Page 4 of When She Dreams

“I work for one.”

She pulled the envelope out of her handbag and put it on the desk in front of him.

He studied it briefly. “It’s addressed to Aunt Cornelia, in care of theAdelina Beach Courier.”

“I got it this morning. It arrived in a bag of reader mail sent to my employer’s address by the editor of theCourier.”

Sam glanced at the envelope. “No return address, but it’s postmarked L.A. How is this letter different?”

A reasonable question. At least he was paying attention. That was encouraging.

“It’s very specific,” she said. “Someone appears to believe Aunt Cornelia is responsible for the murder of a woman named Virginia Jennaway.”

“Who is Aunt Cornelia?”

“Me, at the moment.”

“Your name is Cornelia Lodge?” Sam asked. “I thought you said your name was Margaret Lodge.”

“My name is Margaret Lodge. I work for the real Aunt Cornelia, Lillian Dewhurst. She’s currently out of the country on a voyage to the South Seas. I’ve been handling the column for her while she’s gone. So,yes, I am Aunt Cornelia for now, but whoever sent the letter has no way of knowing that.”

“You’re certain the blackmailer didn’t aim the letter at you?”

“Of course I’m certain. I have no idea who Virginia Jennaway is—or, rather, was.”

“Jennaway,” he repeated.

“I realize this all sounds a bit confusing, Mr. Sage.”

“A bit,” he said.

She sighed. “Obviously I’m going too fast for you.”

“Not the first time that’s happened to me. I’m used to it. Please continue.”

Maybe he wasn’t very sharp. That was a depressing thought. She had already concluded she did not want to hire either of the other two private investigators in town. She had interviewed both—briefly—that morning. Adelina Beach was a pleasant community just outside L.A. It was home to a scattering of celebrities and it boasted some exclusive shopping districts. It did not have much to offer in the way of seedy neighborhoods, but Sage’s competitors had managed to find the two that did exist.

One step into the offices of the other detectives had been enough to tell her neither man would be a good bet. The first had been intoxicated even though it was only nine o’clock. The other had struck her as decidedly shady, the sort who would take a bribe to look the other way.

Sam Sage was not drunk, and he looked reasonably intelligent, or at least competent. He did not appear to be shady, but one could never be sure. She had a spectacularly failed engagement behind her to prove that her talent for lucid dreaming did not give her an edge when it came to judging the trustworthiness of other people.

“Allow me to explain,” she said, striving for patience.

“Take your time.”

That did not sit well. It was alarmingly close tocalm down, which, in turn, usually came right beforeyou’re getting hysterical.

If any of those words came out of his mouth, she would lose hertemper and walk out the door. She did not want to do that. She had to get control of the situation and establish herself as the client, the one who was paying the bill and who was, therefore, in charge, because she was out of options. It was Sage Investigations or the Los Angeles phone book.

The thought of trying to find a reliable, trustworthy private investigator in the L.A. phone book was daunting. The town had a well-earned reputation for corruption. The fault line ran from the big studios straight through the police department and all the way to the courts. It was an open secret. Private investigators working in that environment were very likely to be caught up in the system. She needed someone who could not be bought, someone she could trust.

She gave Sam a steely smile, rose to her feet, plucked the copy of theAdelina Beach Courieroff the desk, and opened it to the Home & Hearth section. She positioned the page directly in front of Sam.

“Let’s start at the beginning,” she said. “Perhaps that will make it easier for you to follow along.”

“Thank you, that would be very helpful.”

Reining in her temper, she pointed at the Dear Aunt Cornelia advice column. “This is Aunt Cornelia. As I told you, I have been writing the column recently, but almost no one knows that.”

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