Wishbones

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I’d managed to get Tinkie into bed, and Jovan, when she and Federico got home from dinner, loaned us a mild sedative. Because Tinkie was so distressed, I chose to stay in her room, at least for a while. Graf had volunteered to talk to Federico about the secret passages and a method of sealing them. Distraught by what had happened to Tinkie and Chablis, Federico would agree, I felt sure.

When we’d gone to the hospital, we’d told the attending physician that Tinkie had accidentally struck the side of her head. We gave no details. Federico didn’t have to warn me that the movie didn’t need another “cursed” incident. So far, we’d been able to avoid the paparazzi. Having the security people at the gate-while they weren’t exactly keeping us safe-at least deterred the most aggressive of the photographers.

After I was sure Tinkie was asleep, I took her cell phone and hurried out in the hallway to meet Graf. He’d been busy, too. He had two-by-fours and nails and a hammer. He was serious about blocking the passageways.

We started in the kitchen, hammering loud enough to wake the dead, a phrase that gave me mild discomfort. It was a good thing Graf was doing the carpentry work, because I had Tinkie’s phone in a death grip. I willed the veterinarian to call and give me a good report. Chablis had to be okay. She had to be.

After twenty minutes of hammering, the pantry entrance was blocked off, as was the dumbwaiter. Still clutching the phone, I started putting the canned goods back.

“Hey,” Graf said, grasping my shoulders as he swung me into his arms. “Chablis will be okay.”

I looked into his eyes and searched for the lie, the soft truth, rotten at the core, that he was peddling. All I saw was calm certainty. “How can you be so sure?”

He shrugged. “I’m not psychic or anything like that, but the vet looked confident.”

“He didn’t say-”

He put his finger on my lips. “Words don’t guarantee anything, Sarah Booth. You know that. But I’ll make a deal with you.”

My poor heart cracked wide open then. The last lingering doubts I felt about Graf melted. Here was a man who cared enough about my worries to bargain with me, even in a situation where he had no control. “Okay,” I whispered, “what’s the deal?”

“If the vet hasn’t called in another hour, we’ll drive back to the clinic. We’ll sit there until he has some word for us.”

“We have to work tomorrow. We’re both going to look like crap.” Even as I argued, something strange and wonderful was happening. Graf had touched me with the most precious of gifts-trust. He’d seen a great weakness in me, and he’d moved to protect it. By action, he’d shown that my feelings were safe with him.

He kissed my fingertips. “We’ll work, because we have to. What difference does it make if we stay awake at the vet clinic or here?” His arms pulled me into his chest, and I clung there, listening to the steady thrum of his heart.

I would have stayed forever, safe in the haven he created for me, but Tinkie’s cell phone rang. Graf took it from my hand and answered.

My first reaction was to protest, but I realized what he was doing. If the news was bad, he would tell me. I would not have to hear it from a stranger.

While I waited, I imagined Chablis, sun-glitzed hair rumpled by the wind as she hung out the window of Tinkie’s Caddy. I saw her romping through the fields of Dahlia House with Sweetie Pie, two unlikely friends. I remembered her bowed up and barking, protecting Tinkie or me or Sweetie. Even Oscar. She only weighed three pounds, but she had the heart of a wolf when it came to those she loved.

I couldn’t look at Graf, and his voice was a low murmur. When he grasped my arm, a sob escaped.

“It’s okay,” he said. “It’s okay, Sarah Booth. She made it through surgery and she’s doing fine.”

I made some sound that was only half human and flung myself against him.

“Thank you, Doctor,” he said. “We’ll be by first thing in the morning to check on her. Yes, a couple of days. I understand. Thank you again.”

We tiptoed into Tinkie’s room to share the good news, but the sedative had kicked in and she was out. Graf placed a call to Oscar. In a few moments he’d updated Chablis’s father on the good news. He snapped the phone shut and kissed me, hugging me tight. “I’d hate to see your reaction if the news was bad,” he teased.

I tried to speak, but the only thing that came out was a pitiful bleat. Instead of laughing at me, he cuddled me against him and stroked my head. “That little dog has everyone’s heart, doesn’t she?” he asked.

“She’s like Tinkie’s child,” I managed to get out. “And Oscar loves her, too. I’ll call him again in the morning. As much as he protests, Chablis is his family.”

“And well she should be.” He lifted my chin. His gaze was definitely wicked. “But maybe it’s time to start thinking about a real baby, Sarah Booth. I want that. I want to have children with you. I want a family.”

“Have you been talking to Jit-” I stopped just in time.

“Who?”

“Never mind.” There was nothing like nearly giving away a secret to dry up a girl’s tears.

“I haven’t been talking to anyone. But I’ve been thinking. Sarah Booth, I want a future with you. I never thought I’d hear myself saying these words to anyone, but you’ve changed me. When I see you in the morning with the sun slanting on your face and hair, I want that every morning for the rest of my life. I want to grow old with you.”

“We’re only in our thirties.” He had surprised me, and I wasn’t sure of my own feelings. I’d grown to care for Graf, and I was falling in love with him. But children? I’d been so busy fighting for survival I’d never given a child serious thought. Jitty was always on me to spawn, as she so lovingly called it. Somehow, I’d managed to think such decisions were far in the future, but Graf was right. I was thirty-four. My biological clock was marking the passage of the seasons.

I’d always assumed I would have a child, but the offer Graf was making wasn’t some distant dream like being a rock star. It was real and imminent. “I don’t know.” It was as honest as I could get.

“I’m ready to be a husband and a father. Not this month or next, but once the film is over and we’re permanently settled.” He stroked my cheek. “I’ll work to be the best husband. I know I’ll be a good father.”

“Graf, I don’t doubt you in either capacity.”

“Then you’ll think about it?”

“I will.” Once Chablis was safe, I’d likely think about nothing else. He’d just rearranged my entire life’s priority. “You’ve surprised me, but I will think about it.”

He grinned. “I always thought the woman I proposed to would fling her arms around me and kiss me while saying, ‘Yes, yes, yes!’ ”

I felt heat rush to my cheeks. He was right. My reaction was unnatural. “I’m sorry-”

He kissed me lightly. “No, you’re not, and you shouldn’t be. You’re cautious when it comes to your heart, Sarah Booth. I like that. I want you, but only if you’re dead certain. I’m not interested in a temporary marriage or a part-time post as a husband and father. I want ‘until death do us part.’ ”

“You sure know how to turn a girl’s head.” I matched his smile. Graf knew the bargain he was striking. The most remarkable thing was that he knew it and still wanted me.

“I won’t ask again until the movie is done. Now, let me tell you everything the vet said. Chablis is in good hands.”

“How badly is she hurt?” I was almost afraid to ask.

“He patched the hole in her lung and put the ribs back in place. She’s going to be delicate for a while, but she should heal perfectly and be back to new in a couple of months.”

It was going to be hard to contain Sweetie and Chablis-the two were such mischief-makers. But we’d manage it. And Chablis would heal.

“When I find the person who did this, I’m going to do something vile.” It wasn’t a threat, it was a promise.

“I’ll hold them for you.” Graf held out the hammer. “We can break every bone in his feet.”

He was kidding, but it made me feel better. He knew how to give emotional support to a Mississippi woman.

“Graf, let’s not talk about children publicly. Tinkie wants a child, but there’s a medical problem.” I wondered if Graf could really understand that longing. “She hasn’t been able to conceive. If something happens to Chablis…”

He put his arm around me and directed me toward the stairs and our bedroom. “I don’t know how we can help with a conception problem, but if we can, we certainly will. But for now, let’s get some sleep. I took care of the peepholes in the tapestry in your room.”

I opened the door and saw my best pair of red lace panties tacked over the tapestry. My laughter rang through the huge old room, and I knew that the release would allow me to sleep.

“Chablis, my precious baby.” Tinkie stroked Chablis’s head as she reclined, torso bandaged, in a kennel. An IV fed into one of her tiny little veins, but her eyes were alert and she licked Tinkie’s hand.

Tinkie turned to the veterinarian. “Thank you, Doctor. Thank you.”

“She’s a lucky little dog. Not all animals are so fortunate to have someone who loves them or who can afford medical care.” He started to turn away.

Tinkie caught his arm. “On my next private investigation case, I’m going to donate all of my salary to your clinic, for health care for indigent animals.”

He was very solemn. “Thank you, Mrs. Richmond. I thank you for those who can’t speak.”

“I’ll check on Chablis later today.”

Tinkie and I hurried out to the car. I had to be on the set by nine, and we were cutting it close. “Chablis is healing, so how are you?” I asked her.

The knot on her head was swollen and ugly, and I was glad she couldn’t go home to Oscar looking like she might hatch a Mini-Me from her temple. Oscar’s tolerance for the private investigative work Tinkie did never ceased to amaze me. He’d married the daughter of the owner of the town bank. Tinkie was the epitome of a sorority girl-long on social skills and masterful at manipulating men. She wrote the Daddy’s Girl manual. But she was also smart and loyal and brave and really good at math. And Oscar had begun to recognize those qualities and step aside as she developed them. Injuries, though, rattled his conviction to leave her alone.

“Tinkie, can you remember anything from last night?” I told her Graf’s supposition of the chain of events.

“He’s right. I made it all the way to the panel, and I couldn’t figure out how to open the door. I was so focused on that, I didn’t see who snuck up behind me.” She felt the knot. “What the hell did they hit me with?”

“Your assailant didn’t leave a weapon in the passageway.”

Tinkie bit her bottom lip. “Someone had been in there before me. The dust was all disturbed and cobwebs had been knocked down.”

“We’ll find this person. I’m just sorry your trip home is delayed. I know you want to take Chablis somewhere safe.”

“To be honest, Sarah Booth, that’s not what I want at all.” She turned her beautiful blue eyes on me and I saw contained fury. “I want to find the son of a bitch who kicked my dog hard enough to break her ribs, and I want to make them pay.”

“That’s one thing that you and I and Graf agree on.” I pulled into the driveway of the mansion just in time to see Ricardo talking animatedly with Daniel Martinez, the security guy. It looked as if they were having a heated argument.

“I’ll check that out,” Tinkie said. “You get ready to work.”

I did just that, and when Sally had my makeup on and Dallas had me dressed, I hurried down to the set. Graf met me with a worried look. “Federico’s not feeling well. He’s nauseated.”

My gut took a dive. “Damn it, I dropped the ball. If someone is trying to destroy the film, it stands to reason they might go after him. Do you think he’s been poisoned?”

Graf shook his head. “He insists he’s fine. He said Jovan gave him something to sleep and he must have had a bad reaction to it. The thing is, Jovan is sick, too.”

“We need to get that prescription checked.” I looked around. Tinkie and Daniel were nowhere in sight. “Is Jovan in her room?” After the attack on Tinkie, I didn’t know if it was safe for the model to be alone in the house.

“She was out here a moment ago, bringing some medicine for Federico. She was a little green around the gills, but she was ambulatory.”

“Let’s get these scenes done. We’ve got to find out who’s doing this.” I started toward the set.

“Sarah Booth.” The tone of his voice stopped me. When I saw the worry in his eyes, I couldn’t resist touching his face.

“What is it?”

“When I went to the set, Ricardo was talking with his father. He was upset and loud. He thinks his father has had Estelle committed.”

“Where did he get that idea?” I couldn’t read Ricardo, but I was going to give it another try.

“I don’t know,” Graf said. “He sounded worried.”

“What did Federico do?”

“He told Ricardo that if Estelle showed up here again, he would have her arrested. That really bent Ricardo. He stormed off.”

“I think I’ll have a word with him.” Ricardo was standing in the shade of a tree drinking a bottle of water. He still looked hot and angry. And worried.

Graf lifted my hand to his lips. “I’m due on the set and you’re up next. If you want to wait in your room…”

I kissed him, lightly but with a serious promise of more. “I’m not the kind of actress who hides in her trailer waiting to be called.”

“Behave, Sarah Booth, I need to concentrate on being Ned.”

I watched him go back to his mark as Federico resumed his place and waved everyone back into position. Ricardo remained in his spot, sulkily smoking a cigarette. When I approached, he gave me a bored look.

“Do you know something about Estelle?” I asked.

“Why bother answering. No one believes me.”

“If your sister is still in town, I’m worried that she’ll harm someone.”

He exhaled cigarette smoke and stared at me as if he could assess my sincerity. “Daniel Martinez was looking for her last night while everyone was gone.”

“The security guy?”

“He has a crush on her. She stood him up for a date a few days ago, and he’s been going by her place, calling her cell phone, questioning her roommate.”

“And?”

“No one has seen her. The cell phone has gone dead.” Ricardo lit another cigarette, pretending to a nonchalance I saw through like smoked glass.

“Have you talked to Estelle?”

He shook his head. “Not for days. She was upset that Dad had her removed from the property.”

“She’s been in some of the secret passages, harassing me and others.”

One shoulder came up and dropped. “She’s angry, okay. But it isn’t like her to disappear.” He swallowed and finally looked at me. “I’m worried about her. Look, there’s someone in the house.” He dared me to interrupt him with a look. “Someone who doesn’t belong there. I heard something this morning…”

I didn’t know whether to believe him or not. “We’ve searched the secret passageways. We’ve searched all the rooms except for those on the third floor, and we’re going there when the filming is over for today. If someone is hiding in the house, we’ll find them.”

“I tried to follow the noises, but I couldn’t. No matter where I looked, there was no one.”

“Ricardo, if you’re messing with me, don’t. Someone hurt my friend last night. It was serious.”

Concern was quickly replaced with anger. “I knew you wouldn’t listen. No one does. Did you ever think that might be the reason Estelle is so mad? No one listens!” He crushed out his cigarette and stalked away.