“That’s good to know. Are you sure you wouldn’t like some coffee or a soft drink?”

“No, ma’am, I’m fine. I would like to say I think the article the Sentinel did on you yesterday was very interesting. I’m intrigued with the idea of a movie. I understand Cady is back. We used to be friends a long time ago. Is she here? I’d like to say hello. I didn’t know until I read the article that Cady never regained her memory of the accident. That must be horrible for her.”

“Cady is here, but she’s busy right now and can’t join us. You should call her. I’m sure she’d love to hear from you. We’re working on her memory with some very interesting doctors who are promising us a full recovery. It’s all going to be in the movie. Cady is so excited about that. I am, too. That was a very tragic time in our lives, but we’ve moved forward. Cady is so resilient. How she was able to put those three years of agony behind her is something I will never be able to understand. It was all so…tragic,” Lola said for the second time.

“Yes, it was a terrible thing and something I’m sure you don’t want to dwell on. I guess that wraps up our business then, Miss Jor Dan. If you need me for anything, I’m just a phone call away. Tell Cady I said hello, and I’ll give her a call. Perhaps she would like to have dinner with me one night. It’s always nice to meet up with old friends. Mac Ward, we used to call him Boomer, is back in town, too. I ran into him over the weekend. I’m sure he’ll be calling Cady, too.”

“That will be nice. Cady needs to be around young people, not stuck here in the house with us old codgers. She’s helping me with my memoirs and trying to finish up her dissertation, and you know how that goes. She’s just a very busy young lady these days.” Lola looked toward the ceiling, her expression right out of her third scene in To the End of Time, her first Oscar-winning role.

“I understand. There are many days when I wish for a few more hours myself. I’ll see myself out. By the way, this is a lovely house. Remember now, call me any time of the day or night if you need me.”

“I’ll do that, Mr. Danson.”

“Call me Pete.”

“All right, Pete. It was nice to meet you.”

After Pete left, Mandy stuck her head in the door. “Well?” she asked.

“Well nothing. He said my affairs are in good order. Asked to talk to Cady, and he let me know Boomer is in town again. It might be my imagination, but I think he was a little nervous. Maybe we should pretend we have a prowler tonight. Perhaps our new chief, who started his job today, will come by himself to check it out. Of course, we won’t mention it to Cady. It might be worthwhile to send a generous check to the police department. Let’s wait until the first of next week, after he has settled in. Address the envelope to him. Tell them it’s for the K-9 division and those new cameras other police departments have in their patrol cars. The ones we were reading about last week. Tell them to allocate some to the PBA. Generou s, Mandy. If we decide not to go with the prowler thing, this will work just as well. I would think a personal visit by way of a thank-you would be in order.”