Chapter 38
CHAPTER 38
“ O h, this doesn’t look good.” Josie drops her face in her hands for a moment, and those peacock feathers swing around her face like warning sirens.
The music is loud, the stars are bright, and a sea of glowing cocktails has taken over the promenade deck in my honor on this our final night of the cruise.
“No, it doesn’t look good,” I say. “With Merritt out of the way, you’d never have to work again. From what I hear, her posthumous work is already selling through the roof.”
“Oh, Trixie—” Her face grows pale and her lips part in shock. “Are you… are you accusing me of killing her?”
“I’m just trying to understand,” I say, my voice calm but unyielding. “You had a motive. Plenty of it. Visalia said she saw you arguing with Merritt the night she died.”
Tears well up in her eyes and she blinks them away. “ No, no, no .” She shakes her head vehemently. “I did not kill Merritt. Yes, I’ve been struggling, and yes, Merritt was leaving me, but I loved her. I would never hurt her. It was going to be tough without her, but if you must know, I was already looking into other career opportunities. I thought I’d sell Maude the Maven makeup on the side.”
“Oh, with all that pretty pink packaging? My mother used to buy it by the box. I loved Maude the Maven makeup so much! ”
“Would you focus,” Merritt thunders at me. “Don’t you see she’s trying to create a diversion?”
Josie nods emphatically as if she heard. “I’ve been a big fan of Maude’s products since I was a kid myself. My mother, too, wore it regularly, and to this day I equate it with being a grown-up. Anyway, I’ve only been to one meeting so far. I wanted to buy up all the lipsticks and blushes to peddle, but if you can believe it, they wouldn’t give them to me.”
“Why not?” I blink back, incensed on her behalf.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake.” Merritt tosses up her ghostly hands and a slew of miniature stars shoot out in every direction.
But I ignore her supernatural hissy fit. Instead, I study Josie’s face, searching for any sign of deceit, but all I see is pain and desperation.
Josie rolls her eyes. “They said anyone can do color and left me with all the boring bits like tonics and toner that nobody wants to buy—let alone sell.”
I shrug. “It sounds like you needed a cash infusion and fast.”
Josie swallows hard. “Merritt was difficult, yes. She could be cruel, and she could be demanding, but she was also brilliant. Honestly, she believed in me when no one else did. I owed her everything. I still do.” She glances out at the sparkling sea. “I wish she were still here. I’d peddle Maude’s products with glee just to give Merritt the chance to live out the rest of her life.” She sniffs hard. “I’m sorry, Trixie, but I didn’t kill her.”
“What about the feathers?” I ask and both she and Merritt take a step back and inspect me. “Peacock feathers were found near her body. Miniature peacock feathers.”
“Oh my goodness,” Merritt riots. “Feathers are practically this nitwit’s signature! Oh my word, she is the killer!”
“Miniature peacock feathers?” Josie looks momentarily confused. “That was Visalia. I mean”—she blinks hard—“I wore them, but Visalia gave them to me that night. In fact, she stuck them in my hair. I thought it was sweet that she thought of me that way. She knows I’m sort of a feather-head.” She gives a good-natured laugh, albeit a quiet one. “She brought them along on the trip as a gift. They were covered in grit, though. She must have packed them with that mulch she converts into a smoothie. I think it’s psyllium husk. She’s on some big kick to lower her cholesterol. Ever since her parents died, she’s been on a major health kick.”
“Psyllium husk?” I rack my brain for a minute. Stanton used to have a big bag of the stuff. I suck in a quick breath. It looked like sawdust! “Josie, did Visalia have any big issues with Merritt? I mean, they worked together. Visalia is her publicist. I bet they had loads of problems.”
Josie cocks her head with a confused expression taking over her face. “No, she used to be her publicist. Something happened a few months back. Shortly after her father passed away. Visalia quit. I think she’s still looking for new clients.”
“But I thought—” I offer a stern look to Merritt. She has a lot of explaining to do. “So, I guess Visalia came on the cruise as a friend?”
“Heavens, no.” Josie laughs at the thought. “I mean, I think the intent of the trip was to mend fences. In fact, I was having lunch at the country club with Visalia the day Stanton came into the Cottage Grill. That’s when Merritt walked in and the four of us started talking. Stanton suggested that Merritt take this cruise with him, and that he’d even pay for her ticket. I said a cruise sounded like a great time, and so did Visalia. That’s when Stanton said he’d be glad to pick up our tickets as well, just so Merritt could have a couple of friends to hang out with. And Visalia quickly added that it might be the perfect venue for the two of them to make amends.”
Leave it to Stanton to sweeten the pot of my nemesis and bankroll her entire vacation— and that of her friends—in an effort to make me miserable. And boy, did he succeed in spades. And not in the way he intended.
“Wait a minute…” I blink back. “Make amends over what?”
Josie shakes her head. “That’s the funny thing, neither of them would give me the skinny on what really happened between them. All I know is that it had something to do with her father.”
“Visalia’s father?” I say a touch too loud, but the crowd around us doesn’t flinch.
“That’s right.” Josie nods. “Merritt was taking riding lessons from Visalia’s dad at the club. Apparently, he was pretty big in the horse world.” She makes a face. “And he was pretty big with the ladies.” She shoots a lethal glance into the ocean once again. “Not to mention the man was married. Anyway, if you don’t mind, I think I’m going to grab some of that pumpkin cheesecake, the one with the gingerbread crumble. After this conversation, I might need two or six slices.”
She takes off and I turn to Merritt with a newfound fury in my eyes.
I stalk my way over to her. “You slept with him, too,” I riot. “Why, I ought to strangle you! Too bad somebody already beat me to it.”