Chapter 15
"I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to get in touch, but I really haven't been able to bring myself to discuss this any sooner," Richard said.
"I understand,” I said.
"Can you tell me exactly what happened?”
I gave him an overview, leaving out specific details. "I spoke at length with your wife. There was clearly a lot of tension between you and your daughter.”
"Yes, there was, which makes something like this all the more difficult. So many aspects of our relationship will never be resolved.”
“I can only imagine,” I said in a sympathetic voice. “Your wife said Eden had two prior suicide attempts. Did she express any intentions of self-harm to you recently?”
“She didn’t express much to me other than her contempt.”
“This is a difficult and painful subject, I’m sure. But was there any merit to the allegations of sexual misconduct?”
The line went silent for a moment. I expected him to hang up.
“I don’t even want to dignify that with a response,” he said in a disgusted voice.
“The allegations were absurd. She has publicly recanted her prior statements. Baseless accusations whose sole purpose was to drive a stake through my heart. And that it did. Despite our differences, I loved Eden. I gave her every opportunity to reconcile. My heart is truly broken.”
“Tell me about the lawsuit.”
“It was an unfortunate necessity. She didn’t take any of my threats seriously. I had to take action.”
“Threats?”
“I warned her on numerous occasions that I would take legal action if she persisted,” he said in a frustrated breath.
“Can you think of anyone who may have wanted to harm her?”
“She ran with a crowd of degenerates. Take your pick. You can’t flirt with the devil and not face the consequences.”
“When do you plan on returning to Coconut Key?”
“We have a flight back this evening.”
“Please get in touch if you think of anything that might be helpful.”
“Have you made a determination? Was this, in fact, a homicide?”
“We believe so.”
“Please find out who killed my daughter.”
“We will do our best,” I assured before ending the call.
We finished lunch, then headed across town to the Platinum Dunes to talk to Vanessa Vix.
As Eden's biggest online rival, she had done well for herself.
Jack parked at the curb at 346 Mahi Moon Court.
We hopped out and strolled the walkway past the lime green Lamborghini Urus and the red AMG 63 roadster.
I rang the video doorbell.
A curt voice crackled through the speaker a moment later. "Can I help you?"
I flashed my badge and made introductions. "We need to speak with Vanessa.”
"She's busy at the moment."
"Busy doing what?”
"Is that any of your business?”
"This is an important matter. We think she might be able to help us with a case.”
"What kind of case?”
“To whom am I speaking?"
"I'm Natalie. Her assistant."
"This will only take a minute.”
"She's in the middle of a photo shoot right now."
I stifled my annoyance. "Like I said, it will only take a minute.”
"Do you have a warrant?”
"I'm not looking to arrest anybody. I just have some questions.”
"Hang on,” she said in a sigh.
The line crackled with static as she disconnected.
I shared a look with JD.
We waited on the porch for a few minutes.
Natalie finally pulled open the door. She was a skinny girl in her early 20s with short sandy-blonde hair, brown eyes, and a punk-rock kind of vibe. She wore black Converse All-Stars and had several bands on her wrists. "Come with me."
She held the door and ushered us into the foyer, which was lined with imported Italian marble.
A grand staircase spiraled its way up to the second floor.
It was like all the other mansions in the neighborhood, just decorated differently.
Natalie escorted us into the living room and out the kitchen door.
Camera flashes flickered as Vanessa worked her magic in front of the lens.
She pulled and yanked on her teeny bikini in provocative ways, teasing the delights hidden beneath.
The wet fabric clung to her smooth skin, revealing all her supple attributes.
Vanessa smoldered in front of the lens, staring into it like a long-lost lover reunited.
I'm sure the photographer was having fun and getting paid handsomely. He probably would have done it for free.
With her raven hair slicked back by the water, she emerged from below, peeling off her bikini top. Water beaded on her tanned skin. When she finally pulled the string loose, the girls bounced free, and the camera shutter fired in rapid succession.
Vanessa wasn't modest in the least.
Perhaps she was putting on a show for us to soften us up. Scramble our brains. Distract us.
It might have been working.
Her emerald eyes enchanted. Every curve of her body was sculpted to perfection.
She climbed the steps and peeled off her bikini bottoms, posing for more photos. The lens steamed up.
This went on for a few more minutes until she fully exhausted the look. Every angle that could have been shot was shot.
Natalie handed her a towel. Vanessa dried off, then put on a robe. She cinched it at the waist as Natalie explained the situation to her. She pointed in our direction, and Vanessa started toward us.
I flashed my badge again and made introductions.
"What can I do for you, Deputies?"
"We're sorry to interrupt, but we just have a few questions."
She smirked. "You're not sorry at all.”
"You have a gorgeous pool," I said.
She smiled. "Thank you."
"Does this kind of thing happen a lot out here?”
"This is why I bought the house. There are plenty of locations to shoot, and I try to maximize the aesthetic value of the property. That way, I can write the entire thing off. I use every bit of it for work."
"You don't get complaints from the neighbors?”
She scoffed. "Are you kidding me? The men love it.”
"I'm sure their wives don't.”
"Fuck those tight-ass bitches.” Vanessa didn't mince words.
"I'm sure you're aware Eden Saint is deceased.”
"I heard. Couldn't happen to a nicer girl.”
"So you were on good terms,” I snarked.
"She was a wannabe. She copied everything I did. Whatever I did in a photo shoot, she did too. Same themes, outfits, hairstyles. When I attempted to make a world record, she tried to beat it. Have an original thought, why don't you?"
"Can you tell me where you were the evening she died?”
"I don't even know when that was. I don't really keep up with that kind of thing. She was always beneath me,” she said in a lofty voice.
I told her the day and time.
"I don't know. I’d have to check my schedule. I don't want to misspeak.”
"I was looking through your social media feed," I said. "Want to tell me about this post from a week ago?” I showed her a screen capture of the post.
"It's just stupid shit I said on the Internet,” she said.
"Eden Saint is just a dumb twat that nobody cares about,” I quoted. “She just needs to eat a bullet already.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes. "So what? Does that prove I killed her?”
"No.”
"It's just trash talk. Get over it.”
"Did you have a reason to kill her?”
"Sure. I can think of a few. She screwed my boyfriend. Does that count?”
"Normally, I would think that could be motivation.”
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I kicked his ass to the curb. I just won't tolerate infidelity."
I tried to contain my reaction. It didn’t make any sense. "You just told me you had a thousand partners in a day for the world record."
"That doesn't count."
"It doesn't count?”
"I didn't feel anything for those guys. I was just doing it for work. Just like any other actress. I was playing a part. A publicity stunt.”
"I think it counts," I said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"It only counts if I say it counts. What does it matter anyway?”
I shrugged. "I don’t know. Did your boyfriend get to act with other girls on camera?”
“No. Just with me. He's not in the business. Not really. Nobody's paying money to see his junk." She laughed.
"Vanessa, we’re ready," the photographer said, having re-lit another section of the pool by the Jacuzzi.
"If you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I need to get back to work," she said with a flirty glint in her eyes. She spun around, peeled off the robe, and tossed it to Natalie. She strutted to the Jacuzzi, her hips swaying in hypnotic ways, teasing us for fun.
I pulled a card from my pocket and left it on the table. I told her to get in touch if she's thought of anything helpful.
We may have lingered around for another moment or two before leaving the backyard and walking down the driveway to the street.
Vanessa had certainly left an impression.
I called Isabella and asked her if she could dig up her cell history.