house,
closed the door, and then led them into the living room. “I made a
pot of tea, help yourselves.” She gestured at a silver tea service
on the coffee table then took a chair opposite the sofa.
Dara couldn’t miss the bright pink color of
her toenails. “Great color.”
Georgette giggled. “Roxanne just left.”
Dara mentally sighed. Of course her
cosmetologist made house calls.
“Are you guys okay?” Georgette’s brow
wrinkled, freshly-waxed no doubt.
“I’m good,” Marnie kicked off her sandals and
tucked her bare feet under her. “Dara’s still jittery.”
“Of course.” Georgette nodded. “I would’ve
had to be sedated.” Her bright blue eyes focused on Dara and then
widened. “You’re not staying there, are you?”
“No, Mace hasn’t released the crime
scene.”
“Mace?”
“Dara’s new squeeze,” Marnie drawled.
Dara shook her head. “ Detective Turner
is supposed to let me know when I can return.”
“You know Dara, this is great incentive for
plotting.”
“So I’ve heard.” She bit her lip. “Do you
know any viable suspects?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Georgette shrugged.
“Evelyn has quite a reputation.”
“I didn’t know her personally. Do you think
maybe she was just misunderstood?”
“No.” Georgette’s eyes darkened and for half
a second, Dara thought she saw the devil dance on her eyeballs.
Marnie leaned forward. “Do tell.”
“You remember Tom,” Georgette continued.
Dara nodded. “Your ex-husband.”
“Yes. Evelyn knew him intimately.”
Marnie’s jaw dropped. “No way.”
Georgette nodded. “Thus, the divorce. I got
my review six weeks later.”
“It wasn’t pretty,” Dara mumbled.
“No,” Georgette agreed, “but it didn’t take
long for her to turn her attention to someone else, both
professionally and personally.”
Dara sighed. “Honestly Georgette, this murder
is harder to plot than any novel I’ve ever written.”
“Murder 101 – look for suspects with a
motive.” Georgette shrugged. “Problem is, there’s literally at
least one hundred people with motive. Including you and me.”
“Exactly,” Dara agreed, “except I have an
airtight alibi and I know for a fact you do too.”
Georgette smirked. “You’ve been surfing,
haven’t you?”
“I saw the invitation to your podcast in my
inbox. I’m sorry I missed it.”
“That’s the beauty of the Internet – it won’t
be live, but you can catch it until the end of the month.”
“Maybe she had something on ole Tom,” Marnie
suggested.
“That thought did cross my mind,” Georgette
admitted, “but it doesn’t make any sense to believe Tom would kill
her in Dara’s home.”
“Unless he meant to use the review to cast
suspicion on her and off himself.”
“I don’t think so. Research tells me that
whoever killed Evelyn probably knows Dara and her daily
habits.”
“That’s just creepy, Georgette,” Dara
mumbled.
“Sorry, but unless you’ve interacted with Tom
socially, how would he have known you weren’t home at the time of
the murder?”
“I’ve only dealt with Tom professionally.
Besides, Tom has a reputation to uphold and surely the editor of
the Primrose Daily Chronicle wouldn’t murder the woman who helped
sell newspapers. Obviously whoever murdered Evelyn knew me too, but
again, that could be scads of people.”
“We could narrow it down by those who knew
and interacted with both of you but the suspects would still be
numerous. The police have their work cut out for them.”
“I still can’t figure out how the killer
entered my townhouse.”
“Plot it out, Dara. How would your villain do
it?”
“The most suspenseful way would be to use a
key.”
“Okay, so who has access to a key to your
home?”
“Only Marnie and she was with me the whole
night.”
“What about maintenance?”
“No, I own my house. Only the HOA has a
spare.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“How accessible is the copy?”
“Not
closed the door, and then led them into the living room. “I made a
pot of tea, help yourselves.” She gestured at a silver tea service
on the coffee table then took a chair opposite the sofa.
Dara couldn’t miss the bright pink color of
her toenails. “Great color.”
Georgette giggled. “Roxanne just left.”
Dara mentally sighed. Of course her
cosmetologist made house calls.
“Are you guys okay?” Georgette’s brow
wrinkled, freshly-waxed no doubt.
“I’m good,” Marnie kicked off her sandals and
tucked her bare feet under her. “Dara’s still jittery.”
“Of course.” Georgette nodded. “I would’ve
had to be sedated.” Her bright blue eyes focused on Dara and then
widened. “You’re not staying there, are you?”
“No, Mace hasn’t released the crime
scene.”
“Mace?”
“Dara’s new squeeze,” Marnie drawled.
Dara shook her head. “ Detective Turner
is supposed to let me know when I can return.”
“You know Dara, this is great incentive for
plotting.”
“So I’ve heard.” She bit her lip. “Do you
know any viable suspects?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Georgette shrugged.
“Evelyn has quite a reputation.”
“I didn’t know her personally. Do you think
maybe she was just misunderstood?”
“No.” Georgette’s eyes darkened and for half
a second, Dara thought she saw the devil dance on her eyeballs.
Marnie leaned forward. “Do tell.”
“You remember Tom,” Georgette continued.
Dara nodded. “Your ex-husband.”
“Yes. Evelyn knew him intimately.”
Marnie’s jaw dropped. “No way.”
Georgette nodded. “Thus, the divorce. I got
my review six weeks later.”
“It wasn’t pretty,” Dara mumbled.
“No,” Georgette agreed, “but it didn’t take
long for her to turn her attention to someone else, both
professionally and personally.”
Dara sighed. “Honestly Georgette, this murder
is harder to plot than any novel I’ve ever written.”
“Murder 101 – look for suspects with a
motive.” Georgette shrugged. “Problem is, there’s literally at
least one hundred people with motive. Including you and me.”
“Exactly,” Dara agreed, “except I have an
airtight alibi and I know for a fact you do too.”
Georgette smirked. “You’ve been surfing,
haven’t you?”
“I saw the invitation to your podcast in my
inbox. I’m sorry I missed it.”
“That’s the beauty of the Internet – it won’t
be live, but you can catch it until the end of the month.”
“Maybe she had something on ole Tom,” Marnie
suggested.
“That thought did cross my mind,” Georgette
admitted, “but it doesn’t make any sense to believe Tom would kill
her in Dara’s home.”
“Unless he meant to use the review to cast
suspicion on her and off himself.”
“I don’t think so. Research tells me that
whoever killed Evelyn probably knows Dara and her daily
habits.”
“That’s just creepy, Georgette,” Dara
mumbled.
“Sorry, but unless you’ve interacted with Tom
socially, how would he have known you weren’t home at the time of
the murder?”
“I’ve only dealt with Tom professionally.
Besides, Tom has a reputation to uphold and surely the editor of
the Primrose Daily Chronicle wouldn’t murder the woman who helped
sell newspapers. Obviously whoever murdered Evelyn knew me too, but
again, that could be scads of people.”
“We could narrow it down by those who knew
and interacted with both of you but the suspects would still be
numerous. The police have their work cut out for them.”
“I still can’t figure out how the killer
entered my townhouse.”
“Plot it out, Dara. How would your villain do
it?”
“The most suspenseful way would be to use a
key.”
“Okay, so who has access to a key to your
home?”
“Only Marnie and she was with me the whole
night.”
“What about maintenance?”
“No, I own my house. Only the HOA has a
spare.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“How accessible is the copy?”
“Not
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