Cameron slipped upstairs to poke around while the party was in full swing. I kept an eye on Julia and Bruce. We still had no idea how deeply Matt was involved and couldn’t afford to take any chances with him, either. If he started upstairs, Kate would call Cami’s cell immediately.
Every minute seemed like an hour. The whole time she was gone, I hadn’t been able to think about anything other than what would happen if something went wrong. What if she got caught with her hand in a dresser drawer? Worse yet, what if she was caught going through papers or something? Even though she looked a bit pale, relief washed over me when our undercover agent glided down the stairs.
Kate noticed her about the same time I did. A signal passed between us, and we all headed for the bathroom next to the utility room. Once inside, we locked the door.
Cami babbled, “T-Tucker walked in on me. What if it had been one of them?”
She couldn’t stop shaking.
Kate placed her hands on Cami’s shoulders and said, “Get a grip on yourself. You’re safe, okay? Did you find anything?”
“Well, I was just coming out of this huge closet when I heard a noise and didn’t know who it was. I’d found…”
She buried her face in her hands and took several deep breaths. When she looked up, her vivid blue eyes seemed enormous in her pale face. “I have to center myself. I thought I was about to die when I realized someone was in the room. Tucker was probably as shocked to see me as I was to see her.”
“What did you do?”
Her voice sounded shaky when she said, “At first when I heard sounds, I thought about slipping behind the drapes and creeping out onto the balcony, but then realized I had no idea if there was a balcony. You know how crazy thoughts fly through your mind when you’re scared. Well, I figured I would climb down a trellis and come back in through the front door like they always do in the movies. Have you ever noticed? Somehow a trellis is always right there, and it’s always strong enough to hold the weight.” She stopped to take a breath. “I’m such a klutz, though, I probably would have broken a leg or something.”
I shoved the glass of white wine I’d been holding into her hand. “Here, take a slug of this. By the way, do you suppose Charlie’s Angels ever felt this nervous?”
“Them? Heck, all they had to do was flip to the end of the script to know they’d be safe. After all, the writers couldn’t kill off an Angel.” She gave a little shiver. “I’m not sure I’m cut out for this.”
I shrugged. “I don’t think any of us are. Hell, accountants aren’t known for being overly adventurous. So, there you were with Tucker—what happened next?”
She sat down on the closed lid of the toilet, rested her elbows on her knees and cradled her face. Her eyes remained closed as she strained to remember everything.
Kate and I sat on the edge of the bathtub overwhelmed by the scent of lavender room freshener. Lavender is supposed to be relaxing, but this batch must have been defective because I was as nervous as a rabbit being chased by a pack of dogs.
Cameron blinked a few times. “Let me see. The first room off the stairs is an office with a beautiful carved desk and some file cabinets—wooden ones that matched the desk. Neither the desk nor the cabinets had locks. I figured I’d check the bedroom out first, then hit the office.”
“But the office is where we would be likely to find anything. Why the bedroom?”
“Well we know it’s her signature on the papers for the house, but I wanted to find out if she’s actually living here. You know, maybe she was just part of a group that bought it. I thought I had time to check out both.”
Kate smiled and touched her forehead like a seer. “Depending upon what you found, I see an undercover mission in our future. Of course we’d have to figure out how to get back in, but I’m sure we’ve all read enough books and seen enough detective shows to at least have some ideas. Right?”
I interrupted. “That’s not getting us anywhere right now. Besides, it doesn’t happen in real life like it does according to a script. You’re talking about actually breaking into some-one’s house. We’re better off if we find out as much as we can tonight.”
Cami held out Kate’s camera. “Good thing you brought this. It’s so easy to use and I love that nice wide angle. We can upload the pictures later, but at least I confirmed she’s not just a signature on escrow papers. Julia definitely lives here.”
She got up from the toilet and looked in the mirror, running her fingers through her hair. “I managed to hustle Tucker out of the room before she could see much. I told her I’d been looking for a bathroom but the master bath was locked. I made it sound urgent when I said we’d both better get out of there quick before we got in trouble.”
“Did she say what she was doing in forbidden territory”?
Cami looked like her mind had suddenly gone blank. She tapped her chin, thinking. “Yeah. Something about wanting to see what else the designer had done and how much she missed decorating elegant houses. I sort of felt sorry for her, but then all of us have given up what we thought we’d have forever, haven’t we?”
My patience had worn thin. Cami always drew things out for the dramatic impact which probably stemmed back to “selling the sizzle” in her advertising days. At that very moment, she was the ultimate drama queen. We had to speed things up. “Look, we need to get back out there before we’re missed. What—did—you—find—in—the—office?”
“Office? Oh, I didn’t get into the office. I was too scared. But man, you should have seen that bathroom. Fit for a queen.” She wrinkled her nose. “I tried to imagine a sexy movie star in a tub of bubble bath, but the image I got instead was a naked Julia looking like one of those fat babes in a Rubens painting.” A weak chuckle escaped. “Her rolls of fat had rolls.”
“Big deal. It was a fantastic bathroom. If you never got to the office what are you so pleased about?”
Cami bit her lower lip. “Well, perched on the edge of a huge marble Jacuzzi tub, right where she could look at it while soaking, a beautiful silver frame held a photo of her and Bruce in a very cozy pose. It looked like it was shot in some tropical place—maybe Hawaii or the Caribbean.” She flashed a triumphant smile. “That proves they were involved. Even if they’re not together now, my bet is he’s definitely part of all of this.”
Kate interrupted. “Geeze, Cami. That’s interesting, but it doesn’t show they’re stealing money. Only that they had an affair.”
The blonde sleuth’s eyes filled with tears. She continued as though Kate hadn’t said anything. “I think the picture was probably taken long ago. She was wearing this sarong and looked about fifty pounds lighter. With her hair down and a pretty curvy figure, I really could picture them as a couple. I couldn’t help wondering if that was before or after Bruce got married.”
Kate smirked. “With Bruce, it could have been either.”
I’d just about had it. “Cami, look at me! Did you find anything we can use? Anything at all?”
“Well, when I peeked in the closet, which by the way was as big as my own bedroom, it was filled with enough expensive clothes, shoes and handbags to open a plus-size boutique. Who knew they made such sexy clothes for big women?”
I couldn’t resist saying, “If she keeps gaining weight like she has been since we joined the company, she’ll need a tent maker, not a dressmaker.”
“Aw, I guess I’d eat for pleasure, too, if I had to spend so much time in Paradise with Lena. I did find an XXL tee shirt. I think the cartoon on the front was supposed to be a prison warden. He was shouting “Start Spreading the News.” I actually laughed out loud looking at that stupid drawing. Except for the uniform he looked more like an inmate who needed a shave. Apparently it was from a prison conference a few years ago.”
“Oh, that will be wonderful evidence.”
“Hey, Smarty, there was a Louis Vuitton briefcase on a shelf in the closet. I almost had it open when I heard Tucker.”
I didn’t mean to be hard on Cami. She did the best she could, but it seemed so futile at that point. We had nothing but a picture of Julia and Bruce in a love nest.”
I’m not sure what got into me, but I stalked out of the bathroom, determined to get into the office. I’d made it halfway up the stairs when I heard Julia call, “Kimberly, where do you think you’re going? You know the second floor is off limits.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I turned and came back down while my heart did a lively cha-cha. “Sorry, Julia. This is such a beautiful place I didn’t think anyone would notice if I sneaked upstairs for a peek.”