A Scarlet Death by Elaine Viets

Author:Elaine Viets [Elaine Viets]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House
Published: 2023-12-18T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-ONE

Finally, Zoe cried herself out. She dried her tear-reddened eyes with a tissue and sniffled a bit. Jace and I had been waiting for her to stop crying. It seemed to take forever, but Jace was more patient than me.

In a gentle voice, he asked, ‘Zoe, can you help us find your sister’s killer by answering some questions?’

She nodded her head yes.

‘How many people did your sister date from the website?’

Zoe twisted the tear-stained tissue in her hands as she talked. ‘At first, she went out on lots of dates – as many as ten in a month. If the men weren’t generous – by that, I mean if they didn’t give her money or buy her gifts – she dropped them.’

‘Did any of those men threaten your sister when she didn’t see them again?’ Jace was jotting notes.

Zoe thought for a minute. ‘No. She never mentioned anything to me. I don’t think she formed an attachment to any of them. When she turned them down, it wasn’t a big deal. There are so many women on that website, it didn’t make much difference. The men would move on.

‘Then Chloe met Selwyn, and they made some kind of arrangement. She would only date Selwyn. As I said, he paid her rent and gave her generous gifts. She said it wasn’t demanding work and it paid well.’

‘Did she know that Selwyn was married?’ Jace asked. He kept all trace of disapproval out of his voice.

‘They’re all married, Detective.’ Zoe said that with a hint of scorn, as if Jace was naive. ‘My sister said that site was a place for married men to hook up. Selwyn said he was in a loveless, sexless marriage.’

‘Selwyn was telling the truth,’ Jace said. ‘We talked to his wife. Mrs Skipton said her husband was finished with sex.’

‘No, she was finished with sex,’ Zoe said. ‘At least according to my sister.’

‘Did your sister say anything else about her time with Selwyn? Anything that stands out?’

Zoe thought for a moment. ‘Well, she told me he had a private apartment over the chocolate shop in downtown Chouteau Forest, and she had to go in by the back entrance. The place had a huge bed and paintings that looked like museum art. He liked black satin sheets. The apartment was stocked with champagne and chocolate and he always had a cold supper for her. Selwyn wanted her to wear lingerie that he bought for her. My sister said it was an elegant life and way better than shoveling fries in the hot, greasy school cafeteria.’ Zoe shrugged her shoulders. ‘I couldn’t argue with that, but I couldn’t see how she could be a kept woman.’

Zoe started to cry again, and reached for more tissues. I hurried to find a bottle of cold water in the mini-fridge and handed it to her. When she quit crying, she sipped the water while she talked.

‘Can you tell us more about your sister’s friend, the one who looked like her?’ Jace asked.

‘You mean Wendy Raymond? I think she was about our age – twenty-one or twenty-two.

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