Page 61 of Little Last Words

As we walked toward her house, she said, “You watch any of my movies yet?”

“I looked them up last night. I’ve been busy with the investigation. I haven’t had the time to watch anything, but I will.”

“I get it. I bet you look at me now and all you see is an old, wrinkly-faced woman. I was a looker back in the day.”

“I’m sure you were,” I said. “From the moment we met, you had an air about you, and the way you dress … well, from one vintage shopper to another, I know old-school glamour when I see it.”

We entered the house, and I looked around. It was like I’d stepped into the past—her past.

“I’d like to show you something,” she said.

We walked to the piano in the living room. Sitting on top was an assortment of framed photos of Rita at different stages in her life.

“These are all of you, right?” I asked.

“Sure are. These are all from my acting days.”

I leaned in to get a closer look at one of them. “Is that Donny Darling?”

She nodded. “We dated for a spell. Not long. A couple of months. Come with me. There’s something else I bet you’d like to see.”

Rita led me to a curio cabinet, which was filled with antique trinkets, including vases, jewelry, a tiara, and depression glass. She reached for a multi-colored glass vase and said, “Donny gave this to me in ’72. It was filled with flowers at the time. It’s worth over ten thousand dollars.”

“It’s stunning,” I said. “I’m glad you invited me over.”

She shot me a wink. “Let’s get to the bread and your questions before Aaron comes home.”

I sat at the kitchen table while Rita put a couple of oven mitts on her hands and removed the bread from the oven. She let it sit a moment, then began slicing and buttering, humming all the while. She plated two pieces, set one in front of me, and took a seat.

“Start talking,” she said. “What are your questions?”

“You know everything going on in this neighborhood. I assume you knew about Aaron’s friendship with Penelope.”

“Well, of course I did.”

“Why didn’t you tell him you were aware of their friendship?”

“For the same reason he didn’t tell me about it, I suppose. I’m a lot for any man to handle, and yet, he’s always treated me well. If he wants to have a friend or two, maleorfemale, he deserves it.”

“You don’t seem like the type of woman who keeps things quiet.”

Rita took a bite of bread and said, “It pains me to say this about a man I love as much as I love him, but sometimes the subject of Aaron’s conversations is of no interest to me. Take his view on politics, for example. He yammers on and on sometimes. When he started talking to Penelope, I noticed he spoke about things of that nature a bit less. I suppose it was somewhat of a reprieve. I even thanked her for it.”

“You thanked her for it? When?”

She took another bite and said, “I spoke to Penelope on the day she died.”

“Does Chief Foley know?”

“He sure does.”

I couldn’t believe it.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” I asked.

“I figured he’d tell you. It’s not on me if he didn’t.”

“Tell me about the conversation.”