a water-blue stare. ‘Of course, but young man, you know your primary motivation is that it would give your father a coronary.’
‘No flies on you,’ he said.
Rose grunted. She looked at Ada and Lil together on the couch. ‘Times change, Ada. But the trouble with the two of you …’
Ada butted her shoulder against Lil’s. ‘I knew the other shoe would drop.’
‘Stop it,’ Rose said. ‘The trouble with the two of you − OK, trouble’s not the right word. It’s synergy; alone you’re both smart women, but what’s happened … I think for the first time in both of your lives, you’ve each got a supportive spouse.’
Lil rested against Ada; Rose’s words rang true. ‘I loved Bradley,’ she said. ‘But you’re right. The expectation, the role – and I suppose I never questioned it – was that I was there for him. Would he have been there for me if I’d wanted to go out and have a career? Or go back to school? I’d like to think so … it’s just his career − he was everyone’s doctor − was important. I was OK with being the woman behind the man.’ She looked at Ada. ‘It was having you in my life that gave me the confidence to start writing, to say yes, even if I wasn’t certain I’d succeed. That was you − and I’ll let my less than gracious thoughts show − I’ve been a little jealous of not having you around so much. The last few days with the show, I’d be working on a column and want to run something by you, and you’re not there.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Ada said, her fingers twined through Lil’s.
‘No,’ Lil said, ‘don’t be. As to our nosing into places we shouldn’t go, your mother’s right.’
‘Duh,’ Aaron chimed. ‘I’ve seen what the two of you have for reading material. And since you’ve gotten your e-readers, I’m scared to think what the two of you have been downloading.’
‘It’s true,’ Ada said. ‘I sometimes look at Mattie and get a little twinge of “what if?”. I think if I’d been born twenty years later, that’s what I’d have wanted to do.’
‘And that’s the issue,’ Lil said. She gently squeezed Ada’s hand. ‘We’re not pros, we don’t carry guns … and someone involved with this show − at least that’s how it’s shaping up − is a killer. I’m worried, Ada. What if you say or do something that puts you in their cross hairs? If anything were to happen to you …’
‘Grandma, she’s right,’ Aaron said. ‘What if the person who killed Lenore and Richard is watching you look at Rachel’s bathroom and sees you talking to Detective Perez? What if they think you know something?’
Ada nodded. ‘Good points, and curiosity killed the cat, but …’ she paused. ‘A few days ago I was feeling sort of sorry for myself, like I was just on the conveyor belt to the grave. I know, it’s stupid and—’
‘Now you’re in the middle of yet another murder investigation,’ Rose spat out.
‘Yes, Mother, and let me finish my thought. I’m excited, and not just about the murder.’ She looked at Aaron. ‘You were there, the energy and creativity of those people. Yes, there’s a lot that’s ugly and probably all of the seven deadly sins have offices at LPP, but it’s fascinating.’
‘I get it,’ Lil said. ‘If it weren’t for the murders, this would be an amazing opportunity.’
‘It still is,’ Ada said. ‘Do you think that you and Aaron want to come to the shooting tomorrow?’
‘Absolutely,’ Lil said. ‘Let’s just not call it a shooting. And let’s stick together. I’ll have your back and you’ll have mine.’
‘I don’t get an invitation?’ Rose said.
‘I didn’t think you’d want one,’ Ada admitted, ‘after all this talk about putting our noses where they don’t belong.’
‘For the love of God, Ada. You’re my daughter. Where do you think you get it from?’
TWENTY-EIGHT
Dressed in a vintage midnight-blue Dior gown with sapphires dangling from her ears and around her neck, Ada stood with Aaron on the second floor landing. Their focus was on Lenore’s front-circle fountain, now obscured by four towering green-and-white striped banquet tents. Beyond those they glimpsed the barely restrained crowd that had gathered behind the gates. Dozens of cops and additional security in LPP blazers − mostly out-of-work actors − manned the blue barricades in front of the electric gates.
‘There’s thousands of them,’ A
aron said. ‘Ethan told me they’re backed up to the highway. And they’re only letting in a hundred at a time?’
‘Ethan? You mean the cute twenty-five-year-old with the dreamy brown eyes and dimples?’ she asked, noting the slight blush that spread across his cheeks.
‘I don’t even know if he’s into me, or just being nice,’ Aaron admitted. ‘But he is Jewish. You look amazing, by the way. I always thought I had the hottest grandma.’
‘Nice save,’ she said. ‘And yes, they gave out numbers and will let in a hundred at a time.’ She looked at the circus-style tents, their contents concealed by canvas flaps. The entire morning, from being picked up in a stretch limo at four a.m. to driving past thousands of Lenore fans camped along the road, had felt surreal. Even now, with the sun just up, and dressed for something formal, she found it hard to focus.
‘Ms Strauss.’ A young intern approached. ‘They need you on set.’
‘OK.’ She raised her eyebrows … ‘What a strange day.’
‘And it’s just getting started,’ Aaron said. ‘Be careful.’
She nodded and, mindful of her make-up, kissed his cheek. ‘You too …’ The stiff satin of her dress crunched as she followed the intern down the sweeping stairs and out to the waiting camera crews. She thought back to that first day at LPP, seeing Lenore carted away, and then that manic pitch meeting. She glanced at Barry, who sat removed from the action in an open tent with his beautiful wife and their little girl. His daughter was dressed in pink with a pony on her jumper. His one-sentence tag line for this show popped to mind – ‘Antiques Roadshow meets The Hunger Games on the set of Gilmore Girls’.
She glanced at the camera crews positioned around the massive tents, at the crowds and the circulating security. Her anxiety surged. This doesn’t feel safe. She looked for Lil and her mother, but couldn’t spot them.
‘Ms Strauss,’ the intern prompted.
‘I’m coming,’ and she followed him to the tents.
He pulled back one of the canvas flaps and Ada got her first look at Lenore’s estate sale. Each of the circus-style tents was connected, creating a seamless circle. The inner walls had been left open to leave the magnificent fountain visible and give the camera crews natural sunlight. ‘You must have been working all night,’ she said, as the intern directed her toward Melanie and the film crew she’d come to think of as hers.
‘You have no idea,’ he said, as they walked past tables covered with tagged tchotchkes and bibelots that had belonged to Lenore. She didn’t know where to look. One tent was filled with furniture, some of which she recognized from the past two days. She glanced at the tags; the prices were high. Who spends fifteen hundred dollars for a sterling tea pot at a tag sale? But considering the provenance and the fact that proceeds were going to a children’s charity, she figured people would pay. Another tent had racks of clothing which, under different circumstances, she would have liked to examine. Other details competed for her attention, like the iron tent stakes that had been pounded through Lenore’s drive, and several terracotta flower pots that had fallen into the pool around the fountain. There’d be thousands of dollars of repair work needed when the day was over. She winced when she saw a table covered with bras and panties. Admittedly they were still in their original packaging, but why? She was about to comment when Melanie greeted her.
‘Ada, you look like a queen. Absolutely spectacular.’
Ada pointed at the table of underwear. ‘Really? Lenore’s underwear?’
‘I know.’ Melanie waggled her brows. ‘Who knows if we’ll use it, but today is about maximum footage. We have twelve crews!’ she leaned in and whispered in Ada’s ear. ‘And a few plants.’
‘Plants? What do you mean?’
‘You’ll see. It’s going to be wild.’
Ada did not doubt that.
‘I need to sit,’ Rose said, unable to keep up with Lil as she zipped through the tents snapping pictures for her column.
Lil bit back her irritation. Rose had insisted on joining them, not thinking how grueling the day would be for her ninety-year-old body. ‘I could take you back to the limo.’
‘What, and leave me parked like a dog in the back of the house? Where’s the fun in that? I want to see the chaos when they let everyone in. What about there?’ She pointed to the dainty Moroccan-style tent in the corner of the estate where Barry and his family had set up.
‘Fine, if they’ll let you,’ Lil said, and the two women tromped across the lawn.
Barry stood and waved. ‘Lil,’ he shouted. ‘Glad you could make it. Our girl looks amazing.’ Suddenly distracted, he looked toward the tents and spoke into a mouthpiece strapped to his chin.
Lil stopped and looked back toward the tents. Crew members were rolling up and tying the canvas walls to reveal the inside. Her eyes rested on the beautiful woman in blue satin. She did a double take. ‘Ada?’ She pulled out her camera.
Barry walked over to her. ‘She’s going to be a star. The camera loves her, and the stuff that comes out of her mouth …’
‘She’s my daughter,’ Rose said. ‘She gets it from me.’
‘How wonderful!’ he said, his eyes on Rose. ‘I’m Barry Stromstein, one of the executive producers.’
‘Rose Rimmelman,’ she said. ‘And how many executive producers are there?’ she asked, her New York accent thick as if winding up to tell a joke that starts with, How many executive producers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
‘Three, at the moment.’
Lil looked at him. ‘You, who and who?’
‘Me, Rachel and the LPP CFO, Patty Corcoran.’
‘I don’t think I’ve met her,’ Lil said, curious that he’d mentioned Rachel.
‘And you probably won’t.’
‘So how does she get a producing credit?’ Lil asked, her last several days interacting with LPP having given her a crash course on the importance of getting your name into the closing credits.
‘This.’ He threw his arms wide. ‘To get this kind of rapid resource, you have to give to get. I needed money and lots of camera crews. Apparently Patty’s always had her heart set on a producing credit.’
‘Got it, and speaking of … seeing as you’re getting my girlfriend as your new star, any chance you could let Rose have a spot in your tent?’
‘Not a problem. Come, meet the wife. Excuse me.’ He listened to the bud in his ear. ‘Whenever you’re ready. How far away is she? Then I’d get started. Remember, more is more.’
Lil tried to figure out who Barry was talking to, while getting her first close-up look at Jeanine Stromstein. Yes, she’d seen her in the distance and had thought, beautiful woman. But from ten feet away, she found it hard not to stare. She glanced at Barry, not a bad-looking man with his full head of dark hair and his even features, but his wife could easily have graced the cover of any fashion magazine.
‘Hi,’ Jeanine said. ‘Lil, is it?’
‘And this is Ada’s mother Rose.’ She didn’t know where to put her gaze, mesmerized by Jeanine’s beauty. Even under the shade of the tent the woman’s hair was an explosion of reds and golds. Her complexion was pure cream and the green of her eyes glowed like a cat’s. Lil detected an accent, not strong, probably mid-west. She felt rude, but couldn’t stop staring. Like studying some masterpiece, searching for the flaw and finding none. She noted a few ungracious thoughts like, how exactly did Barry wind up with this woman?
‘Pleased to meet you, Rose.’ Jeanine selected a chair with arms and set it at the edge of the tent so the older woman could have an unobstructed view. ‘Ashley,’ she called to her daughter, who was playing on a blanket with a fashion doll and an improbable purple plastic pony. ‘Say hello to Lil and Rose.’
The little girl looked up. ‘Do you live here?’ She looked first at Lil and then at Rose.
Lil smiled, unable to stop the thought that while little Ashley was adorable and would grow up to be pretty, she would pale in comparison to her mother. ‘We do,’ she said. ‘I gr
ew up here, not in this house but in Grenville.’
‘I’m going to live here,’ she announced. ‘I want to ride horses like my mommy.’
Lil smiled. ‘That sounds like fun.’
‘We’ve been looking at houses,’ Jeanine said. ‘Could I get the two of you some coffee? Tea?’
‘Some water, if you wouldn’t mind,’ Rose said.
‘Not at all,’ Jeanine said. She glanced back at the banquet tents. ‘Something’s happening.’
Lil saw movement by the electric gate across the drive. Two camera crews filmed as a pair of guards opened the gate to allow the first hundred shoppers into the estate sale. Lil recognized a few locals in the surging throng. Her camera was out, and she zoomed in on the action. There was a lot of pushing and shoving. People waved their cardboard numbers at the guards and once through the gate they sprinted the last fifty yards to the tents. Pocketbooks flapped from shoulders, and one woman fell to the ground, nearly setting off a domino effect among the eager shoppers.
With Rose settled, Lil sidled next to Barry, whose focus was riveted to the unfolding drama. She overheard him speak into the headset. ‘It’s not enough. We need more density … at least the next two … I don’t care … if anyone says anything just say you lost count … just do it.’
She followed his gaze back to the gate. One of the guards had a hand to his ear. He nodded and the gate opened. Lil lost count as they let at least another two hundred into the estate. The guards had stopped checking numbers. Her anxiety surged as she looked back toward the tents and at Ada being filmed while the first shoppers descended on Lenore’s earthly possessions. This was going to turn into a riot.
Her attention was suddenly pulled by a noise overhead, like a burner on a gas stove. She looked up. ‘What?’ She was startled to see a rapidly descending hot air balloon with the LPP logo, a line drawing of Lenore’s lips.
Barry glanced at her. ‘Yeah, Trump likes to come in with a helicopter. I thought this was a nice touch.’
Even before she zoomed in with her camera, she knew who’d be in that oversized wicker basket. She started to snap, pushing her telephoto lens as far as it would go, and angling to minimize the sun’s glare. But there she was, and Lil had a gut-twisting moment of thinking it was Lenore − the auburn bob, the perfect make-up, even the posture, erect but with the signature head tilt that could convey anything from interest and concern to quiet amusement. ‘You knew she was safe.’
Done to Death Page 24