THE PERFECT MASK by Blake Pierce

Author:Blake Pierce [Pierce, Blake]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-20T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

It was obvious to Jessie that Natalie Aldrin wasn’t used to getting up early.

When she answered the door of her modernist, three-story, black and white checkerboard-style monstrosity of a home after they rang the bell for a solid five minutes, she was wearing leggings and an oversized t-shirt that read: Eat the Rich, which Jessie suspected the woman found funnier than those she typically wore it around did.

“Do you know what time it is?” she demanded, her frizzy blonde hair half-covering her face.

“I do, Ms. Aldrin,” Valentine said, “It’s 6:23. Unfortunately, the matter we need to address with you can’t wait. I’m Detective Susannah Valentine of the Los Angeles Police Department. This is Jessie Hunt, a criminal profiler who consults for us. May we come in?”

Aldrin moved the hair out of her face, as if that might make it easier to understand what she’d just heard. At least it allowed Jessie to get a better look at her. She appeared younger than the women who’d died, who were all in their late thirties or early forties.

Jessie guessed that she was somewhere in her early thirties, though it was clear that she’d already had some work done. Her lips were unusually plump and the skin between her eyes and ears was particularly taut. The work seemed unwarranted, as Aldrin was quite attractive, even without makeup and having just woken up.

“What’s this about?” she asked suspiciously.

Valentine glanced over at Jessie, unsure how forthcoming to be. Jessie decided to jump in.

“I think you know what it’s about, Natalie,” she said under her breath, “and unless you want your neighbors to know, too, I suggest that you invite us in so we can discuss it in privacy. But it’s your call.”

Aldrin looked slightly perplexed, then opened the door wide enough for them to enter. After that, she led them down a long hall, also covered in black and white checkerboard marble tiles, until it opened into a large living room with windows facing a pool. The walls of the room were covered with framed photos of Aldrin, all of the high-fashion variety.

“Make yourselves comfortable,” she said. “I just need to brush my teeth. I’ll be right back.”

Jessie was tempted to go with her but didn’t get the sense that the woman was planning to make a run for it, so she held off on the idea, though she declined to sit down. Glancing over at Valentine, she saw that the detective was giving her a surly glare.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Care to tell me what exactly it is that Aldrin knows this conversation will be about?” she demanded in a hushed voice, referencing how Jessie had bluffed her way into the house.

“I have no idea,” Jessie admitted. “I figured that between cheating with the husband of a dead woman and potentially killing her and two others, she felt guilt about something, so I let her pick one subject of her own rather than guess wrong.”

“Well, maybe you could have looped me into your plan,” Valentine muttered irritably.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.