Murdered By Plastic Surgery

by Dianne Harman

  As Claudia was getting Marty settled in the chair, another beautiful young woman walked over to Marty with a glass of champagne. “Madame, Monsieur Joseph always likes his clients to be relaxed. He has this champagne flown in from France. I hope you enjoy it.” She placed the glass on the table next to Marty.

  A glass of French champagne in the early afternoon at the toniest salon in the Palm Springs area. I’ll bet my poor Midwest parents are spinning in their graves. Oh well, when in Rome…

  She took a sip of the champagne and said, “Claudia, that really is delicious, but why does Mr. Joseph have it flown in from France? Couldn’t he just buy a very good champagne here?”

  “Non,” she said. “Here in the United States it is called sparkling wine, and in Italy it is called Prosecco, but the word ‘champagne’ can only be used if the grapes are grown in the Champagne region of France, and it’s made there. Being French, Monsieur believes it is far superior.”

  “Thank you. I learned something today.”

  “I am finished,” Claudia said, as she wrapped the fluffiest towel Marty had ever seen around her head. Claudia walked over to the glass door just as it was opened and a stunning blonde woman walked out, closing the door behind her. A ray of sunlight glinted on the enormous diamond she wore on her finger, nearly blinding Marty.

  “Madame,” Claudia exclaimed, “you look beautiful! The haircut is perfect for you.”

  “Thank you,” the woman said in a simpering voice. “Brett is such a genius. I can’t imagine ever going to anyone else. See you in six weeks.” She put a number of bills in Claudia’s pocket, who smiled broadly at the woman and thanked her.

  She turned back to Marty and said, “You can stand up now. I’ll take you into Monsieur’s room.”

  Claudia knocked on the door and a moment later a deep voice said, “Come in.”

  Claudia motioned for Marty to follow her, and they walked into the room. A very handsome man in his mid-50’s with a silver pony tail and a large emerald earring in his left ear smiled at Marty and said, “Bon jour. You must be Marty. I am Brett. Please have a seat. Thank you, Claudia, that will be all.”

  “Oui, Monsieur,” she said as she closed the door behind her.

  “What would you like me to do for you today?” Brett asked.

  “I saw a woman at a restaurant and found out she’s one of your clients. I loved her hair style. I don’t know her last name, but her first name is Brandy. I could use a new look, and I’d like to try that type of hairstyle, if you think it would work on me.”

  “Ah yes, Brandy. She has been my client for many years,” he said as he walked around the chair Marty was seated in, obviously assessing whether or not Brandy’s hairstyle would work for her. “As a matter of fact, she was in here this morning for her monthly trim.”

  “A friend and I were having lunch at a restaurant and my friend knows her. Evidently she recently had a facelift, and she’d told my friend she wasn’t very happy with the results.”

  “Normally I would never talk about a client of mine, but in this case, it has such a happy outcome I don’t feel I’m divulging a confidence. Brandy was so excited, she was telling everyone here at the salon how thrilled she is with the way she looks.”

  “I’m happy for her, but that certainly is a one-eighty from what she told my friend,” Marty said.

  “That was how she felt right after she had the surgery,” Brett said as he put his hands on Marty’s head and moved his fingers back and forth through her hair, “and I must say she did look different. There really wasn’t much of a resemblance between the pre-surgery Brandy and the post-surgery Brandy.”

  “What happened to change her mind?” Marty asked innocently.

  “When she was here this morning she was telling everyone that her ex-husband wants a reconciliation. He dropped by her house last week to give Brandy her monthly alimony check, and a few days later he called her and said he’d forgotten how beautiful she is, and asked if she would consider a reconciliation. She couldn’t believe it, but that’s just half the story.

  “Brandy said she’d been afraid to meet a man she’d been seeing for a while, because she wasn’t sure what he would think about her facelift. She was going to meet him at Tommy Bahamas, but he surprised her by unexpectedly picking her up in his limousine an hour before they were to meet. He had his driver take them to Melvyn’s. Everybody in Palm Springs knows that’s the place for special moments, and it was for him. He took a little box out of his pocket and asked her to marry him. She said the diamond he gave her had to be at least six carats. She said it was the biggest diamond she’d ever seen, and trust me, Brandy knows diamonds. Brandy decided he was worth a lot more money than her ex, so she said yes. She’s really excited by everything that’s happened recently. Brandy said she wasn’t very happy with the way she looked right after the surgery, but given her new ring, she’s thinks it worked out very well.”

  “Wow. What a story. No wonder she’s excited. Did she go to a local plastic surgeon? Maybe I should think about having some work done.”

  “Yes, but unfortunately the surgeon who did her facelift, Dr. Ramsey, was recently murdered. It’s really a tragedy, because most of my clients have gone to him. Anyway, the doctor had a reputation for doing very good work, although I have wondered why so many of his patients bore a slight resemblance to each other, but as long as the women were happy with how they looked, who was I to say anything?” he said as he shrugged his shoulders in the classic French manner.

  “Well, Brett, do you think I would look good with Brandy’s hairstyle?”

  “Oui, you would look amazing. First I will cut your hair, then I will blow dry it, and lastly, I will apply the highlights. You will look ten years younger when you leave, and what woman wouldn’t like that?”

  “I certainly would. Do you need me to do anything?”

  “No, cherié, not a thing,” he said as he reached for his scissors. “Just look straight ahead and be prepared to look absolutely stunning.”

  Two hours later, she stood in front of the receptionist who handed Marty a bill for Brett’s services. She’d slipped ten one dollar bills into Claudia’s pocket and had no idea if that amount was even near what she usually received, but that was all the cash she had. She steeled herself to look at the bill, took a deep breath, and thought she could have probably paid for a facelift with what her new hairdo had cost. She just hoped Jeff liked it.

  Think I’ll plead the fifth amendment on how much it cost, if he asks me. I don’t think any man in the world would feel a new hairstyle was worth that amount. I think in some parts of the United States, people could make a down payment on a house with the amount of money I just spent.

  CHAPTER 17

  When she got in her car, she decided she had enough time to drive to Lisbeth Ramsey’s home and see if she had any thoughts about the murder of her ex-husband. She hoped the children weren’t home, because even though Lisbeth had left Dr. Ramsey for another man, the children were Dr. Ramsey’s children, and they were bound to be upset by his death.

  All the way there she kept looking at herself in the rear-view mirror and finally acknowledged that as expensive as her hairdo had been, she really did look ten years younger. She knew she wasn’t the beauty that Lisbeth Ramsey was touted to be, but she felt she’d pass Lisbeth’s inspection.

  Marty pulled in the driveway of a well-kept Mediterranean style desert home in an upper-class neighborhood. While it wasn’t as large or as architecturally interesting as Dr. Ramsey’s home, it was certainly much nicer than the average home in Palm Springs or anywhere else, for that matter.

  She rang the doorbell, and a moment later a woman’s voice asked, “Who is it?”

  “My name is Marty Morgan-Combs. I’m here in a totally unofficial capacity. My husband is the lead detective on the case involving your ex-husband’s murder, and I’m trying to help him. I wonder if you could spare a couple of minutes to talk to me. I’m putting my driver’s license in front of the
peep-hole on the door, so you can see my identification. I really would like to talk to you.”

  The door opened and one of the most beautiful women Marty had ever seen said, “Please come in. I rather doubt that I know anything that can help you, but I’m willing to try. My children are devastated by the death of their father, and quite frankly, so am I.”

  When Marty looked at Lisbeth closely she noticed her red-rimmed eyes and the dark circles under her eyes. She said, “I’m sure this is a very difficult time for all of you. I understand Dr. Ramsey was a very well-respected and loved doctor. I just wonder if there’s anything you might know, however inconsequential you may think it is, that could help my husband solve the case He’s so busy following leads and speaking to persons of interest, that I thought I might be able to find out something for him.”

  “Let’s go into the living room to talk. Fortunately, the children went to a friend’s house after school today. I’m sure some people think I should keep them out of school for a while, but his death is enough of a shock. I want to keep up some semblance of a normal routine for them. My friend insisted they come over and play with her children, plus the family has three dogs and since I’m highly allergic to dogs, I can’t allow my children to have one.”

  Marty found it hard to believe that someone as beautiful as Lisbeth Ramsey was also one of the most gracious women she’d ever met, but she seemed to be. “Mrs. Ramsey, I really don’t know where to begin. I guess I’ll just start with the big question. Can you think of anyone who would want harm to come to your husband?”

  Lisbeth was quiet for several moments while she considered Marty’s question, and then she said, “Believe me, I’ve asked myself that question a million times since I got the phone call that Keith had been murdered, and the answer is a resounding no. If you’ve talked to people, and I’m sure you have, you’re probably aware that I left Keith for the man who cleaned our swimming pool. I can’t say I’m very proud of it, but I did. It was for a reason as old as time – Keith was spending a lot more time and energy on his medical practice than he was on me or the children. I felt like a single mom, and then since I felt I was single, I decided to have a fling. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it didn’t work out, and it wound up being the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.”

  “We all make mistakes,” Marty said. “but it sounds like yours had a few consequences.”

  “You might call them bitter consequences,” Lisbeth said. “Keith married Ashley on the rebound. He really didn’t need her money, but she, in my opinion, took advantage of a very vulnerable, hurting man, and, along with her money, was able to get him to marry her. It was about that time that I realized the horrible mistake I had made.”

  “Did Keith ever know you regretted your decision?”

  “Yes. I knew he had remarried, but I called him one day and asked him to come over to the house. I told him it was about our daughter, Dani. Dani had Keith wrapped around her little finger, and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for her. Really, it was quite easy.”

  “So, he came over here and then what?”

  “After we talked about Dani, I told him there was something I needed to say. I told him I loved him, and that I’d never stopped loving him. I told him I had made a horrible mistake as well as the reasons I’d done it. I asked for his forgiveness.”

  “Did he give it to you?”

  “He gave me more than that. He told me he still loved me, and that his marriage to Ashley was a disaster, to use his words. He said he’d like to see me and maybe there would be a chance we could reconcile. I reminded him that he would have to get a divorce if we did.”

  “What did he say?” Marty asked.

  “He said a divorce was already on his mind. It may sound tawdry, but from that time, which was about six months ago, we met here, or at hotels, or restaurants. We talked and laughed, and both of us realized we wanted to be together permanently. We wanted to be a family again.”

  “Did he ask Ashley for a divorce?”

  “That I’ll never know. He was planning on asking her the evening before he was murdered. I didn’t talk to him the next day, because he had a full surgery schedule, and it was my turn to help in the children’s classrooms. I help a half-day a week in each of their classes.” She put her head in her hands and started sobbing. After a moment, she looked up at Marty and tearily said, “If I hadn’t left him, he’d still be alive. Ever since I heard about his murder, I’ve blamed myself for it every minute I’ve been awake.”

  Marty saw a box of Kleenex on the table, pulled one from the box, and took it over to where Lisbeth was sitting. “Here, take this. Lisbeth, I wish there was something I could say to ease your pain, but I don’t know what it would be. This truly is a tragedy, not only for him, but for you and the children. Let me ask you this. Do you think Ashley could have been the murderer?”

  “Quite honestly, I have no idea. Certainly, I’ve considered it. One scenario I have is that he told Ashley about us and that he wanted a divorce. She thought about it all the next day and then went to his office and murdered him, but that’s strictly a thought. I have nothing solid to back it up with.”

  “Let’s consider another possibility. Could it have something to do with his medical practice?” Marty asked. “There are rumors that several of the women he performed facelifts on bear a resemblance to you. Did he ever mention that to you?”

  “Really? He never said anything about it, and I don’t understand what that would have to do with his murder, anyway.”

  “Lisbeth, you are a beautiful woman, and even if he tried to recreate you in another woman, maybe the woman or her husband preferred her to look like her old self, just better, but that’s nothing more than conjecture on my part.”

  “If that’s true, it’s kind of weird.”

  “Lisbeth, what about his associate, Dr. Thurston? Do you know much about him?”

  “No, I don’t. It was strictly a business arrangement. I don’t think he and Keith ever saw each other outside of the office. At least when I was married to him, he didn’t. Dr. Thurston doesn’t seem like a very sociable man, although I have to say, I don’t feel like I know him.”

  “I understand Dr. Ramsey was married prior to you. What about his first wife?”

  “I never met her, but I understand it was a very amicable divorce. They were just two people who probably never should have gotten married in the first place. As far as I know, she went back to Atlanta. She and Keith met when they were both residents at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. She was also a plastic surgeon. From what he told me, there was no alimony involved, they just split up the furniture, and since they were both getting ready to start their medical practices, they really didn’t have any money to speak of. She would have had absolutely no reason to wish him harm. I’m certain of that.”

  “What about his administrative assistant, Sybil? How well do you know her?”

  “I feel like I know her very well. As a matter of fact, she’s the godmother for my daughter, Dani. Keith thought the world of her. I often wondered if she thought of him as more than just her employer, but if she did, I don’t think Keith was aware of it. And there was really no reason for me to think that, other than a woman’s intuition. She was totally devoted to him and his practice.” She looked at her watch and said as she stood up, “I’m sorry to end this, but I really need to pick up my children from my friend’s house. I’m a few minutes late as it is, and they don’t need any more trauma in their lives right now.”

  “Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to me. I wish there was something I could say that would help, but words seem so meaningless at a time like this. Here’s my business card. If you think of anything, feel free to call me.”

  “I will,” Lisbeth said as she closed the door behind Marty. Marty was standing just outside the front door looking at her phone to see if she had any messages when Lisbeth opened the garage door and backed out in a late model Ferrari.

  Hmm, must have been
a nice divorce settlement, Marty thought. Don’t think cars like that come cheap.

  CHAPTER 18

  Jeff had called Sybil at Dr. Ramsey’s office earlier that morning and asked if she could meet with him for a little while. Although he’d spoken with her briefly on the night of Dr. Ramsey’s death, he wanted to do an in-depth interview with her. As Dr. Ramsey’s administrative assistant, she probably knew more than anyone else in the office about Dr. Ramsey and Dr. Thurston.

  She agreed to meet with him before his appointment with the pit boss at the casino where Paul Donaldson worked. The pit boss, Hugh Lawson, had told Jeff he’d switched his shift with one of the other pit bosses, so the man could attend his son’s elementary school graduation, and he’d be happy to meet with Jeff during his lunch break.

  When Jeff walked into the plastic surgery suite, he was again pleasantly surprised at how tastefully decorated it was. Although he’d been there the night of the murder, he hadn’t paid all that much attention to it. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but it certainly hadn’t been anything as plush as the reception area he was in. He’d seen some of Marty’s photographs of Dr. Ramsey’s Shaker collection and the furniture had looked pretty uncomfortable to him, so the casual relaxed feeling of the room was better than he thought it would be.

  An attractive woman about his age looked out at him from behind the reception counter and said, “May I help you?”

  “Yes, I’m Detective Jeff Combs. I have an appointment with Sybil. By any chance would you be her?”

  “That would be me,” she said, “I’ll buzz you in, and we can go into my office.” She turned to a woman who was standing at a file cabinet and said, “Denise, would you take over for me? I shouldn’t be that long.” She pressed a button underneath the counter, and a moment later Jeff was following her down the hall to her office.

  “Detective, please, have a seat,” Sybil said as she gestured to a large upholstered chair. “Your wife was gracious enough to ask me to lunch yesterday, but I fear I wasn’t very good company. I’m much better today, but I’m still having a hard time dealing with Dr. Ramsey’s death. I mean, when you’ve worked for someone for over twenty years, and then they’re gone in an instant, it kind of turns your world upside down.”