by Arlene Kay
“I saw Nadia that evening,” Zarina said. “She was fine. Happy.”
“She thinks Gabriel plans to marry her,” I said. “What will happen when she learns the truth?” I pictured Nadia brandishing the fake sonogram in Melanie Hunt’s face. “There`s more. Nadia expects to inherit Duff’s royalties from Worm, but that won`t happen. Contractual problems, you see.”
“Let me speak with her,” Zarina said. “She listens to me.”
Deming rose and straightened his jacket. His manner was imperious, very much the privileged Swann heir. “Suit yourself. Either way, I`ll contact Keegan tomorrow. Come along, Eja.”
Under ordinary circumstances, I would have balked at being summoned like a show dog, or at least barked to show obedience. Not tonight. There was too much weirdness floating in the atmosphere for that. Sonia and the space she inhabited thrived on conflict, and conflict can often be lethal. I clutched Deming’s hand, thankful for the shield his brain and body provided.
The rest of the guests were oblivious to our little drama. Fess Paskert had cornered Bolin, regaling him with some knee-slapping anecdote while Gabriel edged gamely into their circle, vying for a chance to assert himself. Bolin was too courteous to break away, but his eyes begged for rescue. Deming assessed the situation and loped over to save his dad.
Meanwhile on the damask settee adjoining the window seat, Sorrel chatted companionably with Anika and Melanie, just three old friends sharing memories. I knew better, but the charade was still convincing. No wonder he was such a successful literary agent. The man projected a subtle brand of charisma that sneaked up on you.
I suddenly realized that I was famished. A heaping platter of butterflied shrimp called to me, and I yielded to their siren song. Come to think of it, I didn`t even try to resist. Nadia’s taunt about barren hags still swirled around my brain, lowering my resistance to sin. After ensuring that the coast was clear, I heaped a plate with shrimp, grabbed a fork, and sidled over to a needlepoint fauteuil to feast.
“Still have a healthy appetite, I see.”
Gabriel’s mocking tone caught me in mid-crunch. I forced myself to slowly chew each morsel before responding. Long ago I cringed at his taunts, knowing that I could never meet his expectations. Long ago, I had felt unworthy. Now I knew better.
“From what I hear, your appetite is hearty too, but I wouldn`t call it healthy.” I gifted him with my sweetest smile. “Nadia shared her news with me. Congratulations again, Daddy.”
He blanched. Gabriel is light-skinned anyway, but he now looked positively ghostly. He clutched the arm of my chair for support.
“Are you crazy? What are you talking about?”
Defiance comes in handy sometimes. I forked a shrimp into my mouth and savored every luscious bite. Gabriel’s cheeks reddened as he awaited my answer.
“Damn it, Eja. Answer me, or you`ll regret it.” He balled his hand into a fist and shook it in my face.
“Threaten her again, and you`ll regret it.” Deming Swann, my suave superhero hubby, appeared at my side wearing anger like a sidearm. “Are you okay, darling?” He plucked a shrimp from my plate and popped it into his mouth. “Mmm. Delicious.”
Gabriel jerked back a few paces and flashed a sickly grin. “Sorry. I got carried away by this pregnancy nonsense. You must understand—my reputation is at stake.”
I couldn`t help myself. When it came to women, Gabriel’s reputation couldn`t sink any lower. I laughed out loud and didn`t stop until Deming intervened.
“You`re saying it isn`t true, but I presume Nadia told Lieutenant Keegan the same tale. Messy. Very messy.”
Gabriel bowed his head. He missed the devilish gleam in Deming’s eyes as he pronounced sentence.
“It`s hero worship, Swann. You must be used to it too. Young chicks are so susceptible. They misinterpret everything.”
Deming’s smile was sinister. “Actually, my dad warned me about that kind of stuff long ago. Messing with the hired help—not cool.”
I recovered my senses in time. “Which oaf?”
He twisted his lips into a sneer to pop the question. “Sonia knew about you and Nadia, and she threatened to ruin you. I heard it myself at lunch the day she died.”
Gabriel glanced around the room. “Look, I had nothing to do with Nadia. I was her counselor. Period. Let me tell you, that is one crazy chick with serious daddy issues. Everyone knows that. She even made a play for Paskert. I already told that big oaf the same thing.”
Deming and I spoke as one.
“Duff Ryder, the dearly departed. She accused me of all kinds of things. Even threatened to tell Melanie, if you can believe it. Women! You gotta love them.”
A blast of déjà vu consumed me. Gabriel Mann was, and always had been, a confirmed misogynist. I realized that now, but years ago his brilliant blue eyes and thick blond curls had deceived me. He knew my insecurities and capitalized upon them. My Phi Beta Kappa key was no weapon against his constant stream of complaints. As the saying goes, I was blind, but now I could see what Deming had always known.
“Better watch what you say,” Deming chuckled. “Just some friendly advice from an attorney. Free of charge. If Keegan heard that, it would sound like a motive for murder.”
“No!” Gabriel squawked. “I never touched her. I was in love with Sonia.”
“You were hanging around her that week,” I said. “Duff caught you with Sonia, and I saw you at the hotel the day before Duff died.”
Gabriel thought twice before answering. “No, Eja. You`re mistaken. Besides, how would I get cyanide? I`m an English professor, not a scientist.”
Something clicked in my brain as I recalled high tea at Fess Paskert’s.
“You took that tour of Paskert’s lab. There were plenty of noxious chemicals there. Anika and I saw the pictures.”
I enjoyed the way Gabriel’s panicky eyes darted from me to Deming almost as much as I savored those shrimp. Almost.
He clutched my wrist as if he were drowning. “I never touched anything. Honest. Ask Paskert if you don`t believe me. He had to corral Sonia and Nadia a couple of times but not me.”
Deming’s frown should have warned him. I`d seen storm clouds more benign than that. “Never touch Eja again. You did enough damage before.”
Gabriel leapt back two paces. “Sorry. No harm meant. This situation is driving me crazy. Everything is crumbling around me, and I feel helpless.” His voice throbbed with a fake penitence that branded him a fraud. “Keegan has it in for me. I can`t sleep, and the noose is tightening. I can feel it.”
Deming’s face was a blank wall of indifference. “Unfortunate. I suggest you contact Pamela as soon as possible. She`ll know what to do.” He looked across the room and locked eyes with Bolin. “My parents are ready to go. Come on, Eja, let`s join them.”
This time I didn`t object when Deming took my hand and nudged me across the room. I glimpsed the envy in Gabriel’s eyes and something even more satisfying: He was baffled. Clearly his discarded ex-wife had some redeeming qualities after all. Against the odds she had snagged a Swann.
Chapter Twenty-Three
BEFORE LEAVING WE stopped to thank our host for an interesting evening. Sorrel shook Deming’s hand and kissed my cheek with practiced Continental grace.
“I`m so glad you joined us,” he said. “Sonia didn`t have many friends, but she admired you.”
“Me?” I couldn`t imagine a slick number like Sonia Reyes finding anything about me worth mentioning.
Sorrel’s smile transformed his rather ordinary features into something magical. “You really don`t understand, do you, Eja? Despite her success, Sonia envied what you have.”
He noticed my bemused expression and laughed. “Think, Eja. You`re a beautiful woman and a respected writer with an adoring husband. Sonia desperately wanted that for herself.
”
My brain was stuck in neutral. Was he mocking me? Long ago I accepted my role as the smart girl and loyal friend, bumbling Sancho Panza to CeCe’s elegant Quixote. Beauty wasn`t even a consideration.
“I tell her that all the time,” Deming said, “but she won`t believe me. So stubborn.” He bent down and tenderly kissed the top of my head.
“People have such different images of us,” I said. “It`s hard to know what`s true.” I stopped speaking before I became whiny. After all, I had nothing to complain about. In fact, my life was fantastic.
Sorrel nodded. “The public image often differs from the private person. Sonia was many things to many people. Some inspirational, others less so.”
“And Duff Ryder?” I asked. “She always seemed to fade into the background. Even her murder is just a footnote.”
“She was an idealist,” Sorrel said, “no pushover by any means. Duff stood up for her beliefs no matter the cost. Sonia just couldn`t understand that. So few of us have that kind of courage.”
“It may have gotten her killed,” Deming suggested.
Sorrel glanced quickly around the room. “No one could guess she`d try that throat spray. It belonged to Sonia, after all.”
I recalled Sonia’s gruff response to Duff that evening and her irritation about the delay in fetching her spray. Anyone could have overheard her—Sonia’s outrage was quite evident. Had the murderer somehow tricked Duff into using that spray, or was Sonia the intended victim all along?
“You`re dreaming, Eja,” Deming said. “Some night owl you are. It`s not even ten o`clock.”
“Sorry.” I stifled a big yawn. “I guess I`m just a party pooper.”
Anika joined us, linking arms with me. “I enjoyed myself, Sorrel. Thanks for everything.” She gestured toward Bolin, who was vainly trying to extricate himself from Fess Paskert’s clutches. “Go help your dad, Deming. He`s got an early day tomorrow.”
I elbowed Anika when I spied Zarina heading for Deming. “Uh-oh. Another Swann conquest.”
“Interesting woman, wouldn`t you agree?” Sorrel glanced down. “Zarina blamed Sonia for Duff’s death. She never quite bought into the lookism crusade either. Felt it distracted from COWE`s mission. They quarrelled about it all the time. Zarina called her a phony if you can believe it.”
“Zarina believes in her cause,” I said, “but politics aside she still wants Sonia’s money. Duff’s money, actually. You know, her share of the profits from Worm. She told me that herself.”
Anika lowered her voice and whispered. “Wait a minute! Wasn`t Zarina in the building the afternoon Sonia died? Of course plenty of others were too, but that is suggestive.”
Sorrel flinched, making me curse our carelessness and insensitivity. In the quest to solve the murders we had overlooked the impact on the one person who loved Sonia.
“Forgive us,” Anika said. “We should never have mentioned it. Of all people I should have known better.”
He waved away our protests. “Don`t. She`s still with me. Always will be.”
Anika embraced him. “Of course. Those we love never leave us.”
“Justice may come in this world or the next, but it will come. I`ve resigned myself to that.” His shoulders slumped despite the brave talk, as if magnifying the burden Sonia’s murder had placed upon him. Still, Sorrel seemed strangely at peace with the notion of justice deferred. I am more Old Testament about such things—“an eye for an eye” and all that does it for me. Come to think of it, even the Beatitudes praised those who hunger and thirst for justice. Good to see that my Sunday school training had not been in vain!
We said our goodbyes and were soon joined by the male Swanns. Bolin’s expression was bemused, but Deming’s scowl told a different tale.
“Let`s get out of here,” he grunted. “I`ve been squeezed and prodded like a jelly donut all night.”
“Tut tut,” I said. “That`s the price of beauty. Who can blame poor Zarina? Noblesse oblige and all that.”
Although his proud parents chuckled, Deming was in no mood for levity. “We need to compare notes,” he said. “How about stopping at the Charles for a nightcap?”
Bolin looked at Anika and nodded. “We`ll meet you at the Regatta Bar in thirty minutes.”
“Hold on.” Anika held up her hand. “I suggest Club Noir instead. That was where we last saw Sonia, so it seems only fitting.”
She and Bolin exchanged a look so intimate that I almost blushed. Like a voyeur, I couldn`t look away even though I tried. Their union was the most incredible thing I had ever witnessed. Love coupled with boundless respect—hard to beat that partnership.
Deming herded me toward the Porsche, still grumbling about his encounter with Zarina. “Don`t think I missed that third-rate hustler`s moves either,” he said.
“Zarina?” I was puzzled.
He opened the door and tucked me into the front passenger`s seat. “Hardly. I`m referring to Gabriel Mann. That sympathy act he put on was disgusting. Wouldn`t fool a toddler.”
I`ve learned to ignore Deming’s rants until they run their course, especially when they involve Gabriel. Normally, my husband represses his emotions. He says it`s the Asian side of him, but I know better. These minor eruptions are a type of therapeutic safety valve for a man who can otherwise seem stuffy. By remaining calm and pasting a sweet smile on my face, I gain the upper hand, and he gets relief. Fair trade all around.
At the first stoplight, Deming took my hand and kissed it. “Sorry. Tantrums aren`t an endearing trait. I know that. Bad example coming from a grown man. More like something you`d expect from a child.”
I laced my fingers behind my head and took a deep breath. It didn`t take a mind reader to see where his thoughts were going. Nadia’s comments about barren thirty-something hags really hit home with me, and despite my best efforts, I couldn`t banish them. Thirty-five was relatively young, wasn`t it? Plenty of women got pregnant at that age. Famous ones, even. A niggling fear had me in its grasp, one I couldn`t share even with Anika—especially with Anika who yearned for grandchildren. Would Deming still love me if for some reason I couldn`t bear children, or would I be exiled and replaced like Iran`s legendary Princess Soraya?
“Penny for your thoughts,” Deming said. “Still debating whether or not to keep me?”
“Nope. I`m glad you show the occasional flaw. Makes you human. Otherwise you`d be perfect, and that`s tough to live up to.”
His voice quaked a bit as he whispered. “Love you, Eja Kane. Always will.”
UNLIKE OUR LAST visit only five days ago, Club Noir was packed with pleasure seekers tonight. Deming overcame that obstacle by a deftly placed bill in the receptionist`s palm accompanied by a devastating smile. Before long we were seated at a table for four in a secluded alcove away from the hubbub.
`This place fits right into something by Hammett,” Anika said. “Nick and Nora would definitely approve.”
“I suppose you want some Pellegrino,” Deming teased. “You and Eja are always so predictable.”
Maybe it was the setting or the time of night. Either way I surfed a wave of inspiration. “Okay, smarty pants, we`ll order for you. Prepare to be surprised.”
Anika and I put our heads together and made our selections. When the waiter arrived we were ready.
“Two Black Dahlias for the ladies,” Anika said, “and the gentlemen will have the Dick Tracy Detective.”
Bolin’s brows shot up, but he went along with it. Deming was less diplomatic.
“Okay, you two. What`s up? I know those drinks have some special meaning.”
“A Black Dahlia was the last drink that Sonia Reyes ordered on the day she was murdered. It seems only fitting.”
“I see,” Bolin said. “And the Dick Tracy part is self-explanatory. Nice touch, ladies.”
After
sampling our drinks, we traded information. Deming was brimming over with enthusiasm, a veritable Secretariat at the starting gate. That metaphor took my thoughts down another path that was quite unworthy of a genteel MFA from Brown University. I thanked my lucky stars that Zarina wasn`t there to watch him. Those pulsating muscles could erode any woman`s self-control.
“Remember my conversation about Sorrel’s artwork?” he asked.
“Tin typing. I thought it was lovely. Sorrel is far more talented than he admits.” Anika smiled fondly at her son. “Now tell us what you found out.”
Deming’s interest in the process had surprised me. Although he admires art and collects it, he had never shown any desire to replicate anything.
“I recalled reading something about tin typing,” Deming said. “As in, the chemicals employed. Devotees insist on using the original techniques. It`s quite involved, actually.”
He was leading up to something, keeping us one step short. I harnessed my impatience and bit my tongue.
“Come on, Dem. Tell us!” Mothers have more privileges than wives. Anika gave her son the evil eye.
“Cyanide. It`s one of the chemicals used.” Deming took a mighty swallow of his cocktail. “Don`t you see? He has all of them stored in a little darkroom upstairs.”
Anika narrowed her eyes. “Surely you`re not accusing Sorrel. Why would he murder Duff or especially Sonia?”
“Nah. All I`m saying is that`s another source of the chemical. Right at hand in full reach of a number of suspects.”
I recalled Sorrel’s comments. Zarina and Nadia as well as Duff had been around constantly while Sonia was writing Worm. Any one of them might have pinched the noxious stuff.
“There`s something else,” Bolin said. “I had quite a chat with Fess Paskert.”
Anika squeezed her husband’s arm. “Don`t be modest, darling. He was velcroed to your side.”