Prudy's Back!

by Marja McGraw

  “Look over there,” I said, tapping Prudy’s shoulder.

  “What?”

  “Isn’t that Opal?” I asked. She followed my gaze, but I could tell she couldn’t quite see whom I was watching.

  “Pete? Can you see her?”

  He glanced at one of the tables. “Yeah, I think it’s her.”

  “I wonder if that’s her date or a business associate.” I saw a man who looked old enough to be her father. In other words, he was at least as old as Prudy, but I’d keep that observation to myself.

  The maître d' arrived to show us to our table. We passed by Opal as we walked through the restaurant, but she was deep in conversation and didn’t see us.

  We sat down as the maître d', Pete and Stanley pulled our chairs out for us. What a nice change from the diners I was used to. We picked up our menus and read. I couldn’t help but keep an eye on Stanley and Felicity, waiting for something to be knocked over. Habit. I knew it was only a matter of time.

  “Oops. Sorry,” Felicity said when she dropped her menu and knocked over an empty glass. Stanley reached over and righted the glass, but pushed the menu on the floor in the process.

  Pete patted my knee, smiling. He’d been watching, too. We cared for these people and to us these little accidents were actually endearing.

  Felicity’s tiny hands fluttered through the air while Stanley picked up the menu.

  “Silly me. What next?” she said.

  Stanley smiled at her.

  Prudy nudged me. “I think you’re right. That is Opal.”

  Apparently she hadn’t heard Pete confirm that for me.

  “Who’s the old codger with her?” Dolly asked.

  Felicity turned and glanced over to see who we were looking at. “Opal Stanton? Yes, that’s Opal. And the gentleman, if I can call him that, is her attorney, although I think he’s more than just her lawyer, if you get my drift.”

  I whipped my head around and looked at Felicity in surprise. “You know them?”

  Thirty

  “Sure. Thanks to my agent and my modeling, I’m invited to plenty of parties around town. Opal makes a point of attending most of them. Is she a friend of yours?”

  I shook my head. “No. She’s somehow involved in a case I’m working on.”

  “Good. Because I don’t like her.” Itty bitty Felicity had a look of distaste on her gorgeous face.

  “And why is that?” I asked.

  Felicity turned a lovely shade of pink. “Oh, well, I have these little accidents sometimes.” She glanced at Stanley, who understood her completely. “You know, I’m kind of klutzy. I can’t help it, but things happen. Anyway, it seems like Opal is always right there when I do something silly. And she laughs at me. I don’t mind when someone laughs good-naturedly with me, but her laughter is derisive. Consequently, I don’t like her.”

  That was simple and I could understand how Felicity felt. And so could Stanley. He was watching his little sweetie with empathy.

  “Can you tell us anything about Opal?” Prudy asked. “I knew her as a child, but I have no idea what the adult Opal is like.”

  Felicity appeared to be deep in thought and suddenly came to a decision. “I can tell you a few things, but you have to understand that it’s gossip. Nothing I know firsthand.”

  “Anything would help,” Prudy said.

  “And this is for your case?” Felicity asked.

  I glanced at Stanley. Did he trust her enough to have us talk to her? He nodded. I turned to Pete. He followed suit and nodded.

  “Yes,” I said. “And I’d also like to know if you knew Nick Stanton. Any scuttlebutt about him?” I gave her my most innocent smile, contradicting my question. There was no doubt that Felicity knew I wanted to hear all the dirt.

  “I didn’t know Mr. Stanton, but I’ve heard plenty.” Felicity smiled, apparently happy to become involved.

  “Start with Nick Stanton.” I wanted to hear everything she’d heard.

  She rubbed her little hands together, ready to spill the dirt. “Well, he had a reputation for being a nasty man. I mean that he was rude and pushy with everyone. He liked to bully people, and he carried plenty of clout. Everything was his way or the highway, and he meant that literally. If an employee disagreed with him, that person would find himself out of a job and driving the highways, looking for a new position.

  “Opal worked with her father, and I’ve heard that he was pretty hard on her. She really tried to involve herself in the business, and he would publicly humiliate her if he didn’t like her ideas.”

  “It sounds like Nick never changed,” Prudy said. “That sounds just like the man I remember.”

  “Well, rumor has it that she hated her father.” Felicity sounded like this was something beyond her understanding. “I heard that when he died, she didn’t spend one minute grieving for him. After his funeral, she cleaned everything that was his out of the house, remodeled and threw a party. People showed up, but everyone was subdued because of the situation. You know, him dying and all.

  “Anyway, I heard she was angry because they weren’t celebrating his death and she ended up kicking everyone out. They tried to chalk it up to grief, but they all knew better. There was a mean-spirited story about it in one of the rags.”

  “Rags?” Dolly asked.

  “One of those magazines that loves a good scandal,” I explained.

  “Oh. Those.” She looked embarrassed and I figured she must read those things.

  Felicity stopped talking and glanced across the room at Opal.

  “Is that it?” Pete asked.

  “Well, there is something else. Opal isn’t a young woman, by any means, but she does have a reputation for being, uh, easy. Know what I mean?”

  “Gotcha,” Prudy said. “She likes to fool around. She’s into hanky panky. A loose woman.”

  Felicity started to laugh, making that tinkling bell sound again. “Yes, I guess you do understand. She reminds me of a teenager who’s suddenly found her freedom after living with very strict parents and goes overboard.”

  I turned to Prudy. “Did you ever call and ask Opal to meet you for lunch?”

  “No, I never got around to it. We’ve been so busy that I kinda forgot about it.”

  “Well, we just met with her last night, so no big deal. In fact, I’m not sure you should be alone with her.”

  “There are worse things than being a loose woman,” Prudy said. “She won’t give me any trouble. And we do need to know more about Nick.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” The Opal we’d met the night before, and the one Felicity was telling us about didn’t quite seem like the same woman. I’d had the feeling Opal was more the demure type, but looks can be deceiving, as I’d learned time and time again.

  The waiter appeared, ready to take our orders. We asked for a few more minutes. We’d been talking so much that we’d barely glanced at our menus.

  “This establishment has a wonderful ambiance,” Stanley said. “I like it.”

  I smiled. “It is nice here. We should do this more often. You know, get away from the office and have a special dinner together.”

  “I’d like that,” Felicity said.

  I smiled, taking note that she was including herself in our little group. I thought I might like the addition.

  We finally placed our orders and when the victuals arrived we were quiet, enjoying the food and the mood. When you combine hunger with great cuisine, they add up to peaceful silence.

  Midway through the meal we were interrupted.

  “Prudy? Is that you again?” Opal had spotted us and stopped at our table. “Well! I’ve seen you twice in two days. What a coincidence. And Ms. Webster, nice to see you again.” I noticed her male companion stood back quietly and watched Opal in action.

  She turned her gaze to Pete. “Mr. Goldberg – may I call you Pete? It’s wonderful seeing you again, too.” She’d reserved a special expression and tone of voice for Pete. She was flirting with him. My hackles began t
o rise.

  “Ms. Stanton. Our pleasure.” Pete stood and played the part of a gentleman. “These are our friends, Felicity and Stan.”

  “Oh, I know Felicity. How are you, my dear? Any accidents lately?” The woman chuckled, more of a titter than an actual laugh. “It’s a good thing you’re so beautiful because it makes people overlook your clumsiness.”

  Felicity started to sputter and Stanley stood up, ready to defend her, but Prudy stepped in.

  “Opal Stanton! You apologize right now. Shame on you. This is a perfectly lovely young woman who doesn’t deserve your rudeness.”

  Opal tried to look contrite but couldn’t quite pull it off. “You’re right, Prudy. I’m sorry if I offended Felicity. Bad manners on my part.

  “Well, I must be on my way. Give me a call and we’ll get together for lunch. Let’s go, Arthur.”

  As she was turning away I saw her clench her jaws. She didn’t like Prudy standing up to her. On her way out of the restaurant, she stopped at a few tables to grace them with her presence, dragging Arthur along behind her. He struck me as being too reticent for an attorney.

  “Wow,” I said after she left. “Nick must have really done a number on her. That woman is something else.”

  “Felicity, are you okay?” Stanley asked.

  “I’m fine. That’s not the first time she’s done something like that to me.” She sounded completely disgusted.

  “I wasn’t going to say this, but there is a rumor that Opal had something on her father and that’s why he kept her around. There were also rumors of some shady dealings. I even heard that he might have been cutting corners on some of his construction projects, but that’s kind of over the top, if you ask me. I think that part really was just gossip.” Felicity’s hands flew as she spoke, and she knocked over the glass again. It was full by that time, but the water innocently ran off the table between her and Stanley.

  “Interesting,” Pete said. “Stan, it looks like you and I have some more research to do.”

  “My pleasure,” Stanley said with feeling, moving the glass away from Felicity.

  Opal hadn’t made any friends this evening. She wasn’t at all the demure little thing I’d originally thought she was.

  “So there’s a possibility she had something she was holding over Nick’s head,” I said, thinking that murder would qualify as blackmail material. “That’s very interesting. You know, Opal was married at one time when she was young. It didn’t work out so she moved back in with Nick. Maybe – ”

  “You’re assuming too much,” Pete said. “We need hard, cold facts. And one way or the other, I plan to find them.”

  Obviously, Pete hadn’t liked Opal’s remarks to Felicity either.

  “Yeah, I think we definitely need to do some more research.” Pete was leaning toward Stanley, giving him a meaningful look.

  Stanley nodded, a barely perceptible movement.

  Felicity smiled. “I know a lot of people in this town. Why don’t I ask a few pertinent questions? People tend to trust me. Believe it or not, just because I’m a klutz, people think I’m not too bright. I just let them think that. It opens a lot of doors for me.”

  “Felicity, I think you and I are going to become good friends. I like your style.” I reached across the table and patted her hand. “And personally, I believe you’re just as bright as they come.”

  She winked at me.

  Thirty-one

  Dolly and Prudy both turned to Felicity with a look of admiration on their faces.

  “Young, beautiful and smart,” Prudy said. “You would have made a good private investigator in my day. You could have had the world by the tail back in the forties.”

  “Prudy, I have the world by the tail right now.” Felicity placed her hand on Stanley’s arm. “I’m just about as happy as any woman can hope to be. I have a career and a good man. What more could I ask for?”

  Stanley sat up straighter and patted the hand that adorned his right arm. He couldn’t seem to wipe the sappy grin off of his face.

  “Although,” Felicity said, “I think being a flatfoot would be loads of fun.”

  “That’s gumshoe,” I corrected. “A flatfoot is a cop. And you’re wrong. Under normal circumstances it’s a lot of boring time spent watching boring people. You sit in your car for hours, waiting for John Doe to do something stupid. And you try to take pictures of him doing it. You get hungry and thirsty, but you can’t leave your car because you might miss that one important opportunity to see him chase his dog or chop firewood when he’s supposed to be crippled up from an accident.

  “You don’t want to drink much because then Mother Nature becomes an issue. You get sleepy and your eyes begin to cross.”

  I demonstrated and crossed my eyes.

  “And there’s always an element of danger. What if John Does figures out what you’re doing and decides to confront you? What if Jane Doe is having an affair and John Doe decides to confront her, with you right there hoping you don’t have to get involved? It can happen.”

  “I’m surprised to hear you talk that way,” Pete said. “You’ve always been such a romantic about the business. When I first met you, you were calling yourself a gumshoe.”

  I grinned. “Yeah. Felicity and I are going to get along just fine. And I still like the vernacular of my trade. It’s just that I know you’ll make some scathing comment if I use words like gumshoe, sleuth or Private Eye.”

  “Personally, I like Private Dick,” Dolly said.

  Stanley had been sitting quietly, listening but not saying anything. He decided to speak up. “You know, it’s not all boring. My research can be rather intriguing. And Felicity is just as talented on the computer as I am.”

  Felicity’s hands began to fly again. She was excited. “I could help Stan with research. I’m not always off somewhere modeling. And to be honest, I’m bored with my job. You know, I don’t just model hands. I’ve been in cosmetics ads, too. I’m too short for runway modeling though.”

  “Felicity, I can’t afford to hire another operative,” I said.

  “Oh, not a problem. I have my own money. And I can help Stan on a trial basis. Not to mention the contacts I have around town. I told you I know a lot of people, and they’re all into something. I could probably even drum up some business for you. Operative. I like that word. So what do you say, Sandi? It’s not a matter of money.”

  “Now wait a minute. Stan is taking classes, and he’s working for us to build up his hours to get his Private Investigator’s license. This isn’t something you can just do. There are rules and regulations. You have to meet certain criteria.” I didn’t want to discourage Felicity, but I was afraid it might be an adventure to her. It was a career to me.

  “We’ll talk more about this. I’m not the dipstick you might think.”

  “I don’t think that at all,” I said with all sincerity. “I just don’t think you quite know what you’d be getting into. Pete?” I turned to him for support.

  He threw up his hands. “What can I say? It’s between you and Felicity. And she’s only talking about helping with research.”

  I was shocked. Dismayed. Pete wasn’t backing me up. Of course, what did I care if Felicity wanted to do research? I just couldn’t imagine her giving up a modeling career to sit at a computer. If she thought she was bored now, just wait until she’d been working on a computer for hours and hours, and couldn’t find what she needed.

  “What about your modeling?” I asked.

  “Like I said, I’m bored with that. And I’m not planning to give it up completely. But I sure wouldn’t mind cutting back a bit. It’s terrible – long, boring hours. See? I’m already used to long hours. And I’m used to boredom, too.”

  “We’ll see.” I tried to leave it at that.

  “Sandi,” Prudy interjected, “she really might be able to help. We do need to find out everything we can about Nick and Opal and – ”

  “And she does have good connections,” Dolly interrupted, jumpi
ng in with both feet. “She’d be an asset to you. Yes?”

  “Maybe.” I didn’t want Felicity to find herself in hot water, and asking questions could put her right there. “Let’s finish our dinner and talk about this later.”

  Felicity was practically jumping up and down in her chair. I knew I’d probably give in, but I still wanted to think about her involvement before doing so. I looked around the table and sighed before finishing my dinner.

  When I was done, I put my fork down and turned to the little pixie. “What are you doing tomorrow? Do you have any free time?”

  “I’m free tomorrow. What do you have in mind?” Felicity looked hopeful.

  “Prudy and I are going to go through her husband’s notes from the original investigation. Why don’t you come over to my house and help? We can always use an extra set of eyes. There’ll be so much reading to do.”

  “It would be my pleasure,” she said. I noticed her expression was very serious, almost like she wished I hadn’t invited her. So, maybe this wasn’t what she wanted to do after all. Maybe she thought all of our work would be glamorous.

  “You’re sure…” I decided I’d give her an out.

  She grinned. “See? I can put on a poker face when I want to. Fooled you, didn’t I? Of course I’d like to help.”

  I grinned back at her. “Stan can give you the address. Why don’t you come over early and we’ll have breakfast before we start?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “I’ll take care of breakfast,” Dolly said. “You people will be busy enough without worrying about that. I make some mean waffles.”

  “Okay, we’re set,” I said. “So what are you guys gonna do tomorrow?” I said, glancing at Pete and Stanley.

  “Research,” Stanley replied. “Pete and I are going to start doing some deep investigation. By the time you’ve read Prudy’s husband’s notes, we’ll have something to add.”

  “Always the optimist.” Pete looked around the table, taking in each face, and grinned. “What a motley crew we are.”

  He snatched up the bill when the waiter brought it and paid for dinner. “This was my idea. I’ll take care of things this time.” However, I did notice a surprised look on his face when he glanced at the total. He apparently hadn’t been thinking about the fact that he was paying for six dinners, not two. He recovered quickly, and no one else saw his discomfort.