Scent to Her Grave

by Yasmine Galenorn

  I drew myself up to my full height so that I towered over him on my stacked heels. “I need to talk to you about Lydia Wang.”

  He examined us quickly, then stepped aside so we could enter the room. “Who the hell are you?” he asked, jerking his head toward the sofa. “Sit down, but make it quick.”

  I glanced around. Standard dressing room, bare with costumes and makeup scattered around. Mirror that was lit too brightly, the air thick with his cologne. “My name is Persia Vanderbilt. As I said, I need to ask you some questions about Lydia.” I consciously moderated my voice so that I didn’t come off as obnoxious or pushy. Jin struck me as a man who wouldn’t look kindly on being pressured.

  “Questions, huh?” He stared at me and I met his eyes with a steady, unblinking gaze. “So, Lydia told you about me?”

  “Yeah, enough.” A lie, but Trevor needed all the help he could get and if it took telling a few falsehoods, I was up to the task. “The thing is, I’m working with a lawyer to find out more about her murder.”

  Jin dropped into a chair, a pained expression crossing his face. “Lydia’s dead? You’re joking—you have to be joking. I just talked to her on Monday afternoon!”

  Oh shit! He hadn’t known? But if he really was in the dark about her death, then he couldn’t have killed her. And his voice told me that, unless he was a stellar actor, he truly hadn’t known. I slid onto the sofa next to his chair and took a deep breath.

  “I’m so sorry to break it to you this way. Lydia was a customer of mine. She died in my store. As I said, I’m working with a lawyer to find out everything we can about her death. You see, one of my employees was accused of the murder and we’re trying to prove his innocence. I honestly thought you knew.”

  Jin shook his head, staring at the floor. “No, I’ve been out of town since Tuesday morning. I had no idea she was dead.”

  Chapter 18

  “LYDIA WAS MURDERED? I just can’t believe it.” Jin shook his head, then looked up at me, not acting like a bereaved lover at all. Oh, he looked shocked, but not devastated. “Who are they accusing?” A cold twinkle sparkled in his eye, one that made me uneasy.

  I took a deep breath. “Trevor Wilson, one of my employees.”

  Jin spat out an obscenity. “Bullshit, Trevor’s a wimp. Lydia could have whipped his butt blindfolded.”

  I gauged his reaction. No smell of fear, no smell of anger. Maybe he’d be able to help us more than I hoped. I motioned for Barb to join me on the sofa. “Trevor was framed,” I said. “We’re trying to pinpoint who might have it in for him. Like a jealous lover.”

  I could practically see the lightbulb flash on over his head. “And you think the ‘other man’ might be just the place to start.” He arched an eyebrow.

  I nodded, with just a slight upswing of my lips. “I suppose you could say that.” I had the distinct feeling we were playing cat-and-mouse. I wasn’t about to end up the rodent.

  He shifted position, crossing his legs. “Ladies, I can offer you the names of nine potential suspects with far more to gain from Lydia’s death than myself. In fact, I had a lot to lose.”

  Barb and I glanced at each other. I knew she was thinking the same thing I was. If he was Lydia’s dealer, then he’d lost a steady source of income thanks to her murder. On the other hand, if he thought he was going to be exposed, might not it have seemed more cost effective to lose one client rather than lose his freedom?

  “Nine suspects? How about names?” I asked.

  He leaned forward. “There were ten finalists for that beauty contest, with a big payoff for the winner. Don’t you think one of those girls might have wanted her dead? Think about it… if the winner cannot fulfill her obligations…”

  “Then the runner-up will assume the crown.” Colleen Murkins? True, she was assuming the position of spokesmodel now that Lydia was dead, but did she have what it took to be a killer? “What makes you think that Colleen is capable of murder?”

  With a snort, he said, “Because Colleen had already threatened to blackmail Lydia. That little tart has nerves of steel, I’ll tell you that.”

  “Blackmail? What on earth for?” But even as I said it, I knew. The drugs. Allison knew about them and somehow Colleen had found out and threatened to expose that fact to the papers, which would have forced Radiance to cancel Lydia’s contract.

  “We know she was using. I assume Colleen found out?” I didn’t mention that I knew he was her dealer. No sense in pushing the envelope.

  Jin snorted. “Practically every contestant in that contest was using, including Colleen. Lydia kept it tame compared to some of them. Diet drugs and speed, as much as she could get her hands on. She popped pills like a sugar freak pops candy, mainly to keep her weight down. That wasn’t what Colleen found out. No, she was on to something else, something that would have ruined Lydia’s career with Radiance Cosmetics and on the beauty circuit for good. The scandal would have dishonored Lydia’s family, a double whammy.”

  If it wasn’t drugs, what could it have been?

  “Plastic surgery?” Given Lydia’s vanity and her nature, it made sense. And since Radiance Cosmetics passed itself off as the “natural wonder in beauty,” they’d never allow a model who’d been nipped and tucked in all the right places. It would ruin their image if word leaked out.

  “Uh uh.” Jin gave me a secretive smile. “Lydia was all natural in that department. Besides, Eurasian eyes are too obvious and Radiance wasn’t interested in hybrids. No, Colleen found out who Lydia’s boyfriend was, and snapped a picture of them in the act. One worth a lot of money.”

  What the hell? “But, you’re her boyfriend. And while I’m at it, I might add that you don’t seem very upset considering you just found out your girlfriend was murdered!” I leaned forward, shaking my head. “For someone who was supposed to be in love with her, you don’t seem all that devastated.”

  Jin leaned back, his face impassive. “Obviously, your information is out of whack.”

  “Apparently. So, are you going to tell me who her boyfriend was?”

  He winked and gave me a secretive smile. “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.” As he ran the length of my body with his gaze, I felt like he was undressing me, exposing every inch of my skin.

  “Knock it off,” I said, restraining an urge to wipe that smirk off his face. “I appreciate what you’ve told us so far, but I’m not a slab of meat. I know what you’re thinking right now,”

  With a snort, he said, “I doubt that, or you’d backhand me first and ask questions later. I don’t like to be goaded, woman. So don’t push me.”

  We stared at one another for a moment as I forced myself to calm down. Whether or not I liked his attitude, we still needed the information he could provide. “So if you weren’t dating her, then who was? We thought you scared her away from Trevor.”

  Jin cleared his throat. “Not me. Trevor isn’t a bad kid, though he’s a hick. I warned her to cut him loose if she wasn’t going to shape up, or they’d both be hurt because of her habit.” He leaned forward and I had the feeling he meant every word he was saying. “Listen to me, I liked Lydia, but she wasn’t my type. I like my women to have brains. She was a friend, and a customer. I got her the speed she wanted—at least I could get it clean and not cut with some other crap.” He was biding his time, I could see it in his eyes—he’d tell us what we wanted to know, but at his own pace.

  “The reason we thought you were her boyfriend is that she told her friends she was dating somebody who worked at the Blue Dragon.”

  “Somebody who supposedly hit her,” Barbara said. She’d been watching from near the door. “Do you know anything about the bruises she brought back from Seattle a few weeks ago?”

  He glanced at her. “You think I did that? No dice. Regardless of what you think, I cared about Lydia. I cared enough to let her use me as a cover. The fact is that yes, she did have a boyfriend in Seattle, but she wanted to keep his name on the hush. She got hersel
f into deep shit, deep enough that there was no way out.”

  I perked up. It sounded like he was ready to spill the information we needed. “How so?”

  Jin crossed his legs and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it and blowing a perfect ring before he spoke. “One of the judges knew how much she wanted to win. She met him through her uncle, or something. So they struck a deal before the contest. He’d see that she got the crown if she gave him whatever he asked for, but she had to be at his beck and call whenever he wanted. He likes to rough up girls, if you know what I mean. He has a very active imagination.”

  I shivered. From what Nadia had said, the judges already knew that the contest was rigged in Lydia’s favor. The pervert had used that knowledge to get her into bed and when she was there, had abused her. “You got a name for him? Sounds like he needs a visit from the Karma Police.”

  “No, what he needs is a visit from one of my buddies,” Jin said and his voice was cold enough to strike ice. “Colleen spied on them a few weeks ago and managed to snap a picture of Lydia screwing the judge. I guess Colleen figured she had more to gain through blackmail than by going to the company. After all, if Radiance ran a new contest because of a rigging scandal, she might not win.”

  “How do you know Colleen found out?” Barbara asked.

  He shrugged. “Lydia called me on Monday, shortly before noon. She was really upset so I caught the ferry and hurried over there as fast as I could. Apparently, she’d had a run-in with Colleen in some store. A little while later Colleen phoned her and threatened to spill everything if Lydia didn’t pay up.”

  I closed my eyes; the scandal would have destroyed her family’s reputation. “She would have lost the title, as well as any dignity she had.”

  “That’s about the size of it. And that title meant everything to her, it was her ticket to the top. Colleen hadn’t made any demands yet, but it was only a matter of time. I couldn’t stay because I had to get back here by seven-thirty.” Jin pulled out a small notebook and flipped it open. I could see it was a calendar. “That was the night that I danced a double shift.”

  A double shift? “What time did you finish up?”

  He smirked. “Why? Wish you could have been here?”

  I let out a long, slow breath. “Don’t overhype yourself —it’s not becoming.”

  Jin gave me a slow smile. “You aren’t that different from me, Persia Vanderbilt. You should hang around more often. We’d probably end up friends.”

  Right. Like hell we would. “So you never threatened Trevor?”

  “Trevor? No. But I did threaten to gut the S.O.B. who bruised her up. She got upset, told me not to touch him or she’d rip out my heart. I guess she was afraid that he’d blacklist her if I went after him.”

  Ah… the mysterious phone call Nadia had mentioned. “Back to Monday night. What time did you work?”

  He stood up and stubbed out his butt in an ashtray. “I was on stage at eight and I didn’t finish till almost midnight. Then I went clubbing with some friends. I got home at two in the morning and the doorman can vouch for that. The ferries don’t run that late, so there’s no way I could have gotten over to Port Samanish Island. I left town to visit my mother Tuesday morning and got back today. So you see, my dear, I couldn’t have killed Lydia Wang. And if you’ll excuse me, I have to change for my performance. If you like, you can stick around while I dress.”

  Silently, Barb and I left the room and headed back into the bar which had filled to capacity since we left. Any desire I had to return to the nightlife of Seattle had been squelched by this little encounter.

  “I just want to get the hell out of this seedy dive and never come back,” I told Barbara. Jin had answered a lot of questions, and raised a few more, but my distaste for the man was so strong that I wanted nothing to do with him or the people who came to see him. “Do you mind if we head out?”

  Barbara shook her head; the same look of disgust I was feeling was plastered across her face. “Let’s go. We can make the ferry if we leave now.”

  We drove back to the ferry terminal without incident. Lost in my thoughts, I couldn’t think of much else besides the insecure young woman who had pumped herself full of drugs in a desperate attempt to stay thin, traded her body for a beauty crown, and ended up bludgeoned to death in my aunt’s shop. The trip home was far more somber than the ride to Seattle had been.

  AUNTIE WAS SNORING away in the rocking chair by the time I got home. She’d been waiting up for me, even though she denied it when I woke her up to let her know I was home.

  “Thank heavens you’re home, Persia Rose! I was worried about you.”

  “I love you too, Auntie. I found out some important things that Kyle will want to know. But right now, time for bed. There’s nothing we can do this late.” I threw my arms around her, feeling suddenly protective of the woman who had taken me in, raised me, and now was acting like any concerned mother.

  She nodded. “I’ve got news for you, too, but it will keep. Best get a good night’s rest first, Imp.” Refusing to say another word, she padded up to her bedroom. I followed after making sure the lights were out and the doors latched.

  I WOKE LATE to broken patches of blue sky, but when I flipped on my radio, the weatherman said that we were due for another round. “The storm season isn’t over yet, folks, so fasten your seatbelts and batten down the hatches. Even though this morning started off with blue skies, she’s going to blow rough tonight.”

  Opening my window to let the crisp scent of freshly rain-soaked cedars and firs filter through the room, I contemplated what we’d learned. Jin hadn’t killed Lydia. Kyle would be able to establish his alibi easily enough, that much was certain. And now we knew that Lydia’s “boyfriend” in Seattle was a cover for her assignations with the contest judge. I had the feeling that her breakup with Trevor had come right after the beating, perhaps at the insistence of the judge.

  As I moved through my yoga routine, I wondered what kind of mindset it took to subject oneself to degradation and abuse in exchange for a beauty crown. If Lydia was willing to get the title by cheating, then she must have wanted it pretty damned bad.

  “Persia! Brunch!”

  My aunt’s voice startled me and I realized that I’d been sitting on my stability ball for the past five minutes, doing nothing but thinking. Lazy, I thought, but gave it up for the day. The rest of my routine would have to wait. I was too preoccupied.

  “Be down as soon as I have a shower,” I called over the edge of the banister. Ten minutes later, I joined my aunt at the table, where I gave her a full rundown on the events of the evening. She listened gravely, nodding, but I could tell there was something else on her mind.

  “Auntie, is something wrong?” I poured us both another cup of tea.

  She bit her lip, eying me thoughtfully. “Well, yes, in a manner of speaking. You had a visitor last night. He left you a message.”

  “Who?” I asked, but immediately closed my mouth. I knew who, I didn’t have to ask. Elliot. “That scum! What does he want now?”

  Auntie wrung her hands. “Oh Persia, I wish I didn’t have to tell you this. You’re not going to like it and I don’t want you to do anything stupid.” She began to fiddle with the hanging ivy next to the kitchen table. Caught up in a wire mesh basket, the plant trailed fronds almost to chin height. If she let it grow any lower, the cats would have gotten into it.

  I took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. It must be bad, whatever it was. “Okay, let me have it. I promise I won’t go buy a gun and shoot him.”

  She gave me a smile then. “Honey, if it would help matters any, I’d spring for the bullets. But violence isn’t the answer. Okay, here it is: Elliot has decided to move to Gull Harbor. He’s gone and rented one of those sleazy dives down on Arborville Avenue—the Gate ’n Lion? You remember—the place with the huge statues of the stone lions that used to belong to the library before they replaced them with horses.”

&nbs
p; I stared at my plate. “Elliot? Move here? Oh God, take me now!”

  Count to ten, don’t say another word until I count to ten, I thought. Let it flow in, let it flow out. You give your opponent power if you let him unbalance your emotions.

  There had to be something I could do. I wasn’t about to move, nor would I allow him to disrupt my life. I had to think this one over carefully. In the meantime, I was going to have to find a way to cope with the knowledge that he was living in the same town as me.

  Auntie seemed to be waiting for an explosion. I shook my head, on the verge of tears. “I hope to hell he falls in the water and drowns or that he gets himself thrown in jail again. He’s a bane around my neck. Think I’ll just call him Albatross Man from now on. Al, for short.”

  She rested her hands on my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. “Maybe it won’t be so bad. You can avoid him. I can put a stop to him hanging out at the shop. It will be okay, wait and see.”

  But we both knew she was wrong.

  I CALLED KYLE after brunch but he was gone and dispatch didn’t know when he’d be back. After leaving a message that I needed to talk to him, I glanced at the clock. Almost two. Time to get ready for my date with Bran. I slipped into a loose pair of cotton jeans and a long sleeved polo shirt, then tied my shoes. For real climbing, I’d use boots, of course, but for the rock wall down at Gardner’s Gym, sneakers would work just fine. My hair went into a braid and then I coiled it up and pinned it on the back of my head. Digging through my gear, I finally found my knee and elbow pads, along with my helmet and gloves. Even on practice walls, safety counted.

  I was headed downstairs when the phone rang and I heard Aunt Florence answer. As I rounded the corner, she called me into the den. “It’s for you. It’s Daphne Stanton, Bran’s sister.”