“And she’s got spit and vinegar this morning, too,” Lola said happily. “Darling girl, you do not have to go to the police station. You have nothing to apologize for if that is your intention. Wait him out. Pass the time today getting ready for your date with Peter Danson this evening.”

Cady continued to stare down at her likeness in the paper. She felt her face grow hot. “Maybe people will think it’s a costume,” she said.

“It says in the article it’s your underwear,” Mandy said. She gave a slow wink in Lola’s direction.

“Oh, shit!”

“My advice in case anyone is interested,” Anthony said imperiously, “would be to go into town and shop. Go to that bakery that is a hellhole of gossip, the drugstore where they try to sell you pots and pans, then to the hardware store where all the retirees gather to gossip. At each place mention the movie we aren’t going to make. Really give them all something to gossip about. When you do things like that it keeps everyone on edge. Then they get careless wondering what’s coming next, and that’s when someone will make a mistake. Trust me. I directed this same film a dozen different times. Oh, and make a stop at the cemetery, but be sure to take some flowers. We need to keep you front and center so everyone gets rattled, and by everyone, I mean your old friends and the King family.”

The fine hairs on the back of Cady’s neck started to itch. “All right, all right. I’ll get dressed and head for the bakery. Will that make you all happy?”

“Absolutely,” Lola said.

“Definitely,” Mandy smiled.

“Go for it,” Anthony said as he expertly flipped a pancake.

Cady ran her fingers through her hair. “Do the three of you trust me to dress myself?”

The trio nodded again, as Cady made her way out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room, where she stared at Ginger Rogers’s dancing shoes. Did Ginger dance her way through life, or were the shoes strictly for dancing on a stage? She wished Fred’s shoes were alongside the sparkly heels in the glass case.

Atlas stood guard outside the bathroom door while his mistress showered. He sniffed when she powdered up and sprayed on deodorant. He was ever watchful as she slipped into a silky yellow dress with buttons down the side that were the size of quarters and a brilliant lime green color. The slit going up the side of the dress was generous and showed just enough of Cady’s lightly tanned leg to make the outfit even more interesting. Sandals, the same shade as the buttons, were the last thing to be fished from the closet.

Cady was almost to the top of the steps when she turned around and went back to her room to put on a shimmering strand of pearls and pearl studs in her ears. Now, she was dressed.

Downstairs she paraded through the kitchen and waited patiently while Mandy tied a tartan neckerchief around Atlas’s neck. The neckerchief matched the leash hanging on the hook by the back door.