That’s why the lock was back on the door.” The three women weren’t the only ones gathered around me. The men were there, too, all except for Edward Monroe, I noticed, who was suspiciously absent.
Celia glanced around at the guys, who all shook their heads, denying any accountability for the sauna fiasco. Her dark eyes flashed. “Well, I’m going to have a talk with the kids, that’s for sure. If one of them pulled that stunt, they’re going to be grounded until they’re out of college.”
Beth brought me a glass of lemonade. “Are you sure you feel OK?” She looked to Michael for guidance. “Maybe we should call EMS after all?”
I couldn’t say no, because my mouth was full of crackers and dip. I shook my head instead. After I swallowed, I said, “I’m fine. Really. Even if one of the kids did it . . .” I doubted this was true, but going along with the story might get me information and, at a time like this, information was what I needed. “You know it was an accident. You’ve all been so kind taking care of me. And I feel much better. Really.”
“No headache?” I don’t know how she thought it would prove it, but Celia pressed the back of one hand to my forehead. “No nausea? No chills?”
My mouth was full again so again, I shook my head. Celia had given me one of her bathrobes to wear while my clothes were in the washer and dryer and I didn’t want to move too fast. Celia is short and dainty. I am short and anything but. I wouldn’t have been so self-conscious if the guys weren’t gathered around. I set down my plate and cinched the belt on the robe so I could stand. It was a relief to realize my knees weren’t rubbery anymore. “I think I’ll just head home,” I said. “I mean, after I get dressed.”
That seemed to be enough to satisfy the men. Nodding the way people do when a crisis has been handled and all is well again, they grabbed their wineglasses and went back to the great room.
I watched them go and pretended I’d just noticed. “Edward isn’t here any longer.”
Beth’s mouth thinned in a way that told me I’d hit a nerve, but she didn’t say a word.
“He’s taking Henry and Antonia to their grandmother’s for the night.” Glynis supplied the explanation. “He was gone even before we realized you were missing.”
“Is that true, Beth?” I turned to her. “You look as if you’re not quite sure.”
“Of course I’m sure. And what difference would it make, anyway?”
It wouldn’t have, if Beth didn’t look so darned jumpy. She bustled around the kitchen, straightening and refilling the serving dishes even though none of them needed it.
I closed in on her and pretended to be reaching for some of her blue cheese herb dip so I could lay one of my hands on hers to still her. I kept my voice low so Celia and Glynis—on the other side of the kitchen choosing a bottle of wine out of the wine chiller built in near the pantry—wouldn’t hear. “You want to talk?”
Beth glanced up only long enough to make sure her friends weren’t watching. She nodded.
I knew I had to act fast, before she changed her mind. “Come on, Beth,” I said, backing off from the island and the food that looked better than ever now that I was feeling more like myself. “You can show me where my laundry is.”
The basement of Celia’s house was far more elegant than my apartment. There was a cheery finished room with a wall of shelves for toys, a bunch of those low-slung rocking video chairs, and a huge flat-panel TV. There was another room Celia used exclusively for her scrapbooking. The lighting was so good in there, it could have doubled as an operating room. Beyond that was the laundry room. The dryer buzzed just as we walked in.
I retrieved my clothes and stepped into a little side room where the shelves along one wall were stacked with extra bottles of laundry detergent and fabric softener.
“So . . .” Since Beth politely stayed out by the washer and dryer, I raised my voice so she could hear me and slipped into my underwear. “I can’t help but feel there’s something you want to tell me, Beth.” Just to make sure she was listening, I stuck my head out the door. Beth had her back against the