Diva 03 _ Diva Paints the Town, The (13 page)

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Authors: Krista Davis

Tags: #Murder, #Winston; Sophie (Fictitious Character), #Mystery & Detective, #Fiction, #Women Sleuths, #General, #Dwellings

BOOK: Diva 03 _ Diva Paints the Town, The
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“Wish I could help you”—okay, that was a lie, I wasn’t a bit sorry—“but I have responsibilities here. Besides, I’m not a co-chair of the Show House.”
Natasha’s nostrils flared and she began to argue, but I interrupted her. “Why don’t you send the other co-chair?”
She scowled at me until it sank in. “That’s brilliant! I can get rid of the competition by sending Iris over to Mordecai’s. What would I do without you, Sophie?”
It was a rhetorical question, and Camille was motioning to me. Natasha would have to deal with Iris, who would surely not be pleased by her demand.
Camille was holding a cell phone to her ear. She lowered it, scowling. “I hate these things.”
“They won’t work down here. Something about the steel and the way the convention hall is constructed.”
She laughed. “Just yesterday I was saying how pleasant it was that people weren’t gabbing on their phones. No wonder. Listen, have you seen my husband?”
“Sorry.”
“If you do, tell him I’ve withdrawn his booth from consideration for the prizes. Iris Ledbetter is having a hissy fit about people voting for Nolan’s booth just because I’m president of the Design Guild. It’s all so ridiculous. Nolan couldn’t decorate a hatbox. The only thing he could ever win would be the prize for most expensive furnishings.”
I hoped I didn’t show my surprise at her acknowledgment that his furniture carried outrageous prices. I must not have concealed it, because she said, “Oh, give me some credit, I’m not blind.
I
wouldn’t shop at his store. That place has been nothing but a money pit since the day it opened.” She switched gears without missing a beat. “Everything ready for tonight?”
“I think so. I was just on my way to discuss the switch-over to tables for the banquet.”
“Great. Be sure they understand that the lights are to go down so they can put spots on the winning booths as they’re announced.”
Camille bustled off, and I headed for the center of the convention hall. Since the awards for the best booths were being given at the banquet, the Guild had chosen to group the gorgeous garden landscapes in a cluster around a park-like area. During Rooms and Blooms, visitors could rest, relax, and enjoy a cup of coffee among the flowers. When the doors closed behind the last visitor, the hotel staff would move the park benches out of the way and bring in round tables and chairs for the banquet. The man in charge of making the switch waited for me in front of Ted’s backyard cottage. He assured me all systems were go.
At five o’clock, the last of the visitors were shooed out. Like magic, hotel staff appeared and began to transform the park. I watched them for one hour to be sure they had the right idea. When it seemed they had everything under control, I hustled home to change clothes for the banquet.
I’d planned to wear spring colors in keeping with the spirit of Rooms and Blooms, but now that I knew Wolf would be there with a woman a hundred pounds thinner than me and much younger, I felt a pressing need to try to look sophisticated. I couldn’t erase the years or the pounds, but I could try to appear pulled together.
Recalling Natasha’s words about my ponytail and lack of makeup, I lined my eyes with a smudgy pencil, used mascara, dusted powder on my face, and curled my hair. I slid into a simple black sheath that always made me feel confident and added rhinestone earrings that I usually reserved for only the dressiest occasions. When I looked at myself in a full-length mirror, I wanted to scrub my face, but the image of that slender, raccoon-eyed cop kept popping into my brain. I couldn’t compete with her and didn’t want to. If Wolf wanted a younger woman, then maybe it was time to forget about him.
I took a few deep breaths to clear my head and emotions, slipped into higher heels than I would normally wear at a function where I might have to walk a lot, and stepped carefully down the stairs. Mochie was curled up in his favorite chair by the kitchen fireplace. I added a little food to his dish, which probably infused me with the delicious scent of eau de stinky tuna, and headed back to the hotel.
When I arrived, the tables and chairs were in place, and were being set with the Valentine red tablecloths and stark white china selected by Camille. Right on schedule, the florist delivered potted azaleas that would be given to the winners along with the Design Guild’s crystal Award of Excellence. Lined up across the foot of the podium, the masses of red and white flowers on the azaleas added a festive punch of color. In a nod to living green, Camille had opted for azaleas that could be planted outdoors by the recipients, instead of traditional flower arrangements. She also chose centerpieces of rich red gladioli planted in white pots. The bulbs could be saved and planted outdoors. It was a simple tablescape, but one that reflected Camille’s refined taste and sensibility.
I walked up to the podium to test the microphone. It worked fine. From my elevated vantage point, I could see that the lighting crew had already lowered the lights in the recesses of the convention hall. Spots flickered on and off as they made sure they could highlight the winning booths. The aisle from the entrance doors remained lighted, though somewhat dimmer than during the day.
Tara walked that path energetically and appeared to be headed for me. She breathed heavily, as though she’d been running, and she wore her uniform, not a dinner dress.
TWELVE
From
“Ask Natasha”
:
Dear Natasha,
My son and new daughter-in-law are living with us, temporarily I hope, in my son’s old room. I knew she would want to make the room less masculine, so I very generously said she could make a few changes. That dreadful child took a glue gun to my expensive designer cushions and headboard, and has attached glittering beads and garish faux diamonds. How do I instill taste in her without seeming the evil mother-in-law?
 
—Apopleptic in Apopka
 
Dear Apoplectic,
Enroll dear daughter-in-law in an interior design class so she can learn design basics. And make sure that glue gun of hers mysteriously vanishes.
—Natasha
Tara stopped between the tables being set and looked up at me. “Where’s Wolf ?”
Oh, I did not want to go there. This was the reason I never invited dates to my events. I should be concentrating on the event, not bickering with another woman. I spoke very calmly, hoping she wouldn’t make a scene. “I have no idea.”
“He must be here somewhere. I haven’t been able to reach him on his cell phone.”
I shrugged, and she took off at a jog, headed deeper into the exhibit hall. Somehow, I didn’t think he was hiding in one of the booths, but that was her business.
Satisfied that the microphone worked, I rushed to the banquet manager to remind him about the music that should already be playing.
I’d just returned when Camille and Nolan arrived. Nolan nodded in my general direction and wandered off, while Camille expressed her delight with the simple decor she’d chosen.
One by one the exhibitors filtered in and waiters poured wine for them. The classical music Camille had requested played over speakers, but that didn’t drown out clinking, hammering, thuds, and the echoes of a nail gun as exhibitors showed off their products to each other. The proud vendor of the backyard bulldozer started it up and gave rides through the hall, much to Camille’s chagrin. I noticed, though, that Nolan was one of the first to try it out.
Posey chatted with Nina, Iris, and an older woman I suspected was Iris’s grandmother, since I could see a strong family resemblance.
Nina sidled up to me, wineglass in hand. “Iris says that Tara spent hours poking around at Mordecai’s house this afternoon.”
“Did she find anything?”
“She was very excited when she left. I’m going over to Kurt’s booth to snoop again. If Earl shows up, tap the microphone so I can get out of there.”
It wasn’t a good plan, but I was certain nothing had changed, so it wouldn’t hurt for Nina to snoop if it would make her feel better. I was glad to see Ted checking the liner on his pond. The last thing I needed tonight was another leak. His wife and Mike looked on, laughing about something.
Natasha walked in like she owned the place. Wearing a form-fitting dress adorned with bugle beads, she turned on the charm and flitted from one person to another. But she found the time to annoy me. “You must help me convince Camille to stop holding this banquet on Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s should be a couples’ evening, not spent in a crowded room. Mars didn’t have to do a thing beyond tell his secretary to order flowers for me. We should be having a romantic interlude right now, not glad-handing everyone.”
As the crowd grew, it became difficult to keep track of the guests, but I did notice Earl, in a dress cut so low that everyone was talking about it. I scooted back to the microphone, tapped it a couple of times, and muttered “testing.” Hopefully, Nina could hear me back at the Finkel Kitchen booth.
When I stepped off the podium, a hand slipped around my waist and someone nuzzled my ear. I jerked away. As soon as I saw Wolf, dashingly handsome in a dark blue suit and a red tie, I wished I hadn’t shifted away. But then I thought it a rather daring move for a man who came with another woman. Did that mean there was nothing between them? I struggled with that question, confused yet pleased at the same time.
“Did Tara find you?” I asked.
Subtly, so that no one would notice unless they were paying close attention, he wound his fingers into mine. “No. Was she looking for me?”
“Just a little while ago.”
“I’ll see her when we sit down to eat.”
So it
was
a date. And he didn’t seem the least bit perturbed by the fact that I knew. How could he have a date with her, yet be so intimate with me? I never imagined Wolf as a two-faced kind of guy. He had always impressed me as being straightforward. I didn’t think I cared much for this side of him. I wanted to ask questions, to find out what was going on with him and Tara, but it was neither the time nor the place. As much as I’d have liked to pursue the subject, I had a job to do first. Making an excuse, I wandered away into the crowd.
To my surprise, Humphrey arrived with Francie, who’d dressed for the occasion in a sturdy tweed skirt and jacket more suited to walking the moors. Certainly not the date Humphrey had hoped for, but maybe they would enjoy themselves.
Humphrey made the mistake of leading Francie to the same table where Iris Ledbetter and her guest placed their purses. Francie took one look at Iris’s guest, who wore oversized glasses with enormous white frames that covered nearly half her face, and said, “Bedelia. Still dressing like a drag queen, I see.”
“Good heavens! Is that you, Francie? What’s it been—twenty years? And you still fit into that thrift store outfit.”
“Where are my manners?” Francie cooed. “Allow me to introduce Humphrey. While you came with your grand-daughter, I’m here with a date. Who, I might add, is thirty years younger than me.”
Bedelia looked him over. “How much is she paying you to be her escort?”
Humphrey flushed with embarrassment, and I was sorry I didn’t have time to hang around and listen to the two old ladies go at it.
But I stopped long enough to find out more about what had excited Tara. “Iris, I hear Tara spent the afternoon at Mordecai’s house.”
“She’s an odd duck.” Iris shuddered. “I hate to think our safety is in her hands. She found a feather and carried it around with her like it was important.”
A feather from Hank I wondered?
“And then she kept dropping it in the family room. She’d throw it down and pick it back up. Throw it down, watch it, and pick it back up. Very odd. I’m just thankful that Kurt wasn’t there.”
“Oh?” Iris had a problem with Kurt?
Iris’s mouth bunched up like she’d eaten something sour. “Is Natasha always so stubborn? I’m furious with her for hiring Kurt without consulting me. We’re co-chairs, but she thinks she’s running the show.”
“Natasha thinks she knows everything,” I conceded. I waited for Iris’s anger about being forced to babysit the house instead of tending to her exhibit.
“She’s met her match this time. Natasha wasn’t at Mordecai’s this afternoon, so I contracted with Ted and Mike to redo the kitchen. But we’re going to be sly, so that Natasha will think it’s her idea.” Her laugh had a wicked tinge to it, and was so loud that several people turned to look at us. “She may think she’s manipulating me, but I’m no dummy.”
Beside me, Iris’s Nana suddenly screeched, “Teddy, darling!” Ted ambled over, grinning from ear to ear. Bedelia planted a kiss on his cheek and lifted a lock of his hair. “Not as curly as it was when you were little, but you’re still so handsome.” She turned to Iris. “Do you remember all those curls? The girls loved him, but poor Teddy was so shy.”
I excused myself because Nina was motioning to me, panic on her face. “He’s here.”
“Who?” I asked.
“Kurt. And I saw his wife.”

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