Chapter Fifty-four
I arrived at the KZSD employee lounge to find Marly busy at work pulling colored streamers from a brown paper bag. It was strangely out of character to see her put in a concerted effort on Betty’s behalf, or maybe she looked out of place with something resembling a craft item, but in any case, Marly acted blasé, as if decorating were a weekly event. She could have viewed the retirement party as an outright celebration, but the lines around her mouth were heavy.
“Where’s the tape?” she asked without greeting me.
I put down my purse and produced the sought item. “I thought we could string these at a diagonal, kind of loop them in and out across the ceiling tile supports.”
“Fine. I’ll get on the table,” she said, “and you can hand me the roll.”
It was obvious we wouldn
