“You’re way closer to that mark than me,” Adelaide said. “And yours is sincere. Since the LeDoux are faking class, they’ll crumble. Mark my words.”

“I hope they last long enough for me to get a tour of the house,” Marina said.

Adelaide frowned. “Why on earth would you want to see more of this garish pile of crap?”

Marina shrugged. “Basic curiosity. Not like I get invited up here on my own.”

Adelaide motioned to someone across the room and before Marina could ask what she was up to, Dottie walked up.

“We’ve been talking to your date,” Marina said.

Dottie sighed. “I know. It appears hell has frozen over. But she convinced me we might be needed.”

“And you’re up,” Adelaide said. “Marina would like a tour of the house and since neither Preston nor Janice is likely to offer that up, I need you to ask.”

Dottie’s expression never changed, nor did she ask a single question. She simply headed off in Janice’s direction. Marina felt her chest tighten just a little. These were two of the women she respected the most in Last Chance and they were trying to help her, no questions asked. It was both humbling and somewhat overwhelming.

Marina watched as Janice’s face lit up at the chance of showing off her home to Dottie. Until Dottie waved for Adelaide and Marina to join her. Then she looked as if she’d been sucking on lemons, but she did her best to hide her dismay when Dottie looked back at her.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Luke asked.

“No,” Marina said. “I’ve got this. Janice is a coward. No way would she try anything. And definitely not in front of Dottie. Go mingle with all the people you need to talk to. In case this goes south soon, I’m going to need a ride home.”

“Or to the sheriff’s department,” Adelaide said.

“Yeah, I’m trying to spend less time there,” Marina said as they crossed the room to where Dottie was standing with the unsmiling Janice.

“Oh, great,” Dottie said as they stepped up. “Now we can get going. I just love what you’ve done with this wallpaper, Janice. Did you pick the pattern yourself or did you use a decorator?”

Marina could tell Janice was struggling with being angry that she had to host Marina directly and wanting to bask in Dottie’s praise. The wallpaper looked like something that belonged in a bordello owned by the color-blind, and Marina was certain Dottie hated it as much as Marina did, but that just showed the first lady’s ability to work a crowd.

As they walked through the six bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs, Marina made a point to sidle close to any furniture that looked like it might hold jewelry. But nothing tugged at her. Well, except for the fact that the place looked like it had been furnished by children. The decor and furniture were so mismatched, it almost made Harold’s mother’s taste look exquisite. Preston and Janice’s room was all red and shiny gold and made her wish she was wearing sunglasses. The suite Patricia and her husband shared was shiny silver and bright pink. It looked like a room in a cheap Vegas hotel. But Chastity’s room was the worst. Despite the fact that the “girl” was in her twenties, her room was decorated with unicorns. It looked like a preteen occupied it.