In the kitchen, things look very hectic indeed. I blink. Mrs Ramirez is sticking polaroid photos up on the window, on the kitchen table there are tall stacks of papers, empty mugs of coffee and three burner mobile phonesbuzzingaway!
‘We have been very busy, sweetguapa. I hope you had good sex last night? You have the look of a woman welltendedto.’
My cheeks warm and I avoid her question while wondering how on earth a well-tended woman looks and how this is so clearly visible to an ageing Spanishwoman.
‘Who are those pictures of?’ I say, distracting Mrs Ramirez by pointing at the polaroids on the window. I turn to Anders. ‘And will someone tell me who the people areoutside!’
Anders gives me a look that’s somewhere between guilty andexcited.
‘They are here regarding Chuck Allen,’ he explains, one hand on hisskinnyhip.
‘What?’ My heart leaps. ‘Wow. This is incredible news! The leafletsworked?’
‘They did not,’ Mrs Ramirez says, bustling over to the kitchen counter and pouring me a coffee from what I think is a crystalcafetière.
‘Huh?’
‘Ask him.’ Mrs Ramirez thumbs in Anders’direction.
I turn to Anders, a quizzical look onmyface.
‘I might have put a little something up on Craigslist,’ Anders says breezily. ‘And it got agreatresponse!’
‘Anders, you are a genius! So what have you found out? Have you heard from Chuck himself? Does anyone know whereheis?’
Yes! The search is finally comingtogether.
‘We are not having great luck,’ Mrs Ramirez says, sitting down at the kitchentable.
Oh.
‘Not yet!’ Anders interjects. ‘Butwewill.’
‘Mr von Preen here offered a reward on the internets. So the people outside are not, how shall I say…trustworthy.’
Anders tuts lightly. ‘It’s only five thousand dollars forgoodnesssake.’
‘Five thousand dollars!’ I goggle. ‘Oh Anders. What areyoulike?’
‘Ay! All thatmoney!’
‘It worked inAnnie, darling. They put up a reward for information leading to the discovery of Annie’s biologicalparents.’
‘It didn’t work inAnnie! Tim Curry and Bernadette Peters used the whole thing as a ruse to con Daddy Warbucks. Remember? Mrs Hannigan was involved andeverything.’
‘Itdidn’twork in Annie?’ Anders puts a hand to his face, crestfallen. ‘I thought… It’s so long since I saw it. Oh dear. I was so hopeful last night. I’d had some cognac and thought that this would be agreathelp.’
‘It could still work, I suppose,’ I say brightly, touched that this unusual man has put up so much of his own money to help me and Birdie. ‘Thanks for trying,Anders.’
Anders gives an elegant shrug. ‘Besties help besties,’hesays.
I guess now isn’t the right time to tell him we’re notbesties.
‘So, the pictures on the window are the people you’ve already met this morning?’ I ask, heading over to the big kitchen window to have a look at the five polaroids stuck up there with Blu-Tack. ‘Why are they on the window? And how on earth did you get strangers to pose for pictures? Did they not think itwasodd?’
‘Mrs Ramirez said we should.’ Anders pulls a face, speaking in a petulant voice, almost as if he wants to get back at Mrs Ramirez for shading his Annierewardidea.
‘It is how Olivia Pope would do it,’ Mrs Ramirezexplains.
