Irene was in the tearoom, positioned behind a massive potted palm, when Claudia arrived at precisely three fifteen just as the concierge, Mr. Fontaine, had predicted.
The waiter seated Claudia in a corner behind another potted palm. As soon as the first cup of tea had been poured, she took her notebook and a pencil out of her handbag. She opened the notebook and bent over it industriously.
Irene rose and moved as unobtrusively as possible around the room until she could approach Claudia from behind.
“Hello,” she said, trying for a warm, cheery tone. She glanced at a page of Claudia’s notes. “I see you know shorthand. I hadn’t realized that you trained as a secretary.”
Claudia jerked violently and looked up with an expression of near panic.
“Oh, it’s you,” she said. Her fear metamorphosed into irritation. She closed the notebook with a sharp snap. “What do you want?”
“Just a short chat. May I sit down?”
She seated herself quickly before Claudia could decide how to handle the situation.
Claudia picked up her teacup. “Mr. Ogden said you got fired from your job at Whispers.”
“Good news travels fast.”
“If you’re no longer a reporter, why should I talk to you?”
“Because I plan to get my job back. To do that I need a scoop.”
“If you think I’m going to help you pin Gloria Maitland’s death on Nick Tremayne, you’re crazy. If anything happens to Tremayne, I’m the one who will be unemployed.”
“Look, you told me from the start that Tremayne’s alibi for the Maitland death was solid. I didn’t believe you at first but I do now.”
Claudia looked wary. “Is that so?”
“I’m no longer trying to prove that Tremayne killed anyone. But I would like to know more about Daisy Jennings.”
“I can’t help you. I never met the woman. According to the local paper, you found the body.”
“I was not alone that time. Mr. Ward was with me.”
“Regardless, it strikes me as something of a coincidence that you were on the scene when another woman was found dead,” Claudia said.
“Believe me, that thought did occur to me. Shortly before she died, Daisy Jennings contacted me. She claimed she had something important to tell me. Do you have any idea what it was?”
“Not unless she was trying to get revenge on Mr. Tremayne.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Women are always throwing themselves at Mr. Tremayne, but the only thing he’s serious about is his career.”
“Where is Nick Tremayne right now?”
“At this very minute? Playing golf, not that it’s any of your business.”
“Alone?”
“Of course not. Men don’t play golf alone. He’s with a friend.”
“Someone from L.A.? Another star?”
“What?” Claudia frowned. “No. Someone he met here at the hotel. Another guest. Mr. Enright. Stop asking me questions. I would have thought you’d have learned your lesson by now.”
“What lesson is that?”
“According to Mr. Ogden at the studio, you lost your job and your landlady tossed you out of your apartment,” Claudia said. “Isn’t that bad enough? The men who run Mr. Tremayne’s studio are very powerful people. If you keep asking questions about Nick Tremayne, your life will get even more unpleasant, believe me.”
“Are you threatening me, Claudia?”
“Me? No. I’m just a lowly assistant. But I’ve worked at the studio long enough to know that men like Ogden can do a great deal of damage to people who get in their way. If I were you, Miss Glasson, I’d find another story. Leave Nick Tremayne alone.”
“Sounds like you’re afraid of this Mr. Ogden.”
“No, Miss Glasson, I’m not afraid of Earnest Ogden. I’m absolutely terrified of him.”
“Because he could get you fired?”
“In a heartbeat. Look, I’ll tell you the truth. Hollywood was the biggest mistake of my life. I’m not cut out for that world or this one here in Burning Cove, either. I’m just trying to keep my job long enough to get some money together so that I can go home.”
“What will you do when you go home?”
“What everyone told me I should do the day I graduated from high school.” Claudia got to her feet and collected her book and her handbag. “Get a job in a department store. Meet a nice guy who can support me. Get married.”
“Where is home?” Irene asked.
“A place where you don’t need to wear sunglasses every day of the year.”
Claudia walked swiftly toward the door of the glass-walled tearoom and disappeared out into the gardens.