Jewel’s laugh was a high-pitched trill. “Doesn’t Mama have a wonderful sense of humor? I just love her.”

Junior brushed Jewel aside and stalked out of the room. Eddie followed close behind.

Nor quickly whispered to Billy, “This is a disaster. What should we do? He told us to sing ‘For She’s a Jolly Good Fellow’ while people ate the cake.

“And then the medley of songs about mothers, starting with ‘I always loved my mama, she’s my favorite girl…’ ”

How about “Little old lady, time for tea,” Sterling thought. That was a hit in my day.

“We’d better check on what they want us to do now. I’m not taking any chances on second-guessing them,” Nor said, glancing around the room at the stunned expressions on the faces of the guests.

As Sterling trotted after Nor and Billy, he sensed imminent disaster. Junior and Eddie were disappearing into a room at the end of the hall.

Billy and Nor raced to catch up with them, and Billy tapped on the now-closed door. When there was no response, he and Nor looked at each other. “Let’s take a chance,” Nor whispered.

Just go home, Sterling urged, but knew it was a year too late to even think that.

Billy turned the handle and cautiously opened the door. He and Nor stepped into what appeared to be a small reception room. It was empty.

“They’re in there,” Nor whispered, pointing to an inner room that could be seen through a partially open door. “Maybe we’d better…”

“Wait a minute. They’re checking the answering machine.”

An electronic voice was announcing, “You have one new message.”

Nor and Billy hesitated, not sure whether to wait or to leave, but then the message they were overhearing froze them to the spot.

It was a plea from a man who sounded desperate, begging for “wery little extra time” to pay back a loan.

The answering machine clicked off, and they heard Junior shout, “Your time just ran out, buddy. Eddie, get on it. Tell the guys to burn his stinking warehouse down and do it now. I don’t wanna hear that it’s still standing tomorrow.”

“There won’t be nuthin’ left,” Eddie assured him, sounding much cheerier, his mind off Mama for the moment.

Billy put his finger to his lips. Silently he and Nor tiptoed from the room and hurried back to the salon. “Let’s get our stuff,” Billy whispered. “We’re out of here.”

What they did not notice, but Sterling did, was that Charlie Santoli, at the other end of the hall, had seen them come out of the office.

The celestial waiting room was filled with newcomers gazing around and trying to adjust to their surroundings. The angel in charge had been ordered to hang a large DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door of the conference room. There had been several instances of former top executives, not used to being kept waiting, who had rushed in demanding a meeting when the angel’s back was turned.

Inside the conference room, the Heavenly Council was following Sterling ’s activities with keen interest.

“Did you notice how chagrined he was when Marissa didn’t even sense that he was present in the restaurant?” the nun asked. “He was truly taken aback.”

“That was one of the first lessons we wanted him to learn,” the monk stated. “During his lifetime, too many people were invisible to him. He’d look right past them.”

“Do you think Mama Heddy-Anna will turn up in our waiting room soon?” the shepherd asked. “She told her sons she’s dying.”

The nurse smiled. “She used the oldest trick in the book to get her sons to visit her. She’s as strong as a bull.”

“I wouldn’t want her in the ring with me,” the matador commented wryly.

“That lawyer is in real trouble,” said the saint who had reminded Sterling of Pocahontas. “Unless he does something drastic very soon, when his time comes, he won’t be dealing with us.”

“Poor Hans Kramer is desperate,” the nun observed. “The Badgett brothers have absolutely no mercy.”

“They belong in the brig,” the admiral proclaimed sternly.

“Did you hear that?” the queen’s tone was shocked. “They’re going to set that poor man’s warehouse on fire.”

Shaking their heads, the saints fell silent, reflecting sadly on man’s inhumanity to man.

Valets frantically rushed to deliver the cars of the guests pouring out of the house. Sterling leaned against a column on the porch, bent on hearing the reactions of the departing merrymakers.

“Bizarre!”

“Give them their money back. I’ll donate two million for that wing,” a dowager snapped.

“Reminded me of the movie ‘Throw Momma From the Train.’ I bet that’s what those two characters feel like doing now,” a board member’s husband snickered.

“At least the food was good,” someone said charitably.

“I hope you caught that they haven’t set foot in Wallonia since they left. Figure out why.”

“You got a load of Mama, didn’t you?”

Sterling noticed that the two U.S. Senators were screaming at their top aides as they were whisked away. They’re probably worrying that they’ll be written up in the tabloids for partying with mobsters, Sterling thought. They should know what Junior is going to do to some poor guy’s warehouse. He couldn’t wait to slip into Nor and Billy’s car and hear what they had to say about everything that had happened.

A guest, who clearly had slurped as much vodka as Mama had grappa began to sing, “Happy Birthday, Heddy-Anna” in Wallonian, but didn’t have his phonetically marked song sheet to consult. He switched to English and was joined by several other guests, who were also feeling no pain.

Sterling heard a valet ask one of the guests if his vehicle was an SUV. What’s that? Sterling wondered. A moment later the valet pulled up in one of those little trucks. So that’s what it is, Sterling thought. I wonder what SUV stands for.

Billy’s SUV was parked in the back. Don’t want to miss them, Sterling thought. Two minutes later, when Nor and Billy appeared, lugging their equipment, he was in the backseat.

It was obvious from the nervous expressions on both their faces that they were deeply worried.

Wordlessly, they loaded the car, jumped in, and joined the line of vehicles exiting the long driveway. They did not speak until they were out on the main road. Then Nor asked, the words rushing out, “Billy, do you think they were serious about burning down someone’s warehouse?”

“Absolutely, and we’re damn lucky they don’t know we overheard them.”

Uh-oh, Sterling thought. Their lawyer-what’s his name? Charlie Santoli-saw you come out of the office. If he tells the Badgetts, your goose is cooked.

“I can’t help thinking that I’ve heard that voice before, the one on the phone message,” Nor said slowly. “Did you notice he said ‘wery,’ not ‘very,’ when he asked for more time?”

“Now that you say it, I guess I did,” Billy agreed. “I just figured the poor guy was so nervous he was practically stuttering.”

“No, it wasn’t that. Maybe he has a slight lisp. I think he’s had dinner at the restaurant. The thing is, if I could only remember who it was, then we could warn him.”

“When we get to the restaurant, I’m going to call the police,” Billy said. “I don’t want to use the cell phone.”

They rode the rest of the way in silence. In the backseat, Sterling shared their anxiety.

It was nearly nine o’clock when they entered Nor’s Place. The holiday diners were in full force. Nor tried to greet people quickly. At the same moment, she and Billy spotted one of their old friends, Sean O’Brien, a retired detective, sitting at the bar.

They looked at each other. “I’ll ask him to sit with us. He’ll know what we should do,” Billy said.

A smile plastered on her face, Nor went to her usual table at the front of the restaurant. From this vantage point she could oversee the operation, hold court, and easily greet her patrons. Sterling joined her, taking the seat he’d been occupying a few hours earlier.