Everyone ready to find out what's going on here?

Valerie: Yes.

Daphne: You bet!

Lauren: I am.

(We begin in Rosemarie, on the way to the Moonglow Cosmetics Headquarters. Lauren rides shotgun next to Valerie; Emma and Daphne are in the back.)

Valerie: We should be there in a few minutes.

Emma: Val, what do you know about Blossom Lilyfair? You said she was a friend of your father's.

Valerie: She's in her late 40s. She inherited Moonglow Cosmetics from her father William Sweet around 1949, making her one of the youngest - and only - female heads of a major company in the world.

Emma: What's she like?

Valerie: She's a well-known party giver and loves to show off her collection of high-end perfumes, vintage clothing, and fine shoes. She's also a writer and has published four books on how women can get ahead in the modern work force. (Makes a face) She would occasionally visit my father when I was younger. Frankly, I think she was after his money. She only has four great loves - vintage clothes, fancy shoes, her company, and her own face.

Lauren: *makes a face* And those would be four things I hate.

Emma: Actually, I do like vintage clothes. They're usually kinder to my figure. Everything else, though, I can quite happily live without. Including her face.

Daphne: I could go for the shoes or clothes, but that's it.

Valerie: (As they pull into a full parking lot next to a huge, all-glass building in downtown LA) I was so happy when Dad broke off their relationship. She was the last person I wanted for a mother, for me or Chrissy.

Emma: (As the girls hop out of the car) Wow, there's a lot of people here.

Valerie: (Leads the girls into the building; Emma flashes her press pass at the receptionist in the soft lavender-and-deep-blue lobby, and Valerie just nods at the girls) This is a big deal. I know none of you are really fashionatas, but Moonglow Cosmetics is a big name in the high-end cosmetics business. If Blossom's unveiling something, it could change the industry. Everyone from Cover Girl to Revlon has tried to imitate her perfumes and no-smear lipsticks, and her skin creams are said to be made from real mother-of-pearl.

Emma: (Nods as they follow Valerie) I'm not into fashion, but I have heard of her and Moonglow Cosmetics. I did some research before I came here.

Valerie: (Sees some other reporters head for a room at the end of the hall) Here we are. This is her main meeting room. (She swings open the door to reveal a large, dark-paneled room with one huge oak table surrounded by large, plush chairs. The members of the press surround the table, asking questions and taking pictures. At the very end of the table, we see Miss Blossom Lilyfair, a slender, petite woman in a fashionable cream-colored suit. She radiates perfection, from the top of her long, slightly teased gold tresses to her well-made-up, high cheekboned face and the tips of her strappy high heels. Her white smile is dazzling as she answers the questions lobbied at her.)

Blossom: Yes, yes, gentlemen, I'll tell you all about it now. We're all here? (She smiles daintily) Good. (She pulls a lavender sheet off of an easel, revealing a huge poster. The poster shows two sides of a dark-haired woman. One shows a woman who is clearly in her 40s and maybe older, with lots of wrinkles and age spots. She holds a round lavender-and-blue jar. The other side shows what might be the same woman, twenty years younger, with no wrinkles and a big, alluring smile.)

Man: (A tall, skinny man in a dark blue suit and glasses points at the poster with a stick) This is our new Fountain of Youth Skin Care Cream. It'll come in three sizes and will eventually be sold in tubes for travel and for small spaces. We may also make a stick version if the jars sell well enough.

Blossom: (Through the "oohs" and "ahhs" of the crowd) Have you been searching for your Fountain of Youth? Are you wondering what happened to your golden years? Those younger days? (She reveals another poster, this one showing a man holding the cream and going from an older version of the skinny fellow to younger and buffer) Find the Fountain of Youth! Our new line of skin care products will shave of 20 years of your life! 20! You'll feel like a new person! And it can be used by men or by women!

Man: You'll never feel the same after you've used (reveals a third poster, this one showing a man and a woman in front of a vanity, both of them laughing and holding the jar of cream) Fountain of Youth Skin Care Cream!

Blossom: We will now take questions from the press.

Reporter #1: Will this eventually be available in all stores, or just in upscale boutiques?

Blossom: For now, it'll only sell in high-end clothing stores, but should be available in most department stores by the end of the year.

Reporter #2: When are you going to unveil the Fountain of Youth Cream to the general public>

Blossom: That'll be next week, at our Moonglow Garden Party fashion show. I'll be showing it off to select guests tonight at my Garden of Youth party at my mansion in Beverly Hills.

Emma: (Shoves her way to the front) Miss Lilyfair, is there any truth to the rumors that factory workers have disappeared after testing Fountain of Youth Skin Cream in your factory here in Los Angeles?

Blossom: (Narrows her eyes, but then remembers the cameras and preens) Hardly. Our factories are among the most efficiently run in the United States. Those people took extended vacations.

Emma: (Mutters under her breath) I'll bet. (Out loud) What about the skin cream?

Reporter #3: There have been rumors that the cream may cause itching, rashes, or even blindness.

Reporter #4: Is that why you're not putting out to the general public now?

Blossom: What is this, the Inquisition?

Man: Allow me, Miss Blossom. (Clears his throat) We've done extensive testing on the Fountain of Youth. There are no adverse reactions. We're using the boutiques in the Los Angeles and New York area as a trial run.

Blossom: And that's all, gentlemen. You'll find out more at the Garden Party fashion show next week.

(The male reporters follow the young man, but Blossom heads to Valerie.)

Blossom: Valerie? Valerie Cartwright?

Valerie: Hello, Blossom. How are you?

Blossom: Well, well! Time certainly has been kind to you! (Frowns at the girls) Who are the...ahem...young women with you?

Valerie: Oh, these are friends of mine. This is Mrs. Emma Nesmith of the Malibu Beach Register, Mrs. Daphne Jones, and Mrs. Lauren Dolenz.

Blossom: (Wrinkles her nose at Lauren's jeans and sneakers) Um, nice to meet you.

Lauren: *raises an eyebrow* Yeah, ditto that.

Daphne: *forces a smile; nods* Nice to meet you.

Emma: Miss Lilyfair, I'd like to do an interview with you on your company and the new Fountain of Youth line of skin care creams.

Blossom: (Forces a smile of her own...but then it turns genuine) Oh, I have a wonderful idea! Why don't you all come to my party tonight? We can mix business with pleasure.

Valerie: I don't know, Blossom. I have Headquarters work, and I...

Blossom: Valerie, you can't hide yourself in some dusty office for...what did you call it?

Valerie: Headquarters. My music company.

Blossom: Headquarters. What a charming name for a music company! Really cute. Perhaps, as women of business, we can trade tips tonight?

Valerie: (Sighs) Why not? I'll come. I haven't been to a black-tie party in a long time.

Blossom: Why don't you and Mrs. Neshwash...

Emma: Nesmith...

Blossom: ...Bring your little friends as well? As long as they're dressed properly, of course.

Emma: (Growls) What do you mean?

Daphne: What?

*Lauren's eyes narrow.*

Blossom: Oh, this is a very fancy affair! It's small, but very top-tier. We'll be having the Biltmore Jazz Quartet around 7, and there will be only the best people. (Smirks at Lauren) Your little friends would love to meet celebrities, I'm sure. It'll be a small crowd, just about a hundred or so, but so posh! You can manage posh, I assume?

Lauren: *wrinkles her own nose* We haven't met a posh YET that we haven't been able to manage.

Daphne: *grins* Yeah!

Blossom: That's so marvelous! I'll be wearing that divine lavender Channel frock I bought last month in New York and those adorable shoes that look like something out of a Busby Berkley musical! I assume you ladies all have something you can wear in the back of your little closets?

Emma: We'll do just fine, thank YOU.

Valerie: I have a yellow Dior that might be suitable...

Lauren: *mutters* I got something at the back of my closet...

*Daphne clamps a hand over Lauren's mouth and smiles innocently.*

Blossom: (Ignores Lauren; smiles again) I'll be seeing all of you ladies at 8. And we'll all liberated women here, so there's no need for an escort. I bring my own men. (She waves at the girls as she leaves) Ta-ta, ladies! Tonight at 8!

Lauren: Did you see how she kept looking at me?

Emma: (Growls) Yes, I saw how she looked at you, Lauren, and I didn't like it. I also didn't like how she kept evading my questions at the press conference, or any questions that involved the missing workers. (To Valerie) Can I hurt Blossom? Just a little?

Valerie: No. As much as I wish you both could, if we want to get to the bottom of this mystery, we have to begin with her, and that means putting up with her bullshit.

Daphne: *folds her arms* She sure could a good kick in the keister.

Lauren: *mutters* She's never seen jeans and sneakers before?

Valerie: Not unless she's playing racquetball or tennis at her usual country club in Beverly Hills.

Emma: (Growls) We're all going to go to that party tonight. If Honeywell wants us to dig up the dirt on her, we're going to damn well do it. That woman needs more than a kick in the keister. She needs to be taken down about a zillion notches.

Valerie: (Sighs) She's not unlike Sheila in that she's not used to not getting her own way. It was the way she was raised.

Lauren: Yeah, well, I ain't bowing down at her feet.

Emma: I'm not going to let Sheila have what she wants, and I'm not going to let Miss Blossom Lilyfair have that satisfaction, either. (Makes a face) And what kind of a name is Blossom Lilyfair?

Valerie: (Rolls her eyes) The name of her first husband, a horticulturist who developed some of her first perfumes. Her given name is Sweet. And yes, her first name really is Blossom. Her father collected rare flowers as a hobby, but he always said his choicest blossom was his own little girl.

Emma: (Sighs) Let's get back home. If we're going to go to this thing, we have to check up on Davy and Micky and warn Mike that he and the guys are going to have the kids for a bit longer.

(Cut to a ritzy street in Beverly Hills. We are once again in Rosemarie. This time, it's dark outside. The women can be seen in the lights of the street lamps. Valerie wears a fairly simple yellow gown, her auburn hair piled on top of her head with a genuine topaz clip. She carries a matching yellow handbag.)

Emma: (Wears a red sequined dress with a zig-zag hem, red shoes, and carries a black purse with rhinestones) Valerie, how much further?

Valerie: We're almost there. Blossom's mansion isn't far from Dad's. That's how she got to know Dad in the first place. They've been neighbors for years.

*Daphne wears a royal blue sleeveless dress with matching high heels. Lauren wears a plain black wrap dress. She sits with her arms folded and one foot under her. She has simple black flat shoes.*

Valerie: Here it is! (They pull into an elaborate Victorian-style mansion) This is one of the oldest homes in Beverly Hills. Wiliam Sweet bought it when the original owners lost most of their money to the Depression. (She pulls up to a line of cars on a flower-decorated circular drive) The gardens are spectacular. William Sweet loved his gardens more than anything else except for his daughter.

(They pull up in front of the house. A young girl valet takes the keys from Valerie and drives Rosemarie over to a huge, grassy lot near the back of the house. All four women follow the crowd into the house. An older woman in a dapper suit stands at the door.)

Woman: (Looks at Valerie's card) Ah yes, Ms. Valerie Cartwright and guests. Right across the main hall and to the left, ladies. The Garden Party is in the main ballroom that overlooks the Summer Gardens.

Valerie: Em and I will go to the party and talk to Blossom. Daphne, you and Lauren search the rooms. Start upstairs. They're less likely to be used. Watch out for the servants, though. There might be people cleaning upstairs while everyone is busy down here.

Daphne: Right. *nods*

Lauren: Okay.

(The camera follows Valerie and Emma into the ballroom. It's a large, ornate square room, more so than the similar ballroom set in the Montgomery House. Blossom, wearing the lavender taffeta gown she described, a large amethyst necklace, and more makeup, waves Valerie over.)

Blossom: Hello, ladies! How nice of you to be able to come! Where's your little (smile gets a bit pasty here) friends? Couldn't find anything appropriate for something so posh?

Valerie: They're here, just not with us at the moment.

Emma: (Growls under her breath) I'll get you appropriate...

Blossom: Why don't you try some of the hors' d'oveures? They're bacon and mushroom. Made by Andre's Petit Belles, one of the premiere caterers to the stars in Hollywood.

Emma: Actually, Mrs. Lilyfair, I have a few questions for you...

Blossom: MS Lilyfair, please. I may take my first husband's name in vain, but never in public.

Emma: Miss Lilyfair, what made you develop the Fountain of Youth line?

Blossom: As you may know, I just turned 33 last year...

Emma: I thought you were turning 49.

Blossom: (Makes a face) I'm not getting any younger, and neither are most of my clientele. I thought it was time to turn back the clock, so to speak. This product will give their faces, bodies, and spirits a lift, without the expense or guilt of surgery.

Emma: What about those factory workers? Have you compensated their families for their time off?

Blossom: Of course I have!

Emma: You claimed there were no side effects to this anti-aging cream.

Blossom: None whatsoever.

Emma: I'd be interested in seeing your factory. I want to check this claim of yours.

Blossom: I assure you, all of our products are guaranteed. They work the way we claim they do, or your money back.

Emma: Yes, but can you guarantee the products won't cause some kind of adverse reaction, like a rash or blindness or worse?

Blossom: What are you implying, Mrs. Nesmith?

Emma: I'm not implying anything, Miss Lilyfair. Just asking questions.

Blossom: (Smiles again) Yes, well, why don't I tell you about our big Garden Fashion Show next week? I'm sure your paper would like to cover THAT. It'll be a wonderful launch for both my skin creams and for several major designer’s spring lines. You'll love it! You could even bring those cute little friends of yours! Perhaps they could find something much more suitable to their figures than those...ensembles...they had on this afternoon.

Emma: (Makes a face) I'll add the date to my calendar.

(A tall, handsome blond man comes up to Blossom and whispers in her ear. She grins.)

Blossom: Thank you, Robert dear. You are such an animal! (She turns to Emma and Valerie) I'll be back in a few moments, ladies. Ta-ta! Enjoy the party!

Emma: (Eyes widen) Holy shit, why didn't someone tell me Robert Redford was at this party!

(Emma goes over to Valerie, who chats with two other men in tuxes.)

*The men bid farewell to Valerie, then she turns.*

Emma: Hey, Val. Who are you chatting up?

Valerie: Moonglow Cosmetics executives. *shakes her head* Didn't get much out of them.

Emma: Blossom's hiding something. She keeps going on about her dumb fashion show and how her skin creams will make everyone younger, but she won't talk about the factory rumors at all.

(The women are joined by Inspector Honeywell, dressed in a slightly too-large tuxedo.)

Inspector Honeywell: Hello, Mrs. Thorkleson, Mrs. Nesmith. Have you found out anything?

Valerie: Not much, yet.

Inspector Honeywell: Where's Mrs. Dolenz and Mrs. Jones?

Emma: (Grins) Upstairs, doing spy stuff. ;)

Inspector Honeywell: I hope they're careful. I know Miss Lilyfair has security guards. I saw a pack of them walk upstairs, and there's more around the ballroom. Just look for the men in the dark suits that aren't tuxes.

Emma: Security guards? (Looks at Valerie) I wonder if we should warn them.

Valerie: We could, but then we'd also run the risk of them being caught due to us contacting them...

Inspector Honeywell: They don't know me. I'll go upstairs and warn them. You ladies stay here and continue to question the guests and see if you can get more out of Miss Lilyfair.

Emma: We don't have much of a choice. Blossom DOES know us.

Valerie: You're right.

Inspector Honeywell: I'll contact the rest of you after the party. If worst comes to worst, I'll call in my men, but hopefully it shouldn't be necessary. (He heads for the hallway)

Emma: (Shakes her head) I don't know if sending him after the girls was a good idea. Those security guards will make mincemeat out of him.

Valerie: And do so easily.

Emma: I'd say one of us should go after him, but they may recognize us. (Nods at the party) Why don't we eat first, then see what we can do?

Valerie: I like that idea. Let’s go.

(The girls head for the nearest waiter as we fade out.)