Mobbed

by Carol Higgins Clark

  Regan had barely had time to absorb the collection of painted skulls, obviously artificial, and vases decorated with crazy faces. She followed her mother into the living room.

  The room was large, with beautiful, if fading, yellow print couches, a floral rug, rattan end tables and ceramic lamps. There was a price tag on everything.

  A rack of clothes and a card table seemed out of place in the middle of the room.

  “I thought Cleo’s clothes should be displayed in the most elegant room in my house,” Edna said.

  A few pairs of designer jeans, lighter summer pants, shorts, and T-shirts hung on a rack.

  “And then,” Edna said, pointing her manicured hand to the card table, “here are a few other items people might enjoy.” She held up a pair of sandals. “What girl wouldn’t want to walk in Cleo’s shoes?”

  Someone who doesn’t wear the same size, Regan thought.

  “And here is her pen, her lipstick, her suntan lotion, three notecards with ‘Cleo’ engraved on them, three matching envelopes included, a comb, a brush, and a beach towel from Malibu. Any fan of Cleo’s would love to have these items, which might become more and more valuable as the years go on. Who knows? Cleo Paradise could be her generation’s Meryl Streep.” She turned to the reporter. “Mark, would you like to have a quick tour of the house to see the things of mine that are for sale? I have more beautiful furniture. I mean, I won’t kid you. None of them are antiques, but they look good, and they’re priced to sell.”

  “No thank you, ma’am,” Mark said quickly. “I’ll go out and talk to people in line.”

  “Be my guest.”

  The reporter waved as he panned the living room with his camera, then disappeared into the vestibule and out the front door.

  “He was sweet,” Edna said. “But enough’s enough. I doubt anyone is watching that report. I don’t want to waste my time and I’d rather catch up with you, Nora. It’s so good to see you again. I heard you finally bought a house down here. I hope we’ll see more of one another.” Once again she squeezed Nora’s arms. “And, Regan, it’s lovely to meet you.” Edna laughed. “You’re a private investigator. Did Karen send you over to see if I had lost my marbles? She’s jetting her way East as we speak.”

  “No,” Nora laughed. “Though she does feel badly about the house being sold.”

  Edna shrugged. “She’ll get over it.”

  “Who did you sell the house to?” Regan asked.

  “A young man who works on Wall Street and wanted a house in Bay Head. His wife is pregnant and he wants to buy it for her as a surprise. She’s due in the next week. I asked if he wanted to buy any of the furniture but he said no. His wife likes modern. So I’ll get rid of whatever I can. I’m downsizing.”

  “Where are you going to live?” Regan asked.

  “Golden Peaks. It’s a retirement village nearby. There’s a sweet little unit that I will furnish simply.” Edna clapped her hands. “Would you like a cool drink? We could sit in the kitchen until someone comes and hopefully buys the chairs we’re sitting in.”

  “Well,” Nora said. “If it doesn’t inconvenience you …”

  “Not at all,” Edna said. “Is there anything you’d like to buy first?”

  “Oh, I’d rather visit with you,” Nora answered tactfully. “We’ll look around later. Are you sure you don’t want to see what’s going on outside?”

  Edna waved her hand. “No. That’s why I hired a company to run the sale. They know what they’re doing.”

  “How did you find them?” Regan asked, dying for information on Jillian.

  “Talking about me?” a woman called.

  They all turned. A thin, dark-haired woman, probably in her late thirties, was walking into the living room. “I’m Jody,” she said with an air of efficiency. “We put flyers all over. Edna saw me putting one up in the coffee shop in town, and asked what I was doing. Right, Edna?”

  Edna nodded. “Monday morning. It was fate.”

  “Sure was,” Jody said. “Edna put us right to work. She wanted to have this sale as fast as possible. We’ve been working round the clock this week …”

  Not Jillian, Regan thought. She had time to go to a Chinese restaurant last night.

  “And Jody is so good on pricing things. I wouldn’t know what to charge. She kept saying get as much as you can …”

  “Edna!” Jody protested.

  “Well, that’s your job. I don’t want to give all this away. Jody, we’re going in the kitchen for a drink. I know you don’t have time to join us.”

  “Hardly,” Jody said, looking at her watch. “I’d better see what’s going on outside. It was nice to meet you …”

  Edna slapped her forehead. “Forgive me for being rude. Let me introduce you to the author Nora Regan Reilly, who stayed in this house many, many, many times as a teenager….”

  I don’t think it was that many, Regan mused.

  “… they had such a wonderful time. My daughter Karen and Nora went to high school together in Bernardsville. This was our summer place back then. Karen will be here tonight. And this is Nora’s daughter, Regan …”

  19

  Edna’s friend Arnetta, a tiny woman with snow white hair and a heart-shaped face, was shooting pool in the recreation room at Golden Peaks. “Green ball in the side pocket,” she announced with confidence as she leaned over the table and lined up a shiny wooden pool stick between her manicured fingers. She aimed, fired, and the sharp crackling sound of one ball hitting another filled the air. The players watched as the green ball rolled toward that side pocket, then began to run out of steam.

  “Come on!” Arnetta cried, jumping up and down. The ball rolled more and more slowly, reached the edge of the pocket, then disappeared under the table with a decisive thump. “Yes!”

  “You’re a hustler, Arnie,” one of the men said with a chuckle.

  Eighty-six-year-old Arnetta was the best female pool player in the village. She’d taken up the game when she moved there ten years before. None of the women wanted to play with her anymore. She was out of their league and had gotten so competitive. Arnetta didn’t care. She preferred playing with the guys who were the best. It was more fun and she loved to flirt.

  A group of women who’d been playing cards on the other side of the room finished their game. One of them got up and walked over to the pool table.

  “Arnetta, we promised Edna we’d take a ride over to her sale. Are you coming?”

  “Nope.”

  “You’re not?” Gladys asked.

  “I don’t want any of her junk. I’ve got enough of my own.” The men laughed.

  Gladys put her hand on her hip. “We’re not going over there to buy junk, Arnetta. We’re going over there to show our support. I thought Edna was your friend.”

  “She is my friend. And I show her plenty of support. She’s moving here because of me, isn’t she? Maybe I’ll drive over later and find out how much money she raked in. Not that she doesn’t have enough already. She thinks she doesn’t, but she does. Gladys, we’re in the middle of a tournament …”

  “Good-bye, Arnetta.” Gladys turned away with a disgusted look. It’s not nice the way that woman is always teasing Edna about money, she thought as she walked toward the door, where her friends were waiting.

  “Arnetta’s not joining us?” one of the women asked.

  Gladys shook her head. “How did you guess, Margaret? She says they’re in the middle of a tournament, but really, she can’t be bothered.”

  “I knew she wouldn’t want to join us,” Margaret replied. She lowered her voice. “I don’t think any of that group would admit it, but they’re playing for money.”

  20

  I’ll get that,” Cleo said, hurrying over to her bathing suit and pulling it off the clothesline. Her heart was beating wildly.

  “So,” Dirk said. “How about a swim?”

  Cleo looked up at him. His face seemed kind. She didn’t want to be by herself. “Might as well. You wa
nt to wait a minute while I put this on?”

  Dirk pulled the toothpick out of his mouth and smiled. “I’ve got all the time in the world for you.”

  Oh, God, Cleo thought. Is he a nice guy or a nut? I don’t know. Maybe I should just pack up and leave. But at this point I wouldn’t know where to go. “I’ll be right out.”

  Dirk nodded.

  Cleo unlocked the door of the cabin, hurried inside, and shut the door harder than she intended. I hope he doesn’t think I slammed it, she thought, breathing more heavily than when she stopped running. Who followed me here? Who? She went over to the desk where she’d left her cell phone and dialed Daisy, but it went directly to voice mail. Cleo hung up, hurried into the bathroom, and glanced in the mirror. Look at those bags under my eyes.

  A sound behind the shower curtain startled her. She spun around and yanked the curtain aside. The faucet was dripping. Cleo ran out of the bathroom and up the stairs to the loft. She checked the closet. No one was there.

  Okay, she thought. I’ll go swimming with Dirk. Maybe that will clear my head. Then I’ll figure out what to do. She went downstairs again, changed into her suit, looked for her beach towel, and realized she didn’t have it. Cleo put on a T-shirt, stuffed her feet into a pair of sandals, grabbed her sunglasses and cap, and went outside.

  “Taking a swim in the lake always calms me,” Dirk said gently as they started walking down the trail together.

  I don’t think anything will calm me, Cleo thought. “Swimming is great exercise,” she said, her voice sounding hollow.

  “I just have to stop at the office for a second and change into my bathing suit,” Dirk said. “Don’t worry. It’s not a Speedo.”

  Oh, God, Cleo thought.

  They reached the office, which was next to the parking lot where the campers left their cars. Cleo’s rented SUV was parked in the corner. When people checked in, a golf cart brought guests and their “gear” up to their cabins.

  “I’ll wait outside,” Cleo said. “I’ve been inside so much …”

  “Okay. I’ll be back in two shakes.”

  Cleo waited. The air was so quiet and peaceful. I’d love to be here under different circumstances, she thought.

  Inside the office, Dirk greeted Gordy. “You’re back.”

  “Yes,” Gordy said eagerly. “It didn’t take long.”

  “That’s good,” Dirk said as he walked back to his private office. “I’m going for a swim with Camper Long. She finally decided to come out of her shell.”

  “Great! When I came back I parked next to her car and noticed a bathing suit on the ground under the back door. It was hard to see because it’s green and kind of blended in with the grass. Anyway, I took it up to her cabin but she wasn’t there so I hung it on her clothesline.” He smiled. “I’m trying, boss!”

  “I’m proud of you, Gordy.”

  Dirk was puzzled. If Camper Long didn’t put her suit on the clothesline, why didn’t she say anything to me? Wouldn’t she want to know how it got there? No wonder she seems nervous. What’s up with her? “I’ll mention it to her, Gordy,” Dirk lied. “But don’t you say anything. I don’t want her to think we’re fishing for compliments.”

  21

  Hayley was seated at a prime table in Redman’s, a trendy restaurant in the theater district, with Laurinda Black. Laurinda was in her late forties and had produced several successful off-Broadway shows. The Tides Return would be her first foray on the Great White Way. She was dressed casually, as if she had just run over from the theater, which she had. Black top, jeans, curly hair, not much makeup, glasses on a chain around her neck, Laurinda had the look of someone who knew that she didn’t have to get dressed up, even at a place like Redman’s.

  Laurinda tore at a piece of bread. “Hayley, congratulations. I’ve been hearing all good things about the premiere last night.”

  “Thank you,” Hayley answered.

  “The movie opens in theaters tomorrow?”

  “Yes.”

  Laurinda popped the bread in her mouth. “I’ve heard it’s not that great.”

  You’re not going to get me to say anything negative about a client, Hayley thought. “Unfortunately I never get to watch the movie at these events. I’m too busy.”

  Laurinda nodded. “Gotcha.” She ran her fingers through her curly brown hair that was flecked with gray. “We’re still working on the script of our show. It’s going to be great. It just needs a little bit of tweaking.”

  “With a new play, I imagine there could be revisions made right up until opening night,” Hayley said cheerfully.

  “Next time I’ll do a revival of a classic. You can’t make changes.” Laurinda sipped her sparkling water. “You have much trouble with people crashing your parties?”

  “No,” Hayley replied quickly. “We make sure to have enough people working the door. If your name’s not on the list, you don’t get in. What I hate dealing with is all the people who call in the days before a big event, trying to weasel an invitation.” Like Scott, she thought.

  “I’m sure that happens a lot.” Laurinda tapped the table. “When I first started in this business, there was a guy who crashed parties all over town and got away with it. He was harmless and just wanted to have fun. But now there are so many phonies and wannabes out there trying to get ahead. They go to these things to make connections, see what they can get from people they meet.” Laurinda looked around. “A wealthy friend of mine was taken in by a guy she met at a fund-raiser. He was really handsome and asked her out. He took her to his favorite restaurant, where the waiters fell all over him. Turns out all he wanted was to invest her money.”

  “Really?” Hayley asked.

  Laurinda started laughing. “She said she had to go to the ladies’ room, right before their meal was served. Then she snuck out of the restaurant and sat in a bar across the street watching him sit with his meal and a cover over hers. Eventually he got the check, and she got the last laugh.”

  “Good for her!” Hayley said.

  “Yup.” Laurinda picked up her knife and playfully pointed it at Hayley. “I don’t want anyone like that at my party.”

  22

  …And this is Nora’s daughter, Regan—”

  Edna was interrupted by the ringing of Jody’s cell phone. Jody smiled and looked down at her caller ID. “Excuse me for a second. It’s Jillian, my partner in this crazy business … Hello … Yes, Jillian … You wouldn’t believe who I’m meeting … Nora Regan Reilly, the author … Yes, and her daughter … Oh, you met them outside? … Listen, can I call you back? …”

  Regan was staring at Jody as she listened to whatever Jillian was saying. What was that expression that crossed Jody’s face ever so briefly?

  “Okay … Hope it goes well … Talk to you later.” Jody disconnected her phone. “Sorry,” she said. “It’s a busy day for us. Two sales at once.”

  “We met Jillian at the gate,” Regan said casually.

  “Jody and Jillian are so wonderful,” Edna interrupted. “What a team! They taught me the value of decluttering and that’s some lesson. It was like having two therapists for the price of one. Too much stuff keeps you stuck in the past. When I didn’t think I could part with something, the girls told me to let go. I said I’d try. It wasn’t easy. They told me to close my eyes and envision myself enjoying a new, wonderful life at Golden Peaks. Clutter free. I followed their advice and now I’m ready to move forward.”

  “So many people have clutter issues,” Regan offered. Like Scott, she thought. Too many girlfriends. “It’s in the news all the time,” Regan continued. “You’re lucky to at least try and make money off your clutter.”

  “Oh, no!” Edna said. “What you see here isn’t clutter!”

  “Oh, what I …,” Regan began.

  “We threw the clutter out! We went through the attic, the garage, and the basement. You think there’s a lot of stuff outside? You wouldn’t believe what I got rid of! Jody and Jillian said a sale like this must be s
taged properly. If you have too much garbage around, people will think everything is garbage and walk away. Right, Jody?”

  Jody smiled. “Something like that.” She looked at Nora and Regan. “Edna has so many beautiful things for sale. She doesn’t need to try and make money on a chipped serving plate.” Jody shuddered. “It gives people the wrong impression. We don’t want anyone to get the idea she doesn’t take care of her things.”

  “Which couldn’t be further from the truth,” Edna insisted.

  “I could tell immediately,” Jody said, looking at Edna with affection. “You have a beautiful home. But some of the stuff in your attic!” she joked.

  “I have a sentimental streak a mile wide,” Edna explained to the Reillys.

  “Mrs. Frawley wanted to keep her son’s first baby shoes. They were scuffed and curled up. A shoelace was missing.”

  “Frankie was a very active child. Always tapping his feet. No wonder he became a musician. Maybe I shouldn’t have thrown those shoes out. He’s moving back.”

  “He is?” Jody asked. “I thought he was married to the sea.”

  “He found someone else to marry. I can’t wait to meet her. He just called a few minutes ago.”

  “Frankie’s coming back?” Nora exclaimed. “You must be so pleased.”

  “Let’s see if it happens.”

  “I’d better get outside,” Jody said. “We’ll start to let people in soon. One of our girls just went upstairs to keep an eye on the bedrooms. I’ll be back in a few minutes to collect the money from people who buy things that are in the house.”

  “My daughter’s bedroom door has a sign saying KEEP OUT?” Edna asked.

  “Definitely.”

  Edna rolled her eyes. “Karen seems to think that every little thing from her childhood should be saved. She needs a crash course from Jody and Jillian.”

  Jody hurried outside.

  Edna rubbed her hands together. “Ladies, how about a glass of iced tea?”

  “Great,” Nora answered.

  I want to get a look around. Maybe I can get some information from the girl upstairs, Regan thought. “If you don’t mind,” she said to Edna, “I’d love to see the second floor.”