I packed Marlowe up in her seat and rushed to keep up behind Garth’s black SUV. I was glad I had somebody to follow instead of instructions. It started with us going past a gatekeeper and then eucalyptus-lined twisty back roads past estates until everyone turned into a driveway. The cars in front of me pulled into a motor court. My ancient blue-green Mercedes seemed lost in all the SUVs, which all seemed to be big and black.
The house was massive and had a classic old California look with the creamy-colored stucco and terra-cotta roof. Tall arched mullioned windows were on either side of the covered entranceway. I got Marlowe out and gathered with the others around Elena. We followed the housekeeper around the side of the house past a tennis court, pool and yard to a guesthouse, where we left the kids with the housekeeper. The woman in the cocoon wrap took a small box out of an insulated bag. “In case he gets a nose bleed.” Elena pushed it back on her and assured her the refrigerator had popsicles that worked even better. The two nannies stayed with the kids and I followed the others to a French door that led into the main house.
We walked into a large room with a tiled floor that seemed like a den. A woman in a gray uniform came in pushing a cart and began to set out platters on an antique wooden sideboard. “I kept it simple,” Taylor said, urging us to help ourselves. Simple, ha! There was a platter of fruit with wedges of pineapple, slices of melon, huge whole strawberries surrounded by blueberries and blackberries. A bowl of chopped salad had a stack of small dishes next to it. And finally, there was a platter of triangular half sandwiches. Another smaller one had more sandwiches, which Taylor said were all vegan. There were bottles of wine and glasses and a pitcher of lemonade with slices of lemon floating on the top, and finally an airpot with coffee. At the very end of the table was a tray of brownies. As we all gathered around the food, I noticed they all stared at the chocolate treats, but only Garth took one.
I remembered what Garth had said about the house and was curious about a wall of photos. I tried to detour to have a look but Taylor came along and sent me toward the two long beige couches that faced each other and had a coffee table between them.
There were only five of us now that the nannies had stayed with the kids. I’d been concerned about finding my way and then getting Marlowe situated. Now I was ready to go back into detective mode.
Unless one of the two mothers connected with the nannies or Benita was Miles’s wife, the woman with the cocoon wrap had to be her. But I still needed to confirm it. I wished Dinah had been there so we could play off each other, but I was on my own. Maybe if I brought up the name. I considered talking about jazz, then I could say I was a fan of Miles Davis and see if it got a reaction. Or what about talking about poetry. The Robert Frost poem had the line “miles to go before I sleep.” Would it be too weird if I brought up how miles was both a name and a measure of distance? None of it seemed very good. The two couches were extra-long and could have easily accommodated three people each, but the new woman had taken a chair instead. I felt her gaze rest on me.
“Are you another nanny?” she said. She said it in a condescending tone and I expected her to follow up by suggesting I join the other two in the guesthouse if I said I was.
“No, no,” Taylor said. “She’s Marlowe’s grandmother.”
“Molly Aronson,” I said, not wanting to be known by that title. I was still getting used to the term and fighting the image I had of a woman in a shapeless dress standing over a stove making chicken soup.
After that, the new woman seemed only a little less dismissive as she introduced herself. “I’m Lily,” she said. “Alexander is mine.”
Lily who? I wanted to scream. I didn’t know what else to do and launched into a discussion of how they all had introduced themselves with first names only.
“It’s not a problem for me,” Garth said. “Mine is Ross.” He looked to the women.
“I’m sticking to my maiden name. It’s what I’ve always used professionally,” Kath said. “I’m glad I didn’t take my first husband’s name. Imagine how confusing it would be now that I’m married to Michael.”
“It all depends on whether your husband’s name means something,” Taylor said. “I make sure everybody knows I’m Mrs. Palmer. It opens a lot of doors.”
“It makes you a package deal,” Kath said. “Fine, as long as it’s positive like it is for you. But if he ends up being disgraced or in jail, not so good.” She looked at Garth. “What about your wife? She’s in business affairs at Winkleman Brothers Studio. What does she go by?”
Garth shrugged. “I guess I don’t offer enough power like Andrew Palmer, and I’m her second husband. After the divorce, she went back to her maiden name and she said she’s keeping it that way.”
So far Lily had stayed out of the conversation. “My solution was just to go by my first name.” Lily picked up the cocoon she’d hung on the back of the chair and showed me the label. It said: The Cuddle by Lily.
I had started the conversation as a tool to get information, but now that they’d spoken, I was thinking about what they’d said as it related to me. It had never occurred to me not to take Charlie’s last name, Pink. But now that I was a widow, what if I got married again? Would I keep adding on last names? If I’d married Mason would I have called myself Molly Pink-Fields? What if everything hadn’t blown up with Barry and we’d gotten married? I’d be Molly Pink-Greenberg.
“My credit for directing Dust and Sagebrush is listed as Taylor Owens. In that case, I wanted my own identity. I’ll do the same with my future projects.” Taylor turned to me. “I suppose you can’t relate to what we’re talking about. I think it’s really people our age who are making choices about what name they want to go by.”
She had done a good job of making me feel like an outsider and older than time. I really wanted to tell them that I was actually there on a case, acting as a detective, and not just there to accompany Marlowe. But it would have blown my cover.
“I think you know what we all do,” Taylor said, talking to me. “But what about you? What is it that you do?” Taylor caught herself. “That is, if you do something. So many woman your age were still stay-at-home moms.” I wasn’t sure if she was just being friendly or trying to see how I measured up to the rest of them.
Peter hadn’t said I had to hide where I worked. And, well, I wanted them to see that I wasn’t just Marlowe’s grandmother. “I work at Shedd & Royal Books and More,” I said, sitting a little straighter.
“So then it’s your bookstore?” Kath asked.
“You mean like own it?” I said, since her expression implied that was what she meant. “No, I just work there. I’m the assistant manager and I handle the special events,” I said, feeling like I had to keep up with the Joneses. “We have a wonderful children’s department.”
“Events?” Taylor said.
“Author signings and things like arranging for groups that meet at the bookstore.” I felt like I had to say more to build it up, something that they could relate to, and brought up the theme we had going. “It’s because it’s award season and the Oscars are coming up,” I said. “We’re doing an event with Daisy Cochran, who has a book out with stories from her days of writing the entertainment column, and CeeCee Collins talking about her Oscar nomination.”
“We all know who she is,” Taylor said. They didn’t seem too impressed.
“Daisy Cochran is old-school,” Garth said. “She adhered to that saying about if you can’t say something good, don’t say anything. In the old days when I was trying to get my break, I worked as a production assistant on a movie. Daisy came on the set and I know she witnessed the two stars having a shouting match, but she never put a word of it in her column,” he said with a shrug. “I’m sure whatever stories she tells will all be upbeat.”
“Maybe not,” I said, trying to generate some interest. “She’s trying to reinvent herself and go with the way things are now. She’s doing a podcast and is going to investigate some of those things she didn’t say. She didn’t go into detail with me, but she said it involves some deaths that might not be what they seemed.”
“CeeCee Collins is going to be there?” Taylor said. “I suppose it was a big deal to be nominated for an Academy Award after being sidelined for so long.” Something in her tone irritated me. CeeCee was so much more than an actor. Even though Adele fought the idea, CeeCee was the leader of the Hookers and the one behind all the things we made for charity.
“Actually, she’s going to be there in a dual role,” I said. “It’s also National Crochet Month and we’re combining the theme of the Academy Awards with crochet. CeeCee is the heart of the Tarzana Hookers.” They all started laughing at the name and I didn’t bother trying to say more.
They were all on second glasses of wine, while I nursed my coffee. No way was I going to try to negotiate Malibu Canyon with a fuzzy head. Everyone had switched seats and the spot next to me on the couch was open. Garth came back with a plate with fruit and more brownies and took the empty spot.
He seemed interested in the bookstore. “I’m a writer,” he said with a sheepish smile. “I love anyplace that specializes in words.” He was interested in the event that I’d talked about.
“I bet Daisy made demands. She always seemed to view herself as one of the celebrities.” He talked about working as a production assistant on a telethon. “I would do anything to make connections. Including working for free,” he said. “All those celebrity guests volunteered their services, but their people submitted a list of demands of things they had to have in their dressing rooms. It was crazy stuff,” he said with a laugh. “Very specific, like wanting a bowl of M&Ms, but with no yellow ones. Someone even gave the temperature they wanted their diet soda cans kept at.”
“I can relate,” I said with a chuckle. “It’s ironic. CeeCee is the real celebrity and she asked for nothing, but Daisy had a list. Nothing as bad as having to pick out yellow M&Ms, but she insisted on having a green room.” I described how I could create a backstage area by making an enclosure with the bookcases. “She was very specific about her water and a juice smoothie. A strawberry concoction that had to be made just as she was about to begin.”
Garth looked up with a sigh as Elena and the two nannies came in with all the kids. “Party’s over,” he said as his twins rushed over to him. “It was nice talking to you. We both deal in words,” he joked.
Marlowe was in her stroller and seemed ready for a nap. Taylor took charge and led the way through the house to the entrance. I tried to take in the details of the house, but there was too much commotion. The entrance hall was impressively large with a curved staircase coming from the second floor.
Garth glanced up at it and held on tight to Edgar and Lucy’s hands. “Those are not stairs to play on. With no landing, once you start to fall it’s going to be all the way down to the bottom.” He made a thud sound.
There was a din of conversation as everyone prepared to leave and was saying their goodbyes. Taylor came through the crowd and stopped at me. She wanted to know how long I’d be subbing for Gabby, and when I said it was indeterminate, took my contact information, and then she dropped a bombshell.
“Then you’ll be taking Gabby’s place and hosting the group when it’s her turn,” she said. “You can give us all details when we meet next time.”
She didn’t give me a chance to respond but moved to the double front doors just as one of them opened and a tall man with white hair came in. He greeted her, but most of his interest was on the little boy at her side. He picked him up and gave him a hug. “Everyone, Andrew,” she said, and he gave a nod as a greeting to the group. Lily pushed through the crowd and stopped in front of him. Through the din of conversation, I caught a few words. She had said something about Miles. Hallelujah, I was right! I felt like day one of my detective work was a success. I had at least figured out who I was supposed to be interested in.