Theodosia felt a flicker of guilt. Had she contributed to driving Shepley out? Probably. She’d sicced both Tidwell and the FBI on him and it had probably unnerved the man to no end. Yes, she felt guilty, but a little relieved, too. Her list of suspects was gradually being whittled down.
“I hope your research was at least successful,” Drayton said diplomatically.
“Yes . . . well . . .” Shepley edged away from their table. “That remains to be seen.” He held up a hand. “Good night.”
“You drove him out,” Drayton said in a low voice. He sounded mildly accusatory.
“I didn’t mean to,” Theodosia said as they watched him retreat. “I was only trying to help Brooke.”
“You were well-intentioned. But”—Drayton stared after Shepley—“I think you scared the pants off the old boy.”
? ? ?
They sat at their table for a while, enjoying the evening and the buzz of activity going on around them.
“Are we going to view any other light installations?” Drayton asked.
“I hadn’t planned on it,” Theodosia said. “But if you want to . . .”
Drayton raised a hand. “No, I think it’s been a fine evening. Let’s just leave it at that.” He looked around. “Though I would like to ask Mr. Chandler a question about his Chinese roses.”
“Go,” Theodosia urged, picking up her glass. “Go ask him.” She’d already spotted Grace Dawson across the patio and had decided to go over and say hi. Grace was looking very sporty tonight, in black leggings and a supple black leather jacket. Theodosia decided that if she had to attach a name to Grace’s distinct style, it would be sport couture.
“If you don’t mind,” Drayton said, starting to get up. “I mean, I don’t want to leave you sitting here.”
“You’re not,” Theodosia said, getting up from her chair, too. “In fact, I’ve got people to see and questions to ask.” She strolled past the bar, sipping her glass of Chablis (it really was quite nice, very buttery and light), and strolled over to where Grace was standing. Coming up behind her, Theodosia said, “Where are your beautiful dogs tonight?”
Grace spun around, caught sight of Theodosia, and smiled broadly. “I would have loved to bring them, but I was afraid they’d jump out of their skin with all the lights popping and strobing.”
“Probably would.”
“Lovely to see you again,” Grace said. “But I have a bone to pick with you.”
Theodosia took a step back. “Uh-oh, what’s that?”
“You’ve got me positively hooked on tea and scones.”
“That was my plan,” Theodosia laughed. “To turn you into one of my regulars so we can see you again and again.”
“And make me gain five pounds!” Grace exclaimed. “I swear, I’ll probably have to do an extra hour of Pilates to compensate for all the sugar I imbibed this week. Or go on a low-carb diet.”
“Like Delaine,” Theodosia said.
Grace’s eyes lit up. “Say, I ran into Delaine this morning.”
“She told me.”
Grace looked surprised. “How did you . . . ? Ah, you were at the spa, too?”
“Don’t I wish,” Theodosia said. “No, Delaine popped in for a late lunch and mentioned that she’d run into you there.”
“That Delaine is such a little jitterbug. Running all over town, her fingers stuck in all sorts of different pies. You know, she’s been putting pressure on me to join the board of directors of one of her animal rescue groups. Apparently she’s a big wheel in two or three different ones?”
“Probably because she’s such a successful fund-raiser,” Theodosia said. “I think Delaine single-handedly raised something like a million dollars just to get Madison’s House Small Animal Rescue built.”
Grace let loose a low whistle. “Very impressive. I take it Delaine’s a confirmed dog lover?”
Theodosia shook her head. “Delaine thinks all critters are wonderful, but she’s seriously into cats. She thinks cats are smarter and way more esoteric.”
“Cats are great,” Grace laughed. “Even Sultan and Satin love cats.”
“Sure they do,” Theodosia said in a tone that implied No, they don’t; the two women laughing together at her little joke.
“You know what?” Grace said. “We should all get together for a spa day sometime. Really do the works—nails, hair, massages, sea scrubs, you name it.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“We could invite Sabrina Andros along, too.” When Theodosia fixed Grace with a quizzical look, she explained. “I also bumped into Sabrina this morning while I was getting my mani-pedi. I understand she’s a regular there.” Grace dropped her voice. “Please don’t ever tell Sabrina I said this, but I think she was getting her roots done.”
“She stopped by for tea a couple of days ago,” Theodosia said. “Along with her husband, Luke.”
“The yacht guy,” Grace said. “I hear he’s doing a gangbuster business. Sabrina mentioned that he received a call from some big muckety-muck bank president in Rio de Janeiro who’s hot to buy a custom yacht. So Luke is cruising one of his yachts down there tomorrow night.”