I hadn’t expected to see such a crumpled mess of a woman. Her dark hair streaked with mousy gray was pulled back into a severe ponytail. She was only thirty or so but looked near forty, at least according to the lines etched into her once pretty face. She glanced my direction and sniffed. “You came.”
I collapsed into a chair across from her and watched as she dabbed her eyes with her soggy tissue. “Girl, you don’t know how glad I am to have found you.”
“Are my kids okay?” she asked, her eyes meeting mine for the first time since I’d entered the room. When I saw how frail and tired she looked, I could only answer with a nod till I reconnected with my voice. “Yeah, the little ones are with Wade’s sister, Kathy.”
Thelma looked relieved. “That’s good. And Pete?”
I glanced at my watch, feeling a bit overwhelmed with the knowledge that the banquet was now in full swing without me. The stress of the moment caused my head to nod like a Scooby Doo bobble doll in the rear window of a taxi. “Yeah, he’s good. He’s been living with Wade.”
“Your old Wade?”
I nodded again, then started the speech I’d rehearsed in the taxi. “I thought maybe you could take a cab ride with me, so I can get back to the event I’m helping to host. I wanted to tell you, Thelma, that your kids need you and—”
“They didn’t need what I’d become,” she responded, blowing her nose. “I was so beat down, I couldn’t even protect them from their own father. That’s why I’ve decided to leave. I wasn’t doing anybody any good.”
“I wish you’d consider postponing your trip to Milwaukee tonight. I mean, maybe it would be a better idea to take a quick trip back to Colorado, you know, before you continue with your plans. If travel money’s a problem, I think I could help with that.”
Her pale face pinked. “Actually, Donna, it’s more than a job I’m going after. I met someone, someone I think I could have a future with.”
As if on cue, the back door of the restaurant creaked open and Thelma rose to her feet. “Here he is now. Donna, meet my new boyfriend, Boudreaux.”
I stood, my hand poised on my satined hip as if I were reaching for my gun. I turned and looked at the man whose familiar frame had filled the doorway. “Believe we’ve met,” I said to Bubba. “I didn’t realize your name was actually Boudreaux.”
“Bubba’s just my nickname,” Boudreaux explained.
“Did you get the bus tickets?” Thelma asked.
“Well, there’s been a change in plans,” Boudreaux explained. “I’ve got some business I need to take care of in the next few days, here in New York.”
I all but snorted a laugh. “I’d say you do.”
Thelma looked confused. “How do you two know each other?”
“We’ve been in New York, attending the same … ah, conference,” I explained.
Thelma stood up and really looked at me then. “Is that why you’re so dressed up?”
I glanced at my watch again. “Well, Thelma, now that you’re not leaving for Milwaukee tonight, I’ve got to be going. I have some friends who are counting on me. Let’s say you and I meet back here about midnight, okay?”
Thelma nodded as Boudreaux reached for my hand. “Eh? Not so fast, deputy. I’m fixin’ to ask you a few questions myself.”
I tried to pull my hand from his, but Boudreaux held it tight.
Thelma came to my defense. “Boud, Donna needs to scoot.”
Boudreaux’s grip tightened.
“Thelma, let me guess.” I looked at Boudreaux as I narrowed my eyes. “You met this joker right after I came in looking for you, right?”
Thelma nodded and turned from me to Boudreaux. “I thought it was only a meeting of chance … and …”
“Didn’t you recognize this man’s face in the tabloids?”
“I really haven’t been following the news lately,” Thelma said.
With a jerk, I pulled my hand free, then rubbed it. “Listen, Thelma. I don’t believe this man has your best interest at heart. He’s trying to win a contest, a contest I’m competing in tonight. He’s trying to keep me here so I’ll be out of the game. He actually came with me the night I was looking for you. That’s how he knew how to set the both of us up.”
Thelma looked stricken. “Is that true, Boudreaux?”
He shrugged and looked at his watch. “Bête cher, as they say in the bayou, pee-yoo!”
“Meaning?”
“Foolish girl, that sure stinks, don’t it.”
Thelma looked stunned, and I put my hands on my hips. “Okay, that’s enough from you, Bubba or Boudreaux or whoever you are. I’ve gotta run. Can you come with me, Thelma?”
She shook her head. “No, I need to speak to Boudreaux. He’s got some explaining to do.”
Boudreaux continued to stand in my way. “I don’t see your hurry,” he said to me.
“Meaning?”
“I sent your cab away.”
“You what!” I pushed past him then ran back to the dining room.
Boudreaux, who followed me, laughed. “You know, it’s really murder to catch a cab on Saturday night in this part of town. Even if you call for one now, you might not make it back to the museum until your event is over.”
I pulled my cell phone out of my bag and pushed open the café door as Boudreaux’s laughter rang in my ears. Ignoring him, I turned back to Thelma, who had just stepped into the dining room. “I’ll call you later, Thelma, okay?”
“I’ll be here at Camelot’s, waiting,” she said.
I ran to the street corner to see if any cabs were in sight. But Boudreaux was right, the place was deserted. When I called a cab company on my cell, I was informed the wait could be at least another hour. If I’d had a clue as to the nearest subway station, much less which line to pick, I might’ve had a chance. As it was, all I could do was start walking to search for a cab. I pulled off my heels and began to pad in my bare feet down the still-warm summer evening sidewalks. Somehow, feeling the pavement beneath my toes put me in touch with the beauty of the evening. As I started to jog, I noted the blue of the late afternoon sky had settled into a deep evening turquoise that danced between the skyscrapers. It would have all struck me as a lot nicer if my heart wasn’t hammering so hard.
After zigzagging across several blocks, I found myself on Broadway, a street almost yellow with cabs. I smiled and waved, but not one would stop for me, probably because I looked like a hooker in this getup.
I finally resorted to tapping on cab windows at a stoplight, but even then, the cabbies would explain they either had a fare or were en route to pick one up.
Another half hour later, when I’d finally climbed out of a cab in front of the museum, I checked my watch. I’d been missing for a full two hours.
It took some talking to get past security at the museum’s entrance, but I was able to push my way through the doors of the Powerhouse room, just in time to greet the eye of Mike’s camera. Vonnie saw me and rushed over. “Where have you been?”
“Long story,” I said. “Did I miss much?”
“Only the entire banquet,” Vonnie answered, her hands on her hips. “They’ve even finished dessert.”
I tried to brighten the situation with a weak smile. “Were the peppermint patty brownies a hit?”
Vonnie nodded but looked puzzled. “Donna, you’re absolutely covered in sweat. Is everything okay?”
“I … I don’t know. I …”
Vonnie’s face softened. “What happened?”
“It’s kinda hard to explain.”
“Well, your absence has caused quite the stir. The boys are sure you were kidnapped, and Lisa Leann is just about ready to call in the police.”
“I am the police,” I teased.
“Not in New York.”
I turned and watched the Broadway chorus girls dressed in neckline-plunging yellow suits with peacock-like tail feathers bouncing on their bottoms as they kicked their legs high into the air. They were singing a rendition of the famous Guys and Dolls song “A Bushel and a Peck” as the actress playing Adelaide squealed out her comedic solo.
“Looks like the entertainment is going strong,” I said. “What’s up next?”
“There’s one more number, then I think it’s time for the door prizes,” Vonnie explained.
I looked around, expecting to see the prizes up front. When I realized they weren’t there, I asked, “Are the prizes still in the prep room?”
“That’s where I saw them last. They were on a big rolling cart, where we found your apron. Why don’t you go ahead and wheel them in so you’ll be ready to play Vanna. In the meantime, I’ll let Lisa Leann and the boys know you’re back.”
As I slipped out of the room, the Broadway troupe began to sing “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat” in honor of our Save a Soul theme. From the program Lisa Leann had showed me earlier, I knew this was the last song of the night, as the performers had a line of limos waiting to whisk them back to Broadway for their evening show.
With Mike filming my every move since I returned, I rushed to the back hallway and pushed open the doors to the prep room and switched on the light. I gasped. The cart was empty. Our door prizes were gone.
After our last guest had left, our group huddled at one of the cleared tables to discuss the evening, before I handed out cleanup assignments.
With the table candles flickering a dance of lights onto our faces, I said, “That had to have been one of my most awkward moments ever,” referring to Donna’s announcement that our door prizes were missing. “Your timing couldn’t have been worse, Donna. Why did you wait till I pulled the first name from our drawing before you rushed the stage to share your news?”
Donna looked miserable. “I’m sorry, Lisa Leann, I …”
Evie, looking cross, gave a sharp sniff. “What I want to know, Donna, is where’ve you been all evening?”
Vonnie’s voice squeaked in an octave higher than usual. “Is it true you left in a cab?”
Donna rubbed her temples with her fingertips, then slid her cheeks into the palms of her hands and held them there. “It’s true. Thelma Horn called. She said she had an hour before she was going to hop a bus to Milwaukee without any forwarding address or number. I had to see her.”
Wade leaned forward. “Why didn’t you come and get me?”
Donna shrugged. “We couldn’t all go.”
David, who was sitting next to her, reached for her hand. “You look upset. Did something happen?”
She lightly shrugged a shoulder. “Yes, and the something was Boudreaux. In fact, he’s why I was so late getting back.”
Lizzie’s jaw dropped. “But Boudreaux isn’t real … we all decided, remember?”
Donna smirked. “He’s real. We all know him by his nickname, Bubba.”
Wade’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. “Wait. What are you saying? Thelma’s with Bubba? But how?”
Before Donna could answer, my cell phone vibrated in my apron pocket. I pulled it out to check the caller ID. “Hang on, everyone, it’s Goldie.” I put the phone on speaker and sat it in the middle of our table. “Goldie, dear, we’re all here, listening in. How’s Jack?”
Goldie’s voice sounded tired but good. “I only have a minute, but I wanted you to know that Jack’s made it through surgery. There are some concerns, minor, we hope, but concerns nonetheless.”
The ever-ready nurse, Vonnie asked, “What kind of concerns?”
“Oh! The doctor just came in. Gotta run.”
“We’ll be praying for you and Jack,” I responded as the line went dead.
I looked up at Mike and his crew, each busy filming close-ups of our reactions. I cleared my throat. “Gang, let’s take a moment to pray for Goldie and Jack, then we’ve got to clean up. But first, are there any other needs we need to pray about? Donna?”
“Pray for Thelma. She’s still in town, and I’m going back to the café at midnight to meet with her.”
“Not without me,” Wade said.
“Or me,” David added.
After our prayer, we each tackled our cleanup assignments, all the while hoping we’d come across the missing gifts. But after about an hour of hauling things back to our rental van, I approached Donna. “About our gift bags—do you think we ought to call the cops? A lot of those gift cards and other items were pretty valuable. See, here’s the list Nelson gave me.”
Donna scanned it, then gave a low whistle. “This is a lot of stuff. Let’s go back to the scene of the crime and look around.”
“Have you noticed that the camera crew is still here?” I said as we pushed the door open into the back hallway. “It makes me think they’re hanging around because they know something we don’t.”
“You’re probably right,” Donna said. “I asked them what they knew about the theft, but as usual, they kept their mouths shut. Still, it feels to me like they’re waiting for us to make some sort of discovery.”
As if to confirm my suspicions, I saw Mike motion for some of the other cameramen to follow us. I turned to Donna as I raised my brows and stopped in front of a large door. “Maybe we’ve arrived at the moment the crew’s been waiting for.”
We looked at the door, marked with a black plastic sign that read “Storage.”
“Got the key?” she asked as she jiggled the knob.
I shook my head. “No, and I tried it earlier. This door’s been locked all evening.”
Donna reached for the latch and gave it a twist. “It’s not locked now,” she said as she pushed it open.
I let out a gasp. There on the floor before us stood a heap of rainbow-colored foil gift bags. I stepped inside and bent over to retrieve a lavender envelope that had been carefully placed on top of Donna’s missing apron.
“What does it say?” Donna asked as I pulled out a note card with handwritten words.
I looked up at her. “It simply says, ‘You lose. Love, B.’ ”
“Of all the nerve,” Donna said. “Of all the nerve.”
The next morning, the team met in my room for a continental breakfast that room service delivered only moments before they arrived. We munched bacon, ate apple cranberry muffins, and drank about a gallon of coffee while Donna filled us in on all her adventures of yesterday, including the meeting with Thelma at midnight.
Wade seemed excited. “Thelma’s coming home, maybe not to stay, but she’s going to let the family buy her a plane ticket so she can see her kids.”
I glanced at Donna, whose brows were knit above her troubled eyes. “What’s your view on this development?” I asked her.
“I’m only worried about Wade and Pete,” Donna said, frowning as she sat on the floor. “They seem to belong together and—”