Casey shakes her hand and smiles. “He’s my—was my—brother-in-law. I’m Casey.” She thanks the bartender as he hands her a dirty martini.
“Nice to meet you. And so sorry for your loss. You must have been really close with him…”
Casey stirs her martini with an olive stick before taking a sip. “He was like a little brother to me. Always causing problems for James and the family, as I’m sure you know…”
Naomi tries not to look confused.What does she mean?From her experience working in the industry, knowing how hard publicists work to sweep things under the rug, she guesses that maybe Colton’s PR team had to work harder than she imagined. Maybe Bobby was right. Maybe Colton wasn’t so perfect. Maybe it only seemed that way because theymadeit seem so.
“Don’t I know it.” Naomi laughs awkwardly, signaling the bartender. She quickly orders herself a glass of Pinot.
“I still can’t believe Harlow did this. It doesn’t seem right.”
She studies Casey’s response, noting a sadness sweep over her face.
“Were you close with her?” Naomi presses.
“We were, yeah.” Casey stares into her martini, lips pursed in a sour yet distant expression.
“Do you think…” Naomi grimaces as she lets the words hang in the air. She’s on tenterhooks as she waits for Casey’s response. After all, Casey was close to Harlow just before Faye died.
Casey chews on the olives and shrugs. “If you asked me three years ago, I would have said never in a million years. But I guess I don’t know her at all anymore.”
Naomi swallows hard, feeling a small weight fall off her shoulders. “So you don’t think she was just…” She waves her hands in the air. “Going around killing people?” She lowers her voice to a whisper. “Young aspiring musicians. Like that other woman, Jade?”
Casey side-eyes Naomi. “No. I mean she had her jealous moments. Who doesn’t? But as angry and sad as I am about everything and the possibility she could’ve done this to Colton, and of course that poor girl, who definitely is Colton’s type, I don’t know. A part of me just doesn’t believe it at all. I desperately hope it isn’t true at least, as much as I’d like closure for James’ family.” She gestures toward her husband, who is still deep in conversation at the bar.
“When was the last time you saw her?” Naomi presses, racking her brain for how to ask the question she’s really interested in—was she with Harlow the night Bill Lever died?
Casey sips her martini and then cocks her head to the side, blowing air through her cheeks. “Pshh, I honestly can’t remember.”
Naomi leans in. “Sorry, I only ask because there’s a rumor going around that Harlow killed someone else in January of 2022—Bill Lever, I think?” She waves her hand dismissively, as if it’s ridiculous. “But I don’t know, seems crazy. Right?”
“Bill Lever?” Casey lets out a laugh. “No. I remember when that happened. Don’t get me wrong, she didn’t like the guy—total sleazebag, but I remember texting her about it when the news broke. Because we’d been together for my birthday the night before. She was with me in Maine until at least midnight.” She stares down at the floor, frowning again. “Can’t believe that was almost three years ago now.”
Naomi tries to do the math in her head. No way Harlow made it to California in time to kill Bill Lever then. And that photo in LA was taken of her closer to lunchtime, so she probably had gone straight to Rodeo Drive after her flight.
Casey’s eyes glance at something behind Naomi and she smiles.
“Sam, hi.” A sad smile crosses her face as she reaches out her arms.
The man comes over, and Naomi gets a whiff of his musky cologne as he squeezes past to greet her.
Naomi flounders, realizing who it is. Colton and Harlow’s manager, Sam Brixton.
She inhales through her nose, trying to calm herself as he turns around, his wavy brown hair bouncing as he moves, unlike his tailored suit, which fits perfectly to his body. Naomi watches his pearly-white smile fade into a scowl.
She looks around, wondering what could have irked him. Until she realizes it’s her.
“How’d she get in here?” he asks, his small dark eyes now boring into hers. “It’s astounding how low the media is willing to stoop these days.”
Fuck, she thinks.How the hell did he know?Naomi’s eyes dart toward the possible exits, worried she’s about to be thrown out by security.
“Sam,” Casey interjects, trying to calm him down. The room has quieted and people are starting to stare. “This is Faye, she used to work with Colton’s PR team.”
Sam’s face drops for a second, looking from Casey and then to Naomi, perplexed. “No, Casey,” he says, exasperated. “She’s a reporter. From fucking C*Leb News.”
Before they can call security, Naomi slips into the crowd and makes a dash for the parking lot.
Chapter 21
