by G. T. Herren
I couldn’t believe my ears. “Vidrine?”
“Audrey’s father,” Chanse winked at me. He laughed. “Audrey was helping her niece, is what we believe. Jackson says Marigny hired Isabelle based on Audrey’s recommendation— why wouldn’t she hire someone recommended by her oldest friend in the world?”
The pieces started coming together in my head. Isabelle/Amber comes to town, looking for family. “But I thought you said Amber was a stripper.”
“No, I was wrong about that,” Chanse scowled. “That rental application I found, where she claimed to be an ‘entertainer,’ wasn’t actually hers.” He didn’t like making mistakes, and I could tell he was angry at himself. “The last name on that was Corwin.”
“An easy mistake to make.” I patted his hand. “So she went to work for her own grandmother and seduced her step-grandfather.” I shuddered. “I know there’s no relation, but ick.”
“Ick, indeed,” Venus replied. “That’s why she was so careful to make sure her face was never shown in any of those pictures. Tony ran up his credit cards buying things for her, of course. I think her plan at first was just to make her grandmother suffer. She would have exposed those pictures to Marigny if Marigny hadn’t found them on her own. She probably convinced Tony to take the pictures in the first place… but once the divorce got going and Tony turned on Marigny so completely, they became partners in crime.”
“Did you find the jump drive?” I asked.
Blaine answered. “Not yet, but there’s a safe deposit box that needs to be checked out.”
“It was the manuscript that really pushed Amber over the edge,” Chanse shrugged. “She read the whole thing.” He sighed. “All of it was there— all of Marigny’s indiscretions— except for the one with Audrey’s father. Not a word about that, or the child she gave away. That was when Amber decided to confront her.” He sighed. “We’ll probably never know what went down that night.”
“She says she just wanted to get her to admit the truth,” Blaine said. “That was all she wanted, not to kill Marigny.”
“It really doesn’t seem like a good reason to kill someone.” I replied.
“Well, sane people don’t kill people, like I always say.” Venus shrugged a bit. “And sane people don’t confront people with guns, either. I think she went there to rob the place.”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so. She could have robbed the place after she shot Marigny… I’m not saying she isn’t crazy, mind you, I certainly got that vibe from her— but I don’t think she went there to kill Marigny that night. She panicked and ran— that doesn’t sound premeditated to me.”
Venus and Blaine exchanged a look. “Well, it’s up to the lawyers now,” Blaine said.
“All’s well that ends well,” Chanse gave me a lopsided grin.
I finished my drink and glanced at my watch. “Well, this has been fun, guys— but I’ve got to get to work.” I held up my hand as Venus and Blaine both started to say something. “All I’m going to say is that her assistant and her ex-husband have been charged. In the follow up in the next issue, I’m going to demand an exclusive from you two, okay?”
They nodded, and I walked out of the bar.
Down the street I could see Ryan standing at my gate, his keys in his hand. I called his name, and he turned. His face lit up in a smile as I hurried down the street. He gave me a big hug, lifting me up in his strong arms and kissing the top of my head.
“Put me down.” I smiled at him.
“Have a good day?” he asked, unlocking the gate.
“I wouldn’t say that— just glad it’s over,” I replied, leading the way back to my apartment and remembering the panic attack that hearing Tony slap Amber/Isabelle had triggered. I swallowed.
I was going to have to tell him about it, someday.
Well, that and the fact I still had a husband out there somewhere. A horrible, violent monster of a man I’d escaped years ago, before he could kill me.
And he would have, eventually.
Was it possible those email messages were from him?
If a monkey locked in a room with a typewriter would eventually type the works of Shakespeare, then I had to consider the possibility that a less intelligent— and more cruel— beast could learn how to use a computer.
And track me down.
The Troll was no longer underneath his bridge.
My hackles rose, and I closed my eyes, taking some deep, cleansing breaths to fight down the panic.
I’d put off dealing with him for too long. This loose end needed to be tied off. I was going to have to track the Troll down, face him, and get the damn divorce.
I wasn’t the scared girl who ran for her life all those years ago.
I took a deep breath. No sense in worrying about any of that tonight— tonight I was just going to revel in being loved by a great guy.
I’d worry about the rest tomorrow.
The End
FASHION VICTIM is the first book in the Paige Tourneur Missing Husband Series. Find out about it and others at www.booksbnimble.com.
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PHONE KITTEN
Another Hilarious Chick Lit Mystery
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Other Books by Greg (G.T.) Herren:
THE CHANSE MACLEOD MYSTERIES:
Murder in the Rue Dauphine
Murder in the Rue St. Ann
Murder in the Rue Chartres
Murder in the Rue Ursulines
Murder in the Garden District
Murder in the Irish Channel
THE SCOTTY BRADLEY ADVENTURES:
Bourbon Street Blues
Jackson Square Jazz
Mardi Gras Mambo
Vieux Carre Voodoo
Who Dat Whodunnit
As well as the young adult novels…
Sorceress
Sleeping Angel
Sara
Timothy
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About The Author
GREG HERREN is a New Orleans-based author and editor. Former editor of Lambda Book Report, he is also a co-founder of the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival, which takes place in New Orleans every May. He is the author of twenty novels, including the Lambda Literary Award-winning Murder in the Rue Chartres, called by the New Orleans Times-Picayune “the most honest depiction of life in post-Katrina New Orleans published thus far.” He co-edited Love, Bourbon Street: Reflections on New Orleans, which also won the Lambda Literary Award. He has published over fifty short stories in markets as varied as Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine to the critically acclaimed anthology New Orleans Noir to various websites, literary magazines, and anthologies. As G.T. Herren, he’s also the author of Fashion Victim and Dead Housewives of New Orleans, both mysteries in the Paige Tourneur Missing Husband Series.
Full Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Guarantee
If You Enjoyed This Book…
Other Books by Greg (G.T.) Herren
A Respectful Request
About The Author
Table of Contents
Praise
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Guarantee
If You Enjoyed This Book…
Other Books by Greg (G.T.) Herren
A Respectful Request
About The Author
Full Table of Contents