Did I hallucinate that?”
“Cash flow, that’s all. Down payment, land transfer, that kind of thing, otherwise I would have helped you out with your own taxes and hydro until Old Cheapskate comes through. Plus I had to order some new furniture.”
“Absolutely.”
“I needed to put a serious deposit down on that stuff. You think I could borrow this chair?” Liz patted the beanbag fondly. “I always like sitting here. I have a great view of the Gatineau now from my balcony.”
“Hey, why not? Take all three chairs until you’re settled.”
Liz leapt on the idea.
“Great,” she said.
“I was joking. You can’t take all my furniture.”
“Don’t start whining. You’d still have the sofa, and if I came by for a visit, you could sit on one of the pine chairs from the kitchen. It’s only for a couple of weeks.”
Right. The lumpy sofa. Lucky me.
“I can get the beanbag and the Queen Anne chair in my car now. Maybe we can get Josey’s uncle to bring the wingback chair over in his truck. Assuming he’s sober enough. Hmm. I wonder if I should just send my movers.”
“Whatever. On another matter, do you know anything about a guy named Danny Dupree?”
She frowned. “Wheeler-dealer.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Slippery customer.”
“That was my impression too.”
“Trust him as far as you could throw that wingback.”
“He’s the guy who was killed in the crash of the Escalade on Highway 5. The one I saw yesterday.”
“Live fast, love hard, die young,” she said with her usual dose of doctorly sympathy.
“He was involved with Philip somehow. A partner in some business deals.”
“Ouch,” Liz said. “You want to watch out for that.”
“Phil is really upset.”
“Maybe so, but don’t let him use this guy to snow you.”
“Do you think it would be possible for someone to die in a crash like that and for the investigators not to find the body?”
“That’s a bizarre question even for you, Fiona.”
“I saw a woman in that car. I saw her clearly. Sgt. Sarrazin thinks I might have just been upset. But I know she was there. However, they only found one body.”
“It couldn’t happen, Fiona. Sarrazin’s right: you imagined it. Or she got out somewhere along the way.”
“That’s what I think. But where could she have gotten out? They were on the highway.”
“What difference does it make?”
“I’m bothered by it.”
“You said he was a jackass.”
“Even so. It was a horrible way to die, and...”
Liz shrugged. “Forget about it. Obviously, this woman wasn’t in the car, and she didn’t die. You don’t have to worry about her. Or him for that matter. He was a sleaze. No use crying over spilled milk. That reminds me: the movers dropped my china box.”
“What?”
“Maybe the price was a little bit too good. They were a disaster. They have to pay up, but in the meantime, I need to borrow dishes and something to drink out of. When I arrange for the wingback, can I just take what I need?”
“Not the Fiestaware,” I said, standing up for myself for once. “You could have some of the Spode for a while, I guess. But don’t let those movers do it. It would be really hard to replace. Even if you could. This stuff—”
“Belonged to Kit. Yeah, yeah. Do you think I don’t remember that, Fiona? I’ll pack them myself.”
Beggars may not be choosers, but they can sure be snippy.
Josey found me staring around my empty living room just after Liz departed. “Don’t let Dr. Prentiss get you down, Miz Silk.”
For some reason, I felt like I was living in a turnstile. “She doesn’t get me down. I’m used to her.”
“But she’s so mean. And taking your chairs from right under your nose. It’s just not right.”
“A couple of points. First, I said she could take the chairs. I know you two don’t always get along, but please remember, she’s my friend, and she isn’t always mean.”
“Anyway, whatever, I have this proposition for you.”
“I can’t pay you, Josey.”
“You can pay me wh—”
“I owe thousands of dollars. I need kitchen stuff that I don’t even know the name of and—”
“But Miz Silk, you’ll get paid for your book that you don’t want to talk about in front of me, and you’ll get your settlement at some point and then you can reimburse me. I don’t even need the money until September. Anyway, I didn’t even tell you what my proposition is. Why don’t you listen first? Do you want to be part of the problem or part of the solution?”
Tolstoy felt the rising tension in the room. He got to his feet, stretched his hot, fluffy white body and headed for the basement.
I wilted under the steady stare from her round blue eyes. If Josey started spouting business aphorisms on a regular basis, I was doomed.
“Well, Miz Silk?”
“Fine. I’ll hear your proposition.”
“Oh, boy, that’s great. You won’t regret it. We have a unique opportunity here—”
I flinched at the sound of unique opportunity.
“—to talk to these chefs, Naughty Marietta and Rafaël.”
“What?”
“It’s simple. They could each contribute a recipe to your book.”
“But why would they?”
“Because it’s good advertising for them. They have cookbooks too. You would mention that when you credit them for the recipes. Anyway, I think they love to talk about themselves.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Leave it to me. Oh, and by the way? CeeCeeCuisine will allow you to use their stuff in return for a credit in the book. I’ll
