"Where's it being held?" he asked.

"The Edgewater Hotel. A private dining room. Should be very elegant. It's costing enough."

"How many people are we talking about?"

Vera shrugged. "Maybe thirty-five."

"Invitation only?"

"Sure. It's California Fidelity employees and guests. Why?"

"Can't do it," I said.

"I think we can manage it," Dietz said at the same time. "It will help if there's been no advance publicity."

Vera looked from one of us to the other. "What's going on?"

Dietz filled her in.

I waited, feeling oddly irritated, while they went through the catechism of disbelief and assurances. Vera expressed all the requisite attitudes. "God, that's awful. I can't believe things like that actually go on. Listen, if you guys don't want to risk it, I'll understand."

"I'll want to check it out, but we'll see how it looks. Can we let you know in the morning?" Dietz said.

"Of course. As long as I know by noon, it shouldn't be any problem."

"What time's the dinner?"

"No-host cocktails at seven. The dinner's at eight." Vera glanced at her watch. "Oops. I gotta scoot. It's been nice meeting you."

"You, too."

She moved toward the door.

"Oh, and Vera…," he said. "We'd prefer to keep this quiet."

She pulled her glasses down on her nose, looking at him over the rims. There was an elegant pause while she raised a brow. "Of course," she said-the word asshole implied. There was something flirtatious in the very way she left the room. Lord, she was really going all out for this guy.

Dietz seemed to color. It was the first time I'd seen him disconcerted by anything. The most unlikely men turn out to be suckers for abuse.

When the door closed behind her, I turned on Dietz with an outraged tone. "I thought you said no public events!"

"I did. I'm sorry. I can see I caught you by surprise. I don't want to interfere any more than I have to. If this is something you want, then let's find a way to do it."

"I'm not going to risk my life for something like that!"

"Look. There's no way we can eliminate every possibility of attack. I'm here to reduce the likelihood, that's all. The president goes out in public, for God's sake," he said. His tone shifted. "Besides, I'm not convinced the guy we're dealing with is a pro…"

"Oh, great. He might be a lunatic, instead."

Dietz shrugged matter-of-factly. "If we play our cards right, you'll be safe enough. The guest list is restricted and these are people you know. Once we scope it out, the question boils down to, do you want to go or not? You tell me. I'm not here to dictate the terms of your life."

"I don't know yet," I said, somewhat mollified. "The dinner's no big deal, but it might be nice to be out."

"Then let's see what it looks like and we'll decide after that."

By noon, I'd wrapped up my business and locked my files again. The phone rang just as Dietz and I were heading out the door. I started to answer, but he held a hand up, stopping me. He picked it up. "Millhone Investigations." He listed briefly. "Hold on." He passed the phone to me.

"Hello?"

"Kinsey, this is Irene Gersh. I'm sorry to be a bother. You're busy I know…"

"No problem. What's up?"

"Mother's disappeared. I don't suppose she's been in touch with you."

"Well, no, but I'm not sure she'd know who to call if she wanted to. I only saw her twice. How long's she been gone?"

"Nobody really knows. The supervisor at the nursing home swears she was there at breakfast time. An aide took her to the dining room in a wheelchair and then went off to take care of someone else. She told Mother she'd just be a minute, but when she turned around Mother'd left her wheelchair and had taken off on foot. Nobody dreamed she could get very far. I guess they scoured the building and grounds and now they've started searching the neighborhood. I'm on my way over but I thought I'd check with you first, just in case you knew anything."

"I'm sorry, but I haven't heard from her at all. You need some help?"

"No, no. There's really no need at this point. The police have been notified and they have a patrol car cruising the area. So far there's no sign of her, but I'm sure she'll turn up. I just didn't want to overlook the possibility that she might be with you."