Secret Sisters - an LDS cozy mystery

Chapter Twenty

"You all right, Auntie?" 

"I'm fine, Ren. I just feel a little sick, that's all." She poured the pop over some ice and began to sip. "I can't stand the thought of Nick and Mary ending up in jail and those poor children being farmed out somewhere." 

"I can't promise you that won't happen," Ren said. "But I do know this. The sooner we can get to the bottom of this, the better for everyone." 

"I have something to report," Eden said, her cheeks pink with excitement. "James Jeffries asked me out to dinner tomorrow night." 

"The man in the Jaguar?" Arlette pressed her lips together. "That can't be a good idea." 

"Oh, but it is!" Eden said, patting her grandmother on the arm. "I might be able to find out what's really going on." 

"How did this come about?" Ida Mae asked. 

"Well, I think Nichole-you know, the girl I asked about the car? I think she must have told him I showed some interest, because last week he came down to my desk and introduced himself to me. A few times since then, he's walked by and said hello, and today, just before I left, he asked me out." 

"And you said?" Arlette asked. 

"I said yes, of course. I'd be crazy not to." 

"Well, I think you're crazy to say yes," Arlette told her. 

"We can follow her," Ida Mae pointed out. "Where is he taking you?" 

"To Laserre," she said. "I told him I'd meet him there at five." 

"Good girl," Tansy said. "Meeting him there is such a smart idea." 

"Laserre?" Ida Mae blinked. "That new French restaurant in Salt Lake?" 

"That's the one." 

"I've heard it's terribly expensive." 

"Let's live it up for once," Tansy said. "We might never have the chance to eat there again." 

Ida Mae considered. Tansy did have a point. And they had to protect Eden at all costs. She felt her resolve crumbling even before it had time to become cemented.  

"I'll call and see if we can get a reservation," she said. She dialed and learned they could fit in her party of three-Ren had to work and would not be joining them. It was probably just as well-it would be such a shame if the boy had to watch Eden on a date with another man.  

The ladies watched Eden enter the restaurant, then counted to sixty before crossing the street and entering themselves. Ida Mae looked around when they got inside-Eden must have already been seated. 

"Babbitt, party of three," she told the maitre d'. 

He led them through the dining room, past tables swathed in white linen. Ida Mae felt like a chick waddling after Mama Duck as he guided them to an empty table. She finally caught sight of Eden and James, off to the right, but they were nowhere near the table designated for Ida Mae's party. 

"Will this be all right?" the maitre d' asked solicitously, and Ida Mae didn't think it was. 

"Do you have anything . . . over there?" she asked, nodding in Eden's direction. "The sunlight on this table . . . is too bright." She knew her excuse was pathetic, but it was the only thing she could think of.