“Looks like,” said Vesta. “Though we have no way of knowing who this second woman is.” Nor did it matter, anyway. Their brief was to prove without a reasonable doubt that Brian Brooks was having an affair, and to that end they needed to collect photographic or videographic evidence of the man in flagrante delicto, as the term goes. “We need to smuggle a camera in there,” she said, having given the matter some thought. “And the best time to do that would be tonight.”
“Where are we going to get a camera?” asked Scarlett.
“Simple. We ask Odelia. I’m sure she’ll have something we can use. And then all we need to do is find the best spot to put it. Brian mustn’t find out, of course, or Dee, and preferably we’ll need to get them from different angles so we should spread them around his office.”
“If you say so,” said Scarlett, who didn’t look entirely convinced this was the way to go.
Max and Dooley’s report had been equally revealing, and as she related the events as they had transpired to Scarlett, they both realized the seriousness of the situation.
“Looks like Henry is working up to something,” she said. “We need to be vigilant, people. Make sure that whatever his plans are, we’re right there to thwart them.”
Dooley laughed at this.“Thwart isn’t a real word, is it, Gran?” he asked.
“Oh, yes it is,” she assured him. “And thwart is exactly what we’ll do. And to that end I’m going to divide you into teams. Harriet and Brutus, you keep an eye on Brian and Dee and this mystery woman Brian is seeing. I want to know who she is, and I want to know how often they, um, engagein these extracurricular activities. Dooley and Max, you’re Team Kirsten. You’re going to make sure that nothing Henry Kaur does in connection with that young woman escapes your attention. If that man so much as sneezes in the poor girl’s direction, I want to know.”
“Yes, Gran,” said Max dutifully.
“The four of you are going to be my eyes and ears in this place—is that understood?”
“Yes, Gran!” the four of them said in unison.
“And what am I supposed to do?” asked Scarlett. “Or you, for that matter?”
“We are going to put those cameras in Brian’s office,” said Vesta. “And we’re going to make sure that no harm comes to Kirsten. And so we’re going to put our ear to the ground and find out what Henry could be up to.” She would have said more, but a tap at the door interrupted this most-important briefing. “Yes!” she yelled, with just a touch of annoyance. No general likes to be interrupted when addressing their troops.
The door opened and a little white-haired old lady appeared. Behind her, another little white-haired old lady stood, and a white-haired old man. All three of them looked eager to have speech with them, so she gave up any hope of continuing her briefing, and vowed to come back to it later.
“You’re new here, aren’t you?” asked the first little white-haired old lady in a shaky voice. “We thought we’d introduce ourselves. I’m Liz Murphy, and this is my husband Bill and my sister Olivia. We’re right down the hall, so I guess you could say we’re neighbors.”
“Howdy, neighbor,” said the woman’s husband, holding up a coal shovel of a hand.
“Howdy,” said Gran. “I’m Janelle Corr and this is my sister Janette.”
“See?” said Liz. “I told you they were sisters.”
“You don’t look nothing alike, though,” said Olivia. “Which is why I was wondering if you were actually sisters.”
“Oh, we’re sisters, all right,” said Vesta. “Only we’re not identical twins, of course.”
“We’re the same age, though,” said Scarlett. “Well, with some time in between to give our mother a chance to recover, of course.”
This little joke cracked them up, and broke the ice. Liz ventured deeper into the room, followed by the others, and soon they were chatting pleasantly about this and that, and about life at Happy Home in particular.
“Do you like bingo?” asked Olivia, directing her question at Scarlett. “We’re having bingo night tonight.”
“Oh, yes, you should come,” said Liz. “Bingo night is always fun. Almost everyone attends, and it’s always a fun night for all of us.”
“I never win, though,” said Bill. “But that doesn’t stop me from trying,” he concluded with a wistful expression on his face. He was a big man, and towered over his wife and sister-in-law. He reminded Vesta of Dick Van Dyke for some reason, and had the same goofy expression on his face.
“Is it true that you had Justin Bieber playing a show here last week?” asked Scarlett, who didn’t seem particularly excited about bingo night for some reason.
“Justin Bieber?” asked Liz. “Who’s he?”
“He’s that Canadian kid,” said her sister.
“Canadian kid? So what’s he doing in Hampton Cove?”
“Singing!” said Olivia. “He’s a singer.”
“Ooh, I like singers. Is he any good?”