Chapters (84)
“When are you bringing back the sheep?” the guard asked Daphne.
“Not till I’m good and ready,” Daphne cried.
Janey froze and watched Daphne fly out the door.
The guard shook his head and looked at Janey. “She’d better bring them back today. Thomas really wants them here for the party.”
Through the glass panes on the front door, Janey could see Daphne jump in a cab. This is my chance for redemption, Janey thought, and ran outside. Another cab had just let out a fare next door. Janey flung her body into the backseat and yelled, “Follow them!”
76
Back in Nat’s living room, Regan sat down on the couch, glad for a quiet moment, and turned on a table lamp. It was only three o’clock, but the room felt dim and gray. It was the kind of room on the kind of day where one would be inclined to curl up with a good book, a cup of tea, and a blanket. Maybe even take a nap. But not after last night. Regan shuddered. Or the night before. Now Regan had no desire to ever close her eyes in the place again. She didn’t even want to let herself blink.
Clara had put all the books back on the shelves. The space in front of the window once occupied by the sheep was now empty. Thomas had said Nat and Wendy used to joke that Dolly and Bah-Bah were like their kids. They certainly had a place of honor in this room, Regan thought, the room where “the Suits” used to play cards.
Thomas had also mentioned to her that Nat and Ben told him that they’d bring the diamonds out of the safe during every card game and have some fun with them. They’d explained, “What good is having valuable diamonds all these years if you don’t enjoy them in some way?” So what could you do with them that would be so much fun? Regan wondered.
She picked up the phone and called Detective Ronald Brier. When he answered, she told him about the towels and the perfume.
“So who wore the perfume?” he asked.
“Georgette Hughes.”
“You don’t have an address for her, right?”
“Right.”
“And of course none of these people from the singles group gave a date of birth.”
“It is a singles group,” Regan said.
Brier checked his list. “We have nothing on her. The club employees were easy to look up since we had a social security number and date of birth for each of them. But the others are much more difficult.”
“Okay,” Regan said. “Georgette is going to be at the party tonight. I’ll see what else I can find out.”
“You’re going back to California on Monday, aren’t you?”
“Yes. And I’m afraid I’ll be leaving without having been of much help on this case. It’s all pretty frustrating.”