by Sarah Kelly
“Wouldn’t he, as her manager, have made sure she paid her tax bills?”
“Look, I don’t know,” Gianna said, losing her patience. “For all I know she killed herself.”
“What?”
Gianna strode to the other side of the room, agitated. “Think about it. She has this so-called glittering career. By bubble gum pop standards, at least. She’s terrified of going on stage and ruining her reputation, but she’s too proud to cancel. So she slips some poison into her own drink, then gets your friend to bring it to her.”
“Hayden gave Amy the drink.”
Gianna looked away and stammered, “That’s… that’s impossible.”
“Nope,” said India. “That’s exactly what happened.”
“Right,” Gianna said, a little shakily. “So she spikes her own drink with some poison or other, gives it to Hayden, and tells him to send it down to her while she’s at the pool with Mark. That way everyone would think she didn’t kill herself. Instead she’d be a tragic victim, murdered before her giant comeback. That’s exactly the kind of publicity she would love.”
India chewed on a piece of banana absentmindedly. “But then she’d be dead.”
“So? She’d be adored. Revered. Not tossed away like yesterday’s trash, like she was so scared of.”
India tapped her foot against her other leg, her brain whirring. “But surely she realizes Hayden would be a suspect?”
Gianna made a snort of contempt and picked up a pack of cigarettes on the table. “You think she gave a damn about him?” She sparked up a cigarette and took a long, elegant drag. “The only person she cared about was herself.”
India couldn’t meet Gianna’s eyes for a moment. “But you care about him, don’t you?”
Gianna shrugged. “He’s a nice boy.”
“How long had they been together?”
“A few years, I guess.”
India broke off a piece of sweet pastry, crossed one leg over the other, and tried to look nonchalant. “You’re sleeping with him, aren’t you?”
“No.”
“Oh?”
“No,” Gianna said, more forcefully. “There’s absolutely nothing between us. We’re good friends, that’s all.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard.”
Gianna pressed her lips together. When she spoke her voice was harsh. “How much do I owe you? I’ll write you a check.”
“Four thousand dollars,” India said, then did a very daring thing. “Did you kill Onyx? So you could have Hayden all to yourself?”
Gianna rested her check book on the desk and scrawled out the check with a tight grip on the pen. She then ripped the check and thrust it at India. “Get out.”
India took the check and headed to the doorway.
“Oh, and by the way,” Gianna said, fury straining at her voice.
India turned around.
“If you’re done accusing me, maybe you should go accuse someone else. Like, I don’t know, Answer. I bet you didn’t know that Erica dropped her for some guy called Winter when she was at the peak of her fame, and didn’t even pay answer properly for the work she’d done. Then Erica found out Winter was a money-grabbing charlatan, she brought Answer back. But she still hasn’t made payment, and Answer’s getting real pissed off. She might hide behind that zen calm demeanor, but she’s not fooling me.”
“Oh.”
Gianna marched over and grabbed the door handle. “Yeah, oh.” Then she slammed the door in India’s face.
CHAPTER 4
By the time India had reached the bottom of the stairs, she felt quite shaken up. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for this whole investigating thing.
You can do it, rushed into her mind. It was Luis.
Her heart leapt – finally she didn’t feel so alone. Luis! I need your help.
She heard him laughing. No way, mami. This is baby stuff. You got this.
Just as she was crossing the hallway back to the dining room, Mark came out of the kitchen, tapping on his phone with one hand, holding a half-eaten sandwich in the other.
India, boosted by Luis’ calm confidence, suddenly felt bold. “Who do you think killed Onyx? I mean, Erica?”
“Hayden,” he said angrily, not even looking up from the screen. “He bought that skank Gianna a ring, and was going to propose. He needed my Onyx out the way.”
“Why couldn’t he just have broken up with her?”
“He’s tried about seven times,” he said, walking past her toward one of the living rooms. “She ends up dragging me across the country so she can beg him to come back. Erica never gives up. Once she’s hooked on something, that’s it, she’s doing it. Now I’m broke and have no income,” he said, then looked her up and down. “Not that it’s any of your business. Clean up the plates and skedaddle.” He turned and went into the living room.
India did as he said, carting the dirty dishes from the dining room back into the kitchen, and loading them in the dishwasher. Her brain buzzed with thoughts. They overlapped, and twisted into one another, and soon she didn’t know what to think.
Why did Gianna deny the affair – because it was a motive for murder, maybe?
What was Mark doing on his phone that engrossed him so much?
Was Answer in Onyx’s will? Maybe she’d bugged and bugged Onyx for the money, and thought killing her was the only way to get it?
Did Hayden run because he was guilty, or for some other reason? Perhaps he even feared being killed himself?
Or maybe Onyx really did kill herself, to avoid the shame of flopping her comeback? Maybe her perfect image of herself as a pink-wearing, pop-singing all around diva was worth more to her than her own life? After all, she had seemed emotionally volatile and unstable, to say the least.
Once all the dishes were cleared away, she flopped down on a chair at the kitchen table. She’d need a quick rest, and she was trying to figure out what to do next. She’d spoken to everyone she could, but was no closer to figuring out what was going on. If anything, she was even more confused. She glanced up at the clock. It was 11am. Maybe she should go along to the police station and see how Xavier was getting on with Amy.
Thirst pinched at her throat, and she figured she could take a drink from the fridge and no one would mind much. Drinking water on its own made her feel nauseous for some reason, so she hoped there would be some juice or soda. And she was in luck. A big carton of orange juice with extra bits had a good few servings in it, so she poured herself a large glass and sat in the windowseat. The kitchen overlooked a tropical garden, full of trailing bougainvillea in coral and fuchsia, deep violet and cream. A couple of low palms bore orange and green coconuts, so close you could walk right up to them and pick them.
She put her drink on the windowsill, and it was then that she noticed a little scrap of paper. Hoping that it would be something interesting, she snatched it up, but was soon disappointed. Someone had just doodled the symbols of the card suits. Diamonds, spades, clubs, hearts. Chuckling at herself, India put the scrap of paper where it was. She’d watched too many Columbo episodes, she figured, thinking she’d find clues on bits of paper. The real world was much more complex.
***
“Wow,” Xavier said, looking India up and down. “That dress…”
“You’ve never seen me in it before?” India asked as she closed the front door of the police station behind her.
He shook his head. “You look… wow.”
“Thanks,” she said, and her heart lifted a little. Not because she looked nice, but because Xavier thought so. She looked around, but there was nothing but fluorescent lights and linoleum. “Where’s Amy?”
He grinned. “Oh, let her out ages ago. Julian was on her like a ton of bricks, but I made him calm down.”
Detective Julian Kimble strode in behind the desk from a side door. “You flatter yourself, Bradford. I let her go because that sleazeball Hayden Fleming came in and confessed.”
Xavier looked embarrassed. “Well, yeah,
maybe that, too.”
“He confessed?” India asked, astounded.
“You deaf or what, girl?” Kimble said.
India sat down on one of the leatherette benches, allowing the relief to wash over her. “Case closed, then?”
“Ha,” Kimble said. “We’ve still gotta push to get him behind bars.”
Xavier smiled at her, a lovely, warm smile, and she smiled back. But just as the fog that had surrounded her since the murder began to dissipate, she heard Luis, or rather, sensed him.
Something isn’t right.
She tried to ignore him.
Eh, India!
I’m here, she sent over reluctantly.
She got a sense of Luis walking down a darkened alley somewhere, maybe New York city, striding out in his leather jacket. But how was that possible, when it was the middle of the day? Maybe she really was hallucinating.
You’re not going crazy, she sensed him say. But this case ain’t over yet, girl. Keep on keeping on.
But—
Instantly her sense flattened. He wasn’t there anymore, as if he’d just hung up the phone.
Kimble went in the back, and Xavier beckoned toward her, a cute smile on his face. India went over, her mind racing.
“What do you say we go out for dinner, huh? To celebrate.”
She felt torn in two, giddy happiness pulling her one way, while confusion about the death pulled her in the other.
His face fell. “What?”
India reached out and cupped his cheek in her hand. “I’d love to go to dinner with you. Pizza place?”
It was their favorite.
He grinned. “Obviously.”
“I’d better go see Amy and give her the check,” India said.
Xavier took a quick look around, then leant forward and pecked her on the cheek. “See you outside at six thirty?”
India blushed and couldn’t meet his eyes for a moment. “Perfect.” She gave him a cute wave over her shoulder and headed for the door.
But with just one thought of the murder, that warm fuzzy feeling vanished completely. “Zave?” she said, turning around.
“Indie?”
“There’s one thing…”
“You don’t want to continue our tradition of chicken and pineapple this time?” He feigned shock. “How will I ever survive?”
India couldn’t even muster a giggle. “Could I speak to Hayden?”
Xavier looked like he’d been slapped in the face. “Huh?”
“I’m just not sure he did it, Zave,” she said. “I want to speak with him, to be sure.”
He sighed and gestured toward the back of the station. “You know I can’t do that,” he said quietly. “Anyhow, you shouldn’t be getting mixed up in this.”
“I know, but…” She struggled to think of an answer that would persuade him. The truth was, she’d started to care. She felt involved now, right in the middle of things. And, what with her slowly growing magical abilities, maybe she’d have something unique to contribute.
Xavier shook his head. “Sorry, In. Just go see Amy and take it easy for now.”
“All right,” said India, feeling a gulf growing between them. “See you later.”
His eyes lit back up. “See you.”
***
“What you need,” said Amy, “is to move on.”
India sat on the balcony of Amy’s apartment, looking over a little kiddie play park surrounded by palm trees. Amy sat on the blue mosaic tiled floor, painting her toenails lime green.
“Like when I knew it was time to leave Wisconsin, boom, I just came here. Never for a second did I regret it,” she continued. “And sure, here is home right now. But once I can afford something right by the beach, you think I’m gonna get attached to this little place? No siree.”
India hid behind her sunglasses. No matter what Xavier or Amy said, she wanted to push on with the case.
“I’m out now, and got my check in my pocket,” Amy went on. “No need to look back or get caught up in this. This isn’t anything to do with us, really.”
India knew that already.
“Are you annoyed ‘cause I haven’t given you your cut from the catering yet?” Amy asked.
“No,” India said. “It’s not that. I just feel… I just feel like I’m onto something. Like maybe I can help.”
Amy looked down at her toes. “Yeah, maybe, but why? You’re not a cop, you’re a lifeguard.”
“You mean just a lifeguard.”
“Don’t be bitter. What I mean is people are gonna want you to stay in your lane. Especially the killer. Don’t you think the killer’s going to be mighty pissed off that you’re poking around? You might even be in danger already.”
India knew, but it felt so strongly like she was doing the right thing. Luis was urging her on, and she’d come to trust him more than anyone. Before he’d come along and revealed to her the secret identity she’d never known, she had felt empty. Like no matter how much fun she had, or how many people surrounded her, or how much she achieved, there was this empty space inside her. Working out how to use her powers was beginning to fill that gap. And somehow, so was this case.
But she knew she wouldn’t persuade headstrong Amy, and she felt too tired to defend herself. It would only end in an argument.
“You’re right,” she lied. “I’ll try and move on.”
“Now we can talk real stuff,” Amy said, her voice full of excitement. “What are you gonna wear tonight?”
“Zave likes this dress, so I’ll just keep it on, I think.”
Amy blew on her toes. “Ooh, so it’s Zave now, huh?”
“We’re taking it slow. Super slow.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Amy looked her up and down. “At least let me fix your hair nice and paint your nails, huh?”
India’s mind was fixed on the case, but she knew her friend meant well. “All right,” she said with a smile. “Do your worst.”
***
“So you do still like chicken and pineapple after all,” Xavier said, picking up a slice of pizza.
India hadn’t had much of an appetite all day, but suddenly she was ravenous. She’d gotten started on her third slice while Xavier had just picked up his second. And usually he was a pretty quick eater.
“Yep,” she said, then tore off a slice of stuffed crust and dipped it. “Dunked in barbecue sauce, as always. With an ice cream sundae after.”
Xavier laughed and nudged her. They always sat next to each other in the booth. She hated being across the table from each other. “If we keep this up, we’re gonna get crazy fat. We’re gonna be known as that fat couple.”
“Couple, huh?” India asked, leaving her head down but flicking up her eyes to meet his.
Xavier’s deep, dark eyes were gentle but piercing, both at once. “Does that sound so terrible?”
“Not at all.” She took a quick glance around Frankie’s, but except for a bored waiter watching American football behind the counter, it was empty. It was the perfect moment, to lean in and kiss him on the lips. So far, they’d just had a peck here and there, but nothing more intimate.
It seemed he had the same idea, as he leaned toward her, closing his eyes. She leaned in, too, but as soon as their lips grazed, his phone sprang into life.
They both jumped and pulled away, and he looked down at the screen. “It’s work,” he said with a grimace. “One sec.”
India returned to her pizza, feeling her heart beat faster.
“Yes?... Kimble… What? Oh, man. All right. I’m coming.”
“You got called in?”
“Hayden’s retracted his statement and he’s got enough money to make bail. Kimble’s dragging me in to process him and put an electric tag on him. You know, a tracking bracelet. I’m sure pretty much anyone else on duty could do it, but Kimble seems to enjoy making me suffer. I bet he loves encroaching on my free time.”
“Oh my goodness.”
“I know, right?” Xavier said, stacking slices of piz
za onto a napkin and failing. “Maybe we should get a box and take it in the car?” He turned to the counter. “Hey, bro, can we get a box back here, please?”
“Sure,” the waiter said without enthusiasm, then rolled his eyes and went in the back.
“I knew Hayden didn’t do it,” India said. “It just didn’t feel right.”
Xavier frowned. “Hey, it doesn’t mean he didn’t do it. Maybe he just figures he can get away with it, after all.”
“Or maybe he’s innocent.”
“None of us knows right now. And it’s not our job to figure it out. As much as Kimble’s a complete… well, I don’t even want to say what I think he is… he’s a good detective. He’ll get to the bottom of it.” Xavier took another bite of pizza, and chomped on it a little too hard.
India could tell that meant, as far as he was concerned, that was the end of her involvement. But she just couldn’t let it go.
“Let me talk to him for two minutes.”
“Aww man, this again?” The waiter came over and handed a pizza box to Xavier. “Thanks buddy,” Xavier said, packing the pizza in the box. “Babe, why can’t you just leave it alone?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I just feel I’m meant to be doing this. Please, just two minutes?”
Xavier closed the pizza box. The light had gone out of his eyes. “If you want to talk to him after he’s gone out of the station, that’s your business. Just don’t expect me to support you in it. I could lose my job. And you could hurt yourself.”
Even though she could see his point of view, his tone stung. “Fine,” she said.
“Fine,” he replied, then picked up the pizza box and walked to the exit.
Though it was a sweltering night, the ride over to the police station passed in frosty silence. Xavier switched on a station, then flicked the radio over to another, then punched the button to switch it off, letting out a deep sigh.
When he swung into the car park, he turned off the engine and took her hand in his.
“Hey, look at me,” he said softly.
