“It just said he had to duck back to his trailer, after tracking mud on the red carpet like the article mentioned.” Elaine scoffed. “Big deal, Quinn. It was probably raining.”
I rolled my eyes because had she been paying even the slightest bit of attention, she would’ve known it was a dry day in Los Angeles, California, where the crime took place.
“He tracked mud on the carpet? But…there’s no mud.”
“So? Maybe that was takenafterhe changed his shoes.”
“Ormaybe,” I said through gritted teeth, “it’s the one link we have to the clue they gave us. In the letteryouwere supposed to decipher.”
Elaine released a bored sigh. “Just let me know when you pick someone and we can get out of here. I’m not a fan of Nancy Drew. Thanks.”
Ignoring her, I rifled through each scan we’d gotten of the newspaper clippings and magazine articles.
“Look!”
The three other Ladies crowded around me.
Elaine yawned.
“His outfit is different!” Morgan cried, pointing to a photo of the costar at one of the after parties. His shirt and tie had been changed, along with hismuddyshoes. “So, then, if that picture in the article is before he changed, then you’re right. Why isn’t there mud?”
I squinted at the photo. “The marks on the carpet…They just look wet. It’s just a darker red.”
My eyes flew wide and met Morgan’s equally surprised gaze.
“Red-soled heels!” she blurted out, and I nodded frantically, hunting for the timetable that showed the distance to the theater where the premiere was held and the stage where the murder occurred.
“If this photo was taken at 7:57 p.m., and he left to go back to the stage, that puts him there right at the time of death. He’s definitely a suspect.”
“Maybe even our prime suspect, if the red on his shoes was blood.”
“Exactly.” My brow furrowed. “So, he had the opportunity. He had a motive, based on his chat with the understudy. So, we just need to tie him to the murder weapon.”
“She was attacked while she was changing,” Morgan reminded me. “Her killer got her from behind when she wasn’t expecting it. So, it could’ve been anyone, with the element of surprise on their side.”
“And we crossed off the others, as far as opportunity goes?”
“Yes, technically,” Lynette chimed in. “The understudy wasn’t there that night. She’s the only one we don’t have a time stamp for, but maybe they just included her to give us the costar’s motive?”
Morgan chewed on her lower lip, smudging the red matte lipstick that had faded as we worked through everything.
Something about it didn’t sit right with her, either.
“We need to pin down where she was, and search the crime scene again for anything that ties the understudy or the costar to the murder.”
“Ten minutes, Ladies,” Landon announced from the corner. “I need your final answer in ten, if you want to submit a guess.”
“I want to submit the right answer,” I huffed.
Elaine groaned and dropped her head back on the wall. “Why does this matter so much to you, Quinn? We get points for everything we submit. With the amount of clues you weirdos have pieced together, we’re going to be fine.”
“Maybe that’s good enough for you, Elaine.” I snapped. “But I want the truth.”
She scoffed. “Do you, though?”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“First, you’re fixated on the guy who was in love with therising star, wanting to pin it on him. Now, what? You want to clear his name, and suddenly, her understudy is a suspect again?” Elaine arched a brow, as if it was all so obvious, but I had no idea what the fuck she was talking about. “Just sounds familiar, I guess.”
