Diva 03 _ Diva Paints the Town, The by Krista Davis Page A

her face indicated that she still didn’t get it. “Clearly, Kurt thought his wife was out of town, and he could play around. But either she lied about being gone, or she came back early and caught him carousing.”
    “I see, and now you’re going to tell me that he thinks it’s fun to hide in a box, and then disappear.”
    Well, there was that. It didn’t make sense to me, but some people had peculiar ideas about what might be funny.
    “All I know is that the three of you are knee-deep in it.”
    “Not me!” Francie protested.
    “Maybe. Maybe not. I do know that I plan to get to the bottom of this.”
    Nina, Francie, and I left Tara standing on the sidewalk, looking angry. Even though Tara was clearly on the wrong track now, I hoped she would clear up the matter of Kurt’s disappearance. We would all feel better if we knew what had happened to him.
    When I returned home, I curled up in my kitchen with a mug of decaf English breakfast tea and mulled over my situation with Wolf. Why were men so complicated? I tried to shove away my emotions and think clearly about facts. I’d seen Wolf and Tara being very familiar in the café. They had a date for the banquet on Valentine’s Day. Wolf knew I would be at the banquet, didn’t he? It didn’t seem like him to flaunt another woman in my face. But Tara clearly had a crush on Wolf. I sank to a slouch in the chair.
    On the other hand, I knew how attentive and loving he’d been right here in my kitchen only last night. Not many guys would help cook. In the end, I decided to go with my instincts and bake a cake for Wolf anyway. If it turned out that he and Tara were indeed an item, I could always drown my sorrows in chocolate cake, whipped cream, and cherries.

    The next morning, I arrived at the hotel bright and early, feeling much better after a decent night’s sleep. The fact that it was the last day of Rooms and Blooms also boosted my spirits. All the exhibits would remain in place for the banquet that evening, and then exhibitors would have a day to remove everything. I could hardly wait. I usually enjoyed Rooms and Blooms, but Kurt’s disappearance had cast a pall over it this year.
    Still, in the light of day, the mystery about Kurt didn’t seem so awful. The guy was clearly a creep, and was avoiding his wife. He’d meant to spook Nina when he crawled into the box. I probably gave him a scare when I opened it.
    A guard waited for me at the entrance to the exhibit hall. “Are you Ms. Winston?”
    Even though I assured him that I was, he demanded to see identification. “I have strict instructions not to leave until you’re here.”
    I thanked him for being so conscientious, and was willing to bet that I wouldn’t find any empty booze bottles this morning.
    As usual, I walked the entire hall. Everything seemed to be in order.
    But midmorning, Natasha barreled toward me with a steamed expression. “It’s your turn to babysit the fortune hunters at Mordecai’s house. That Mike is determined to find something and won’t leave. But I have to be here because I can’t beat Iris Ledbetter for Best in Show unless my booth is perfect and I talk people into voting for me.” She leaned toward me and whispered, “It wouldn’t hurt me to kiss up to the other exhibitors—I know Iris has been.”
    “Wish I could help you”—okay, that was a lie, I wasn’t a bit sorry—“but I have responsibilities here. Besides, I’m not a co-chair of the Show House.”
    Natasha’s nostrils flared and she began to argue, but I interrupted her. “Why don’t you send the other co-chair?”
    She scowled at me until it sank in. “That’s brilliant! I can get rid of the competition by sending Iris over to Mordecai’s. What would I do without you, Sophie?”
    It was a rhetorical question, and Camille was motioning to me. Natasha would have to deal with Iris, who would surely not be pleased by her demand.
    Camille was holding a cell phone to her ear. She lowered it, scowling.