Color Me Dead by Mary Bowers

Author:Mary Bowers [Bowers, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-03-12T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15 – Romeo and Some Bimbo

Lily made dinner that night, apologizing all the time that it was just spaghetti out of a box and marinara sauce from a jar.

“We love spaghetti,” I told her, “and for some reason we haven’t had it for a while. Quit apologizing.”

I threw a green salad together, slathered some garlic butter on toast, and we carried it all across the great room and sat down at the far end of the banquet table. I began to realize how much I was going to miss Lily once her assignment in Tropical Breeze was finished.

“So,” I asked her, “is Jesse definitely off the show now?”

“Yeah, it’s official. He blames me, of course.”

“People would always rather find somebody else to blame instead of admitting it was their own darn fault,” I told her. “Don’t let it bother you.”

“Of course it wasn’t your fault,” Myrtle told her stoutly, and Michael agreed.

“The new girl, Treena, seems all right,” I said.

“Yeah, she’s going to be fine, for as long as she lasts. She’s not a lifer, like Jesse. The ones like her always move on as soon as they get a better opportunity. I don’t know, though, these tough-as-nails, fluffy-bunny types get on my nerves worse than the egomaniac jerks like Jesse. I can already tell she’s going to be a diva. At least with Jesse, when the camera was off, you felt like you were in the company of a real person. With all his faults,” she added.

“Where are Treena and Greg staying?”

“They’re not,” Lily said. “Orlando is less than a 2-hour drive from here. They’re commuting for the shoot.” She gave me a leer. “They’re young. I don’t drag these old bones back and forth across the map unless I haven’t got any friends in the area to crash with.”

Lily was only 31. I just shook my head at her.

“Well, I’m glad you decided to stay with us instead of commuting,” Michael said. “We don’t get to see you often enough.”

Something occurred to me, and I asked, “Did Jesse have friends in the area, too? Was the reservation at The Breakers just for cover, while he fooled around?”

Lily took a moment to think it over, then said, “Actually, that would explain a lot.”

“If so, he’s a dope for not just coming out with his alibi witness.”

“What makes you think he isn’t a dope?” Lily said. “But you know what we never thought of? What if Carmen went to her mother’s house straight from the arms of Jesse? What if he was out at her beach studio that night?”

I made a skeptical noise, and Lily started doubling down. “Carmen could have met Jesse when he did the piece on her father. He may have kept in touch with her all this time. He might have been there when Maida called Carmen that night, and even gone into town with her.”

“But if so, why wouldn’t Carmen have said so?” Michael asked. “Would she protect a man who may have killed her mother?”

Lily looked to me.

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