She’d thought about bowing out of the celebration when she’d seen the text Ashley had received. When she’d mentioned it to Jordan, he made her realize if she decided to do that, it wasn’t just Ashley’s death they’d have to worry about. Knowing there wasn’t anything she could do to protect her, Theo made Ashley promise she’d be careful and tried to prepare herself for Patty’s party.
“Miz Murphy?”
Theo blinked and turned her head. “I was just reminded how beautiful this place is,” she told the older man that stood beside her.
“It truly is a treasure,” he agreed. “I’ve been so pleased to be the one chosen to take care of it for your family.”
Damian Keller was in his mid-sixties. He was shorter than Theo’s five feet seven inches and was at least twice as round. His hair was white and stood on end, and Theo wondered what it might look like if he were to let it grow out. He had a full mustache and beard, and with a pair of glasses perched on his nose and a red velvet suit, he could impersonate Old Saint Nick without any trouble at all.
Keller Management Group had been one of three agencies Mamie and Theo had interviewed in September. It was impossible to know whether or not they’d picked the right one, but as the weeks and months passed, it had become increasingly clear that Damian and his crew had indeed been a good decision. Mamie, a seasoned tax accountant and financial planner, had taken over payroll and all of the other financial business, while Damian and his staff saw to everything else.
“It’s a very special day today,” Damian said, beaming. “You’ll find all of the original staff members in attendance, and the dining room has been decorated per your mother’s instructions. I know that Miz Murphy—” he stopped mid-sentence. He seemed flustered.
“There are three of us,” Theo told him. “Five if you include Glory and Indigo. It’s too confusing.” She gave him a smile. They’d gone over this before, but she liked the man, and she knew he was only trying to be respectful. “My mother is Mamie, my sister is Cleopatra,” she tipped her head, “or Patty if you’d like, and I’m Theo. It would be much easier if you’d get more comfortable using our first names.”
“Yes,” Damian said, shaking his white head. “You’re right, of course. What I was going to say is that I haven’t moved out of Cleopatra’s office. Mamie said it wasn’t necessary for me to do so. Is that still correct?”
Theo gave him another nod. “Patty’s still in casts, and she’s got more surgery coming. Things should stay the way they are for the time being.”
“Excellent,” Damian said with an elfish smile. “Well, are you going to stand here for a while, or may I escort you inside?”
“I think it’s best I go in.” She looked down at her forest green dress and the heels she’d worn to match. “I’m not exactly dressed for the elements.”
Damian offered Theo his arm and she took it. She towered over the man as they walked side by side into the hotel.
There were mats just inside the big double doors, and the tile beyond gleamed. There were more crystalline lights strung throughout the main lobby, and an eight-foot-tall Christmas tree greeted the two of them as they neared the front desk.
“Oh, my …”
“That wasn’t here yet when you visited two weeks ago,” Damian said with another smile.
“Very well done,” Theo told him. “It’s absolutely gorgeous.”
“I’m surprised Jordan didn’t tell you about it.”
Theo turned when she heard her mother’s voice. “Mamie. Hello. You look nice.”
Mamie was dressed in a pair of black slacks and a bright red sweater. Her cheeks were flushed, the color of her skin nearly matching her top. She was fanning herself with a thick sheet of paper, and her dark blonde hair was damp at the roots.
“It’s hot as hell in here,” she complained. She turned and looked down at Damian. “What is the temperature set at?”
“Seventy,” he answered quickly.
“I’d lower it a couple of degrees,” she ordered. “And I’d love an iced tea.”
“Certainly,” Damian told her, hurrying to the front desk and speaking to one of the three employees who stood there. Theo watched as one of them hurried off toward the kitchen and knew Mamie’s iced tea would arrive momentarily. Damian himself headed the opposite direction to reset the thermostat.
“Jordan told me he’d delivered the tree himself,” Theo told Mamie, picking up the conversation again. “He hasn’t seen it decorated. It looks magical.”
“They did well,” Mamie said, her eyes giving the tree a look from the bottom to the top. “They quit just before it looked like Christmas threw up in here.”
Theo stifled a laugh. That was high praise indeed coming from Mamie.
“I thought you’d be with Patty.”
“No. Birdie is bringing her. I’d feel sorry for that poor woman if we weren’t paying her so much goddamned money.”
“She’s gonna be earning every single penny,” Theo reminded her.
“That’s for sure,” Mamie agreed. “Everything was brought to the bungalow earlier today. The place was in order when we got here.”
Theo knew that was Mamie’s way of thanking her for emptying out the place and making sure it was clean.
“What else needs to be seen to?”
“I think it’s all been taken care of.”
The man Theo watched leave his post at the desk hurried toward them holding a glass of iced tea on a tray.
“Ma’am, your tea.”
Theo glanced over and saw a sugar bowl with a shiny teaspoon sitting next to it and a small plate with three lemon slices accompanied the glass.
“It’s about time,” Mamie told him, taking the glass and shooing the rest of it away.
“Thank you,” Theo told him as he faded into the background.
“You’re like Miss Manners. Always so polite.” Mamie said it as if it were a put down. She brought the glass to her lips and drank half of the contents in two long swallows.
