Who Do, Voodoo?, page 6
Orchid gave me a hug and a kiss. “We’re sitting together. I’m so excited.”
“You look as adorable as a snow bunny,” I said, admiring the white parka and jeans that complemented her light-blonde hair.
Robin was still in the same sweater and boots she wore at work. Three laminated passes—“Access All Areas,” “Crew,” “Steven Weller World Tour Staff”—dangled from black cords that hung from her neck. “I’ll be running around, but I’ll try to come back and visit.” She handed each of us a “Steven Weller World Tour” pass. “These will get you into the hospitality suite. If we lose each other, I’ll meet you there after the show. Orchid knows where it is.”
“Go do your job. Don’t worry about us,” I said.
She pointed to the huge balloon of a moon, rising over the theater in the eastern sky above. “Remember what Nick said about the full moon last night? The spirits are restless.” Robin’s phone rang. She answered and walked away as the opening act took the stage.
Chapter Nine
Nick slipped his hand around mine during Steve Weller’s encore. We swayed shoulder-to-shoulder amid five thousand fans, singing along beneath a shower of fireworks. The theater lights blinked on as the final ovation ended. Orchid led us up the aisle and out to an open area near the concession stand. A security guard kept bystanders away while a woman checked names off a clipboard, allowing listed guests through the door to the hospitality suite and the party inside. We showed our passes, and she nodded us through.
The party was mobbed with a hundred or so guests, chatting and drinking. The closeness of the crowd warmed the air. Waiters wove through with trays of champagne flutes and hors d’oeuvres. Two girls near the entrance eyed Nick and smiled. I caught their eyes, smiling back. Yes, I had the best-looking date in the room. Correction, he wasn’t my date. He was just a pal, albeit a very handsome pal, who just happened to have his arm around my shoulder.
Lulu, in black leather from chin to toe and bright fuchsia lipstick on her lips, came over. “If you want a drink, there are two bars outside, one on each deck. And the buffet table is across the room.”
As Nick and I mingled our way across the room, I recognized some of the faces from the Celebrity Circuit magazine my mother clipped for her this-would-look-great-on-you fashion tips. Four men surrounded a notorious blonde socialite. We brushed past the morning weather girl from Channel 11, chatting with a man who was staring at her breasts. Nearby, Steve Weller’s drummer shook hands and posed for pictures with a line of middle-aged men and women.
I scanned the crowd for Robin but didn’t see her. Off to the side, Sophie, in a strapless purple dress, was swapping her empty champagne flute for a full one. The two girls facing her downed their champagne, then walked away.
Nick plucked a mini crab cake from a passing waiter’s tray. I tugged at his sleeve. “There’s Sophie.”
He swallowed the snack and bent down to hear me over the din. “Who?”
“Sophie. Sam’s girlfriend. The one with the car that almost hit us outside Madame Iyå’s.”
“Let’s go over and ask her if she’s been tormenting Robin with tarot cards.” Nick gave me a playful wink.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “Robin wants to take on that mission alone.”
“ ‘Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night.’ ”
I took a flute from a passing tray and toasted him. “Bette Davis, All About Eve. Even I know that one.”
“Finally. I almost gave up on you and movie trivia.” Nick scanned the room. “Let’s find the bar. I want a real drink.”
“Go ahead, I’ll meet you there,” I said. “I want to stop at the ladies’ room.”
A waitress pointed me toward a corridor. I elbowed my way through the crowd and entered the ladies’ room. Voices came from the two occupied stalls.
“She thinks Sam’s going to propose, maybe in San Francisco.”
“Too exciting,” the other girl said. “I wonder what the ring will look like?”
Sam’s name put me on alert. I went into the third stall and locked the door to the sound of simultaneous flushes. Faucets ran and paper towels were pulled. I listened.
“I have to tell you how she sealed the deal. She brought him coffee every day.”
“Coffee? You think that’s why he’d marry her? Come on, Nola.”
“Maybe she served it on her knees,” Nola said with a snort. “But I know for a fact she laced the coffee with her urine. A friendly little voodoo recipe for hooking a man.”
“Ugh. That’s sickening,” the other girl said. “Sophie could charm any man she wants. Why would she resort to using the occult?”
“She likes the insurance, Linda,” Nola said, laughing.
The bathroom door opened, and they left. I thought about the cup of coffee Sophie brought into the office earlier and nearly gagged. Voodoo recipe. I couldn’t wait to tell Robin.
Back in the main room, I wove through the crowd, searching for Robin or Nick. Paper lanterns, hanging from tree branches outside sliding glass doors, drew me to a large open deck where a smaller group was congregated. White twinkle lights roped around railings set under a canopy of green pine. Nick was with Orchid at the base of wooden steps leading to another deck above. Sophie was at the other side of the deck under a tree, flipping her hair and talking to a man. I waved at Nick and stopped at the bar. It was three deep with people ordering drinks. The line shifted. A woman with a shock of familiar orange-red hair backed into me.
Madame Iyå swung around in a jangle of gold bracelets and sloshed her cup of wine over her hand. We both danced back to miss the splash. She brushed her gold muumuu with the other hand and scrutinized me through black-framed glasses. “Don’t I know you?”
“I was in your shop today with Professor Garfield,” I said.
“I remember now. You’re the one who needs a bag of my erotic gris-gris,” she said.
I plastered on my most agreeable smile. Sure. Carnal help from Madame Iyå was just what I needed. “That’s right. That’s me.”
“You’re coming back tomorrow?”
“Yes, of course. It’s good to see you again. Did you bring your voodoo-princess friend?”
She gulped what was left of her wine. “Will you excuse me? I need to find my son.” At that, she whirled around and lumbered away in a swish of lamé, straight toward Sophie.
Nick waved at me to come over. I gave him an in-a-minute nod and circled the room the long way to trail Madame Iyå. When she got to Sophie, I slipped behind a tree near them.
“I told you this morning—leave me alone. No deal.” Sophie backed away, unsteady. “I have to go. My fiancé is waiting for me.”
Madame Iyå boxed Sophie in. “Oh no, we have a deal, honey. You made a promise. We’re partners. Don’t worry—you’ll get half of everything. Jimmy, tell her.”
The young man we saw leaving Botanica Mystica this morning stroked Sophie’s arm. “Come on, baby. We’re your people. Who takes care of you?”
Sophie shook him off. “Stop it, Jimmy. I told you it’s not like that anymore. I’m with Sam now.”
“Until he dumps you, you stupid little whore.”
Madame Iyå pulled Jimmy back. “Watch your mouth. Sophie is family.”
Sophie took another flute of champagne from a passing waiter. “I’m not your family. I don’t need your piss-ass money. Go back to your souvenir shop and leave me alone.” She downed the champagne and walked away.
Madame Iyå grabbed her son’s arm. “I told you to watch your mouth. Now go after her and apologize.”
Jimmy left through the crowd.
“What was that about?” Nick’s voice, whispering in my ear, made me jump.
I backed him away from the tree, out of Madame Iyå’s earshot. “I’m not sure what the argument was about, maybe the tarot cards, but our two voodoo women are not happy with each other,” I said, moving toward the buffet table. “Have you seen Robin?”
“Nope,” Nick said.
Bowls of whipped cream and brown sugar surrounded mounds of fresh strawberries on the buffet and beckoned for my attention. I heaped whipped cream onto my plate and threw on a few strawberries for color. Nick opted for Brie and crackers, and we settled at a table.
Between bites of berries and cream, I told Nick everything I heard—from the ladies’ room to Madame Iyå, Sophie, and Jimmy.
“Interesting,” Nick said. “We solved that mystery fast.”
“Solved?” I poked him hard in the arm. “If hearsay from bathroom stalls and tidbits from behind trees equal facts, they’re merely more reason for Robin to talk to Sophie. But nothing I heard explains why Sophie left the cards.”
“We were looking for who, not why,” Nick said.
“I want to find out why,” I said. “Don’t you?”
“Only because I like watching how curiosity makes your eyes sparkle.”
“What old movie is that from?”
“None.” He handed me a napkin.
“Am I dribbling excess sparkle?” I said.
“Whipped cream.”
I wiped my mouth. Nick decided he wanted another drink. I went into the main room to look for Robin. Where was everyone? Robin, Sam, Orchid, Buzzy, and Lulu were nowhere in sight. I circled back outside to check the upper deck. As I made my way toward the stairs, shouts came from the deck above me. I looked up.
At the top of the stairs, Sophie shrieked at Robin. “I’ll have you fired, you dried-up old bag. You can’t talk to me like this. You’re crazy, you freak. Wait until I tell Sam.”
My foot was on the first step and my eyes were on Robin. She grabbed for Sophie’s arm. Sophie twisted away and rushed down the steps, stumbling past me. Robin was behind her. I followed them into the main room. Lulu appeared and joined in the dash across the room. They stopped at a door marked “Private.”
Robin took Sophie’s arm, holding her back. “Sophie, wait. Don’t go in there. Leave him alone.”
Sophie shoved her away, went in, and slammed the door in Robin’s face.
Robin turned and saw Lulu. “Where the hell were you? You’re supposed to be watching the door.”
“I went to get a drink,” Lulu said, backing away. “What’s wrong?”
“Sophie’s out of control,” Robin said. “You could have helped me keep her out of there until she calmed down.”
“I’m sorry. I was only gone a few minutes. On my way to the bar, I had to stop at the ladies’ room. Then I met a girl I knew from a photo shoot I went to last week, and she asked me if I could get her inside to meet Steve. Then I had to explain to her that . . .”
Robin held up a hand. “I don’t need every damn detail from you. You don’t leave your post unless you ask me first.”
“You weren’t around, and I had to pee. What was I supposed to do?” Lulu said.
“You get a security guard to take your place, for God’s sake.”
I eased next to Robin and lowered my voice. “What the hell happened?”
“I bumped into Sophie upstairs, told her we needed to talk,” Robin said. “She turned her back on me. I snapped. I’d had it with her. I told her I knew she left the tarot cards and the photo on my door.”
“Did she admit it?” I said.
“She laughed. She denied leaving the cards but said I deserved to be hexed and called me an interfering bitch. Told me Sam didn’t want me in his life, that I should get the message and quit. I told her she was a drunken tramp.” Robin glanced behind her, her forehead creased. “I have to get in there.”
The door opened. Sam Collins came out with Sophie in tow and Buzzy Lacowsky following behind. Sam said to Buzzy, “She’s drunk. Get her out of here.”
Buzzy took Sophie by the upper arm. Her eyes flashed when she saw Robin. Sophie spit out her words, pleading and hateful, to Sam: “That bitch tried to push me down the stairs, baby.”
“Sam, you know I wouldn’t do something like that,” Robin said.
He looked between the two women in front of him, expressionless. “Robin, you and I will discuss this another time. Please, get in there”—he thumbed his fist to the door at his back—“and distract Steve from this bullshit. I don’t care what you do—just make him forget the scene she just made.”
He said to Buzzy, “Get Sophie out of my sight and off the premises.”
“Don’t make me go.” Sophie rubbed tears away, smearing mascara onto her cheekbones. “Please? Please, baby. It’s not my fault. I don’t want to leave.”
“Go home.” Sam turned his back to her. He pulled a cell phone from the inside pocket of his coat and walked away.
Buzzy pulled at Sophie while she looked back at Robin, Lulu, and me at the door. “You’ll be damned sorry you opened your mouth,” Sophie said. “A curse on you. Your luck has just changed, bitch.”
Robin went inside. I watched Buzzy edge Sophie through the crowd. Her girlfriends came to her side, offering tissues. Madame Iyå and her son followed. I lost sight of all of them at the exit. Then I took a deep breath.
Nick sidled up beside me. “Your parties are far more interesting than any of mine.”
“Where were you?” I said.
“Outside at the bar. The bartender is one of my students.” He draped an arm over my shoulder and we leaned on the wall, watching the crowd until the door behind us opened.
“Come in,” Robin said. “It’s quieter inside. Will you wait while I walk Orchid to her car? I’ll be back in a few minutes and then I’ll introduce you to Steve Weller.”
About ten people were scattered inside the small artist lounge. A few sat on couches, watching TV, while others chatted and drank in small groups. At the far end of the room, Steve Weller was sprawled on a sofa, his arm around the young woman nuzzling his neck. Nick and I headed to the bar to wait for Robin. I told him about the fight.
“If Sophie had it out for Robin before, she must be on the warpath by now,” Nick said.
“Robin can handle herself,” I said. “She’s more capable than she appears. But I’m worried that Sophie might go to Robin’s house again.”
“Should I call Dave and have him alert the Van Nuys patrol?”
“Not yet. Let’s follow Robin home,” I said. “And figure out the rest when we get there.”
A drink and a half later, Robin came back and introduced us to Steve Weller. “These are my friends Liz Cooper and Nick Garfield.”
Steve reached out his free hand to us and smiled. We said our hellos, and I told him how much I loved the concert. Nick asked about the rest of his tour. Robin went across the room to Sam, and they whispered their way back to us.
Steve laughed as Sam approached. “Did you fix your little problem?”
“My problem?” Sam was relaxed and smiling. “I thought that was a groupie that I had to rescue you from.”
“Liar. Wasn’t she ranting about Robin trying to off her? Robin, are you still knocking off Sam’s doll collection one by one?” Steve looked over to us. “Did you know that Robin was Sam’s secret hit man? She does all the dirty work in the organization. Actually, I think she might be the real boss.”
Sam laughed. “Steve, you’re the boss. We’re just here to entertain you. The problem is solved. The girl had too much champagne and was looking for attention. She decided to go home. Now listen, if I can’t coax you out of this room and back to the hotel, your pilot will fly to San Francisco in the morning without you. Call time is six a.m.”
Steve looked up to us, his face resigned. “My life is not my own. My cruel handlers won’t even let me enjoy this beauty beside me for the evening.” He nuzzled the girl curled up next to him. “Shall we finish what you just started?” He pulled her closer, put his free hand on her breast, and kissed her. She responded like they were the only two people in the room.
I averted my eyes from the kiss. Nick grinned. Robin coughed, then looked at her boss. “Sam, this is Liz’s friend Nick.”
“Thank you for coming,” he said, shaking Nick’s hand. Sam turned to Robin, cocking his head toward the couple on the couch. “I have to get Steve out of here so he doesn’t miss his flight in the morning. Find the driver and tell him we’ll be out of here in twenty minutes. Have him pull the car to the back door. And find out what Buzzy did with Sophie. I don’t want her showing up at my house tonight.”
“I will,” Robin said. “Sam, we need to talk. She’s a problem.”
“I told you, tomorrow. And I want you to talk to Lulu about doing her job. She was supposed to be watching the door. She’ll be lucky if I wake up in a good mood because right now I’m ready to fire her. Someone should have pulled me out instead of letting Sophie fly in here in a rage.”
Sam slid onto the couch next to Steve, who now had his leg over the brunette, and touched his shoulder. “Come on, buddy. Time to say good-night.”
I tapped Robin. “We don’t want you to go home alone. We’ll follow you.”
“No, don’t,” Robin said. “I have to stay for at least another hour and do the settlement. I’ll be fine. The security system at home is armed, and the camera is set. I’m not worried. Go. One of us should get some rest.”
“Want to have lunch tomorrow and recap? We have a lot to talk about,” I said.
“I’d love that. Thanks for coming.” She kissed my cheek, then turned to Nick. “You were right about the full moon stirring things up.”
“You didn’t have to take it so literally,” he said, laughing.
Chapter Ten
It was past midnight when Nick and I left the party. The main room was empty except for the waiters and waitresses, picking crumpled napkins out of plant pots, mopping watermelon chunks off the floor, and tossing paper plates with cigarettes squashed in avocado dip. Bartenders piled empty bottles of Krug into cardboard boxes. Lulu was across the room, talking to a waiter with a bag of garbage in his hand. She gave me a wave good-bye as we went out the door. Just one small group of guests lingered, finishing the last cigarettes of the night.
We wandered in silence through the exit gate and across the street to the wooded picnic area where his car was parked. The full moon illuminated our way to Nick’s car, one of three under the trees near the hill. Wind rustled through the leaves overhead. The caw of a crow came from the woods ahead of us. The late-night air in Griffith Park made me shiver, and I rubbed my arms to shake off the cold.
