Read Online Untimely Death by Elizabeth J. Duncan - Free Book Online
Authors: Elizabeth J. Duncan
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keep. If you can. There might not even be a port for a USB drive. I’m surprised that dinosaur still works. Do you ever use it?”
“Not very often,” Charlotte admitted. “It takes all morning just to warm up, and when it’s finally up and running, it can’t do very much. You’re right. There may be old inventory information stored on it, so why don’t you check it out, copy anything you think might be useful, and then we might as well scrap it. It’s just taking up space.”
She gave him an encouraging smile. “You might just be the breath of fresh air we so desperately need around here.”
She pointed at the dressing screen. “Juliet’s act-one dress. We won’t make any alterations until we know if Lauren’s going to rejoin the cast, so you can put it back in wardrobe storage for now.” Aaron stood up, taking his coffee with him.
“No, no!” she cried. “All food and drinks must stay well away from the costumes, fabrics, worktables. I wasn’t at all happy when Lauren left that open can of energy drink on the worktable, but I didn’t want to say anythingto her about it, although I should have. A spilled drink can ruin a garment. We can’t risk it. I thought they would have taught you that at your fancy design school.”
He set the coffee down with a sheepish, apologetic grin. “They probably did and I forgot. It makes sense.”
“Did they also mention hand washing? Did you know the embroiderers who worked on the royal wedding dress washed their hands every thirty minutes and changed their needles every three hours to keep everything pristine?”
“I did not know that,” said Aaron.
“And be careful when you lift the dress off the screen. Lift being the operative word. Use both hands. Don’t drag it. If you do, you risk snagging it. And for some reason, it’s easier to retrieve it off the same side of the screen as it was placed, so go round the back.”
He disappeared behind the screen, and a moment later, the dress was gone. He reappeared with it draped over his right arm and carrying a black purse in his left hand.
“Look what I found,” he said, holding the bag up and away from his body. Charlotte groaned and gave her forehead a little smack.
“Of course! I should have thought. It’ll be Lauren’s. Here, give it to me. The police are looking for that bag.”
Aaron’s eyebrows shot up and he frowned. “They are? Why?”
“Simon told the cast this morning that she’d had an overdose of something, but they’re not sure yet what it was, or how or why.” She shrugged. “They don’t know much yet. I’d have thought your uncle would have told you all this. He called the hospital last night and they told him.”
She took the bag from him.
“Are you going to open it?” he asked.
“Just to check and make sure it’s hers.”
The bag was an ordinary Michael Kors tote bag. Not wildly expensive, but with its gold fob and tassel, it was nice enough. Charlotte unzipped it, peered inside, and retrieved a small wallet. She opened it and examined a New York State driver’s license. She pursed her lips, made a little noise, and then read out the name on the license: “Leah Patricia Kaplan.”
“That’s her,” said Aaron. “Lauren Richmond’s just her stage name.”
“Tell me about her,” Charlotte said. “You mentioned yesterday that you didn’t understand how your uncle could have hired her. What did you mean by that? How do you know her?”
“We knew her in high school,” Aaron replied. “She was in the same class as my cousin. She, Leah that is, was the leader of the mean girls. Picked on other girls they didn’t like. Girls who were better looking or younger and smarter than they were. They singled out my cousin and they made her life a living hell. They bullied her todeath, really. She stopped going to school, kept herself in her room, but still they kept on at her. In the end, she killed herself.”
“Oh, Aaron, that’s terrible. I’m so sorry to hear
“Not very often,” Charlotte admitted. “It takes all morning just to warm up, and when it’s finally up and running, it can’t do very much. You’re right. There may be old inventory information stored on it, so why don’t you check it out, copy anything you think might be useful, and then we might as well scrap it. It’s just taking up space.”
She gave him an encouraging smile. “You might just be the breath of fresh air we so desperately need around here.”
She pointed at the dressing screen. “Juliet’s act-one dress. We won’t make any alterations until we know if Lauren’s going to rejoin the cast, so you can put it back in wardrobe storage for now.” Aaron stood up, taking his coffee with him.
“No, no!” she cried. “All food and drinks must stay well away from the costumes, fabrics, worktables. I wasn’t at all happy when Lauren left that open can of energy drink on the worktable, but I didn’t want to say anythingto her about it, although I should have. A spilled drink can ruin a garment. We can’t risk it. I thought they would have taught you that at your fancy design school.”
He set the coffee down with a sheepish, apologetic grin. “They probably did and I forgot. It makes sense.”
“Did they also mention hand washing? Did you know the embroiderers who worked on the royal wedding dress washed their hands every thirty minutes and changed their needles every three hours to keep everything pristine?”
“I did not know that,” said Aaron.
“And be careful when you lift the dress off the screen. Lift being the operative word. Use both hands. Don’t drag it. If you do, you risk snagging it. And for some reason, it’s easier to retrieve it off the same side of the screen as it was placed, so go round the back.”
He disappeared behind the screen, and a moment later, the dress was gone. He reappeared with it draped over his right arm and carrying a black purse in his left hand.
“Look what I found,” he said, holding the bag up and away from his body. Charlotte groaned and gave her forehead a little smack.
“Of course! I should have thought. It’ll be Lauren’s. Here, give it to me. The police are looking for that bag.”
Aaron’s eyebrows shot up and he frowned. “They are? Why?”
“Simon told the cast this morning that she’d had an overdose of something, but they’re not sure yet what it was, or how or why.” She shrugged. “They don’t know much yet. I’d have thought your uncle would have told you all this. He called the hospital last night and they told him.”
She took the bag from him.
“Are you going to open it?” he asked.
“Just to check and make sure it’s hers.”
The bag was an ordinary Michael Kors tote bag. Not wildly expensive, but with its gold fob and tassel, it was nice enough. Charlotte unzipped it, peered inside, and retrieved a small wallet. She opened it and examined a New York State driver’s license. She pursed her lips, made a little noise, and then read out the name on the license: “Leah Patricia Kaplan.”
“That’s her,” said Aaron. “Lauren Richmond’s just her stage name.”
“Tell me about her,” Charlotte said. “You mentioned yesterday that you didn’t understand how your uncle could have hired her. What did you mean by that? How do you know her?”
“We knew her in high school,” Aaron replied. “She was in the same class as my cousin. She, Leah that is, was the leader of the mean girls. Picked on other girls they didn’t like. Girls who were better looking or younger and smarter than they were. They singled out my cousin and they made her life a living hell. They bullied her todeath, really. She stopped going to school, kept herself in her room, but still they kept on at her. In the end, she killed herself.”
“Oh, Aaron, that’s terrible. I’m so sorry to hear
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