Scandal in Tawas

by Madison Johns

  “I must admit you’ve done a good job already, with relaxing, I mean. You didn’t even give me grief about getting involved with stopping a purse snatcher.”

  “Why? Would it change anything?”

  “No!” Andrew spit out. “Or it never has in the past when I’ve said anything.”

  “She can’t stop herself from butting in. This one time she was convinced that our neighbor was guilty of murder when his wife was missing for a few days.” Stuart laughed. “It was pretty embarrassing when she came home after a weekend trip to her mother’s house in the Upper Peninsula.”

  I nodded curtly. “If you heard the way they argued, you’d have thought the same thing.”

  Andrew leaned into Wilson as he laughed. In fact, the entire table was laughing at me. I frowned and turned my attention to my pizza.

  As I took a bite, my attention was drawn to two men who walked in. They looked very familiar. Since I know they weren’t from town, I assumed they just might be celebrities.

  “Welcome to Tawas,” I called over.

  The dark-haired man arched a shaped brow. “Thanks.”

  “How do you know we’re not from town?” the other man asked.

  “Because I’d remember if I saw you here before.”

  “Is this a pickup line?” the first man asked.

  “Yes, is it?” Andrew asked.

  I gave him an aggravated look. “Do you happen to know Sara Knoxville ... like personally?”

  The men smiled. “We’re busted. I’m Damon Bronson,” the dark-haired man said. “That’s my less-than-charming companion, Tom Lewis.”

  “You mean you two are a couple?" Eleanor asked, her eyes betraying the disappointment.

  “No.” They laughed.

  Damon shook his head. “I play a rough and tough cop in my next movie.”

  “It’s a remake of The Bridesmaids.” Tom winked.

  “You better be joking,” Eleanor grumbled. “I loved that movie.”

  “Don’t worry. He’s joking. We both are, actually. Neither of us has a current project and we just had to attend Sara’s party hoping to make a few connections.”

  “And you were invited?” Andrew asked suspiciously.

  “We’re friends of a friend who assured us we wouldn’t be an imposition.”

  “I’ll have to contact Sara to confirm that,” Andrew said quietly, as he returned to eating.

  “I hoped to meet Sara before her big party tonight,” Tom said.

  “She’s too busy with the schedule she has today.”

  “Oh, dear? When have you ever been involved with making her schedule, Andrew?” I asked.

  “When her agent isn’t able to come to Tawas and do it himself.”

  “I suppose he’s too busy in Hollywood, negotiating Sara’s next role.”

  “Should be easy with the publicity of her tell-all book,” Eleanor said.

  Stuart cocked a brow. “Let’s talk about something else, like how is my sister Martha doing?”

  “I thought you knew, since she’s mentioned speaking to you on occasion.”

  “Sure, I call to check in. Is it wrong to worry about my sister?”

  “Not at all. I encourage it.”

  “We should stop by and pay her a quick visit,” Stuart said.

  “And find out if Adam can take us fishing,” Wilson added.

  “I don’t expect to find Martha home right now. I imagine Martha is out with Adam on the charter boat.”

  “We’ll have to catch up with him later, then.” Stuart winked.

  “So, when is Sara’s party again?” Eleanor asked.

  “Tomorrow, I think,” I replied.

  “Make that tonight,” Andrew said. “I suppose that shopping will be taking up the remainder of the day for you ladies. Unless you’ve already bought party dresses, Agnes.”

  “Are you sure it’s tonight? I don’t understand how I could have messed up that detail.”

  “Well, you’re getting old, you know,” Eleanor said. “We’ll have to head to Saginaw to try and find a dress.”

  “No need to,” Moraine said. “I believe I heard Sara brought along a stylist to help outfit the locals who are attending the party.”

  “See, I really need to speak to Sara. I haven’t heard anything about that.”

  “I’ll give her a call,” Andrew said, as he excused himself.

  I popped a look in the actors’ direction and they were suspiciously absent.

  “Hey, where did the actors go?” I mused out loud.

  “Don’t ask me,” Eleanor said. “Do you think they were spying on us?”

  “Spying, really?” Stuart asked with a frown.

  “I wondered about that, too, although we were the ones who spoke to them first.”

  “Of course Andrew did mention he was going to check into their story about being able to attend Sara’s party without invites.”

  Andrew cleared his throat as he returned to his seat. “You’ll meet Raul at the Days Inn. The front desk is expecting Agnes, Eleanor, and Moraine.”

  “Me too?” Moraine gushed. “How exciting. I can’t believe we’ll be at a real Hollywood party right here in Tawas.”

  “What’s your backstory going to be?” Eleanor asked.

  “Backstory?”

  “Yes, I can’t imagine you want anyone to know you and Stuart are FBI special agents.”

  “I can’t imagine the subject would even come up, but not to worry ... I’m good at improvising.”

  We left the men to their own devices and approached the counter of the Days Inn.

  “Hi, Stephanie,” Moraine said to the female who greeted us. “We’re here to see Raul.”

  “It’s great to see you again, Moraine. Where is that hot husband of yours?”

  “Not here, I hope.” She winked.

  “Is this Agnes and Eleanor?”

  “Our reputation is limitless,” Eleanor said with a grin.

  “I, uh ... your names were given to me by Raul. Go on up to room 222. He’s been busy all day.”

  We took the elevator up and when I knocked on the door, it swung open. I stood in the doorway, staring in awe at the racks of beautiful clothing.

  “Excuse me, is Raul here?” I asked.

  “Finally,” said a flamboyant man who looked to be about six feet tall. Half of his head was shaved bald while the other half was razored-down military short. He wore white and black pinstripe slacks and a body-hugging white shirt.

  “Don’t move,” he mumbled with pins sticking from his mouth, directing his comment to an older woman who was wrapped in gauzy blue fabric. He placed the pins one-by-one into the fabric.

  “Please don’t poke me. I have sensitive skin,” she said.

  Raul sighed. “Go ahead and take off the dress. I’ll be sewing my fingers to the bone to have it ready by six.”

  “Thank goodness,” the woman said, as she changed into a pink sweat suit. “Don’t tell anyone you saw me dressed like this, ladies,” she said.

  “I don’t see anything wrong with what you’re wearing,” I said. “Besides, I don’t even know your name.”

  “Well, I certainly know your names ... Agnes and Eleanor, right?”

  “Yes, but how did you—”

  “I’m Cindy, one of Sara Knoxville’s assistants.”

  “Oh, good, I had hoped to pick your brain.”

  “No time for picking brains,” Raul began. “Only time for getting into your skivvies so I can alter your outfits.”

  “But we didn’t bring any fancy duds,” I said.

  “Sara has quite the eye for fashion and she’s given me specific instructions about the clothing we’ve selected for each of you. You won’t be looking a bit frumpy tonight.”

  Eleanor’s hands slipped to her hips. “Are you calling what Agnes is wearing frumpy?”

  “Not just her, dear.” Raul shook his head sadly.

  “I’m leaving!” Eleanor declared.

  “Oh, and miss out on receiving desi
gner clothing for free?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint Sara,” I said.

  Moraine laughed. “Lucky for me I brought a frumpy dress from New York City.”

  “They don’t make frumpy clothing in New York,” Raul clarified with a serious tone.

  “I knew I shouldn’t have left the room,” a woman said, as she hustled into the room, a doughnut bag clutched in her hand. “Don’t pay attention to Raul, he suffers from a lack of personality.”

  “Oh, so you finally decided to crawl out of bed. I’m charmed, Pamela.”

  Pamela simply smirked, “At least I went to bed, R A U L.”

  “It’s easy for you to say when you bear none of the responsibility to dress the ladies attending Sara’s party tonight.”

  “Can we move this fitting along?” I asked. “I have to have my hair done today, too.”

  “Not certain how when we can’t just pop into the hair salon and expect to fit in between appointments,” Eleanor said.

  “Not to worry. We have a hair stylist who should be here soon,” Pamela said with a wink.

  “Wow, you’ve certainly have thought about everything,” I said with a grin. “I hope it will be a Hollywood hairstylist. I’ve never had a real professional hairstyle.”

  “That’s obvious,” Raul retorted before Pamela could cut in and say, “Be nice, Raul, or I’ll tell Sara and she’ll find another stylist.”

  “I’d love to know who she’d find, and who would come clear up to northern Michigan to do that.”

  “Have a doughnut, hopefully it will sweeten you up.”

  “Take it all away before you get sugar and frosting all over the clothing.”

  Pamela sighed as she set down the bag, brushing powdered sugar from her black leggings that she had paired with a University of Michigan T-shirt. “I’m sorry, I should have introduced myself properly. “I’m Raul’s assistant.” She laughed as she tugged back her strawberry blonde hair into a ponytail.

  “Lucky girl,” Eleanor remarked. “Is Sara bringing a date to the party tonight?”

  “Sara really isn’t known for discussing her personal life.”

  “Until the tell-all book, you mean.” Eleanor laughed.

  “Do you happen to know about who put the book together?” I asked, as I stepped forward expectedly.

  “Or who might have mistakenly left out a page,” Eleanor added.

  Cindy frowned as she stepped between Eleanor and Pamela. “You’ll have to ask Sara about that. I must admit I’m shocked she wrote a book like that. She might not ever work on a movie again.”

  “Do you really think so?” I asked.

  “Imagine if you were a director who was mentioned in her book.”

  “She wouldn’t be working for him again?”

  “I bet the book put the Hollywood Boys’ Club on high alert,” Eleanor said.

  “At least she’ll sell more books that way,” Cindy said.

  “Can we get back to the fitting, ladies?” Raul asked, as he clapped. “I have a tight schedule.”

  ELEANOR AND I WERE seated under the dryers with plastic bags over our hair, globs of hair dye caked on.

  I hated to be stereotypical but I had assumed the hair stylist would be a man, but that wasn’t the case. Rosanna was younger than I expected and she was dressed quite casually. A hotel room had been converted into a salon with a device that was affixed to the bathroom sink as a rinse station.

  I flipped the pages of a magazine until it was my turn to be rinsed.

  “Do you normally set up a salon on-the-go?” I asked, penetrating the near silence.

  “It depends.”

  “On what?”

  “If I’m hired as a hairstylist for a movie set,” Rosanna said, adding, “Sara brought along a designer and me as the hair stylist just to outfit and style people going to her party. She’s one-of-a-kind. I love working for her.”

  “I can see why,” I said.

  “She’ll have plenty of movers and shakers there tonight. I must admit some of them are snobs, which is why she brought me and Raul to Tawas,” Rosanna explained.

  I twisted the material of my pants. “I’m glad, too. I don’t want to feel any more out of place than I already will. It makes me nervous even thinking about meeting Hollywood players.”

  “Just remember they’re only people like us.”

  “People with money, you mean.”

  “I’m positive you and your friend will fit in just fine.” She winked.

  Chapter Three

  I GLANCED INTO MY MIRROR, admiring the curls in my hair and the subtle pink highlights. Well, I was one hot and sassy woman for Sara’s party.

  I joined a startled Eleanor, who was doing a turn for Andrew and her Wilson. Eleanor and I were dressed alike in powder pink fine-knit sweaters paired with pants and tie belts of the same color. I made a show of my ballerina flats to Eleanor, who had chosen sandals with a small heel for herself.

  Mr. Wilson slapped Andrew on the back. “It looks like we’re married to twins. I hope I don’t accidentally take the wrong one home with me tonight.” He winked.

  “Why aren’t you two dressed alike, Andrew?” I asked, indicating their shorts and linen shirts that weren’t the same color or style.

  “I hope you’re not going to Sara’s party dressed like that,” Eleanor said.

  “Of course not.” Andrew winked. “Wilson and I are going fishing with Stuart. Adam is taking us out on his charter boat.”

  I pursed my lips. “How could you, Andrew? Sara is your client and you should be attending her party.”

  “She’s fine with it. To be honest, I’m looking forward to a guys-only fishing trip.”

  “So, how are we going to get to the party?” Eleanor asked.

  “Moraine will be here soon and I imagine you ladies will go together.”

  “I hope Sara doesn’t mind Moraine and Martha coming with us.”

  “Martha, too?” Eleanor asked with a near pout.

  “What’s the problem with Martha coming with us?” I asked.

  “It’s not a problem at all, but I hope we’ll have a chance to talk to a few famous actors at the party.”

  “I hope you’re not setting yourselves up to be disappointed,” Andrew cautioned us. “It’s a party in honor of Sara’s book release.”

  I nodded in agreement. “I wonder why she sent a stylist and hairdresser here. It’s not like we can’t find interesting apparel right here in town.”

  “I suspect Sara thought having us fitted by the stylist would be a real feather in our caps ” Eleanor offered.

  “I’d dare to hope that there will be more than one party to attend before all is said and done.”

  The roar of an engine distracted us as a car came to a stop in my driveway. I opened the door to greet Stuart, Moraine, and Martha. Only Moraine and Martha walked inside. Stuart began picking up tackle boxes that apparently had been set outside by Andrew.

  “Don’t forget the ice chest,” Mr. Wilson said, as he pushed his walker outside. “And we better stop and buy some snacks and beer for the trip.”

  “You can’t drink beer, dear,” Eleanor reminded Wilson.

  “I meant root beer.” He chuckled. “Help me into the car, Andrew.”

  Andrew gave me a peck on the cheek. “Have fun, dear.”

  “You, too, and be safe.”

  After the men left, I took a quick look at Moraine and Martha, who were both dressed comfortably in capris and loose tunics.

  “Oh, no catsuit today, Martha?”

  “I wouldn’t dream of wearing something like that to Sara’s party. Besides, Adam prefers I only wear catsuits when we go out together.”

  Eleanor’s brow shot up. “Oh, and how do you feel about that?”

  “I’m not single and ready to mingle anymore, I’m in a relationship with a wonderful man. His opinions matter to me.”

  That certainly is a big change from Martha’s wild ways when she only dated men half her age. “I’m
happy to see you’re growing older gracefully.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far, Mother. So, when are we leaving?”

  I turned to Moraine. “Are you ready to go?”

  “Do you have any hairspray? I forgot to pack mine.”

  “It’s in the bathroom.”

  “I wouldn’t think she’d even wear hairspray,” Eleanor said. “That would give her away when she’s undercover.”

  “I suppose that depends on her undercover role.” Martha winked. “She could be an undercover model.”

  “I swear I’ve never been undercover as an underwear model,” Moraine said, as she joined us, crossing her heart with a finger.

  “So you say.” Eleanor grinned.

  I ADMIRED THE IMMACULATE lawn of the Butler Mansion as we paused to enter. The mansion is reputed to be a haunted house, which is why Sara had it renovated and operates it as a bed and breakfast.

  I frowned as I nearly knocked poor Millicent over. She’s Mr. Wilson’s granddaughter and manager of the Butler Mansion.

  “I’m so sorry,” I apologized. “I hope we’re not the first ones here.”

  “You’re not. The cars are parked in the back.”

  “I didn’t know there was parking in the back.”

  “Sara continues to make improvements as business is booming. Most of her guests are staying here.”

  “That should be interesting. Have there been any bumps in the night of late?”

  “It’s been strangely quiet since the arrival of the guests. I, for one, hope it stays that way. I’d rather not lead the guests on a candlelight ghost hunting adventure. It’s too dangerous tromping around in the dark like that.”

  “I’ve really missed you, Millicent,” I said, reaching over to give her a quick hug. “This is my daughter-in-law, Moraine.”

  “Nice to meet you and I’m so glad Martha took time to attend. This is so exciting.” She led us to the patio door. “Go on out and mingle.”

  Eleanor and I hooked arms as we walked out into the sunshine with Moraine and Martha following us.

  The people who milled about were all dressed casually and I couldn’t recognize any of them.

  “Would you ladies care for a lemonade?” a maid asked.

  I nodded, as did the others, and soon we were each in possession of a refreshing beverage.