Welcome to Case Closed.

You're listening to The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins,

narrated by Emily Schaefer, Lauren Fortgang, and Kirby Haybourne.

Let's pick up where we left off last time.

Part 8. B.

The party is held at the Tuttweiler, an old hotel in Birmingham that B is always loved.

Blanche had her wedding here just six months ago,

and Bea had known then that she'd have to host some kind of event here herself.

The launch of the latest Southern Manors line,

plus the celebration of the company going public,

seems like the perfect occasion,

and B spends months planning every detail.

When the time finally arrives, the reception is even better than she'd hoped for.

The ballroom is decorated with Southern Manor's items, each table holding a sterling silver

apple, or a crystal pig, or a blown glass vase decorated with gingham ribbon.

It's classy and elegant, but warm and friendly, the exact brand be his work to cultivate

over the past few years. She tries to be the embodiment of that brand herself, her dress

beautifully made and outrageously expensive, but not overly dressy.

Her jewelry understated.

Blanche looks overdressed in a long black dress, her diamonds on display.

And B enjoys that more than she should.

Enjoyes Blanche seeming out of place in this space that was originally hers.

...