9

Perino’s

Vivian sat at the table and watched David and the others for a few more minutes.  “Well, here goes nothing.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Carole asked.

“No, it’s better if I do this by myself.”

“Remember what I said.  Put those weasels on the spot, put them in their place, and walk away with your head held high.” 

She flashed a grin at Carole and headed through the crowd.  David was leaning against the bar with his back to her now, conversing with the others, and the brunette couldn’t have stood any closer to him if she tried.

Vivian rested her elbow on the bar directly behind David, and the bartender immediately rushed over to her.  She shook her head.  “I’m all set.  Thank you.” 

Chuck noticed her first, and he nudged Stu.  Then David glanced over his shoulder and took a double take.  Carole was right again.  All three of them looked guilty as sin.

She smiled.  “Hello, David.”

“Vivian!  It’s...it’s good to see you again.”

She nodded to Chuck and Stu, and they both mumbled some sort of awkward greeting.  “It’s been a long time, fellas,” she went on.  “You’re all looking well.”  Intentionally, she ignored the brunette, who was staring at her with grating curiosity.  “I see the three of you are still playing golf on Tuesday.  George used to enjoy it so much.  It was his favorite day of the week.” 

David cleared his throat.  “Yeah, we miss him.  At least they finally caught the man responsible.”

“I read about it in the newspaper.  That’s such a relief.  Did you hear that Tilly Trimble was murdered yesterday?  You knew her, didn’t you?  What a shame.  She was so young.  I wonder who killed her?  Anyway, I won’t take up any more of your time.  I just wanted to see how you were all doing.  Have a good evening.” 

She moved to leave, but she wasn’t finished yet and turned to face them again.  “Oh, I nearly forgot, David.  Please give your wife, Julie, my best.  I hope your kids are doing well, too.  Chuck and Stu, tell your wives that I said hello.” 

With that, she turned around and made her grand exit back to her table, smiling and holding her head up high.  Then she collapsed in her chair.  “Did you see their faces?”

“Holy crap, that was priceless!” Carole laughed.  “It’s not over, either.  I don’t know what the heck you said to them, but all three women are furious.”  She took a sip of her drink and nearly spit it back out.  “Quick, Vivian, look!  The brunette just threw her drink right in David’s face, and she’s screaming at him.  You think I use foul language.  Listen to her!”

Vivian snickered.  “My, she does have a temper, doesn’t she?  Even the poor bartender can’t calm her down.”

“Here comes Gabriel.  He’ll either settle the girls down or toss them out the door.”

The two of them sat there, staring at the heated spectacle, along with most of the other patrons.  Finally, the brunette snatched her purse, spouted off at David again, and led the way out of the lounge with the other two women right behind her.  To top Vivian’s night off, Gabriel spoke to David, Chuck, and Stu and asked them to leave the premises.

“Show’s over,” Carole laughed.  “Well done, Viv.”

“That felt wonderful.”  She picked up a piece of stuffed celery and sat back in her seat, munching on it. 

“Crap, you’ll never guess who just showed up to spoil your moment of glory.”

Vivian looked behind her.  Preston Stone stood in the doorway with one of his platinum-blonde trophies clutching his arm, a young woman who barely looked old enough to drink and wore a revealing flamingo-pink gown.  Preston grinned like a Cheshire cat as he gathered everyone’s attention.  Then he threw his hand into the air, waved to the crowd, and headed for the bar.

Vivian hoped for his sake he kept his distance from her tonight.  She wasn’t in the mood to lock horns with him again, especially after what they went through at the hotel yesterday.

“I know Preston is a rascal,” Carole said as she watched him.  “I also understand your resentment toward him for hurting Patricia, but she’s happier than a lark now, isn’t she?  You said she’s marrying a terrific guy in a few months.”

“Yes...but look at him.  Preston is so pompous and full of himself.  The only difference between him and George and his golfing buddies is that he’s not married.  That still doesn’t give him the right to use women for his own amusement and then dump them the minute he grows tired of them.”

“There is another difference between Preston and the others,” Carole told her.  “With Preston, what you see is what you get.  He has never put on pretenses of being anything other than what he is, a flamboyant and incorrigible playboy.  Patricia knew all about him when she started seeing him.”

Vivian couldn’t argue that point.  She had even warned Patricia about Preston herself, but her sister refused to listen and went out with him, anyway.  Then she cried on her shoulder for a month before deciding to move back to New York City.  “Why are you suddenly defending him, Carole?”

“I don’t think I want to tell you now.  You’ll get mad at me.”

“Don’t be silly.”

Carole hesitated.  “Preston and his parents are coming to my garden party on Thursday.  I had to invite them.  Randolph and Nita Stone are very nice people and generous to a fault.  They’ve donated to so many worthy causes.  I don’t want you to change your mind about coming to it just because Preston will be there.”

“I expected him to come,” she told Carole.  “He’s invited to every function in California.”

“Well, then hopefully you won’t mind that I also took the liberty of sending an invitation to Gary Rutherford.”

Vivian couldn’t believe her ears.  “You did what?”

“Don’t look so surprised.  You know how meddlesome I can be, especially when it comes to affairs of the heart.  I saw you talking with him at your fashion show last Friday.  You said you were hoping to hear from him.”

“I meant for business reasons, not personal!”

“Well, I thought you’d enjoy seeing him again.  Don’t worry.  I cleverly invited several other executives from Bullock’s, so it wouldn’t seem so obvious.  You need to look to the future, Viv.  You’re too young to spend it alone.  After what you discovered tonight, I think it’s perfect timing, and you should thank me.”

Annette approached their table, silencing Vivian.  “Ladies, these cocktails are from the gentleman at the bar.”  She set two more margaritas on the table.

Carole smiled at Vivian.  “See?  Preston Stone isn’t such a bad rogue after all.”

“They aren’t from Mister Stone,” Annette said.

“Who bought them?” Vivian asked.

“Mister Shaw, the mayor’s brother.  He’s standing at the other end of the bar.”

They both looked over, but Vivian was the only one who caught a frown as Joe Shaw lifted his drink to them in a toast.

Carole returned his gesture.  “Well, this is a surprise.  I heard the mayor and his brother were a couple of cheapskates.  Thank you, Annette.”

Vivian remained silent.  She was thinking about the note Captain Kynette had written in the courtroom, and the mayor’s brother glancing in her direction after reading it.  At the time, she didn’t think too much about it, but she certainly did now. 

“Okay, where were we?” Carole asked.  “Ah, yes, Gary Rutherford.  Wipe that scowl off your face.  I’m your best friend, and I watch out for you.  He’s good-looking and successful, and I noticed he wasn’t wearing a wedding band.  Besides that, the two of you have a lot in common.  For heaven’s sake, his business is finding the best fashion designers, and you fit into that category ten times over.”

“It’s too soon for me to think about the future, but I adore you for going to all that trouble.  I didn’t tell you that Gary Rutherford called this morning and asked to meet me for lunch tomorrow.  He’s going to show my portfolio to the executives at Bullock’s.  I’m hoping they decide to carry a line of my designs in their store.”

Carole clapped her hands.  “Really?  That’s fantastic.”

“I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

“You don’t need luck, Vivian.  You’ve got all the talent in the world.  That’s what it takes.”

As the two of them continued talking, Vivian kept shifting uncomfortably in her seat.  Out of the corner of her eye, she not only noticed Joe Shaw kept looking over at them as though wanting to catch her attention, but Preston frequently glanced her way.  She assumed he was champing at the bit to wander over and spoil the rest of her evening.

To make matters worse, Carole suddenly stood up.  “I’ll be right back.  I want to chat with Katherine and Howard before they leave.”  And Carole was gone before she could respond.

Vivian didn’t want to sit there by herself, so she got up and walked up the steps and down the hall to the restroom.  After she reapplied her lipstick and brushed her hair, she waited a few more minutes, pacing back and forth in the small space until another woman entered the restroom. 

She headed back to the lounge, hoping Carole had returned to their table.  Halfway down the hall, Joe Shaw rounded the corner and walked toward her.  There was no turning back, so she quickened her pace, opened her purse, and pretended to be looking for something.

“Good evening,” he said.  “Miss Steele, isn’t it?”

She forced a smile and kept walking, but he deliberately stepped in front of her to block her way.

“I heard the police finally found and killed the man who murdered your husband,” Joe told her.  “That must have been a great relief to you.  I hope you’re sleeping better at night.”

With that comment, she lifted her steel-gray eyes and glared at the sinister smirk on his pudgy face.

“Vivian, there you are!” Preston called out from down the hall, and he rushed over to them.  “Carole has been looking everywhere for you.”  He nodded to Joe.  “How are you doing tonight?  Let’s go, Vivian.  Carole has something to show you.”  Preston gently took her arm and escorted her to the cocktail lounge, but he stopped at the doorway.  “I don’t like that man any more than you do.  Carole is back at your table.  Have a good evening, Vivian.”

She couldn’t hide her puzzlement as she watched him walk away, but she quickly joined Carole while trying to make sense of what just happened.  One thing was for sure, she wanted to leave.  The moment they finished their drinks, she feigned being tired and told Carole that she needed to go home to pick up Bella from the neighbors.  Carole was sorely disappointed and argued with her about the early hour, but they finally paid the bill and left the restaurant.

After Carole dropped her off, Vivian chatted with Maria for a while.  Then she and Bella headed across the alley to their building, but Bella wandered away to do her business in the small grassy yard at the end of the alley. While Vivian waited, she noticed the man across the street, leaning against the Post Office on the corner, smoking a cigarette and looking around, seemingly minding his own business.

She’d seen him standing there a few nights this past week and usually, he had a large canine companion with him.  She assumed he lived in the neighborhood, but he always stood by the post office rather than in front of a nearby apartment building.

Bella returned, and they went inside.  On the way upstairs, Vivian collected the folders of hers and George’s bank records, which she’d left on the filing cabinet in the storage room.  Before she turned on the lights in her apartment, she made her way over to the living room window and peeked out. 

The man was still in front of the post office. 

She quickly closed the curtain, turned on the light, and sat next to Bella on the couch.  Carefully, she skimmed through the bank accounts, every expense and deposit.  Nearly an hour later, she closed the last folder.  There was nothing out of the ordinary that she could find, which seemed odd if George was spending time with Tilly Trimble.  The only explanation was that he’d paid cash for any gifts and trips he’d taken with her, but where did the cash come from?

Vivian turned the lights off, and she and Bella went into the bedroom.  Bella jumped on the bed while Vivian changed into her satin pajamas and sat at her vanity to brush her hair.  The events of the night kept running through her head, everything from seeing David and the others with their girlfriends to Joe Shaw sending her and Carole a drink and cornering her in the hallway.  

And for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why Preston had come to her rescue.