An Unforgettable Lady

Grace frowned. "I'm sorry that I won't be going this year."

She and Smith had discussed her going to the big party. He didn't think it was a good idea for her to be in large crowds if she could avoid it and she'd taken his advice.

"Please, don't worry. You'll be missed, of course, but I can understand the kind of pressure you're under,"

Mimi's eyes narrowed, as if she was tempted to bring up the very thing that was on Grace's mind. The killer. Their lost friends.

There was an awkward pause.

"So how are you holding up?" Grace said. "I imagine you have every detail taken care of."

Mimi shook her head. “On the contrary, things are a mess."

"Good God, why?"

"Fredrique has become a bit of a problem." Distaste flickered across the woman's face. "It's gotten so bad, I’m thinking of firing him even though the event is less than twenty-four hours away. He wanted to feature a shark in a tank at the party. A shark. "What does Jaws have to do with ballet?"

Grace smiled and put her lipstick back in her clutch. "He wants to make a big splash, evidently."

"Well, he can do it somewhere else. Maybe Long John Silver's is looking for a party planner," Mimi replied dryly. “On another topic, what's going on between you and Lamont?"

"Why do you ask?"

"He called me today and said he was looking to make a change."

Grace pursed her lips. "Doesn't surprise me. He and I have never gotten along and I know he's approached a couple of other people."

"Well, I told him that I didn't think we had anything to offer him but I think he knew the real reason. You've been very supportive of me. Neither the ballet nor I would ever take one of your key people away."

“To be honest, I wouldn't mind if he went."

Mimi smiled." In that case, we really wouldn't want him. If he can't get along with you, he must be impossible."

"That's a kind vote of confidence," Grace said with a laugh.

There was a pause as Mimi glanced downward.

"Grace ... may I ask you something?" The woman's voice dropped to a whisper.

"Of course."

"What are you doing to... be safe?"

Grace felt her heart sink as Mimi looked up. There was naked fear in her eyes, the same thing Grace felt whenever she thought about what had happened to their friends.

"I've hired a bodyguard." Grace reached out for the other woman's hand. "Are you protecting yourself?"

"I've got a plain clothes man following me around and Marks has been really supportive, but I don't know. Ted and I were thinking about heading back to San Francisco for a while until this whole thing passes, except we really can't. Our son needs to stay with his physical therapists." Mimi paused. "Do you know if Suzanna had any help?”

"Marks has been pretty vague with details. I've been wondering whether whoever's doing this is following that article's sequence."

"You're lucky then. Because you were the last one mentioned."

"So Isadora is next."

Bo appeared in the doorway- "Am I interrupting something?"

Grace forced a smile. "Not at all."

Mimi gave an awkward laugh. "I don't mean to be hogging the guest of honor. I better go say my hellos to everyone."

"I'll call you," Grace said. "We'll have lunch and you can tell me all about tomorrow night's success."

"I'd like that. I'd really like that."

They shared a meaningful look as Mimi left. Grace had tacked on the party bit for Bo's benefit and they both knew it.

"So I have to ask," Bo said with a grin- "What does Ranulf think about you being squired around on the arm of that handsome man out there?"

"John's just a professional acquaintance."

"Business? Really? He Looks more like a military man to me. He has the same quick eyes and broad shoulders my father did. And Daddy, as you know, was a general."

Grace tried to muster a casual smile and say something that wasn't a lie. Before she could reply, however, they were interrupted by one of the waiters who said dinner was ready to be served.

Bo grinned. “Well, I hope you don't mind, I've seated him next to me. Seemed only fair since I haven't been around a man like that for a long time. Those politicians I'm with daily, I don't know. They tend to be soft around the middle and in the head."

Grace smiled weakly and Bo frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I’ll tell you all about it later."

Her friend's face took on an obstinate cast and Grace had the distinct impression that dinner or no dinner, Bo was prepared to lock them in the bathroom until the story came out.

"Don't go hitting me with Mother-vision," Grace retorted. "You save that maternal concern for your little boy. You've got twenty people out there ready for dinner and I'm rather hungry myself."