“What were you doing in the Jacuzzi in the middle of the night?” Vanessa wanted to know.

“I couldn’t sleep. Too much excitement, I guess. So Walker and I went up there to enjoy the view.”

Vanessa looked shocked. “Really, Ellen! You went up to the Jacuzzi in the middle of the night with a . . .”

Hal clamped his hand over Vanessa’s mouth. “Sorry about that. So what shall we do about Clayton and Rachael?”

“I don’t know that we can do anything.” Marc shrugged. “They took off with our only means of transportation. I guess we just have to hope that they got through all right.”

It was seven in the evening when they finished packing the things in Johnny’s kitchen. Laureen glanced down and groaned. “That’s enough work for today. Just look at my hands! They’re black from all the newsprint.”

“Not as black as . . .”

Hal clamped his hand over Vanessa’s mouth, a gesture that had become pure reflex. “I think I’ll stay and finish a couple more boxes. It’s too early to go to bed.”

“How about a game of charades?” Grace rose to her feet from a cross-legged position and stretched.

“We could play at our place,” Moira chimed in. She loved charades. “Are you up for a game, Ellen?”

Ellen nodded. “I’m terrible at charades, but I’ll play anyway. Walker?”

“Sure. How about you, Jayne?”

Jayne hesitated. There was something bothersome about Clayton and Rachael’s disappearance, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

“Come, Jayne.” Paul squeezed her shoulder. “You have always enjoyed the charades.”

Reluctantly, Jayne nodded. There would be time to think about Clayton and Rachael later. “All right. I’ll play if Hal’s on my team. He always guesses the ones I have to act out.”

“You want me?” Hal looked surprised. “The last time we played, you said I didn’t have the brains that God gave little green apples.”

“That was only a figure of speech, so don’t get your underwear in a bunch. Are you playing, Vanessa?”

“I haven’t decided yet. Is Laureen bringing brownies?”

Laureen began to smile. Vanessa loved her brownies and it was a perfect way of getting back at her. “Nope. I’ve only got one batch left in the freezer and I’m saving those for Alan.”

“In that case, I’ll pass.” Vanessa got up and yawned. “All this packing has given me a headache. I’m going to sit in the Jacuzzi for a while and then I’m going to bed.”

Hal couldn’t resist a parting shot. “What’s the matter, Vanessa? Afraid we’ll all find out what a lousy actress you are?”

Vanessa turned to give him a withering glance. “I told you, Hal, I have a headache. And don’t wake me when you come in. Not that you’d have any reason to.”

Everyone was silent until Vanessa had left. Then Grace broke the awkward moment.

“Hal? I know I’m butting my nose in, but why don’t you two just split up? You fight all the time.”

Hal nodded. “It’s complicated, Grace, but the bottom line is we can’t.”

“You can’t get a divorce?” Moira raised her eyebrows. “Come on, Hal. You certainly have enough grounds.”

Hal gave a bitter laugh. “Don’t I know! But I did a really stupid thing when we got married.”

“Don’t tell me.” Grace sighed. “You forgot to have her sign a prenuptial agreement?”

“No, I’m not quite that stupid. She signed one. I drew it up myself.”

“Uh, oh.” Marc groaned. “What did it say, Hal?”

“It said that if she filed for divorce, she’d end up with nothing but a small monthly allowance.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Absolutely nothing. But I neglected to put in what happens if I’m the one to file for divorce. And since I didn’t stipulate otherwise, the Nevada divorce laws apply.”

“I get it.” Marc nodded. “If you’re the one to file for divorce, Vanessa gets half of everything you earned during your marriage.”

Hal nodded. “And you all know I’ve made a lot of money since then. Naturally, Vanessa won’t file for divorce. And I can’t file either. So here we are, stuck together like glue, and there’s not a damn thing either one of us can do about it.”

Laureen gave a deep sigh. She finally understood why Hal hadn’t done anything drastic when she’d told him about Vanessa’s affair with Alan. “Well, don’t let it get to you, Hal. If she keeps on being so obnoxious, maybe somebody’ll help you get rid of her permanently.”

Alan looked shocked. “Laureen!”

Laureen got to her feet. “Come on, everybody. Let’s stop by our place so I can pick up my reading glasses.”

“Good idea, honey.” Alan grinned at her. “I remember when you got The Joy of Sex and you acted out The Joy of Cooking.”

“And I spent the entire five minutes trying to figure out what sex had to do with Laureen stirring something and licking her fingers.” Moira stopped and her face began to turn red. “Oh, sh . . . shucks! I don’t believe I said that!”

Marc laughed. “I don’t either. I’ve got a jug of wine I can bring, if you don’t mind stopping at my floor. And while I’m there, I’ll just check my . . .”

“Answer phone?”

They all spoke in unison and Marc laughed. “I keep forgetting. Well, I just hope you all can read my mind like that when it’s my turn to do a charade.”

There was a determined expression on Vanessa’s face as she pulled on a black turtleneck sweater and a pair of black slacks. The game of charades would keep everyone busy for at least two hours, which gave her plenty of time.

She reached up to take off her earrings and reconsidered as she caught her reflection in the mirror. The sparkling diamonds lent a touch of elegance to her all-black outfit. The heart-shaped earrings had been a present from Hal for their first anniversary, the last present he’d given her, but she was about to cash in for a whole lot more.

The call had come the morning the avalanche had hit. Since Hal was working, Vanessa had taken the message and she’d been immediately suspicious. When she’d asked, Hal had told her that a Swiss bank was handling some property he owned over there, but of course she’d heard all about those numbered Swiss bank accounts, and she was positive that Hal was hiding his money from her.

She’d spent all last night searching for some sort of evidence. She knew that if she found the number to Hal’s Swiss bank account, she could fly over there and clean it out. She’d seen a movie just like that. But she hadn’t found the number, even though she’d gone through everything in the apartment. And then, just this morning, while they were in Clayton’s unit, she’d realized that Hal might have given the number to Clayton to keep for him. Vanessa gave one last glance in the mirror and turned to go out the door. Clayton had given her a key before Rachael had moved in and he’d forgotten to ask for it back.

Her hands were trembling slightly as she reached for the elevator button. Then she remembered that the elevator shaft was right outside Moira and Grace’s living room. If Hal heard the elevator running, he’d realize that she was awake, and he might come up and find her.

Vanessa turned on her heel and headed for the stairwell. Clayton’s unit was only two floors up. She felt proud of herself for thinking it through. Maybe her luck was changing and she’d find what she needed to get away from Hal for good.

THIRTEEN

Jayne was watching the oven timer impatiently when Paul came up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist.

“Do not look at it, Jayne. A watched clock never ticks.”

“It’s a watched pot that never boils, but you’ve got the right idea.” Jayne turned and kissed him. “The smell’s killing me and my stomach’s growling worse than a grizzly in heat.”

They both turned to look through the oven window. It had all started when Marc said he was dying for pizza and wished a delivery truck could get through. Laureen had remembered the refrigerated pizza dough she was testing for her cooking show, and offered each of them a batch for individual pizzas with toppings of their choice. If anyone was interested, they could have a contest to see who could come up with the best pizza. Laureen would be the judge, along with Alan. There were no hard-and-fast rules. If you didn’t have what you needed, you could borrow from someone else. And everyone would have plenty to eat.