AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They each mentioned their favorite gowns and shoes.
Vivi asked, “I haven’t seen Binni, have you, Amelia?”
She shook her head. “Hannah said she’s here.”
Beatrice stilled. “Have you met her before, this designer?”
“Not in person. Why?”
She frowned, moving with the line as several women emerged from the restroom and they finally neared the door. “Just curious.”
It was more than that from the look on her face.
“She’s rather reclusive from what I’ve read,” Parker said. “She only makes guest appearances on occasion. Claims she has some kind of people phobia.”
“Anthropophobia?” At Parker’s nod, Vivihmmed. “Interesting.”
“She’s also an artist.” Amelia didn’t know why she felt the need to defend the woman. “I’m sure she’d rather be in her studio creating new designs than kibitzing with the likes of us. She’s building an empire and that takes a lot of energy.”
After they were done, they headed back, Vivi splitting off as they entered the main hall.
Rory came to his feet, wiping his brow with his cloth napkin the moment he spotted her. “Everything okay?” he asked as she neared.
The sheer worry on his face made her feel a tiny bit guilty for putting him through the radio silence, even if it had been fun to chitchat with the others like it was a normal evening of frivolity. “I’m fine,” she insisted. “Where’s Moe?”
“He left,” Cal volunteered. “People tend to do that when they’re smacked upside the head.”
“He needed it.” Rory helped her into her chair and settled the crutch under it. “He better be glad I’m in therapy or I’d do more than that to him.”
The plates had been cleared and she set her purse in front of her. People were continuing to socialize but the crowd had thinned slightly. Sabrina swept by, removing empty glasses from the table next to them and offering coffee.
“Any interest in the bag?” Rory asked.
“None.” She looked for her friend, but Hannah was nowhere in sight. “Tomorrow, you apologize first thing to Moe. Take him to lunch or something. Tate, too.”
Parker, sipping water, choked and set down the glass. “I’d like to be a fly on the wall during that interaction.”
Sabrina snorted.
Rory scowled, but at Amelia’s glare, relented. “I’ll apologize but I’m not taking him to lunch.”
She patted his hand, wondering if they needed to keep this up. Stay any longer. Maybe their ruse had been for nothing. “All quiet still?”
“Not a peep,” Cal said. He watched a woman wearing a vintage style skirt that looked like it should have a poodle sewn on it. She was talking loudly in an upper East Coast nasally accent and gesturing at Kenesha’s digital screen that ran a program highlighting her projects. The woman’s son, about eight, sidled away, playing a game on his phone. Kenesha looked like she wished the ground would open up and swallow her. Or maybe the woman.
“Let’s run interference,” Beatrice suggested, grabbing Cal’s arm and tugging him to his feet. “I’d like to see what photos she’s used in her video. Parker?”
She lifted one of the full water glasses. “I’m on it.”
Amelia stared in wonder as Parker “accidentally” tripped, splashing the liquid on the woman’s shoes. Cal and Beatrice moved her off to the side, grabbing napkins and calling for the nearest server, who just happened to be Sabrina, to assist in cleaning things up. Meanwhile, Parker engaged the young boy in a chat, keeping an eye on him.
“This was a bust, wasn’t it?” Amelia asked Rory. “All of this manpower and we came up empty-handed.”
“You didn’t think our suspect would get up on stage and announce himself, did you?”
She fiddled with her necklace. “No, but we haven’t even got a hit with all of your sophisticated facial recognition software.”
“Night’s not over. Takes time for it to do its thing comparing this many people against the photos in the dozens of databases we have.”
