“And what’s that?”
“If you don’t trust me with your secrets, I’m certainly not going to trust you with mine.”
Chapter 18
When Edwina and Max walked back into the old warehouse, now the improvised movie studio, they were met with an unusual, stony silence. The normal chatter of workers and bustle of things being moved and cameras being set up was strangely absent.
Wickett was standing in the fake bedroom set, his lips pursed while he read over the script, but he was occasionally glancing toward the cafeteria.
As they walked by, he called out, “I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.”
Edwina stopped in her tracks and walked back to Wickett, who had a concerned, serious expression on his face.
“Why? What’s going on?”
“Miss Linwood just got copies of today’s newspaper, and there are some rather… incriminating photos inside.”
Edwina felt her heart drop to her boots. “Photos?”
The blackmailer had been busy.
Wickett sighed heavily, then nodded. “Of her and Mr. Baxter, kissing in a car. The article that goes with it doesn’t come right out and state they’re having an affair, but it certainly implies it.”
Max opened his mouth to say something, but just as he did there was the sound of an explosive crash, coming from the breakroom.
“There goes another one,” Wickett intoned, and when Edwina turned to ask him what he meant, he explained.
“Coffeecups. So far Linwood’s thrown at least eleven of them. She’s pitching a full-blown tantrum in there and everyone’s afraid to go near her.” He slapped the script shut. “And I don’t blame them. It’s like the Great War all over again. I’d almost rather face the Germans.”
Looking around, Edwina could see a ragged line of cast and crew, wide-eyed, looking at the shut door of the cafeteria as if it held some ravening animal. Greg, the cast’s ‘beast’ seemed just as cowed as the rest of the crew, and was hanging back behind one of the lighting technicians.
“Where’s Bunny?” Edwina asked Wickett, and he snorted.
“Linwood’s loyal assistant? Why, she’s cowering back in her mistress’ dressing room, waiting for the diva to either come to her senses or run out of coffee mugs.”
Max looked at Edwina as if she were crazy. “You’re on your own!” he declared, then stalked off in search of somewhere quieter.
It didn’t take long to confirm Wickett’s statement about Bunny. As soon as Edwina walked into the dressing room she saw Bunny, reclining on the fainting couch with her feet propped up on the back wall, reading the paper and chewing on a chocolate bar.
Her eyes widened when she saw Edwina, and her feet hit the floor.
“What’s going on, Bunny?” Edwina asked, putting her hands on her hips. “Why aren’t you out there, getting Miss Linwood under control?”
Bunny’s face changed from guilt to amusement. “Get her under control? Did you see what she was doing out there?” She smoothed the front of her dress a bit, then said, “I could get hurt. She’s got a really good throwing arm, you know.”
“What can you tell me about the photos? Did the blackmailer send another threatening letter before he had them released to the press?”
“Oh, those?” Bunny said with a bitter laugh. “They’re pretty mild, actually.” She tossed a folded-up newspaper at Edwina. “See for yourself.”
Edwina picked up the paper and quickly scanned it. The photos were a bit grainy, but clear enough to see Wickett and Linwood locked in a passionate kiss in the front seat of a black car, eyes closed, arms wrapped around each other. The text that accompanied it mentioned that movie star Gloria Linwood had a new boyfriend and wondered what her fans would think of her dating a lowly film editor, instead of the hot Hollywood hunk she’d been rumored to have as an escort.
“Well, these don’t look… too bad,” Edwina observed, then glanced up at Bunny, who was now searching through one of the drawers in Linwood’s vanity table. She finally pulled out a small rectangular box, opened it, and retrieve a piece of fudge with a smile of absolute satisfaction.
“So, why’s she throwing such a tantrum in the lunchroom?”
Bunny shrugged, took a bite of the fudge, and chewed for a minute. “She’s cranky. She’s tired. Who knows?”
Edwina took off her coat and hung it on the coat tree by the door. “Hey, I thought Miss Linwood wasn’t feeling well. How does she have the energy to throw things?”
“Sometimes she feels okay, sometimes she doesn’t. It comes and goes.”
Edwina thought for a moment. “Maybe the break in filming will be good for her, then, if she isn’t feeling well.”
“Who said there was a break in filming?” Bunny asked, looking up in confusion. “I didn’t hear anything about a delay in getting back to work.”
“Well, with Mr. Gridhorn passed away, I figured…” Edwina’s voice trailed off, trying to sound respectful, but Bunny smiled.
“Oh, you didn’t hear then?”
“Hear what?”
“Mr. Baxter’s going to take over the directing. He says he already knows how to edit the picture anyway, so he might as well do the directing, too.”
Edwina’s eyebrows went up. “Has he ever directed a movie before?”
“Not that I know of,” Bunny said, “but you know what they say. The show must go on.”
“Even if somebody dies?”
Bunny nodded. “Especially if someone dies.” She held out the fudge box. “Want some?”
Chapter 19
The day had been horrible at work, and it was about to get worse at home.
She should’ve known something was up the moment she walked in the front door. Hopkins, her family’s longtime butler, usually so formal and stoic, cracked a small smile as he took her scarf and cloche hat. “I believe your parents and a visitor are waiting in the main parlor, Miss Edwina.”
Her eyebrows raised in surprise. “A visitor?”
Hopkins’ tiny smile stayed in place. “And an unexpected one, if I may presume to say so,” he added, before stalking off with her things.
As soon as Edwina walked around the wooden doorframe that was the entrance to the parlor, she stopped in her tracks, her eyes rounded with surprise.
“Aunt Zinnia, what are you doing here?”
“Oh, there’s my little daisy!” Zinnia shooed a purring cat from her lap and walked toward Edwina, arms outstretched. She looked as out of place in the formal, highbrow parlor as The Man in the Moon would’ve at the White House. Dress in a flowing, gypsy-style dress and layers of multi-colored scarves and ethnic jewelry, her wavy hair was dark and streaked with glints of silver. There were new laugh lines around her bright, intelligent eyes, and Edwina had a quick pang of regret that she didn’t see her eccentric aunt more often.
Before she could say anything, Edwina was enveloped head-to-toe in the familiar, fleshy, warm, spice-scented hug she’s always gotten from her wild Aunt Zinnia. She got a resounding kiss on her left cheek, the side of her face away from her parents, who were sitting dourly on the sofa.
“Can you believe they called me to come by and talk to you?” Aunt Zinnia whispered, a little laugh in her voice. “You must’ve done something big to get you in so much trouble they’d want me over here. Good for you!”
Edwina hugged her back, and when she pulled back a bit her aunt looped a companionable arm through hers and escorted her toward the nearest loveseat, opposite her parents.
“Come sit by me, daisy. Let’s hear all about this new career of yours.”
Plopping down next to her aunt, Edwina was staring directly at her concerned parents. Rawson was stone-faced, his spine ramrod-straight as he looked at her. Her mother, Amelia, was holding a lace handkerchief and occasionally sniffing a bit and looking out the pattern on the oriental carpet covering the mahogany floor.
“So, it’s come to this,” Rawson intoned, his dark eyebrows drawn together as he regarded his only daug
hter. “Young lady, do you have any idea how much trouble the road you’re on could bring you?”
Aunt Zinnia was rummaging around a bit in a large fabric bag next to her, and finally pulled out a small silver flask.
“Got it!” she crowed as she unscrewed the cap. She held it out to Edwina. “I think you’re going to need this more than I will. Want a tipple?”
“No, thanks, Aunt Zinnia,” Edwina said, even though a shot of whatever alcohol Aunt Zinnia was offering sounded like a fantastic idea.
“Zinny, stop it!” Amelia said, her voice unhappy and thin as she spoke to her sister. “You know we don’t condone that.”
Zinnia’s eyebrows went up so far they disappeared into her dark bangs. “’Melia, I know what you’ve got in the liquor cabinet in the billiards room downstairs, and it ain’t tea.” When she got only silence as an answer she pursed her lips and screwed on the cap again, finally tucking the flask back in her bag. “Fine.”
Her father had his attention still centered on his daughter, as if Aunt Zinnia hadn’t spoken at all. “Edwina, we’ve got to get some things settled and we’re going to get this decided right here and now. I don’t think you realize the impact your new hobby is having on this family, or the ramifications it could have on all of us. Zinnia is here to talk it over, too.” He shifted a bit, his palms on his knees. “Sometimes it seems like you listen more to her than you do to us, anyway, so we thought it might help put things in perspective.”
Or you’re trying to warm me I’m going to wind up just like her, Edwina thought. She knew that was much closer to the truth. Her free-spirited aunt had been an embarrassment to her parents from the moment she refused to toe the family line. Zinnia had never married, had been a suffragette, and lived in a small cottage near the river, full of a disjointed collection of second-hand furniture and odd artifacts from her many travels. She made a living by selling her large oil paintings, many done in the modern style. When she’d sold an abstract nude that bore a strong resemblance to herself, that was the last straw for Edwina’s parents, and they’d cut Zinnia out of their lives. The fact that the painting had wound up in the private collection of one of Rawson’s friends had been the icing on the cake.
“We think you should consider finding a nice young man and settling down,” her mother offered hopefully, and out of the corner of her eye, Edwina could see the disgusted face Aunt Zinnia made in response to Amelia’s suggestion. “We think if you had a household of your own to run it would help…” she paused, as if the words eluded her, before finally adding, “calm you a bit.”
“What’s she doing that’s so wrong, huh?” Zinnia countered, gesturing at Edwina. “She’s trying to start her own business. She’s trying to meet new people and learn new things. She’s young, for heaven’s sake! Don’t try to lock her up in some glass box before she’s been able to live a little. She deserves some freedom.”
Rawson glared at Zinnia. “I think she’s had more than enough freedom, thank you, Zinnia.”
“And she deserves your trust,” Zinnia continued, as if she hadn’t heard what Rawson had said. “She’s a good person, and you should be proud of what she’s trying to do.”
There was the sound of leather shoes on the wooden floor, and Graham walked in. As soon as Edwina’s brother caught sight of his eclectic aunt he stopped dead in his tracks and stared, then slowly leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms. “Hello, Aunt Zinnia,” he said, his voice dripping with smugness. “My, what an interesting ensemble you’ve chosen to wear today. I see your fashion sense hasn’t changed.”
“And I see you’re still the stuffed shirt boor you were when I saw you last time,” Aunt Zinnia countered, which made Edwina clap a hand over her mouth to stifle a cheer. “Still pull the legs off grasshoppers in the summertime?”
“Hush, Graham,” Edwina’s mother said, then turned toward her daughter. “Darling, did you know your friends from school are starting to find out what you’re doing? The word’s spread that you’re investigating crimes and that just won’t do. You’re associating with riff-raff and criminal elements, and we have to remember our place in society.”
Edwina had just opened her mouth to rebut her mother’s statement when her father waded back into the conversation.
“Do you know how much we had to pay to two different reporters to keep him from putting your name in the papers? When you found that diamond it could’ve been all over town like wildfire, if I hadn’t stopped it.”
Edwina could hear the frustration in his voice. “Dad, I’m sorry you spent so much money on me. I’m not trying to make anything difficult or embarrassing for anyone. I’m just trying to make a life for myself, with my own efforts. Can’t you understand that?”
“I understand you’re throwing away every opportunity I’ve given you!”
They glared at each other, worlds apart and both wanting what they wanted, until finally Graham spoke.
“No more racing automobiles. No more detective nonsense,” he said, “and for heaven’s sake, Eddie, you’d better get your priorities straight. At the rate you’re going, you might as well go live with Aunt Zinnia.”
“Graham, you are such a weasel. You’re not my father, and I’m not hurting anyone. As a matter of fact, I’m trying to be less of a burden to our parents. I want to make my own way as much as possible”
Graham snorted in dismissal. “Sure you are. And one more thing; if you insist on running around town like you are, you’d better start using a different name than Edwina Eaton, too,” he said, looking at Edwina as if she were an idiot. “Go pretend you’re some pauper, instead of being attached to this family and embarrassing us all.”
Edwina smiled, all teeth and no humor. “That’s a great idea, Graham. It may be the first thing you and I have agreed on in years. I’ll pick a new name out today. Why not?”
“Enough!” Aunt Zinnia barked, and all eyes turned toward her. “We’re getting nowhere.” She jerked herself to her feet, grabbed her bag, and faced toward Edwina.
“Daisy, when you’re ready to see a different side of life, leave this circus and come live with me. It may not be what you’d be expecting, but you’ll see a side of life that you could only dream existed.”
She looked at her sister, Amelia, who now was holding her handkerchief to her temple, as if to stave off an oncoming headache. “And Amelia,” Zinnia said, “if Edwina does choose to come to live with me, I promise not to paint her nude!”
“Zinny!” Amelia protested, as her sister sailed out of the room, scarves swishing as she walked.
Just as she walked past Graham she ducked her head back in and grinned mischievously.
“Unless she wants me to.”
**
There wasn’t much to say after Aunt Zinnia’s offer to move in and after a few awkward sentences to each other, filled in by gaps of stiff silence, Graham ambled off to find other people to annoy and her parents headed to bed.
The evening had been as horrible as family arguments can be, and even though Edwina didn’t want to cause her family grief, the bottom line was she wasn’t willing to give up her freedom or her passions to conform to what they wanted.
Edwina picked up her purse and looked around the luxurious parlor. It was full of expensive furniture, thick rugs, delicate porcelain, and every bit of upper-crust good taste Amelia Winterwood could pour into it. Every bit of it had been bought with money from her family’s businesses, and as much as Edwina could appreciate the craftsmanship of the house around her, it was beginning to feel more and more like a mahogany-lined prison.
Heart heavy, she climbed the stairs to her bedroom, and walked down the long corridor, considering her options. As she walked by an open door she heard a rustle of movement and caught a glimpse of her parents out of the corner of her eye. Her father, normally such a serious man of business, was leaning toward Amelia, his eyes locked on hers, and one hand planted on the wall beside his wife’s head. Edwina’s mother was smiling a bit, her eyes soft
as she slowly pulled her husband closer to her and slanted her mouth across his, her eyes closed in happiness.
Edwina hadn’t seen her parents exhibit tenderness to each other for a long time. She’d always thought that if there had even been some sort of romantic passion between them, it had burned out years ago. They’d always been her parents, yes, but the thought of them being a loving couple, outside of the requirements of being Mr. and Mrs. Rawson Winterwood, seemed to have faded completely.
Careful to keep her footsteps as quiet as possible so as not to interrupt them, Edwina tiptoed away, pondering whether her parents’ attempts to rein in their rebellious daughter had somehow brought them closer together.
Sometimes, being a troublemaker had unexpected benefits.
Chapter 20
She was glad Bunny had let her be late the next morning, because she spent a lovely couple of hours working with Mr. Edmondson, the chauffeur, tinkering with the rapidly expanding fleet of cars in the cavernous garage. There was little she liked better than figuring out the puzzle of what was wrong with an engine, and when was lying under her father’s Bentley she had a sudden thought.
What if the reason she loved solving mysteries was the same reason she loved fixing cars? Or racing cars? It was all about excitement, perhaps with some danger thrown in, and figuring out a complex puzzle. The idea made her smile, and by the time she’d cleaned up and waved goodbye at Mr. Edmondson, she was practically skipping.
The good mood lasted all the way to work. It was a brilliantly sunny day, even if the temperature wasn’t expected to crawl above freezing all day. By 11 o’clock Edwina was just pulling into an open space to park when she caught a glimpse of Max, leaning into the open window of a Model A.
“I told you to get it! Did you get it?”
“Now, baby doll, don’t you think it’s a bit early for us to buy a ring?” Max gave her his most charming smile, to no effect. “We’ve just started stepping out together, and I thought we’d wait to see—”
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