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Julie (Ron & Julie) Monday 12:00 p.m.
I will never figure out how I let myself be talked into meeting Detective O’Connor’s old girlfriend, but in my defense, Alice can be a bit of a steamroller. I worked until ten Monday morning on what had become simply “The Project” in my mind, trying to get a handle on how I’d fit hundreds of bits of information onto a map mounted on poster board. It would have to be more than one sheet, I decided. Maybe four. I left my configurations when Alice came out of her trailer, waved, and started the car. Grabbing my purse, I went out to join her.
We entered the Miracle Mall on Sunset Drive and turned right at a sign that said Dream Escapes was that way. The store turned out to be one of those “Oh, my!” lingerie places, and I glanced around, hoping no one I knew saw me go inside. As I tried to ignore the scantily clad mannequins and tables laid with “Oh my goodness!” merchandise, Alice ordered, “Keep the blonde clerk busy. I’ll see what the ex has to say.”
I’d recognized Jenni right away, though she was coiffed and dressed more elegantly than the beach shots she’d posted. She was behind the desk, peering at a computer screen. Her name tag identified her as the store manager.
The other woman glanced up at us, set down her phone, and asked, “How can I help you?”
“I need a—um, I’d like to look at...” What? I’d never worn such skimpy underwear, and at my age it was silly to pretend I might.
“She needs a gift for her granddaughter’s bridal shower,” Alice supplied. “We were thinking a teddy.”
“Cool.” Blondie set her phone down and came out from behind the counter. “Do you know her size?”
“Medium.”
“Perfect. Open crotch or crotch-less?”
That stopped me for a moment. “Do they come with crotches?”
“Sure.” She led me to a table laden with garments that looked as if the seamstress had gone to lunch without finishing them. “These two have crotches, but the boobs are out.” I must have looked horrified, because she went on to another stack. “These may be more what you’re thinking of.”
I hadn’t been thinking of anything even close, but I managed to look interested as she lauded the various choices, sheerness, color, level of “attraction.” She didn’t mention durability, which is something I look for in underwear. Probably not a selling point here.
When Alice finally came to join me, I told the clerk I needed to keep looking. “I’ll probably be back for the green one,” I said. She smiled at the familiar lie and faded back to her spot behind the counter, where she took up her phone and promptly forgot us.
“I hope that was worth the embarrassment I suffered,” I told Alice when we’d left the store.
“Every bit,” she replied. “Let’s have ice cream for lunch, and I’ll tell you all about Detective O’Connor.”
I ordered the smallest sundae on the menu. Alice doesn’t need to worry about what ice cream will do to her hips, but since menopause hit and changed everything about me, I do. As we sat at a small table with those cute but uncomfortable wire-backed chairs, she passed on what she’d learned.
“I told Miss Jenni how you were recently in the news because you helped catch a killer. I casually mentioned that the detective on the case, Ray O’Connor, said you were instrumental in solving the crime.”
“And she reacted to the name.”
“Of course she did.” Alice licked her cone where ice cream had begun running down the side. “Jenni and Ray were an item for about a year. They never moved in together, but he stayed over at her place quite often, and they were...What’s the term? Exclusive.”
“What went wrong?”
“Nothing specific. Ray was considerate and easy to be with. He tolerated her cats—she has three—and was great with her parents and younger brother. But after a while Jenni realized there wasn’t any spark. They were okay together but not great. I got the impression that Ray can be...emotionally distant. Jenni wanted more, and she claims she’s found it with a guy named Paolo.”
“And how did O’Connor take that?”
“Like a gentleman. In fact, Jenni suspects he was waiting for her to break up with him.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Jenni’s known O’Connor for years, and she says he kind of floats along in a relationship, putting off commitment until the woman gives up and moves on.” She licked at the cone. “One would hope if he really loved someone, he’d fight to keep her, but so far, that hasn’t happened.”
I finished my teeny-tiny bowl of butter pecan. “Does that convince you that O’Connor isn’t some womanizer who’s lying to Marlene?”
“We know he’s a decent guy,” Alice replied. “It’s up to her to either pull him in or push him away.”
“And how would she do that?” I grinned. “It’s been a long time since I had to plot how to get a guy to make a commitment.”
“It’s different for everybody,” Alice said, “I’d say Marlene has to do something that shows him she has options. If he doesn’t step up, she’ll know she doesn’t mean that much to him.”
“She needs to give him a shove and see what happens.”
“Exactly,” Alice said. “If it’s nothing, she’ll be sad, but at least she’ll see that her faint hope isn’t going to turn into hearts and flowers.”
