As a homicide detective he’d been at far more funerals than I had and when we went inside after our tea, I made a comment about my clothing dilemma. He took both our mugs and put them in the dishwasher and offered his assistance.
It was weird showing him my closet, but then we were just housemates now, right? He stood next to me as I pushed clothes down the rack. Close enough that I could feel the heat coming off his body.
“How about that,” he said when I got to a linen dress that had tiny black-and-white checks. From a distance it appeared gray. It was sleeveless and loose fitting. “Do you need help with shoes?” he said with a teasing smile. “I’ve become quite an expert thanks to Heather. Those heels sure do something with the way a woman walks.”
I pulled him out of my closet and said I could handle the shoes myself. I should have left it at that, but the whole heels comment had annoyed me. “Sorry I didn’t have that tart walk going when we were together,” I said.
Barry stifled a laugh and I asked how the work was coming at his apartment.
“Huh?” he said as I walked him back toward his side of the house. I repeated the question and he threw up his hands. “You know workmen. It was too hot to paint, so there’s a delay. They brought the wrong carpet. The one I wanted had to be special ordered so there’s another delay. If it’s such a burden having us here, I could find someplace else to stay. Heather’s building has an elevator.”
“It’s okay if you stay here until your place is decorated,” I said. I knew the comment about Heather was a setup, but I fell for it anyway. Frustrated with myself I shut the door to my wing of the house and called it a night.
Barry’s clothes choice for me turned out to be perfect. Kelly’s funeral was held at a small chapel at Forest Lawn. The cemetery was set on an expanse of green hillside with a view of the eastern Valley and there was no shade to soften the blinding sun. Dinah and I arrived together. Commander was off getting the things for the reception in order.
Inside, we found CeeCee. She was the only one decked out in a black sheath dress and a wide-brimmed black hat with a veil. In her mind there might be paparazzi anywhere and she was always ready for her close-up. Rhoda and Elise were next to her. Both of them had a small crochet project in their laps. I think just like some people always carry a book, they carried crochet.
Eduardo hadn’t been able to make it. Then Sheila came in and took the seat next to Dinah. “Funerals make me nervous,” she said in a breathy voice. Adele plopped into the seat next to Sheila and launched into the benefits of them sharing an apartment, which Adele was pushing for.
“If we get a place together, I’ll throw in confidence lessons. In no time you’ll own every room you enter, just like me,” Adele said as she adjusted her hat. I didn’t say anything, but I thought Adele’s concept of owning a room was really more like kidnapping it.
No surprise, Adele didn’t wear black. All I could think of was that she looked like a block of butter. She wore a long yellow dress that appeared to be cotton, but had a sheen to it. She had added a scarf of crocheted flowers, all creamy yellow as well. No big hat for Adele this time, she’d worn another tiny yellow fascinator on the front of her head. It had a snippet of yellow veil and seemed to be erupting tiny flowers on long wire stems. Every time she moved, the flowers bobbed. Adele was big on wearing things with moveable parts.
The Hookers began to talk among themselves while Dinah and I checked out the rest of the crowd. I noticed Detective Heather slip into the last row. What did she think—that Dan was going to jump up and confess in the middle of the service?
Dinah and I turned our attention to the first row. Dan was already seated in the first seat on the end.
“I bet that’s Kelly’s mother,” Dinah said as a slender woman in a classic black dress walked along the front row. I could just make out her expression as she approached Dan.