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Authors: Laina Turner
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recognize her from the fashion show fitting. I just don’t remember her name.”
I walked up to where Yvette was to see who she was talking about. “That’s Belle. One of Veronica’s friends. She’s not on our VIP list. I didn’t meet her until that night and I didn’t ask the ladies if they wanted to sign up. I thought that would be tacky. I wonder how she found out.”
“Who cares, maybe she will buy something and that’s the important thing,” Anna said.
“Good point,” I said and opened the door to welcome her in. “Hi Belle, welcome to Silk. So glad you could make it,” I said in my sweetest voice. “Can I offer you a drink?” I asked and ran down the list of offerings.
“Cider would be wonderful,” she replied and Yvette quickly placed one in her hand.
“Everything is twenty percent off even sales items so pull out that credit card.”
“No news on Ronnie’s brooch?” Belle asked me when I opened the fitting room door for her a few minutes later arms full of clothes to try on. She may not have been invited but I was sure glad she had come. Even if she only bought a fraction of what she had to try on right now it would make today a success.
I was also surprised she was out shopping so soon after her friend’s murder and was so casually bringing up the theft as if the murder hadn’t happened. But people processed grief in different ways. I’m glad she’d brought it up though. It gave me the opening I was looking for.
“No but now it doesn’t really matter. I’m sorry for your loss, Belle. I know you and Veronica were close.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “Thank you. I just wish she would have had a chance to wear that brooch.”
“I know. She loved that piece.”
“She didn’t love that piece as much as she loved sticking it to her husband,” she said, her attitude completely changing and I wondered how much of the spiked cider she’d consumed while out on the sales floor. That was a pretty cold thing to say about someone who just was murdered and who was supposedly your friend and to go from tears to almost hostility within a matter of seconds... wow.
“What do you mean?”
“Craig was divorcing her. He didn’t know that Ronnie already knew. The stupid paralegal at the law firm Craig was using sent over documents meant for Craig but were addressed to Ronnie.”
“Oh.” I didn’t even know what to say to that which didn’t seem to matter because Belle was clearly in a mood to talk as she kept on going without any prompting from me.
“Ronnie was livid. She had thought for a while he was having an affair but honestly she didn’t care so much. She had her own interests, if you know what I mean, and she liked Craig’s money enough to want to continue her life the way it was. As long as he didn’t flaunt his affair in her face it didn’t seem to bother her.”
People never failed to surprise me. I don’t care how much money Cooper had if he was cheating I could never turn a blind eye. I couldn’t live that way but each to his own.
“So Craig didn’t know that Veronica knew he had filed for divorce?” I asked.
“Not according to the last time I talked to him.”
“Oh are you friends with Craig?” I asked, thinking that seemed a little strange. Not that couples couldn’t both be friends with someone but this wasn’t the topic that I would think a guy would discuss with a women who was friends with his wife. It seemed to cross a few lines in my book.
Belle paused and then resumed talking. “Not really. I just assumed by the way he acted last time I saw them together he didn’t know. Maybe he did,” she said casually.
Something seemed off here. Besides the fact that her friend was just murdered and it didn’t seem to faze her all that much but she was also willing to casually gossip about Veronica’s marriage. Belle almost acted like Veronica’s murder wasn’t any big deal. It was just weird. I saw Katy at the front of the fitting rooms
I walked up to where Yvette was to see who she was talking about. “That’s Belle. One of Veronica’s friends. She’s not on our VIP list. I didn’t meet her until that night and I didn’t ask the ladies if they wanted to sign up. I thought that would be tacky. I wonder how she found out.”
“Who cares, maybe she will buy something and that’s the important thing,” Anna said.
“Good point,” I said and opened the door to welcome her in. “Hi Belle, welcome to Silk. So glad you could make it,” I said in my sweetest voice. “Can I offer you a drink?” I asked and ran down the list of offerings.
“Cider would be wonderful,” she replied and Yvette quickly placed one in her hand.
“Everything is twenty percent off even sales items so pull out that credit card.”
“No news on Ronnie’s brooch?” Belle asked me when I opened the fitting room door for her a few minutes later arms full of clothes to try on. She may not have been invited but I was sure glad she had come. Even if she only bought a fraction of what she had to try on right now it would make today a success.
I was also surprised she was out shopping so soon after her friend’s murder and was so casually bringing up the theft as if the murder hadn’t happened. But people processed grief in different ways. I’m glad she’d brought it up though. It gave me the opening I was looking for.
“No but now it doesn’t really matter. I’m sorry for your loss, Belle. I know you and Veronica were close.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “Thank you. I just wish she would have had a chance to wear that brooch.”
“I know. She loved that piece.”
“She didn’t love that piece as much as she loved sticking it to her husband,” she said, her attitude completely changing and I wondered how much of the spiked cider she’d consumed while out on the sales floor. That was a pretty cold thing to say about someone who just was murdered and who was supposedly your friend and to go from tears to almost hostility within a matter of seconds... wow.
“What do you mean?”
“Craig was divorcing her. He didn’t know that Ronnie already knew. The stupid paralegal at the law firm Craig was using sent over documents meant for Craig but were addressed to Ronnie.”
“Oh.” I didn’t even know what to say to that which didn’t seem to matter because Belle was clearly in a mood to talk as she kept on going without any prompting from me.
“Ronnie was livid. She had thought for a while he was having an affair but honestly she didn’t care so much. She had her own interests, if you know what I mean, and she liked Craig’s money enough to want to continue her life the way it was. As long as he didn’t flaunt his affair in her face it didn’t seem to bother her.”
People never failed to surprise me. I don’t care how much money Cooper had if he was cheating I could never turn a blind eye. I couldn’t live that way but each to his own.
“So Craig didn’t know that Veronica knew he had filed for divorce?” I asked.
“Not according to the last time I talked to him.”
“Oh are you friends with Craig?” I asked, thinking that seemed a little strange. Not that couples couldn’t both be friends with someone but this wasn’t the topic that I would think a guy would discuss with a women who was friends with his wife. It seemed to cross a few lines in my book.
Belle paused and then resumed talking. “Not really. I just assumed by the way he acted last time I saw them together he didn’t know. Maybe he did,” she said casually.
Something seemed off here. Besides the fact that her friend was just murdered and it didn’t seem to faze her all that much but she was also willing to casually gossip about Veronica’s marriage. Belle almost acted like Veronica’s murder wasn’t any big deal. It was just weird. I saw Katy at the front of the fitting rooms
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