The Secret Ingredient by Jane Heller

Author:Jane Heller
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781682303627
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2016-04-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Clover was backing the van out of Lanie’s driveway when I spotted a man coming out of the estate next door. He looked familiar. Too familiar.

“Clover!”

She slammed on the brakes, giving me a nasty case of whiplash. “What’s the matter? Did I hit something?”

“No. See that man walking out of the house over there?” I pointed to the shingled, Cape Cod-style house just south of Lanie’s.

Clover squinted. “I don’t have my glasses on, but he doesn’t look like Farkus, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“What I’m thinking is that he looks like Roger.”

“Roger?” She peered at the man. “Now that you mention it, he does. Let me pull the van up to the house so you can say hello.”

“No!”

She slammed on the brakes again. The discs in my neck were history.

“Stop doing that, would you?” I said.

“Sorry, but I figured you’d want to talk to your husband.”

“Like this? How would I explain the van and the uniforms and the sprayers?”

“Oh. Right.”

“But that’s not the point. What’s he doing coming out of that house, looking all spiffy and smiley at four-thirty in the afternoon? He should be at his office where he belongs.”

“Instead of with a babe, you mean.”

“What babe?”

“The one coming out of the house behind him. Look.”

I looked. Sure enough, Roger wasn’t the only one emerging from the house. A tall woman with long black hair and even longer legs was right on his heels. “Okay, Clover. Drive a little closer, can you? I don’t want them to see us. I just want a better view.”

“I’ll try, but this thing doesn’t handle like a regular car.”

She put the van in gear and eased her foot down on the accelerator. We were inching along Malibu Colony Road, toward the house in question, when suddenly the van started bucking and jerking like an out-of-control bronco. But the really bad news was that the direction of its bucking and jerking was straight onto the lawn of Lanie’s neighbor.

“Hey. What’re you doing?” yelled Roger, who ran toward the van, wagging his finger at us. The babe, an Asian beauty, was practically Velcro-ed to his side. I guessed he had moved on from Nikki, the Victoria’s Secret model. There was no keeping up with the enhanced Roger.

“Great. Just great,” I muttered, as my husband and his sexy companion approached.

“At least they’re dressed,” said Clover, trying to be supportive.

“Do you people realize you’re on private property?” Roger demanded when he reached the van. He didn’t recognize us at first. A second went by. Then another and another. Then we had liftoff. “Elizabeth? Is that you in there?” He was surprised to see me, needless to say.

“It’s me, all right,” I said cheerfully, the wheels turning in my head as I attempted to come up with a decent reason for the get-up and the van.

“And don’t forget me,” Clover chimed in. “How’re you, Roger?”

“Fine. Fine. But what are you two doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question,” I said, eyeing the Lucy Liu look alike. “I thought it was real estate agents who showed houses, not real estate attorneys.

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