Rebecca folded her napkin and dropped it beside her plate. She smiled. “It’s good to have you back, Erica.”
“I’m glad to see you doing so well.” Erica returned her smile. “I don’t know what kind of condition I expected to find you in.”
Rebecca chuckled. “Probably in the middle of a breakdown.”
“You know me too well. That’s exactly what I thought. You took losing the baby and the surgery hard.”
“You know I loved Mindy dearly. I’d have done anything I could to prevent what has happened.” Rebecca sighed. “But I could never get through to her. Even when she lived in the house with us, she did as she pleased. Of course, she pulled most of her antics out of town. She finally moved out because she and Vernon couldn’t live under the same roof. The things she did drove him crazy.”
“I wondered why she chose a condo in that area,” Erica said, adding hastily, “not that there’s anything wrong with where she lived. I just thought she would want a different place.”
“I tried to get her to buy one of the places at Bermuda Run or Old Salem, but she refused. She said her friends wouldn’t come there like they’d never come to our house. She wanted to live where they’d feel comfortable visiting.”
“Rebecca, do you have any idea who killed her?”
“No. I wish I did. Nick...” She paused. “Do you remember Nick Quimbley from high school?”
“Nick Quimbley?” Erica turned her head and thought a minute. The sunlight caught on her tinted blonde hair and gave her kind of a Marilyn Monroe look. “I think I remember him. Didn’t he play football?”
“Yes.”
“I do remember him then. Good-looking guy. Why?”
“He has a private detective agency, and I’ve hired him to investigate Mindy’s death. He thinks we’ll put all the pieces together eventually.”
“Aren’t the police investigating?”
“Of course, but I hired Nick before they found Mindy’s body. I asked him to stay on the case until it’s solved. He’s working hard on it and says I just have to be patient.”
“He’s probably right.”
“Hello, ladies.” Millicent’s voice broke into the conversation as she came out onto the terrace.
“Ms. Davidson.” Erica stood. “You haven’t changed in all these years. I’m Erica Redmond. I was a Barrington before I married.”
“Erica. You were the skinny one with the freckles and the mousy brown hair, weren’t you?”
“Guilty.”
“What happened to your hair?”
“A good hair dresser and a bottle of bleach. What do you think of it?”
“You’re still pretty skinny, but your hair looks much better.”
Erica laughed and said, “Thanks. I like it better, too.”
“May I join you?” The older woman looked at Rebecca.
“Of course, Aunt Millicent.” Her niece smiled at her. “Where have you been anyway?”
“To see Willard Brookmeyer. I wanted to ask him some questions about the papers he gave me the other day.”
“Aunt Millicent, you didn’t.”
“I most certainly did. He said he’d have an accounting on everything in a day or two.”
“My aunt doesn’t trust my husband to run the company, Erica. She seems to think we’re going to be bankrupt in a short period of time. She’s convinced Vernon is stealing from us.”
“My niece will not open her eyes and realize what a bastard she married.”
Erica threw her head back and laughed. When she finished, she looked at Rebecca. “Sorry, my friend, but you know I don’t have a lot of use for Vernon, either.” Turning to Millicent, she said, “He turned up his nose at a waiter friend of mine. Wouldn’t even take the time to get to know the fellow, and he was a dear man.”
“Sounds like Vernon.” Aunt Millicent sat back in her chair. “He’s a real snob, and he doesn’t have the background to play that game.”
“Will you two stop it? You’re talking about the man I married.”
“I’m sorry.” Erica straightened. “But you know good and well he can’t stand me, and he probably feels the same way about your aunt.”
Rebecca didn’t say anything. What could she say? Erica was right. Vernon didn’t like either of them. How could he be so blind? They’re two of the dearest people in the world. Someday maybe he’ll come to think of them that way.
Even as she thought it, she knew it was such a remote possibility that she could never count on it. Vernon was stubborn. She’d never known him to change his mind about any situation, and he probably wouldn’t change it about Erica or Aunt Millicent, either. Too bad.
In the end, they all lost.