Murder and Salutations by Elizabeth Bright

structure itself intimidated me? I was still debating what to do when the massive, weathered oak door in front swung open and Gail herself stepped out.
    Despite my earlier misgivings, I got out of the Gremlin as Gail approached. She was wearing an emerald green cocktail dress that looked elegant and classy. Gail’s auburn hair had been expertly styled, and she looked exactly like royalty should look. We weighed nearly the same, though I was a good six inches taller than she was, but somehow Gail managed to convey the image that she was the perfect size, while I always felt like I could stand to lose a pound 1 or twenty.
    “ Wow, you clean up pretty good,” I said.
    “ Look who’s talking. I’m going to have to be diligent tonight or you’re going to steal my boyfriend without even meaning to.”
    “ Let’s just admit that we both look fabulous, and I move on,” I said. “Are you sure about this?”
    “ Positive,” she said as she locked an arm in mine. Was it that obvious I’d just been considering flight? “Let’s go. Reggie and his mother are waiting for us.”
    When we walked in, I was astounded to see a huge formal entryway, complete with a chandelier and an Oriental carpet. “This is one heck of a first impression.”
    Gail smiled. “Mostly we go in and out through the side door, but I wanted you to get the full effect tonight.”
    “ It’s really something,” I said.
    “ We’re right through here,” Gail said as she led the way. I wasn’t sure what Reggie Bloom’s family had done to be able to afford such an expensive place, but I was willing to bet it had been done generations ago. As we entered what was surely the formal dining room, I saw a man about my age talking with a classic- looking older woman. The man—who had to be Reggie—was sandy haired and had the build of a football player. Did I know him? Our area wasn’t that big, so I didn’t doubt I’d seen him around, but something else nagged at my mind. I’d seen him, and recently, too. I wouldn’t have said he was handsome until he turned toward us and smiled. It was amazing how it transformed his face. Before that, he’d been brooding, as if he and his mother were repeating an argument they’d had many times before. The mother, a striking, petite woman in her mid-fifties, showed where Reggie had inherited his smile as she greeted me.
    As she took my hand, she said, “You must be Jennifer. You look absolutely lovely tonight.”
    “ So do you, Mrs. Bloom,” I said. It was true, too. She was dressed in a simple gray outfit that was no doubt worth more than four or five of my cars, and that didn’t even begin to approach her shoes or the diamonds she wore as embellishments.
    “ Please, call me Helena,” she said. “I’m afraid my father had delusions of grandeur when it came to naming his children. If you can believe it, he actually wanted to call my younger brother Zeus, but my mother put her foot down.”
    “ So what did they finally settle on?”
    “ Troy, if you can imagine it. We all called him T, though, by his wish, as soon as he learned to talk. I miss his laugh.”
    “ I’m so sorry,” I said, not sure what else to say.
    “ He led a good life, one he enjoyed to the utmost— a lesson we would all do well to follow,” Helena said, “She grasped my hands tightly as she added, “Jennifer, I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.”
    “ I’ll tell her, Mother,” Reggie said. “After all, it’s my responsibility.”
    “ Yes, but it’s my home. Jennifer, I’m afraid your date had to cancel at the last second. Something about 1 an unexpected business trip,” she added as she raised one eyebrow at her son. “I wish I had a camera, so I could take a picture and show the young fool just what he missed tonight.”
    “ Thanks for the sentiment,” I said as I started for the door. “If you all don’t mind, I’d just as soon not be a fifth wheel tonight.”
    “ Now where on earth do you think you’re