Mayhem in High Heels by Gemma Halliday

Gigi's?"
    Kleinburg nodded, his bald spot gleaming the sun. "Yes. Poor thing's just completely distraught over it. You are going to find her another planner, right?" he asked.
    "Me? Oh, well, we..."
    "Of course," Dana said, jumping in.
    I resisted the urge to elbow her in the ribs.
    "That's actually what we wanted to talk to her about," I said. "I understand she didn't get on well with Gigi?"
    "Well, I wouldn't go that far. Mitsy is a very strong-willed girl. Always has been. She knows exactly what she wants. Gigi sometimes had trouble delivering it, that's all."
    "Had they argued over anything in particular lately?" I asked.
    Kleinburg narrowed his myopic eyes at me. "Why do you ask?"
    "Um... well..."
    "We just want to make sure we pair her with the right planner this time around," Dana said, jumping in again.
    I nodded. Even though I was a little worried about promising a new planner to Mr. Hollywood's finicky daughter. As Marco so aptly pointed out, these women booked months in advance.
    "I see. Thorough of you," Kleinburg said, nodding. "Honestly, though, I don't really know. I can't keep track of all that wedding stuff. I just sign the checks. And let me tell you, there were plenty to sign. This wedding is costing me a fortune. You know I've spent more on flowers than I did on Mitsy's entire college education? It was quite a racket Gigi was running there."
    I raised one eyebrow. "A racket?"
    Kleinburg shook his head. "Every week Mitsy came back from that place with one more thing we just 'had to have' at her reception. A flutist, an ice sculpture, engraved stemware. I swear Gigi took one look at my daughter and saw dollar signs."
    I had to admit, I'd seen that look in her eyes, too. Fleetingly, I wondered how much Kleinburg might have resented it.
    "Mitsy had an appointment with Gigi the day before she died. Do you know what they discussed?"
    Kleinburg shrugged. "You know, maybe you should speak to my daughter about this." His eyes started to wander back toward the monitors where the gangster had just caught up with our hero.
    "Any idea where we could find Mitsy this afternoon?" I asked.
    "Same place she is every afternoon. Shopping."
    I raised an eyebrow. Maybe Mitsy wasn't so bad after all.
    "She and her mother have been filling out that dammed registry for months," he went on. "You want to find her, check Bloomingdale's. Century City Mall. Now if you'll excuse me..." He gestured toward the dailies.
    "Of course. Thanks for your help," I called as he turned away.
    "He's a lot shorter than I thought he'd be," Dana said as we walked back to our cart.
    "Seriously." I navigated around the foam taxi and slipped into the passenger side of the golf cart. "Though I'm liking the idea of Mitsy as the crazed homicidal bride more and more."
    "So," Dana said, doing a three point turn back toward the front gate. "I guess we're going to the mall?"
    I grinned. "It's a tough job but someone's got to do it."

Chapter Eight
     
    The Century City Mall was as close to my Mecca as you could get. Row upon row of funky one-of--a-kind stores mixed with the standard mall fare like Abercrombie and Banana Republic all in an outdoor setting that capitalized on our California surplus of sunshine.
    Dana and I parked in the structure and walked through the corridors sheltered by a canopy of white, wooden latticework toward the center flagship of the mall, Blooomingdale's. I tried to put blinders on as we passed through accessories and handbags to the housewares section.
    "I always wanted to register at Bloomie's," Dana said, her voice wistful as she eyed a pair of his and hers brandy snifters.
    "Well, all you have to do is get some Hollywood mogul to adopt you and you're set."
    She did a sigh, running her fingertips along a silver cake server.
    "Come on, let's find Mitsy." Only, as the words left my mouth, I realized there was one fatal flaw in our plan. "Um, any idea what she looks like?"
    Dana shook her head.
    Shit.
    I scanned the rows of crystal