“Stan also wholesaled fruit. And nuts. All kinds of high-end comestibles. I sold the companies but I’ve maintained my connections and I employ them. As in our fundraiser. Our appetizer buffet is legendary.”
I smiled again.
She said, “You reallyarehandsome.” Sharp, brown eyes lowered to my hands. “I don’t see a ring.”
“I’m in a relationship.”
“Alas.” Theatrical sigh. “No surprise there, the good ones are always taken. Please don’t find me cheeky, I have a terrible habit of inquiring for my daughter.”
She pointed to a large silver-framed photo displayed conspicuously behind the food. Marilyn Monroe look-alike in a strapless black dress.
Gorgeous woman but haunted eyes.
“That’s my Karen. It was taken professionally back when she thought she’d be an actress. Now she’s studying to be a therapist. Not like you, a Ph.D. She’s finishing her B.A. in communications and plans to work with drug rehab patients.”
A wave of anxiety washed across chalky skin. “Based on her own experiences. You understand.”
“I do.”
“Oh, well, I suppose it might work out,” said Jane Leavitt. “Provide her a certain level of experience that could help others. But I do wonder about her being exposed to the wrong people. What do you think, Doctor?”
“I don’t want to be evasive, Ms. Leavitt, but I don’t know enough about your daughter to pontificate.”
She laughed. “Pontificate. I like that. Spoken like a true cautious scientist—Warren’s like that. Dr. Giacomo. Can’t be pinned down. Veryscientific,everything must be verified and reverified and what’s the word—replicated. I respect him for that and I see you’re cut from the same cloth—have some cheese. It’s from a Basque village where the goats are pampered.”
Again, I obeyed.
Jane Leavitt said, “So. You want to know abouther.What exactly has she done?”
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to be evasive again.”
“Fair enough,” she said. “But obviously if the police send a psychologist, it’s got to be something nasty and bizarre.Good.I want the full weight of the law brought down upon her. I want her to reap the fruits of her rotten character.”
Angry words but a serene tone.
I said, “Something happened at the fundraiser.”
“The fundraiser is important to our cause—more than that, it’svital.The moneys we raise go straight into research. We underwrite every bit of overhead, not a penny goes toward administration. Last January we welcomed a small but promising crop of potential donors. The fundraiser was our opportunity to put on our best face andshenearly ruined it and for that I canneverforgive her.”
“What did she do?”
“She allowed some of her low-life friends to crash and they…oh, why beat around the bush, they had anorgy.”
“Really.”
“Well,” she said, “perhaps that’s an exaggeration, but not much of one.”
She took a deep breath, placed a hand on her chest. “Everything was going along swimmingly. I run a tight ship, brief speeches, no dead time, a wonderful band versed in the American Song Book. Ample drink as well but everyone tipples in moderation. We’re amaturegroup, Doctor. That’s our hallmark. Maturity. I shouldn’t have listened to her in the first place.”
“About what?”
“About allowing her to get involved. She was pushy, that alone should’ve been the tip-off, I don’t do pushy. But she caught me at a bad time. Karen was just out—no matter, she convinced me. The first thing she screwed up was the venue. In the past, we’ve used members’ homes, so many of our members havelovelyhomes.Sheconvinced me to try something new. That hideous pseudo-castle, she knew the owners because they’d bought art from her and that tight-sphinctered husband of hers so we could get it at deep discount. When she told me the figure, I said, why not, be adventurous. Because with members’ homes we have to take out serious insurance.”
“How did Candace come to the group?”
“She emailed me, said breast cancer research was their passion, a first wife of his had died of it. So when I met him at the fundraiser I offered my sympathy and empathy but he gave me a blank look. As if he had no idea what I was talking about. Then, as if he was trying to cover for himself, he said oh, yes, that was terrible, Gertrude would be so pleased.Thatshould’ve tipped me off. Gertrude? When’s the last time you heard of a woman under eighty named Gertrude? But as I said, I was distracted. Plus I give people the benefit.”
Her jaws clenched. “Until they prove otherwise. After that?” She rubbed her palms together then let each hand fly. “Good riddance to bad rubbish.”
