Toscana regarded the look on the young woman's face. It made him shrink. It was one thing to be tough, another thing to be cruel. "That was terrible. I'm sorry."
She stood up. "I think we're done."
Toscana said, "If that's what you want. Again, I'm sorry."
"No, you're not. I'm sure this fits nicely into your stereotype of me-a stupid, innocent girl getting shafted by her husband."
"You're not stupid, Mrs. Blessing. Furthermore, you don't have to be stupid to be shafted. I nearly lost my entire IRA on a stock tip. It almost cost me my wife as well. That's why I'm here, to placate my spouse. Up to me, I would have never left Philadelphia. But you do things to keep the marriage going. You compromise."
"Up to a point!" Caroline said.
"Up to a point," Toscana repeated. "May I ask how long you have known about your husband's indiscretions?"
Tears pressed onto her cheeks. "Since this morning. When my mother gave me the envelope."
Toscana shook his head. "Why would she do that? Shove those pictures in your face. It seems to me that she wants you as miserable as she is-"
"Oh please! Haven't you said enough things for one day?"
"Probably."
Caroline glared at him. "How'd you find out about them?"
"I saw them when I visited your cabin."
Once again, Caroline was outraged. "You must have been snooping, then. I hid the packet quite well."
"Hid it?" Toscana was confused. "You left the pictures out in the open-"
"I did not! I should report you."
He offered her his cell phone. "You want the number of my superior?"
She pushed the phone away. "If you even think of using those pictures in your investigation-"
"Mrs. Blessing, even if I had found a smoking gun, I couldn't admit it into evidence. You've gotta know that I broke the law by entering your room without permission. I know it's not nice, but it's not murder."
"You don't seem bothered by prying into my personal effects!"
"The pictures were left in plain view, Mrs. Blessing."
"I didn't even open the envelope." She threw daggers at him with her eyes. "You opened the envelope, didn't you? You found the envelope, opened it, and left the pictures out for all to see!"
Toscana said, "Mrs. Blessing, I would never open sealed mail. That's a felony. You can sit here and protest your little heart out, but I didn't find your hiding place. Which means that someone else busted into your room. So why don't we cool down and try to figure out who would go through your things. Please. Let's start over. When did you hide the envelope?"
She thought about it. "I'd say about three hours ago."
"Okay. I went into your cabin right after I revived Ms. Talmadge. Since everyone was at the pond-out in the open-I took the opportunity to poke around. That was around two hours ago. So someone else was in your room between two and three hours ago. First person who comes to my mind is your mom. She certainly has easy access to your room."
"Except that she was the one who gave me the envelope and told me to hide it," Caroline said.
Toscana flipped a page on his notepad. "Maybe that's what she told you. But maybe she wanted to make it public so there would be no turning back."
"No, you have it wrong. She told me not to expose the bastard!"
"And if she had asked you to expose the bastard, would you have done it?"
Caroline was silent.
"So maybe she thought she was helping you."
"It wasn't Mother. She'd be mortified if Douglas's infidelities came out. It would sully her reputation."
"Why would it hurt her? Gossip would be great for the spa's business."
"It wasn't Mom!" Caroline insisted. "It had to have been King David. He did this to warn me that I should give him what he wants or else he'll have the photos published."
"If he was going to use the photos for nefarious purposes, I'd think he'd steal them, then go to your husband for blackmail."
"Well, someone opened my mail! Someone invaded my private life… such as it is." She looked at the remnants of the pizza. The cheese had leaked enough axle grease to oil down an auto lot. Just looking at it made her sick. She wanted to go home. Except where was home now? Certainly not with Douglas. And she wouldn't go back with Mother. "When can we leave this godawful place?"
"I'm taking you all down to the station, one by one."
"How long will it take?"
"Not too long," Toscana lied. "Why don't you… I don't know. Take a nice long walk. But be careful, and don't go too far."
She glared at him.
"Okay," Toscana admitted. "A walk is a poor idea. Your mom went to all this trouble to get your cello back. Why don't you, you know, noodle around with the thing until it's your turn to be officially questioned?"
Toscana's cellular chimed. He opened the latch. "Detective Toscana."
Caroline saw his eyes grow wide.
"Okay, I'll be right down!" Toscana pressed the end button. "Psychic Beauty has awoken, thank God."
"I want to come, too!"
"This is official business, Mrs. Blessing."
"And I'm married to an official of the state of Tennessee… for the time being." Caroline stood up tall. "Don't make me pull rank!" But a moment later, she crumpled and pleaded to him with baleful eyes. "Please get me out of here, Detective!"
What could it hurt? Having a congressman's wife with you was good for the brass. He shrugged. "The only reason I'm agreeing to this is I don't want problems with the politicians."
"Fine. Neither do I!"
"Don't get in my way. Don't say anything, especially about what we were discussing!"
"I understand." Caroline let go with a genuine smile. "You actually trust me, don't you?"
"Yeah," Toscana sneered. "I trust you. I also trusted my brother when he gave me that stock tip-"
"Your brother almost lost you your entire IRA?"
"Ain't that always the case?" Toscana said, putting on his coat. "Family. You can't live without 'em, but you sure can dream."
Chapter Eight
LAUREN DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS good for her face or not. She didn't care. She was chilled to the bone and she just wanted to be warm again.
Lauren Sullivan untied the sash of her pale green terry cloth Phoenix Spa robe and let the covering fall from her smooth, milky-white shoulders. Her carefully pedicured toes wriggled with appreciation as they padded across the almost hot cedar planks that covered the sauna floor. Nimbly, she climbed up to the top tier of the benches that lined the walls, spread out a towel, and lay down, stretching out her nude, lean body gratefully as the warmth of the toasted cedar began to seep through her back. She luxuriated in the hot, dry air that enveloped her exposed skin.
She was relieved to have the sauna to herself. Today she wasn't in the mood to take the normal scrutiny she went through as part of her daily life as a celebrity. The last thing Lauren wanted was some strange woman assessing her. Lauren knew full well that, later, the voyeur would brag to a friend that she had seen the famous Lauren Sullivan in the sauna and the movie star was thinner, fatter, shorter, taller, prettier, homelier, more relaxed, more haggard, younger looking, or older than she appeared on the movie screen.
She ran her tapering fingers through her tousled red hair and fanned it out across the warm cedar. She played with it lovingly, knowing that when she went back to Hollywood it was all coming off. Her next film role demanded a short, boyish haircut. It didn't really matter, Lauren reflected. It would all grow back. Or perhaps she would just keep it short. They said really long hair didn't become an "older woman."