CHAPTER
thirty-nine 
SOMEHOW I GOT through the day after the earth-shattering news that Dad had rented the wedding tent. I went through the motions of grooming in a zombie-like state. They say that misery loves company, but I didn’t want to pass my sadness on to Alice.
I wrestled with whether I should tell my sister. In the end, I decided to delay the horrible news. People say, “Knowledge is power,” but I subscribed more to the “Ignorance is bliss” school.
At home, I managed to pass away the time by eating an actual TV dinner in front of the screen, with a double serving of Coolhaus ice cream afterward. The UCLA alumna–created frozen treat boosted my spirits a little.
I totally forgot I had any evening plans when the doorbell rang. After shoveling another spoonful into my mouth, I plunked down my spoon and went to the door and found Josh standing out front.
My hand flew to my sticky mouth in astonishment. I also tried to discreetly wipe away any ice cream trails.
Josh’s eyes darted to the TV tray with the tissue box and the bowl of melting ice cream. “What’s wrong, Mimi?”
I sniffled, and he came through the doorway and embraced me. There was something extremely comforting about being in his arms. It also unleashed a floodgate of tears from me.
In between sobbing and drenching his dress shirt, I managed to share the story of my dad’s betrayal. I couldn’t look Josh in the eye as I talked, but spoke right into his shoulder.
He made reassuring noises, and eventually the bass hum of his voice, along with the circles he traced on my back, soothed me. I cried myself out.
After a few more moments of him holding me, I pulled away and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “You had something nice planned for the two of us this evening.”
His mouth quirked. “Nothing fancy. Just a bit of stargazing in the courtyard.”
That I could handle. And maybe the cool breeze would dry away any new tears. I glanced back at the cats. Would they also want to enjoy the fresh air?
Marshmallow shook his head. “No way am I voluntarily going to freeze my tail off. And don’t involve Nimbus, either. I’m not letting her catch your strange human habit of staring at balls of gas in the sky.”
“Let’s go,” I said, slipping my hand into Josh’s.
We stepped outside. Josh had laid out a bamboo mat along with a thick blanket. We lay down next to each other, pulled the blanket over us, and gazed at the night sky. He took out a wrapped fortune cookie from his shirt pocket. “Want one?”
“Sure.” As I slipped it out from the cellophane, I couldn’t help but think of his collection of fortune cookies in the glass jar on his work desk. He said the positive sayings helped him feel better through stressful times.
He turned his head toward me, and his warm breath caressed my cheek as he spoke. “I wanted to surprise you,” he said. “Like you did that time you gave me dinner alfresco in this very courtyard.”
I’d brought him greasy Chinese takeout, so it wasn’t the best of impressions, but somehow I’d drawn him in. (Maybe it had to do with the free fortune cookies.) He’d forgiven me for my meet-oops when I’d blundered during our initial introduction.
“What’s your fortune say?” he asked.
I cracked open the cookie, pulled out the slip of paper, and read, “‘That special someone loves to see the light in your eyes.’”
“So true.” He held hands with me under the blanket.
Then we focused on the glittering stars above us. Okay, so I didn’t see that many stars because of the light pollution in L.A., but I spotted some shimmers here and there. I let the cookie dissolve in my mouth and reveled in its vanilla flavor.
As I relaxed under the stars, my situation felt somewhat bearable. Maybe because I was forced to think about the enormous expanse of the universe. My problem didn’t seem so big in comparison to the galaxy.
Josh squeezed my hand. “I’m not sure if this is any consolation, but I did have success in finding the info. Remember you asked me to learn more about Helen’s will?”
I stopped focusing on the stars and looked at Josh’s profile.
He kept staring at the velvet sky as he said, “Her fiancé doesn’t get any kind of settlement from her estate.”
Oh. I’d thought for sure—
“But there was a previous version of the will where Brandon had been entitled to a serious amount of money.”
I squeezed Josh’s hand tight in my excitement. Brandon had reserved his vacation in advance because, according to his coworker, he was in line for some money. Had he been plotting Helen’s murder ever since he’d found out he was written into her will? Only he hadn’t realized she’d changed it . . .
“Hope this helps,” Josh said.
In all my deep thinking, I’d forgotten to thank him. “Definitely. I really do appreciate you getting these details, Josh.”
He mumbled, “I wish I could somehow help you with your dad’s situation.”
“It’s enough that you’re right beside me as I go through it.”
We turned our attention back to the stars. And even though I hadn’t wished on a shooting star for Josh, I knew how lucky I was to have him in my life.
As I drove to work the next morning, Marshmallow and I discussed the case in the car. The conversation grew heated as we each provided evidence on our theories about who the culprit could be. Perhaps I even rushed through a few yellow lights because we were at Hollywoof a good fifteen minutes before opening time. However, I soon discovered we weren’t the only ones to show up so early.
“Speak of the devil,” Marshmallow said as we neared the shop’s entrance.
Marina sat on one of the wooden benches scattered across the palm tree–lined plaza. She waved at us, not that I could miss her since she wore a bright construction orange top.
“She’s probably not sitting around here to take in the beach air,” I whispered to Marshmallow.
I jingled my keys and said in a louder voice, “Let me put the cats indoors, and I’ll be right back.”
After settling Marshmallow and Nimbus inside Hollywoof, I made sure to open the store window facing the street. “So you can hear better,” I said to Marshmallow.
He nodded and perched on the windowsill.
When I returned outside, I noticed Marina trying to pat down her hair. It did seem particularly unruly today.
“Hi, Marina. What brings you to the area?” I asked as I sat down next to her.
“I found something,” she said, cradling her purse.
“Go on. Show me,” I said, giving her an encouraging smile.
She snapped open her bag, and her hand hovered above it. “You do know someone in the police department, right? I think you mentioned you had a contact.”
I vaguely remembered telling her that I could use my connections in case Helen’s father ever showed up uninvited and angry on her doorstep again. “Yes, I do know somebody.”
“Great.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a glossy brochure. “I found this among Helen’s things.”
The picture of a chapel and a smiling bride on the cover made the blood drain from my face.
“Are you all right?” Marina asked.
“Fine.” I gripped the brochure tightly.
“Well,” Marina said, “this could be of vital importance to figure out what really happened to Helen. You see, it’s all a sham . . .”
I tuned her out as my mind fixated on the stock image of the generic bride. Who was the mystery woman Dad had fallen for? Might I even know her?
“Do you believe me, Mimi?” Marina asked.
I refocused on her.
She patted my arm. “Just read the brochure, Mimi. The evidence is all in there.”
I promised her I’d do so on my lunch break. She walked away with a satisfied smile playing across her lips.