Died Blonde by Nancy J. Cohen

Author:Nancy J. Cohen
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: ereads.com
Published: 2004-05-04T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Too stunned by Atlas Boyd’s words to respond, Marla stalked out of Hairstyle Heaven while muttering under her breath. The audacity of the man! He’d made a veiled threat against her, and it implied he’d been in communication with Wilda. How else would he know about the psychic’s prediction?

She told Nicole about it while trimming her next customer’s hair. “The man obviously has some hold over those girls. I’ll have to tell Dalton about our conversation, but I don’t want to bother him now. He’s busy with a new case.”

Nicole smiled knowingly. “He relies on your insights.”

“I’d like to contact that customer Carolyn met in small claims court to see what she knows. A return visit to Mr. Thomson is also on order. Jeanine said he’d been seeing a lot of Carolyn lately. That could be how she was able to afford the rent.”

Nicole’s eyes widened. “You mean…”

“Exactly.” Releasing another section of her customer’s hair, Marla cut the ends at an angle.

“Have you listened to the weather report lately?” the customer piped in. The auburn-haired society matron had a charity luncheon the following day. “They say that storm is headed in our direction, and it’s predicted to pick up speed as well as reach hurricane force by tonight.”

“It’s still too early to forecast landfall,” Marla replied. “A high pressure ridge may yet turn it out to sea. Anyway, they say it may only get to be a Category One.”

“Bottled water is already disappearing from the shelves. You’d better stock up on supplies before we have a storm watch.”

“I’m not worried.”

“You should be,” Nicole interrupted. “We don’t want to have any more power outages.”

Marla gave her a shrewd glance. “Notice how the lights haven’t gone out since Carolyn died?”

“Uh huh. Have you reviewed our hurricane plan with Jennifer and Luis? They may not know where you keep the batteries and such. Just in case.”

“I should do that,” Marla said, lifting another shank of hair and snipping with practiced skill. Like many Floridians, she had lived through many storms, but most of them caused little damage. She’d been too far north to be affected by Hurricane Andrew, the first really major storm to hit southeast Florida since she’d moved there. Getting too complacent was the greater danger. What would Aunt Polly do? Did programs exist for the frail elderly? She’d have to ask Anita.

Meanwhile, she made an appointment with Carolyn’s former client, Zelda Reiss, who agreed to see her after work. They met at the Borders cafe on West Sunrise Boulevard near Sawgrass Mills Mall.

Nursing a mug of coffee, Marla regarded the woman seated across from her at the small table. Zelda’s shoulder-length mahogany hair, with a healthy sheen that showed careful grooming, hung straight to her back. The ends were neatly trimmed, unlike her thick eyebrows. In need of shaping, they perched over entrancing eyes with brown irises blending into gray. The dichotomy in color seemed reflected in her clothing style. While she wore a wrinkled blue shorts set, her selection of jewelry showed particular attention.

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