Double Booked For Death

“And thank God for that,” Darla finished, the words as heartfelt as any prayer of Marnie’s. “You should have heard the things she was saying about hellfire and damnation. I was serious when I told you she was a crazy woman.”

“So do the police think this was a deliberate attack on her part?”

“Surely not, or they would have arrested her . . . or at least held her longer for questioning.”

Darla hesitated. But, could it have been?

“No,” she repeated more firmly, “no way could she have known that Valerie would step out onto the street, and no way could she have timed it so exactly. Heck, no one even realized the dead woman was Valerie at first, with all those girls and their black capes. Awful as it is, I would guess Marnie’s not going to be charged with anything.”

Though Darla cynically wondered if all the nasty vibes Marnie and her gang had sent Valerie’s way could be considered a contributory factor in the tragedy. Changing the subject, she asked, “So how are things going in here?”

“Your Detective Reese has already taken my statement, as well as those of Lizzie, Mary Ann, Mavis, Mr. Foster, and Ms. Gables. Ms. Baylor’s bodyguard is the last person waiting to be interviewed . . . that is, besides you.”

Darla nodded. She saw that Everest now sat with Reese at the signing table, while everyone else was gathered near the register, where someone had arranged a few of the chairs in an impromptu circle. Mavis slumped desolately in one, flanked by Koji and Mary Ann, both of whom were murmuring words of consolation. Lizzie sat slightly apart, her nose in a new paperback romance, while Hillary sat texting away on her phone. The agent looked up as Darla and James approached. “I don’t know why they’re bothering to take our statements,” she said with more than a hint of pique. “We were all here inside when it happened.”

“Not necessarily,” was James’s smooth rejoinder. “Busy as we all were, I venture to say that no one was taking attendance. Besides which, almost everyone in the store with the exception of myself and those two gentlemen”—he gestured at Everest and then Koji—“was wearing a black cape, making it difficult to know who was where, and when.”

“And what the hell does that mean?” Hillary snapped back.

“Yes, what does that mean?” Lizzie echoed, a quaver in her voice as she looked up from her novel. “Are you saying one of us might have followed her outside?”

“I am merely pointing out that the police are obliged to check out all possibilities when someone is killed. But it does seem apparent that what happened to Ms. Baylor was, in fact, nothing more than a tragic accident.”

“Are you certain about that, James?”

This came from Mary Ann, who had left Mavis’s side and now was busy wrapping the uneaten food. As all eyes turned her way, she calmly went on, “I heard there was some girl who was causing trouble out there on the street. In fact, I overheard Officer Reese say that she might have pushed Valerie into traffic on purpose.”

“It’s Detective Reese, ma’am,” the man in question corrected as he approached the group. “And all I said was that one of the witnesses claimed she saw what she believed to be a deliberate push. We don’t know for certain yet exactly what happened tonight.”

“But are you saying that maybe it was murder?” Lizzie’s quaver had morphed into a squeak, while her fingers fluttered at the ties that held her black cape around her throat.

Reese shook his head. “That’s not my call. Unless we come up with some hard evidence that points to criminal intent, it’s up to the medical examiner to decide if Ms. Baylor’s death was an accident or not. So it would help me out”—his sharp blue gaze swept the whole group—“if all of you kept that kind of talk under your hats until after we have a formal ruling.” He paused. “But you’re all free to go now, all except for Ms. Pettistone. I still need her statement. We’ll let you know if we need anything more from any of you. Oh, and sir—er, ma’am,” he added as Mavis began scooping up Valerie’s purse and cigarettes, “if those belonged to Ms. Baylor, leave them here. We’ll see that her property gets couriered over to her family in the morning.”

Mavis stared blankly at him for a moment and looked as if she’d protest, but then nodded. Gathering up the oversized makeup bag, the assistant joined Hillary and Koji as Darla—after assuring Reese that she would be right back—walked the somber group to the door and waited with them on the outer steps. Everest had walked on ahead to retrieve the limo parked farther down the block.

Darla glanced down the street and was relieved to see that the last police car was pulling away from the scene. The crews from the satellite trucks emblazoned with various local news station logos were packing up their equipment. Very soon, traffic would be back to its usual late-Sunday-night pattern, with no sign that a death had occurred there on the pavement a few hours earlier.

“There goes the rest of the tour,” Hillary said with a sharp sigh as she tapped her foot on the concrete step with ill-concealed impatience.