“But what were you saying about earlobes?” Derek persisted, bringing us back to the key topic.
“Ah, yes.” Vinnie sobered. “If earlobes could talk, they would tell you that your young Alice is no spring chicken. I calculate her to be at least forty years old.”
Chapter 18
My mouth gaped open. Robin stared dumbly back at me. We both looked up at Derek, whose eyes were narrowed in speculation.
We all turned to Vinnie, who sat quietly sipping her wine.
“Is that really possible?” Robin said finally.
“This is a well-known fact in my country,” Vinnie said offhandedly. “The headband she wears may be an aid to keep her skin taut. It is an old trick.”
Could it have been true? Was Alice really that old? Not that forty was all that old, but she didn’t even look thirty. And now that I thought about it, her sweet, genteel wardrobe added to her youthful appearance. Was it all an act?
And even if she was older than we thought, why would Alice kill Layla?
“What’s her motive?” I asked. “She just started working at BABA a month ago. Layla was so nice to her, it was spooky. She was almost maternal toward her. I never saw any animosity between them.”
“Perhaps Alice was holding something over Layla’s head,” Derek said.
“Blackmail?” I said. “So Layla had to be nice or Alice would reveal something? It’s outlandish.”
“Don’t forget Gabriel,” Robin said. “What could she possibly have against him?”
“Maybe we should ask Gabriel,” Derek said, staring out the window at the moon cresting over the Bay Bridge.
“Maybe.” I rubbed my temple where a headache was starting to throb. The idea that Alice could be a cold-blooded killer was hurting my head. I glanced at Derek. “You’re playing devil’s advocate and I appreciate that, but you don’t know this girl. She’s sweet and thoughtful. Sensitive. I just can’t see her in the role of killer.”
“Remember Ted Bundy,” Derek said ominously.
“Oh, come on.”
“He was a very attractive man, by all accounts,” Vinnie said with a nod to Derek.
“And charming,” Robin added.
Vinnie turned toward me. “I am sorry, Brooklyn. It can’t be pleasant to realize you’ve been fooled by someone you believed to be a friend. But you must admit it is possible. Someone is killing these people. We must consider all possibilities.”
“Yes, of course, I know you’re right.” I stared at the names on the legal pad. “But in the interest of considering all the possibilities, I’d like to reassess Naomi. She had much more to gain than anyone else, both monetarily and professionally. Or there’s Cynthia Hardesty. She hated Layla.”
“But what are their connections to Gabriel?” Derek interjected. “Neither of those women were anywhere near Dharma on Saturday.”
“I know, I know. I’m grasping at straws.” I stared up at him and grasped at one more straw. “It’s still possible that Gabriel isn’t connected to the other attacks.”
“But, darling,” he said gently. “If our killer is Alice, they’re all connected.”
“But how in the world is Alice connected to Gabriel? And what about Mr. Soo?”
“I can’t answer those questions yet,” he said. “But we’ll start with the fact that she was in Dharma when Gabriel was shot. And she might’ve known Mr. Soo through Layla.”
“Gabriel was shot while she was at the spa,” I countered.
“According to whom?”
I had to think. Alice and my sister Savannah had come running shortly after Gabriel was rolled into the ambulance. The timing seemed off. But I could ask Savannah if she’d been with Alice the entire time. I didn’t want to interrupt the conversation so I made a mental note to call my sister tomorrow.
“Oh, hey,” Robin said brightly. “Maybe Layla was having an affair with Gabriel, and Alice was—”
“Stop right there,” I said, thoroughly disturbed by the image. “If I hear that another man I know was having a sleazy affair with Layla, I’m going to join a damn nunnery in Tibet.”
My friends laughed while Derek coughed discreetly. Then he laid his hand on my shoulder. “Brooklyn, how well do you know Gabriel and Alice?”
Troubled, I sat back and considered the question. I’d made light of it in the past, but it was clear to me that Gabriel was a thief, pure and simple. High-end, gorgeous, heroic, and sophisticated, but a thief nonetheless. So why had he sought sanctuary with Guru Bob? Who was after him? I knew Guru Bob trusted him and I’d bet my father did, too. And I trusted Guru Bob and Dad. I needed to think about Gabriel awhile longer before I divulged his secrets.
Alice was a different story. If she’d been playing me all this time, I would have no problem throwing her to the wolves.
“All I know for sure about Alice is that she came to BABA through Layla.”