My Wicked Valentine

by Lotta Smith

  “So, Robin, which team’s gonna win this year? Dolphins? Jets?” Rick said abruptly.

  “Pardon me?” Robin looked confused.

  “You guys were chatting about the Super Bowl during the treatment procedure, right?” Rick’s tone was casual and lighthearted, but his eyes were serious as he studied the young esthetician.

  “Yes.” Robin nodded.

  “What time was that?” Rick glanced at Robin’s wrist with a watch. “Brian remembers chatting about the Super Bowl, but he can’t tell us the time as he wasn’t wearing a watch.”

  “Not to mention my eyes were kept shut,” Brian chimed in.

  “Yes, I’ve been wearing it all the time, but I don’t recall the exact time when we chatted about the Super Bowl.” Robin shook his head as he touched his watch.

  “When did you learn about Shannon’s demise?” Detective Rogers asked.

  “That’s when I heard a woman’s shriek. I think the timing was about the same as others,” Robin replied.

  “Oh, yeah. I remember suddenly being pulled back to reality while I was dozing off in this chair,” Brian added.

  “Was that Denise’s shriek?”

  “In retrospect, yes, but back then, I couldn’t tell whose voice I heard,” Brian said.

  “You said dozing off, Mr. Powers. How long did it last?” Detective Rogers eyed Brian, who gave it a thought for a moment.

  “About two minutes, I guess. Three minutes tops.” He looked at Robin.

  “I think so.” He nodded. “Two to three minutes.”

  “Fine.” Detective Rogers’s face was unreadable.

  “That’s enough time to go to the locker room, but with Denise walking by that area, it wouldn’t have been easy to sneak in the locker room, kill off Shannon, and then return to the facial treatment room as if nothing had happened,” Jackie commented.

  “While Brian was sleeping, you were awake, right, Mr. Clement?” Detective Rogers asked.

  “Yes, I was fully awake.” Robin nodded. “But I was in the facial treatment room the whole time, and I had no idea what was going on in the locker room until I heard Denise’s voice.”

  “And did you guys rush to the locker room immediately after hearing the voice?”

  “No. I had facial pack materials on my face, and when I opened my eyes, they stung with the lotion, and I had to wipe them down before walking around,” Brian replied, prompting Rick to snort. “Hey, if you keep on laughing your ass off, I’ll seriously clam up.”

  “I’m not laughing,” Rick said with the corners of his lips trembling like crazy.

  Brian raised an eyebrow but continued, “Anyway, when I asked him what was going on, he said he’d check that out and went out of the facial treatment room.”

  “Yes,” Robin agreed.

  “Can you replay the moving to the locker room part, please?” With the detective’s request, we moved to the locker room.

  CHAPTER 10

  “How was the situation in the locker room when you came here?” Detective Rogers asked when Robin stood in the doorway to the locker room.

  “The door was wide open. From here, I could see the inside. There was Denise with her client Mr. Blanchett, and I could see Shannon lying facedown in the innermost part of the room,” Robin explained in a flat tone. Apparently, he didn’t see the ghost of Shannon listening to him. To say his face was hard to read was an understatement. It was almost impossible to see any emotions on his face.

  “So, did you do anything?” Rick asked.

  “After Kevin made a 9-1-1 call, Mr. Blanchett helped Shannon lie face up, and then he started the CPR process. I joined him and helped with the process—with which I didn’t save Shannon.” Robin shook his head.

  “What about Brian?” Rick questioned. “Did you return to the facial treatment room to notify him about the situation?”

  “I didn’t. I’m sorry, Mr. Powers,” the esthetician apologized.

  “No problem. It was an emergency. If I were you, I’d have done the same,” Brian assured him as he glanced at the fuming ghost of Shannon in the corner of his eyes.

  “Hello? Did you just say you kept your client waiting?” Shannon glared at Robin, but then she turned to Brian. “Mr. Powers, I apologize for our junior esthetician’s misbehavior.”

  Brian looked like he was tempted to say hi to the ghost and socialize a little, but Rick butted in. “So, did you stay in the facial treatment room, waiting for your esthetician to return?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I waited for a while, but he didn’t come back. So I suspected something was going on, and I removed my facial pack and then went out. Anyway, people were gathering at the locker room, but at that time, I didn’t see Shannon’s ghost yet. Maybe I’d missed her when she was already floating there as a ghost, or maybe her spirit was super blurry back then. Anyway, I didn’t have a chance to talk to her.”

  “Pardon me?” Robin frowned.

  “Brian, maybe your star isn’t as bright as your hopeful expectations,” Rick said teasingly. “He doesn’t seem to know you’re Brian Powers, the super-duper psychic exorcist.”

  “A psychic…exorcist?” Robin’s jaw dropped. “Do you really see ghosts? I mean, I have a lot to catch up with the TV shows. Oh my God, I think I’ve heard the name Brian Powers, but I didn’t realize it was you.”

  “I’m glad you recognize me now.” Brian’s tone was lighthearted, but Shannon was furious.

  “I’m flabbergasted by your patheticness!” she snapped. “How could you work as an esthetician without knowledge of your client’s occupation? Mr. Powers spends hours at TV studios with tons of lights damaging the skin! Mr. Powers, you have all the right to be mad at him!”

  Brian looked her, slightly raising his hand as if to say “Relax” to the ghost.

  “Oh…I’m so sorry, Mr. Powers. I don’t know why I became so emotional in front of you. I’m so embarrassed.” Shannon shook her head.

  “It’s okay.” Jackie patted her arm. “It’s nothing wrong to be emotional. You know, you’re dead, not naturally. Some damn idiot snatched your life away, and in my opinion, that’s totally outrageous. You’ve got every right to be emotional.”

  “Thanks,” Shannon mumbled, turning pink. It was a super rare occasion for a ghost to blush. Dead people tended to stay pale until they’d learned to put on makeup like Jackie did. Then again, when I met her for the first time, her makeup was runny and smudged, and with a portion of her gut literally playing peek-a-boo out of her side, she looked like a zombie starring in a scary movie.

  Rick looked at Brian. “Shannon knew your profession, right?”

  “Yup. We chatted a lot during the procedures. Believe me, she was a great listener. In retrospect, I was doing much of the talking.” Brian nodded at Shannon, prompting a smile to appear on her face.

  “I’m really sorry, Mr. Powers. I…kinda suck at making small talk,” Robin said apologetically.

  “Never mind, Robin. You’re still an excellent esthetician. You’re doing great.” Brian cheered him up as he looked grim.

  “No need to feed him with empty praises, Mr. Powers.” Shannon’s tone was stern. Turning to Robin, she went on. “An esthetician who can’t entertain your guests with pleasant conversation is worse than a massager. Seriously, Robin, I’m afraid you’re on the wrong career path. Why don’t you quit? I know it’s best for both you and us.”

  Brian’s eyes moved from Robin to Shannon and then back to Robin, who still looked unconvinced about his client’s ability to see dead people.

  Detective Rogers cleared her throat. “So, Robin, can you think of anyone who might have had bad blood for Shannon?”

  “I have no idea.” Again, his face turned expressionless.

  “What was she like, for starters?” Rick asked casually.

  “She was a highly skilled esthetician whom I always looked up to,” Robin replied, prompting Shannon to shrug.

  “How would you describe her personality?”

  “She
was so bright.”

  Jackie and I exchanged a glance.

  “Hmm, so, he’s not good at making small talk,” she commented.

  “Did you know she was going to quit this spa by the end of the month?” Detective Rogers interjected.

  “Yes, I did.” Robin’s reply was unemotional and flat, like he was reading from a textbook about English conversations for non-English speakers.

  “How did you feel about that?” Unlike him, Detective Rogers had a lot to ask.

  “I wished it’d be good if she’d stayed—I mean, for the sake of this spa.”

  “Ooh, Shannon, you’re needed and popular, you know,” Jackie cooed, and Sophie smiled and waved at the ghost.

  Shannon was frowning as she waved back, but she didn’t say anything.

  “So, Robin, Shannon was aware of your secret, am I correct?” Detective Rogers gave him a sharp look.

  “What…secret?” For a moment, Robin looked taken aback.

  “Right.” The detective nodded. “She was heard saying that she knew your secret before facing her untimely demise.”

  “My secret? By Shannon?” Robin shut his eyes and then opened them. “I don’t think so. That must be a mistake or misunderstanding.”

  * * *

  When Robin was sent back to the reception area and out of earshot, Rick asked me for Shannon’s whereabouts. Looking in the direction I’d indicated, he said, “Shannon, did you find any discrepancies with his words?”

  “I don’t think so. At least, he seemed to be telling the truth.” Shannon shrugged. “Then again, just because he sucked at making small talk might not mean he’d never lie.”

  “He denied you knowing his secret. Any thoughts?” Detective Rogers talked to the midair where the ghost floated. The funny thing about the detectives was they tended to learn to look the deceased in the eye without seeing the ghosts with their own eyes.

  “I have no idea about his secret, if he has any.” Shannon shook her head.

  “Are you sure?” Rick furrowed his eyebrows. “Perhaps, you’ve forgotten about that.”

  “No offense, but you’ve forgotten about Denise’s stalking and Ken’s protruding belly button, you know.” Jackie wiggled her fingers.

  “If you say so… Let me try reviving my memories.” Shannon crossed her arms, closing her eyes. “I still have no idea no matter how hard I try to recall. After all, I’ve never paid much attention to him in the first place.”

  Brian nodded, muttering, “Okay.”

  As I passed on her words, Detective Rogers and Rick exchanged a glance.

  “Hmm, I’m not surprised,” he commented.

  “I’m surprised about us not at all surprised. If you know what I mean.” The detective shook her head.

  “Do you think Robin’s absolutely free of secrets? Compared to the others, he seemed one hundred percent confident about that.” I looked at Rick.

  “I doubt that.” He tilted his head. “Everyone’s got a secret or two. Perhaps, he knew Shannon well enough to assume that she wasn’t paying attention to him.”

  “Oh, yes. Suppose she’d learned about my dirtiest laundry, she’ll forget about it in a flicker of moment,” Detective Rogers commented.

  “You’re quiet, Brian.” Rick gave the exorcist a hard look. “If you’re hiding anything, just spill it.”

  “Well, it’s not like I’m withholding info.” He crossed his arms. “At first, I thought his alibi was solid because he’d been with me the whole time. But…”

  “You were napping, which weakens his alibi. Not to mention yours,” Rick said matter-of-factly.

  “We’ve got one more person to interview,” Detective Rogers declared.

  Darrel Murphy, the newbie esthetician fresh out of a spa school was summoned.

  With his platinum-blond hair carefully styled in a messy ’do, flawless skin created with the aid of foundation with great coverage, and shiny, plump lips embellished with gloss—even though he was in the same uniform as Ken—he looked more like a spa client than a service provider.

  “I was stuck in the laundry room the whole while,” Darrel answered while suppressing a yawn when asked about his whereabouts between eleven o’clock and eleven thirty.

  “You didn’t leave the laundry room at all for the full thirty minutes?” Detective Rogers asked, glancing at the small room with a washer and dryer.

  “Well, I was going to leave in five minutes or so, but I’d forgotten to set the dryer on when I left there at around ten o’clock.” He shrugged, letting out a dramatic sigh. “I had no choice but to stay here and iron up everything to dry them.” With one hand, he indicated a heap of bath towels stuffed in a large laundry basket.

  “Has it ever happened to you before? I mean, forgetting to set the dryer on?” the detective asked.

  “Oh, yes. I’ve done that before,” Darrel admitted casually. “The last time that happened, Shannon was totally furious like hell.”

  Throughout the interview, his demeanor was laid-back, bordering on blasé. Even when it turned out his alibi was shaky, he didn’t seem to care. Darrel denied killing Shannon, but at the same time, he’d admitted he wasn’t a huge fan of hers. According to him, Shannon was “too much of a workaholic who force-fed her work ethics to others.” And, as for his secret, it was about having been caught sneaking a cigarette while working in the laundry room.

  “So, the interviews are over, and we don’t have a strong suspect.” Rick crossed his arms.

  “For your information, I didn’t kill her.” Brian emphasized.

  “I’m listening.” Rick glanced at me. “Maybe it’ll be faster if you shake hands with all the suspects.”

  “Forget it. That’s not even funny.” I slapped his arm.

  When I was a medical student in the past, three patients who’d slipped out of the justice system, without being punished, dropped dead just minutes after touching me. I’d like to regard it as freak accidents, but the mechanisms for those incidents hadn’t been figured out. Since I’d started working with Rick with the FBI, he always joked about having me touch all the suspects.

  “Are you okay?” Jackie patted Shannon’s shoulder when Darrel was sent back to the reception area.

  “I’m good. Thank you.” Shannon’s tone was cool, but she sounded slightly tired. Perhaps, listening to the newbie esthetician dishing her did that to her. Not only had he stated his distaste for his late superior, he declared Denise and Robin must have hated her guts. During his rant, she kept her cool by occasionally snorting and muttering things like “Oh, I should have demanded Kevin fire him.” It was never enjoyable to listen to others talking ill of you.

  “Come on. So, Darrel was nasty about you, saying mean things like both Denise and Robin detested you, but he doesn’t understand.” Jackie looked Shannon in the eyes. “Kevin needed you, Denise respected you in her own way, and Robin said he wished you wouldn’t move to a new spa, right? You were the superstar of this spa, you know. Believe me, when you’re a celebrity of any community, it’s your destiny to have some haters, but haters will just hate.”

  “I know.” Shannon’s face softened. “Now that you mentioned it, Robin was persistent when he repeatedly asked me to please not quit here and move to a new spa. I don’t know what he was thinking.”

  “Get out!” Jackie’s eyes widened. “I think he had a huge crush on you. Don’t you think so, Mandy, Brian?”

  “Kwush!” Sophie exclaimed, prompting Rick to bend down, cooing, “What are you talking about, darling?”

  “Well, Jackie says Robin must have had a huge crush on Shannon, and Sophie seems to have caught the word crush,” I informed him.

  Brian nodded. “Yeah. I think that’s a good point.”

  “That’s interesting,” Rick commented. “Shannon, how did you respond to Robin’s words?”

  “I said something along the line of ‘Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve already made up my mind,’ but still he was persistent. I know Detective Rogers likes to call Denise a sta
lker, but in my opinion, Robin had such traits.” Shannon shrugged.

  As I relayed her words, Rick’s face turned serious. “Shannon, how did he react when you dismissed his pleas?”

  “Who cares?” was her response.

  “Hey, what about his alibi?” Brian interjected. “Denise heard him chatting with me about the Super Bowl. It was when I was in the middle of a facial pack.”

  “Mr. Powers, do you remember Robin’s response?” Shannon asked.

  “Of course.” He nodded. “I was talking about the odds, strengths and weaknesses of each team, and the conditions of the star players, and he said…”

  “He said what?” Rick inquired as Brian frowned, crossing his arms.

  “I don’t remember.” He shook his head. “He’s a man of few words.”

  “I doubt he’d stayed with you the whole time during the facial mask time.” Shannon cocked her head. “It takes approximately fifteen minutes, and during this time frame, we usually visit the office to take care of stuff or do some prep for the next client. And, no offense, Mr. Powers, but you talk a lot in your nap.”

  “Really?” Jackie and I said in unison.

  “What?” Rick looked at me, and as I relayed her words, he nodded. “Oh, yes. He does. Now I remember that. When we had sleepovers as kids, he always woke me up with his sleep talking. Brian, never, ever cheat on Fiona, okay? I have a hunch you’re gonna be a blabbermouth if you dare to have an affair.”

  While Brian let out an exasperated sigh, Detective Rogers muttered, “His alibi has just weakened.”

  “Shannon, did you have any specific reasons to visit here at approximately eleven twenty-six?” Rick asked. “Was it just out of habit? Or someone called for a meeting here at that time?”

  “I don’t remember.” Shannon massaged her bloody temples. As she did that, her knuckles turned crimson. “It’s not like I visited here like I was following some kind of clockwork schedule. Also, if I were having a meeting here, I’d remember that, I guess.”

  “Detective Rogers?” One of the CSIs was standing in the doorway, looking inside.

  The detective went to him, listening in silence to his words. After a while, she thanked him and came back to us with him.