opened the door, stepping
quickly out of the way so as not to be trampled by his younger
half sisters, Nina and Zoe, who were obviously intent on am-
bushing me before I could get as far as the living room. Not
that the entry hall wasn’t a destination in and of itself. In its
current incarnation, it resembled a homeless encampment, the
walls lined with ripped cardboard boxes, the floor covered with
threadbare quilts. Tommy was sleeping there while his mother
fixed up his bedroom. Fixing up rooms was Lael’s passion, if
not her talent. Her ramshackle Beachwood Canyon compound
(I use that word advisedly) was testament to that fact.
110
“Since when did you people get so serious about security?” I
asked, hugging the girls, who smelled like candy apples.
“We were robbed last night!” Zoe squealed. “Mommy
bought us new lip gloss!”
“Get off Cece now,” Nina ordered her younger sister.
“Your mother didn’t mention a word about it to me.”
“I’m in the kitchen,” Lael called out. “Come see the Snow
Queen!”
Lael was poised in front of what looked like a ziggurat of
yellow sponges.
“It’s taken me all day to figure out how to construct the
sleigh. The Snow Queen’s going to be reclining, pulled by four
swans, all wrapped up in blankets. The party’s in Malibu at six-
thirty.” She looked up at the clock anxiously. “Once I get the
buttercream right, I’m home free. But for some reason, batch
after batch tastes like pumpkin.”
“You were robbed?”
“It was nothing. The birds are done. Want to see them?”
“They have blue eyes,” Nina said proudly.
Lael opened the refrigerator to show me four exquisitely
sculpted sugar-paste swans lying on a paper plate. “I used a
toothpick,” she said.
“I can’t believe you’re so calm, Lael. Were you home when
they broke in?”
“We were at Tommy’s baseball practice. But then the baby
started fussing, so we left. Tommy was going to catch a ride
home with some friends. Did I tell you he has a girlfriend now?”
“Christine,” Zoe said, bursting into giggles.
“Anyway, when we walked inside, I knew something wasn’t
right.”
111
Given the usual mess, I wondered how anybody could tell,
but I kept my mouth shut.
“I put the kids in the car and locked the door, then went
back inside. The stereo was gone, and the big TV, and that was
it. They left my jewelry, not that it’s worth anything.”
“What did the cops say?” I asked.
“That I could pretty much forget about getting my stuff
back,” she said. “And that I should change the locks, which I
did this morning. That’s that, I suppose.”
“Very philosophical.” I gave her a hug of condolence, then
produced the bat-wing-sleeve sweater. “Who’s the big date
with?”
She blushed. “The cop. He knows Gambino. He was
adorable.”
It should be noted that Lael never met a man she didn’t
consider adorable, and vice versa. She had long, straight blond
hair, Marilyn Monroe’s body, and no use whatsoever for
clothes, although she did bow to convention by wearing them.
She loved perfume, scented bath oils, and knitting long scarves.
She was invariably disheveled. This, however, had proved to be
no impediment whatsoever to her bustling love life.
“Do you have a minute, Lael?”
She shooed the children out and closed the door behind
them.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
I shrugged.
“Let me guess. More trouble with the movie star?”
She knew the story up until the coroner’s office. I filled her
in on the Mayor, and Barker, and this afternoon’s conversation
with Rafe.
112
She whipped off her cat’s-eye glasses and shook them at
me. “It seems to me I’ve doled out this particular bit of advice
before. But for the sake of clarity, I’ll reiterate.”
I tapped my foot.
“Don’t do it, Cece. Don’t do what you always do. Talk to
Gambino. The police have to be informed. I realize Rafe Simic
is gorgeous,
quickly out of the way so as not to be trampled by his younger
half sisters, Nina and Zoe, who were obviously intent on am-
bushing me before I could get as far as the living room. Not
that the entry hall wasn’t a destination in and of itself. In its
current incarnation, it resembled a homeless encampment, the
walls lined with ripped cardboard boxes, the floor covered with
threadbare quilts. Tommy was sleeping there while his mother
fixed up his bedroom. Fixing up rooms was Lael’s passion, if
not her talent. Her ramshackle Beachwood Canyon compound
(I use that word advisedly) was testament to that fact.
110
“Since when did you people get so serious about security?” I
asked, hugging the girls, who smelled like candy apples.
“We were robbed last night!” Zoe squealed. “Mommy
bought us new lip gloss!”
“Get off Cece now,” Nina ordered her younger sister.
“Your mother didn’t mention a word about it to me.”
“I’m in the kitchen,” Lael called out. “Come see the Snow
Queen!”
Lael was poised in front of what looked like a ziggurat of
yellow sponges.
“It’s taken me all day to figure out how to construct the
sleigh. The Snow Queen’s going to be reclining, pulled by four
swans, all wrapped up in blankets. The party’s in Malibu at six-
thirty.” She looked up at the clock anxiously. “Once I get the
buttercream right, I’m home free. But for some reason, batch
after batch tastes like pumpkin.”
“You were robbed?”
“It was nothing. The birds are done. Want to see them?”
“They have blue eyes,” Nina said proudly.
Lael opened the refrigerator to show me four exquisitely
sculpted sugar-paste swans lying on a paper plate. “I used a
toothpick,” she said.
“I can’t believe you’re so calm, Lael. Were you home when
they broke in?”
“We were at Tommy’s baseball practice. But then the baby
started fussing, so we left. Tommy was going to catch a ride
home with some friends. Did I tell you he has a girlfriend now?”
“Christine,” Zoe said, bursting into giggles.
“Anyway, when we walked inside, I knew something wasn’t
right.”
111
Given the usual mess, I wondered how anybody could tell,
but I kept my mouth shut.
“I put the kids in the car and locked the door, then went
back inside. The stereo was gone, and the big TV, and that was
it. They left my jewelry, not that it’s worth anything.”
“What did the cops say?” I asked.
“That I could pretty much forget about getting my stuff
back,” she said. “And that I should change the locks, which I
did this morning. That’s that, I suppose.”
“Very philosophical.” I gave her a hug of condolence, then
produced the bat-wing-sleeve sweater. “Who’s the big date
with?”
She blushed. “The cop. He knows Gambino. He was
adorable.”
It should be noted that Lael never met a man she didn’t
consider adorable, and vice versa. She had long, straight blond
hair, Marilyn Monroe’s body, and no use whatsoever for
clothes, although she did bow to convention by wearing them.
She loved perfume, scented bath oils, and knitting long scarves.
She was invariably disheveled. This, however, had proved to be
no impediment whatsoever to her bustling love life.
“Do you have a minute, Lael?”
She shooed the children out and closed the door behind
them.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
I shrugged.
“Let me guess. More trouble with the movie star?”
She knew the story up until the coroner’s office. I filled her
in on the Mayor, and Barker, and this afternoon’s conversation
with Rafe.
112
She whipped off her cat’s-eye glasses and shook them at
me. “It seems to me I’ve doled out this particular bit of advice
before. But for the sake of clarity, I’ll reiterate.”
I tapped my foot.
“Don’t do it, Cece. Don’t do what you always do. Talk to
Gambino. The police have to be informed. I realize Rafe Simic
is gorgeous,
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