Theo leaned closer as we took a few more slow steps deeper into the gallery. “Do you see anyone you know?”
I glanced around, scanning faces and name tags. There wasn’t anyone I immediately recognized, other than the familiarity of Tilikum residents I could recall seeing around town.
“Not really.”
He nodded, and there was something about his calm demeanor that put me at ease. A room full of people I didn’t know, especially if there could be small talk involved, was basically my nightmare. But Theo didn’t seem the least bit anxious. He exuded his typical casual confidence—relaxed body language, laid-back expression. It slowed my racing heart and made me feel considerably less jittery than I would have otherwise.
As Theo had predicted, there were two large tables with food and beverages along one of the side walls. Theo and I glanced at each other and simultaneously shrugged as if to say,Why not?We walked over and started putting various finger foods on small paper plates.
With several pieces of cheese, some crackers, a dollop of fig spread, and a few green olives on my plate, I stepped aside so I wouldn’t be in the way. It felt better to have something in my hands.
Theo stood next to me and took a big bite of bruschetta. “Not bad,” he said, still keeping his voice low.
Glancing around the room again, I nibbled on my food. I thought I should probably find Gina Morris and say hello.I’d only met her once, so I didn’t think she’d remember me—especially with everything she’d been through—but it seemed like the right thing to do.
“I can’t believe she showed her face here,” a woman on the other side of Theo said to her companion. She looked to be about Edwin’s age, probably in her sixties, as did the woman she was talking to. Her name tag readJeanand her friend’s saidKathy.
Theo’s eyebrows lifted as he met my eyes. We both took a subtle step closer. It was like being in the teachers’ lounge when someone was about to spill the tea.
“I can’t, either.” Kathy shook her head and appeared to be looking across the room at someone.
“Who?” Theo whispered.
I shrugged. I couldn’t tell.
“Gina is showing so much class,” Jean said. “I’d have asked her to leave.”
“Does Gina know she’s here?”
“She must. I saw them standing quite near each other just a few minutes ago.”
“Are we sure Gina…” Kathy paused. “Knows?”
The way she said that word dripped with suggestion. Theo and I widened our eyes at each other.
I lowered my voice. “Affair?”
Eyes still wide, Theo nodded. “Maybe.”
I adjusted my glasses and started searching out every woman in the room. Had Edwin Morris been having an affair with one of them?
“If she doesn’t know, she’s blind,” Jean continued. “It was more than obvious.”
“Look at her. The least she could have done is worn something a little less revealing. It’s a funeral, for goodness’ sake.”
That left little doubt which woman they were gossiping about. She stood talking with a bald man wearing a suit and black-rimmed glasses. Dark hair spilled around her shoulders and the neckline of her dress plunged so low, her name tag was affixed to her skin above her ample cleavage. The hem of her dress rode high on her thighs and she wore the type of stiletto heels that made me wonder how she’d ever be able to walk in them.
I didn’t want to be judgy, but it really wasn’t a funeral dress. Although it was black, it had a shimmer to it. She looked like she was ready to go clubbing.
Why did she seem familiar? In a flash, I remembered. She’d been in Edwin’s painting class. Her named started with an A… Ashley? No. Allison? Amanda? That sounded right. I couldn’t quite see her name tag, but I was pretty sure her name was Amanda.
Theo met my eyes, and we moved from our place near the food, gradually making our way to the stairs. A few people came down, passing us as we went up to the loft.
The low hum of voices seemed even more hushed upstairs. Like the main floor below, the loft had been cleared of most of the usual displays. People stood in small knots, some with food or beverages, some without.
I spotted Gina Morris talking with a tall man in a black suit. She wore a long-sleeve black dress and her thick silver hair was styled in a straight bob. With a twinge of guilt, I remembered what Sean had said about her—that she looked like a skeleton. I didn’t want to be mean, but he wasn’t wrong. She wasn’t unattractive, but her large eyes and prominent cheekbones, along with her slender limbs, did give her a slightly lurid beauty.
The man was probably of a similar age, with mostly gray hair and a neatly trimmed beard. His name tag saidCurt Redfern.Gina dabbed beneath her eyes, and Curt reached into his pocket and handed her a tissue.
