Dino tore a roll in two and stuffed his mouth. “She’s afraid of her mother? Didn’t they live together?”
“Not anymore.” Stone explained the situation.
“Is her mother a drunk or an addict?”
“No evidence of that. She has a drink when I’m there.”
“Well,” Dino said. “If Vanessa is afraid of her mother, then I’m afraid for Vanessa.”
“So am I, but I don’t know what to do about it.”
“Get her out of there.”
“She’s just moved in, and she likes it.”
“How’s her recovery coming?”
“She’s been in a wheelchair, but not the last time. She seems pretty normal.”
“Does she want sex?”
“No sign of that.”
“When she wants sex, that’s when she’s normal. Then get her out. You’ve got plenty of room, and Holly has split.”
“I’ve offered, but she hasn’t taken me up on it.”
“Does the mother know about Peter’s will?”
“I don’t think so. If she did, she’d know about the apartment.”
“Sooner or later the mother is going to get a letter from the executor, and she’ll know about the apartment; you’d better get Vanessa out before that happens.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Stone said.
After lunch, Stone went back to Vanessa’s. She greeted him at the door with a warm, lingering kiss. “I think I must be all well,” she said.
Stone followed her into the bedroom. The nurse was nowhere in sight.
“The nurse is shopping,” Vanessa said, unzipping her dress and letting it fall to the floor. She was naked. “I gave her a long list,” she said, working on Stone’s buttons.
A half hour later they lay in each other’s arms, panting. “How do you feel?” Stone asked.
“Better than I have since the fateful dinner,” she replied.
“Then you’re going to need regular attention,” he said, “and that’s best done at my house.”
“I like it here.”
“Shortly, Betty is going to get a letter from Bryce Gelbman, informing her of the existence and contents of Peter’s will. Then she will be looking for you here.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” she said.
“Pack a couple of bags. Fred is downstairs with the car. We’ll make you very comfortable at my house.”
Vanessa got to her feet, and Stone watched her closely, to see if she had any balance problems. There were none. The nurse returned and was dismissed.
Stone installed Vanessa in the master bedroom and helped her put her clothes in the dressing room. “You take a nap, then come down to the study at six, and we’ll have a drink before dinner.”
“I feel up to going out,” Vanessa said.
“Betty knows too many people; we shouldn’t be seen together right now.”
“Oh, all right, I’ll see you at six.”
At six, Stone poured them both a drink and sat down beside her on the sofa. “I’ve had a thought,” he said. “I’ve got houses in England and France—also L.A.—and I have an airplane. Paris is not a good idea right now, because Chekhov is there.”
“So, it’s England or L.A.? Are we safe in London?”
“I have a country place, as well. Betty is unlikely to turn up on the doorstep.”
“Where is your house in L.A.?”
“At the Arrington Hotel. It’s a separate house, very private.”
“Let me think about it,” she said.
Over dinner, Stone asked, “How long have you lived with Betty?”
“Not since I was eighteen,” she replied. “She’s lived with me for nearly six months while her apartment is being renovated.”
“You own two apartments at 1010?”
“I do. When she moves back to her place, I’ll sell the one downstairs.”
“When is she scheduled to move back into her own place?”
“Three months ago,” Vanessa replied. “Maybe I can hurry the process a little.”
“How?”
She explained her plan.
The following morning, early, he phoned Betty.
“Hello, Stone,” she said without enthusiasm.
“Good morning, Betty. I’ve heard from Vanessa.”
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know. We spoke on the phone, but she wouldn’t tell me where she’s moved. She asked me to speak to you and say that she’s going to put the 1010 apartment on the market today, so you should expect a Realtor to turn up with prospects.”
“That’s very inconvenient,” Betty said.
“Vanessa says that you have an apartment of your own, and it’s silly to keep money tied up at 1010. Surely your apartment can be moved into after six months.”
“There were delays.”
“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to live with that. She’d like you to move immediately. She wants the furnishings for her new apartment.”
“I don’t really feel like moving,” Betty said.
“Then I’ll have to have you removed.”
“You can’t do that!”
“Betty, you’re a guest, not a tenant. You don’t have a lease. All I have to do is to have your things put in storage and change the locks.”
“Tell Vanessa I want to talk to her first.”
“She says she doesn’t want to speak with you, that everything she has to say was in her letter to you.”
“This is very unkind of her.”
“It was very kind of her to allow you to stay in her home for six months. The first prospective buyers will be there at one o’clock, and there will be others before the day is out. The Realtor has the key, and she’ll let herself in. Please ask the housekeeper to tidy up after you. Goodbye, Betty.” Stone hung up, and turned to Vanessa. “Why do you think this is going to work?”
“She won’t be able to live with Realtors and viewers prowling around the place. She has a thing about her privacy. She’ll go.”