Page 141 of Lovely Venom

“Do you have anything else on those passports yet?”

“Not really.” Romeo glances up at me from his computer.

“What about facial recognition?”

“Dead end.”

“How is that possible? You can usually find anyone.”

“I have a few working theories.” He leans back in his chair and swivels to face me.

“Such as?”

“Dancers usually start training at a young age, but that generation didn’t have the digital footprint we do now. If recordings exist, they’re probably archived on DVDs.”

“And the other options?”

“Piecing together what we know, I’d bet money she’s associated with another outfit. She wouldn’t have access to IDs like that without connections. So it’s entirely plausible that her public exposure was protected before it even had a chance to exist. It’s also possible that whoever helped her with the IDs scrubbed anything tying her to her old identity. That makes the most sense, considering they went to all the trouble of curating passable backgrounds.”

“I need something, Romeo.” I scrape a hand over my face.

“There is one other thing.” He turns back to his computer. “It’s another dead end, but it’s something that ties her to her old identity.”

“What?”

He opens a file and enlarges it.

“When she applied at Black Velvet, she submitted a printed reference from a competition choreographer.”

“You think it’s real?”

“I think she chose this reference for a reason,” he says. “It would be easy to change the first name, and she probably knew the choreographer wouldn’t be able to offer up specifics. You’ll understand why when you hear it.”

He plays the recording on his computer, and we listen to it together.

The beginning of the conversation is Romeo verifying that he’s speaking to Zara Kessler. He introduces himself as a talent agency recruiter who’s interested in representing Chantel St. James, and explains that Chantel submitted a reference letter from her.

Zara initially insists she won’t be much help. She’s worked with thousands of dancers, and she’s terrible with names. She doubts a photo will jog her memory, but after Romeo sends her one, her tone shifts.

She goes on to say she does actually remember Chantel because she had an unbelievable stage presence. She mentions that Chantel stood out for her technical ability and how quickly she picked up routines.

Zara admits she was surprised by Chantel’s talent, stating that she didn’t expect it from a girl like that. When Romeo asks her why, Zara explains that, offstage, Chantel was withdrawn. She says there was always a man with her, but Zara didn’t think he was her father, and she got the sense that Chantel wasn’t allowed to socialize.

Romeo asks Zara if she recalls which competition Chantel participated in, telling her he’d like to review the footage. But Zara tells him that she’s traveled all over the country for the last three decades, and she couldn’t even begin to guess.

After the recording comes to an end, Romeo meets my gaze. We’re no closer to finding out where she came from, but it seems to confirm our suspicions. If Chantel is associated with another outfit, they won’t look too kindly on a rival claiming one of their own.

“Angelo won’t be happy about this,” Romeo remarks.

“He doesn’t need to know right now. Not until we’re certain.”

Romeo raises a brow, and I shoot him a look.

“Like you have room to talk. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you how many times you went rogue when it came to Gabi.”

“Enough said.” He smirks. “It was worth it.”

“I want to throw everything we’ve got at this,” I tell him. “And I need you to keep an eye on her while I’m at work. I don’t want Mariella sneaking her off the island.”