Blue Christmas Bones by Carolyn Haines

Author:Carolyn Haines
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

22

Once I sat down with my phone, the list of names, and contact phone numbers provided by Grace’s assistant out in Los Angeles, I was a little shocked at how many far-flung places the Boyfriend Boot Camp competitors came from. I had assumed, wrongly, that most would claim the LA area as home. I figured local contestants would be sought after, just as a cost cutting device. I was wrong about all of it.

The men and women who were willing to publicly humiliate themselves on national TV came from small towns and big cities all over the country—even two from Mississippi. Those were the ones I settled on first. Means, motive, and opportunity were big elements of a crime. Living near Tupelo certainly gave these two contestants the opportunity to steal the belt, and the show might have given them motive to harm Grace.

Coleman was still with Yuma, and Tinkie was in her room working the phone on the list of jilted lovers. She had one real possibility, but so far Rupert Crown, a banker from Jackson, wasn’t answering. Tinkie was eliminating the other names.

My best suspects on paper were Bonnie Welford and Walton Reeves and Kayla Wingard and John Monroe. I found clips of the reality show on YouTube and I could see where both couples might want to have Grace’s scalp on a pike. She’d been awful. She made the women look like the most unreasonable bitches on the planet, and the men had been reduced to groveling. Grace might be successful in showbiz, but she was even better at humiliating people and making enemies.

Bonnie and Walton lived on the outskirts of Tupelo, and I gave them a call first. A woman answered and identified herself as Bonnie. I didn’t get three sentences into explaining why I had called before Bonnie went off like a jet-fueled rocket.

“I don’t know why you’re calling me about anything to do with Grace Land. She ruined my life. And almost ruined my relationship with a good man. You tell her if I see her, I’m going to spit in her face.”

“I’m not here to defend Grace.”

“And a damn good thing! She is indefensible. She is a monster. She is a woman who takes pride in destroying others.”

I didn’t try to explain that she was responsible, too. She knew what the show was and she went on it anyway. Grace was doing her job, as far as I could tell. “Bonnie, have you been in Tupelo for any of the Elvis festivities?”

“Not on a bet. Grace Land is all involved in that, and I don’t ever want to see her ugly mug again. She is a monster.” There was a pause. “Why are you asking all of these questions?”

“I work for Grace—”

“Well, then you are a damn fool. Or, as my grandmother would say, ‘Bless your heart.’ Which just means you aren’t smart enough to put your own best interests first. Work for Grace and you deserve what you get.”

“I realize you don’t care for Ms.

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