Read Online Homicide in High Heels by Gemma Halliday - Free Book Online Page B

fleshy cheeks to the bags growing
under his eyes.
    "You don't look so hot," I said
honestly.
    "I don't feel so hot. I was up all night
reading the L.A. Informer 's sensational take on our
salon."
    I cringed. I could just imagine the field
day the tabloid was having with the Tanning Salon Murder.
    "Maybe you should close the salon for a bit
and take some time off?" I suggested.
    But he shook his head violently. "No way. We
need to show the world a brave face and carry on."
    While I wasn't sure just how much bravery
was involved in doing cut and colors, I nodded. "I understand."
    "Is Ramirez making any headway on the case?"
he asked, sitting at the empty table next to me.
    "We're, uh, working on it," I hedged. I
didn't have the heart to tell him that Ramirez was out, and I was
now his best chance at clearing the salon's image. Instead, I
changed the subject. "Actually, I wanted to ask you a couple of
questions about Lacey."
    "Sure, though I'm not sure what I can tell
you that I didn't tell the police."
    "Did Lacey talk about Bucky much?"
    Faux Dad pursed his lips, his eyes narrowing
as he contemplated the question. "Some. I mean, everyone chats a
little while they're getting foiled and highlighted. But nothing
out of the ordinary."
    "What about any arguments or disagreements
between them? Any trouble in paradise lately?"
    But Faux Dad shook his head. "Nothing she
confided in me." He paused. "Why? Do you think Bucky killed
her?"
    "It's possible. Someone said she saw them
fighting a few days before Lacey was killed."
    Faux Dad perked up.
    "But," I added, trying not to get his hopes
up too high, "Bucky may have an alibi."
    "Oh." His jowls sagged back into a
frown.
    "Ralph, Lacey seems to have been spending an
awful lot lately," I said, switching gears. "Can you tell me what
kind of credit she was using here?"
    Faux Dad shook his head. "Marco handles
payments." He hailed the receptionist in question over, repeating
my question to him.
    "Oh, Lacey didn't pay with credit," Marco
told us. "It was cash."
    I paused. I'll admit, that was the last
thing I'd been expecting to hear. "Wait—she paid cash. Like, actual
greenbacks?"
    He nodded. "I know. No one does that
anymore, right?"
    "Exactly how much cash was she throwing
around here?" I asked them.
    Faux Dad shrugged. "A lot."
    "I guess I just assumed it was Bucky's,"
Marco added.
    I bit my lip. I could see shop owners all
over Beverly Hills assuming the same thing. Only, they'd all be
wrong.
    "Bucky didn't have that kind of money yet.
Did she give any indication of where else she might have gotten
it?" I grasped.
    "I didn't ask," Marco admitted.
    "I know she did work at a clothing
boutique," Faux Dad piped up.
    "Right. Liz DeCicco's place, Bellissima." I
bit my lip. But I knew from my brunch with the Baseball Wives that
Lacey hadn't been making bank at the boutique as a mere employee . So where had she gotten the money?
    "Who has that much cash ?" I mused out
loud. I'd be hard pressed to find more than a twenty in my own
wallet. Anything above-board and legal was all credit, debit, or
direct deposit these days.
    Marco raised his hand in the air like a kid
in the back of the classroom. "Ooo, ooo, I know! A stripper! Ling
always has stacks of twenties."
    I pause. " Stacks of twenties?" I was
seriously in the wrong profession.
    "Maybe Lacey was working the pole, Bucky
found out about it, and killed her," Marco said, running with his
theory.
    I scrunched up my nose. "I don't know. I
doubt that she'd be so public about being Bucky's girlfriend if she
had some secret life like that. I mean, it would take all of five
seconds for someone at the tabloids to follow her around for a day
and figure out she was a dancer, right?"
    Marco's shoulders slumped. "Good point."
    "Okay, so she wasn't stripping. What was she
doing?"
    "Do you think the Baseball Wives show
gave her an advance?" Faux Dad asked. "I mean, she talked about the
show all the time. She said the producers were thinking about
putting