“How do you know about the Vampire Room?”
“There’s very little I don’t know about this pageant, darlin’.”
“It’s not the worst idea,” Joe said, speaking up for the first time. “Not that I think Presley had anything to do with Brett’s death, but if someone else did, then maybe they’ll out themselves.”
The two of them were right. It struck me once again that Aunt DeeDee believed in Joe, that she basically lived her life trusting people until they proved she shouldn’t.
Before I could respond, my phone rang, startling me more than it should have. It was Lacy.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Where are you?” Lacy’s voice was tear-filled.
I didn’t know how to answer. If I told her I was in Joe’s room discussing a possible séance with my aunt, there would be too many questions. “On the fourth floor,” I said instead. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Can you meet me in the back garden?”
“Sure.”
“Near the rose hedge maze.”
“Be right there.” I hung up. “I’ve got to go check on Lacy. I guess, spread the word about the… the séance?” I could hardly believe I was saying those words.
“We’ll do it in a couple of hours,” Aunt DeeDee decided. “When the moon is high in the sky. That sounds like a thing people would do.”
I screwed up my mouth as I studied this woman who seemed nothing like my aunt. Still, this might give me enough time to help Lacy. That email was supposed to go out to her clients at midnight, but perhaps if we got Presley—or whomever—to confess, they would suddenly remember useful information to help us break into Brett’s account.
Between searching for an email password, where the diamond might have been hidden, and a murderer, my night was packed.
Aunt DeeDee gave me a knowing look. “You can figure this out, Dakota. You can.”
I was grateful for her confidence because in that moment, knowing that both my friend and half-sister needed me as much as the investigation did, I certainly felt less than.
When I reached the back garden, the stars were blaring through the indigo haze of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Anton was pacing in front of the maze, staring at his phone and fuming. As I drew nearer, I spotted Lacy on the bench, leaning forward, her eyes down. She looked up as she heard me approach.
“What happened?” I asked, glancing between the two of them.
He stopped and held up the screen of his phone so I could see words that were too tiny to read from that distance. “Brett Brinkley’s email,” he said, through clenched teeth. His face was a deep red and he was practically spitting.
“He set it up to send early to Anton, along with a threat,” Lacy said, trying not to cry.
“If this man weren’t already dead, I would kill him myself.” There was venom in Anton’s words.
I read the screen as Lacy came to my side.
Anton,
Please enjoy the photos Lacy shared with me. To me, she’s like a rare jewel, an irreplaceable gem, though not the one that got away. Encourage her to behave before these are shared with her clients. I knowTMZwould love to get their hands on these.
Sincerely,
BB
TMZ, huh? That very same supposedly-news outlet had likely already spread the word of his death. If Brett had actually auto-timed the images to go to them tonight at midnight, they’d be very confused—and likely very excited. An anonymous missive was always fascinating, especially if it carried the hint of sex and murder. These images would be not only visible to Lacy’s clients. They would be everywhere by tomorrow morning, and Lacy’s name would become a household term for the kind of woman who didn’t meet society’s puritanical expectations.
I cringed as I once again read Brett’s formal-sounding words filled with such malicious meaning and scrolled down to see three attachments that I didn’t open.
