Zanne supposed she understood why Ted was at odds with Caitlyn—his business had been threatened—but why had Holly felt threatened? And yet she had, for a time. Zanne had heard her on the phone and seen the emails Holly had sent to the other ladies who lunched. She’s such a flirt, can you blame him? I heard she was obsessed with Nick, actually. She’s always been difficult, that’s why they let her go from that TV show, too. Zanne had written it off as stupid gossip at the time. Now she heard the subtext running beneath—a fiery Latina, a vixen’s body, a troublemaker’s mouth. Putting it all together—the gala invite rescinded in secret, the settlement, the NDA, the fact that Caitlyn hadn’t landed a role in over a year—it added up to something more than just gossip. It looked like a campaign. And Zanne had played her part in it.

“There you are,” Erin said, the desperation in her voice so plain, you’d think she’d just lost Luca at Target. James appeared behind her.

“Here I am,” Zanne said.

“We can’t find Holly,” Erin said.

“Did you check upstairs?”

“Her car’s gone,” James said.

“She took off,” Erin said, gripping her portfolio so tightly she was bound to leave fingerprints. “In her car.”

“Shit. Is her driver’s license still current?”

“I renewed it for her last year, but I don’t know if she has it on her. Should we tell Ted? You know he doesn’t like it when she drives.”

“Holly’s car has GPS in it, right?” Zanne asked.

“Yeah,” James said.

“Can you figure out where she went?”

“Really, Zanne?”

“Well—”

“Tracking Holly’s car when she obviously wants privacy? It’s crossing a line.”

“Is it?” Zanne frowned.

What exactly was crossing a line where the Stablers were concerned, when the line had been drawn so faintly to begin with? When Holly dinged up the Range Rover last fall—Zoe had begged her mother to drop her off at a sleepover, just once, like the other mothers did—Ted emailed Holly to remind her to call on Ilya, certain it would be a better use of her time since she could read or send texts while in transit. He’d cc’ed Zanne, Dawn, Erin, Julia, Ilya, and James on the email—surely that was crossing a line, too?—and Zanne had wondered what action, exactly, she was supposed to take to ensure Holly’s compliance.

“I need to head home,” James said, disappearing down the hall.

“Can I show you something?” Erin said, opening her portfolio. “I was tidying up in Holly’s closet and I found this inside the purse she was carrying this morning.” She handed Zanne a folded-in-half postcard. It was the same one Zanne had tucked inside her notebook. Warrior Bride, a film by Phoebe Lee.