Molly watched Emma enter Daria’s, then drove back to the shop. When she pulled into the alley, she called Daria on her cell and told her about Emma’s decision. “Yeah, cool as a cucumber. Keep an eye, okay? I’ll be over shortly. I’ll come in the back way.”
Molly found Bitsy at the desk with a customer. She appeared to be having a serious conversation. Her usual sales smile was missing, and Molly could see how rigidly her shoulders were set. “Hi, I see you’re busy. I’ll be in the storage room for a few minutes.”
Bitsy waved. “Come back. I want you to meet someone.” Bitsy rose and motioned to the woman to stand. When the woman turned to face her, Molly was surprised by her beauty. Her frame was so tiny, Molly thought she must wear a size two. Her short, raven hair framed an exquisite doll-like face. The young woman held out her hand. “You must be Molly Doyle. I’m Coco Ihle. Del Tinsley sent me down to see you.”
Molly took her hand. “I’m plumb out of the type of chairs Del’s looking for now. I should have returned her call. It’s been a crazy week.”
“I’m not here for chairs,” Coco said. She picked up a large manila envelope from Molly’s desk. “Del thought you should see these. I think you’d best sit down, though.”
Molly took the envelope, pulled a chair away from a display, moved it to the desk, and sat down uneasily. She stared at the envelope for a moment. “Oh, God. I’m getting tired of saying, ‘What now.”’ She looked at Bitsy. “Do you know what’s in here?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Bitsy said.
Molly opened the envelope and found two large, glossy photos. Her eyelids barely flickered when she saw Todd Jessop in the first photo. She looked at Coco. “Looks like he’s at one of your, uh, evenings. He seems to be enjoying your attention.”
“I’m good at what I do.” Coco smiled almost shyly. “That first one isn’t important. Look at the other one.”
Molly set the first photo on her lap and glanced at the next one. It was Todd again, in the same chair as before, but this time, besides Coco, there was another woman with him. Both women appeared to be actually on his lap. From the angle of Coco’s head, it was apparent she was moving seductively. But it was the second woman, back-to-back with Coco, who made Molly’s jaw drop. “It’s Carla!”
“I think,” Bitsy said, “you need to show them to Randall.”
Molly was nearly speechless. But, she quickly thought, she had no right to judge. “I don’t see how this means anything. I mean, so Carla and Todd liked to, well, spice up their lives. That’s their business, not ours.”
“Susan Jessop has copies as well,” Coco said. “Before you jump to conclusions, let me explain why.”
Molly handed Coco back the photos. “Oh, please do. This is really getting convoluted.” Molly rose. “But first, I’m putting the ‘closed’ sign in the window. I don’t want anyone walking in on this. We’ll move to the back of the shop so we can’t be seen.”
After they were settled by the fireplace, Coco said, “Del makes it a practice to, well, keep a record of guests who misbehave. The first time someone gets out of hand, she warns them. But still, we have cameras all over just in case things get out of hand. You might call it an insurance policy. If there is a second time, then that person is no longer allowed back. Todd Jessop was a pig, and Del finally had to bar him.”
“That doesn’t explain why Susan has a copy. If he was barred, then that should have been the end of it,” Molly said.
“Normally, it would have, except I got one of our techs to make me a copy.” Coco moved back against the chair cushion and tugged at the hem of her skirt. “I’m really good at sales, Molly. Don’t laugh, I’m serious. I wanted a job at the software company the Jessops had recently sold. They have a great employee package, and I wanted to give up my night job. I went to see Susan Jessop, and showed her the photos. I was hoping she might exert some influence with the new owners to take me on.”
Molly shook her head. “I think that’s called blackmail?”
“I’m like Del. I think of it as insurance,” Coco said.
“What happened? Did Susan bite?” Bitsy asked.
“Totally,” Coco said. “I’ve been with the company now for four months, and I’m already in the top ten of sales.”
“I still don’t see why Del thought you should bring this to me. I mean, you got what you were after.”
“When I read about Jessop being murdered, and then saw Carla and Susan in the paper, hugging like long-lost sisters, I almost fainted. See, I didn’t know Carla was Todd’s wife when they came to one of our evenings. I thought she was just a girlfriend or some bimbo he picked up at a bar.”
“I still think,” Bitsy said to Molly, “you should hand these over to Randall. We have no idea if they mean anything, but he might feel differently.”
Molly looked at her watch. It was already half-past noon. Emma and Macomber would be in the middle of lunch. “He’s out of town today. I guess I’ll see him later. Okay, I’ll give them to him, but if he wants to talk to you, I’ll need to give him your telephone number.”
Coco pulled a business card from her bag. “I’m going right back to Palo Alto. I should be home in a couple of hours.” She rose from the chair and gave Molly a half smile. “just remember when you talk to the cop, it wasn’t blackmail. I was desperate for that job, Molly. Besides, a wife needs to know when she’s married to a piece of shit. I wasn’t asking for money, I just wanted out of the dancing.”
“I know, Coco. You don’t have to explain.” Molly shook her hand.
She returned to her desk and put the manila envelope in the drawer. She wondered if Susan had copies of the photos with her. If so, then could that have been what her attacker was after? And if that were all true, she realized, the finger pointed in a straight line to Carla Jessop. What was it Bennie had told Molly about? She couldn’t remember the word in Italian, but she did remember it had to do with appearances. “Face,” that was it.
When Bitsy returned from seeing Coco out, she collapsed in a chair. “What a turn of events! What next?” she sighed.
“I’ll tell you what’s next. You might want a shot of Jack Daniel’s after I’m through.” Molly proceeded to tell Bitsy about her encounter with Marshall Macomber, and her later talk with Emma. To Bitsy’s credit, she didn’t interrupt or utter a word. When Molly was finished, she felt the same lump in her throat she was sure Bitsy felt. Bitsy’s eyes were misty, and Molly had a sudden urge to throw her arms around her and break out in a good old women’s crying fest. Instead, she squared her shoulders and said, “I’ve got to get over to Daria’s. They should be on dessert by now.”
Bitsy remained in her chair. “You’ll be coming back here, won’t you?”
“I’m not sure. It depends on what kind of mood Emma is in. She might want to spend the rest of the day with Macomber. Hell, I don’t know. Besides, I still have a box of silver I need to give to Daria. Either way, I’ll call you.”
“By the way,” Bitsy said, “those Foo Dogs in the window? From Max? They’re repros. Max’s eyesight must be going. I assume you went by his inventory list when you made up the tags. They’re not nineteenth-century. Early nineteen-fifties, I’d guess.”
Molly rolled her eyes. “Great. That’s just great. And you’re right, I didn’t check them out. I assumed he was correct. Okay, I’ll take care of it later.” Molly loaded the box of silver in the van, pulled out of the alley, and headed for Daria’s. Carmel was packed with tourists, and there still wasn’t a parking place to be had. She circled the block three times, then decided to park in the alley. She could always move the van later. Going in the back way through the kitchen, Molly struggled with the box and almost ran into one of the kitchen staff coming out of the walk-in freezer carrying a container filled with poultry of some kind. She knew most of Daria’s employees, but didn’t recognize him, and thought it strange he was wearing sunglasses. She almost laughed when she saw the cap he was wearing. It looked like a tea cozy. She gave him an apologetic smile, moved out of his way, and almost ran into a waiter before she made it into Daria’s back room. Daria was on the phone and motioned her in. Molly set the box on the table and began removing the silver.
Daria handed the phone to Molly. “It’s Randall. He wants us to have dinner here tonight.”
“Any news about Emma’s lunch?” Randall asked Molly.
“She isn’t back yet. But listen, I’ve got to tell you...”
“Save it for later, okay? Loomis and I just pulled up to meet our appointment.”
Daria took the phone from Molly. “You look like you’re ready to fall apart at the seams,” Daria said. “Calm down, would you?”
“I’m trying... Hey, who’s the guy in the kitchen with the sunglasses? Someone new? I had to bite my tongue not to laugh at that goofy hat he’s wearing.”
Daria grinned. “That’s Dando Osa, Mr. Mattucci’s cook. He comes in now and then. He and Julio, my head chef, are old friends. I buy my pheasants from him. He raises them out at the ranch.”
“So he’s not so mysterious after all. I only got a glimpse of him at that dinner at the tasting room. He stuck his head in the room to wave to everyone, but he had a chef’s toque on then. That was before Todd Jessop showed up. I guess I was too busy wondering what the hell I was going to say to him to notice Dando.”
“He’s just kind of private,” Daria said. He’s been with the family for years. He and Domenico are very close.“ Reaching for one of the silver trays, Daria said, ”This stuff is fantastic! But this is too much for our deal. I want to pay you this time.”
“Forget it. I don’t think I spent more than fifty bucks. The way you feed us, that hardly pays for one dinner for Emma and me. Plus, we’re back again tonight.”
Daria picked up another heavily chased tray. “I just can’t fathom people not wanting to keep beautiful silver like this. But they love coming here for dinner and being served with all this elegant stuff.”
Daria saw the blank look on Molly’s face. She knew she hadn’t heard a word. “Why don’t I take a walk out front and see how Emma’s doing. Maybe I could stop by, and—”
Before Molly could reply, the door opened and Emma walked in. Molly’s hands fell to her lap. She clasped them tightly. “Hey, good timing. I just got here a few minutes ago.”
When Emma took a seat at the end of the table, instead of her usual place next to Molly, it was apparent to Daria and Molly that this act had meaning.
Emma set her hands on the table and then folded them. She cleared her throat. She licked her lips, pushed her glasses back, and wiggled just slightly in the chair. She looked as if she were about to give a book report. “Mr. Macomber seems to be a nice man,” Emma began. “He said to tell you, Daria, that his lunch was excellent. It was, too. I had the Cobb Salad.”
Daria smiled her thanks, and Molly pretended to be calm.
Emma looked down at her hands. She meshed her fingers together as if in deep thought. “Well, uh, let’s see. He said he wants to get to know me. He knows I’m happy here, and that I’m lucky to have landed here with you, Aunt Molly. He said he wished he’d known about me sooner though.” She looked at Molly. Her words seemed to rush out. “He wants to talk to you about taking me to Europe this summer. He said I’m old enough to appreciate the trip. And that I should see some of the world.”
Molly hadn’t been ready for that. She wasn’t sure what she had expected. Maybe a short summer break to visit him in Vancouver, but certainly not a trip to Europe. It killed Molly, but she knew she should ask Emma how she felt about the invitation. “Well, that’s awfully generous of him. What a great opportunity. What did you say?”
Emma’s eyebrows slowly rose. Her eyes seemed to offer an apology for what she was about to say. “I told him that I would so love to go, if you’d let me. Who’d turn down a whole summer in Europe?”
Molly hoped her smile looked genuine. It was only a trip. It wasn’t as if Emma were leaving her for good. “How soon does he want to leave?”
“The day after school is out.”
“That soon?”
The flash of disappointment on Emma’s face didn’t go unnoticed. Molly waved her hand. “It’s okay, I mean, that makes sense. Of course you can go. How could I let you pass that up?”
Molly felt a tiny stab in her heart when she saw Emma’s excited face. She pasted a big smile on her face when Emma jumped up and rushed to hug her. “Awesome! Thank you, Aunt Molly!”
Molly laughed. “You didn’t really expect me to say no, did you?”
Emma grinned at Daria, then plopped down next to Molly. “Nope. But there was always a chance. You’ve told me about old Murphy and his Law, so I wasn’t sure. I can’t wait to tell Michelle! She’ll be, like, so jealous!”
“When does Mr. Macomber plan to talk to me about this?”
“He’s waiting at the table. I told him you would go out and talk to him. That was okay, wasn’t it?”
Molly’s eyes darted to Daria. She was being put on the spot, and she wasn’t thrilled. “Sure. I’ll go right out.”
“Oh, and he wants to take me to a movie and then dinner after that so we can talk about the trip. Is that okay, too?”
Molly was at the door. Her grasp on the doorknob was so tight, it was in danger of being ripped off. She smiled over her shoulder. “Sure. Fine. Great idea.”