We’d reached Glenn’s apartment by now, and I rapped loudly. The door was opened within two seconds by Karma. Today, she was wearing a knee-length dress with a jagged hem. It was bright orange print, and the color matched the large, orange feathered earrings she wore.
“Tiffany!” she exclaimed, embracing me in a hug, and then turning to Ian for another hug. “And Ian! Your nanna said you’d stop by, and it’s wonderful to see you both. I feel like we haven’t seen you in a while. Your nanna and I have become quite good friends.”
Nanna was sitting on the couch, sipping tea with Glenn. I could see a third mug on the coffee table, and I assumed it was Karma’s.
“These are your boxes,” I told Glenn. “Sorry I’m late in returning them. I meant to bake you something and then return the boxes.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Glenn said. “Your nanna’s told us how busy you’ve been, trying to find out who the real killer is.”
I shrugged modestly, and stole a glance at Nanna. She seemed to be in a relatively good mood, and I was glad that Glenn and Karma seemed to be good company for her.
“Have you picked out the dress for tonight?” Karma said.
Nanna said, “Yes. If you don’t have a dress, we can go shopping for one. Karma knows a nice store downtown.”
“They’re cheaper than the department stores,” Karma said. “And it’s pretty good quality stuff, too.”
“I’ll get you two some tea,” Glenn said, and disappeared into the kitchen.
Nanna turned to Karma and said, “Are the dresses sexy enough, though? Tiffany keeps wearing all these shapeless things. Now that she’s got a man, she should learn to dress right. Maybe wear something tight, or short, or low-cut.”
Ian snorted, as though the idea of me wearing something sexy was an alien concept and I turned to Nanna and frowned in what I hoped was a warning manner.
“What?” she said. “It’s not right to be frumpy when you’ve just started dating someone. Later, maybe. You can wear your ugly tops and go without makeup. But you need to… you know… add some oomph.”
“Add some oomph?”
“Yes. And you need some sexy lingerie. I’ve read all the dating advice.” Nanna nodded wisely. “They all say to wear sexy underwear beneath your clothes. That way, you feel sexy. It comes from under the clothes, but it shows through, like one of those mutant superhero glows.”
I groaned.
“What?” Nanna said. “If you don’t have anything sexy, we can go shopping now. We’ve got enough time.”
“I’m not going shopping,” I told Nanna, just as Glenn came back with two cups of tea.
“What’s this party?” Ian said. “Can I go with you?”
“No,” I said, trying to keep my annoyance in check. “You can’t. Jack’s taking me.”
“Oh, I’ve heard about Jack,” said Karma. “Your nanna says he’s a new man in your life.” She gave me a broad wink. “Tell us all about him.”
I took a sip of the tea. “There’s nothing to tell.”
“Oh, come on,” said Nanna. “We want to hear about him.”
“What about Stone?” asked Glenn. “I always liked him.”
“Stone and I are just friends,” I said.
“Jack’s pretty cool,” Ian volunteered, and I glared at him. I would’ve loved to have given him a discreet kick on the ankle, but he was sitting too far away from me and went on, oblivious to my glare. “He owns part of The Tremonte Casino and he owns a bunch of other stuff, too.”
“What does he look like?” Karma asked.
Ian shrugged. “Tall, green eyes, wears a lot of suits.”
“Green eyes!” Karma turned to me in delight. “Didn’t I predict that you’d wind up with a green-eyed man?”
I took a deep breath. “You did say that a few weeks ago. But we’re not quite together, yet. We’ve just started dating.”
She spread her arms out wide. “Well, I can’t see more than that. Where you take it is up to you.”
“How’d you mean?”
“I mean, it could go well, it could go bad. But you’re together, for now. That’s what I saw.” I must’ve looked a bit disappointed, because immediately, she said, “If you really like him, you’ll work through your issues.”
“What issues?” I asked. “What makes you think we’ve got issues?”
She shook her head. “Everyone’s got issues.”
“Hmm,” I said. “And what about Nanna’s love life? What do you see about her?”
Karma’s grey eyes twinkled. “I try not to see too far into her love life.”
Nanna nodded proudly. “Yup. That’s the kind of relationship you need, Tiff. The kind people are scared to look into.”
I gave Karma a despairing look, but she just smiled and shrugged, and I glanced at the clock.
“I guess I should get going,” I said. “Time to start turning into a pumpkin.”
Ian said, “Don’t you mean turning into a princess?”’
“I’m not sure,” I told him. “But you sure seem to know a lot about princesses.”
Ian crossed his arms. “Hey, it’s not my fault I grew up with two younger sisters and they forced me to watch those stupid Disney shows all the time. It’s not like I had fun watching Tinkerbell, or Cinderella, or Thumbe–”
“Sure,” I said, standing up. “Come on, I need your help transforming.”
“What?” he stood up, looking baffled. “But I’m not any good with makeup.”
Nanna said, “I can help. I’m pretty good with that stuff, I did my friend Seraphina’s makeup for her third wedding.”
I shuddered. I’d seen photos of Seraphina’s wedding – she wore a turquoise dress with heavy turquoise eyeshadow, bright orange lipstick and deep splotches of red blusher. Now I knew who she had to thank.
“Not that kind of help,” I said. “Ian, I need to go through those photos of the four women who were paying Adam, and you need to brief me on whatever you’ve learnt about them.”
“Oh.” Ian said. “Phew. I was worried for a moment. My sisters showed me how they did contouring and pouty lips and stuff but I wasn’t sure I could do a good job with it.”
“You’d probably do a better job than Nanna,” I whispered.
***
Ian and I spent more than hour in his condo poring over the photos and publicly found information about Michelle Ackermann, Rachel Nge, Nicole Weiss and Alexia Boyle. Ian had been right – they were all very beautiful, in that perfect manicured, buffed and polished way that many rich women are. They all looked like they were in their twenties, and in every single photo, they were dressed in couture and had sparkly big rocks dangling off their ears.
Michelle Ackermann was a tall, stunning blonde with dark features which indicated that her stylish hair came out of a bottle. Rachel Nge was Asian, with long, jet black hair and a petite figure. Nicole Weiss was another blonde, but her eyes were a bright blue and her skin was porcelain, so I presumed that maybe the hair was mostly natural. Alexia had olive skin, dark eyes and wavy, hazel hair tinted with subtle highlights. All four women had the perfect, slim figure that usually comes after hours spent with a personal trainer, and perfect, shiny white teeth.
“They’re all married to wealthy businessmen,” Ian told me. “Michelle’s husband is in real estate, Rachel’s husband owns a hedge fund, Nicole’s husband is a business broker and Alexia’s husband is a plastic surgeon.”
“Don’t the women have jobs?”
“Not that I could find. They’re all incredibly private people – they don’t even have social networking profiles, and I could hardly find out anything about them at all.”
“Well, I don’t have a good feeling about this,” I said. “If they’re such private people, they probably won’t want to talk to me.”
“I should come along,” Ian said. “Help you out and all. I could turn on my charm and make these women talk.”
“I don’t think your charm will work on them,” I said lightl
y. “Maybe I should just be persistent.”
“If one of these women had something to do with Adam’s death, she’ll probably want to lie low for a bit. Probably won’t come to tonight’s party.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.”
I got up with a sigh, and headed over to my condo, hoping that something would turn up tonight.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
It was five-thirty and Nanna was still at Glenn’s. I’d managed to slip into my green outfit and do my hair and makeup without anyone insisting I put on sexy underwear or bright green eyeshadow. I was putting on my strappy stilettos when I heard the rap on the door, and I jumped up and almost stubbed my toe. After a moment of standing still, breathing slowly and telling myself that I’d be fine, I opened to door with a bright smile.
“Hi,” said Jack. “Ready to party?”
Jack was wearing a black tuxedo and a massive silver watch with cool-looking mini-dials. His dark hair was slicked back, his green eyes glittered, and he looked like he’d stepped out of an ad for fine scotch. In contrast, I felt frumpy and underdressed, despite my slicked-on mascara and lip-gloss, dangling earrings and freshly straightened hair.
I slumped down onto the sofa, buried my head in my hands and groaned.
“What’s wrong?” said Jack.
I shook my head and mumbled, “You’re wearing a tux. I should’ve gone for a flashier dress.”
“No! Your dress is perfect. Goes well with the theme.”
I looked up in horror. “What theme?”
“There’s a rainforest theme; it’s a ‘Save the Rainforest’ party.” A guilty look crossed his face and he added remorsefully, “I should’ve told you earlier, huh?”
“What if it’d been a black and white theme?” I tried not to glare at him. “Or an all-red theme? How do you invite someone to a fancy party without telling them there’s a ‘theme’ involved? And you’re meant to be a playboy, too.”
An eyebrow shot up. “A playboy? Who said that?”
Stone had, when he’d warned me off Jack a few weeks ago. I said, “Are you trying to tell me you’re not?”
“Don’t believe the rumors, sweetheart. Tabloids like to put stuff together.”
I didn’t quite believe him, but I said, “Rainforest theme, huh? Green dress ok?”
“It’s perfect.”
I grabbed my tiny purse, took a deep breath, and stood up. “I guess we should get going, then.”
I locked the door behind us, and Jack put one arm around my waist and led me to the elevator. And just like that, my annoyance disappeared. So did my nervousness. In its stead was a sudden, overwhelming awareness of Jack – the way his hand fit snugly against the curve of my waist, the way his forearm felt strong and protective against my back, the way his oceanic cologne filled my senses.
The elevator door closed behind us, and Jack turned to face me, his hand on my lower back.
“Don’t be nervous,” he said softly. “You’ll do fine.”
I nodded, my breath catching in my throat. I wanted to say something, but all I could think of was how close we were standing, and how warm his hand felt.
The elevator doors opened with a ping, and Jack turned around, his hand still pressed against my back, and we walked toward his limo.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The party was being held in one of The Riverbelle’s large ballrooms, and the ride along the Strip gave me enough time to take lots of deep breaths, and go over my game plan.
“These are the women I need to talk to,” I said, showing Jack the photos I had on my phone. “Know any of them?”
“They look familiar,” Jack said. “But they’re all… you know, plastic Barbies.”
I gave him a funny look, but I knew what he meant. Skin by dermatologist, hair by La Pretentious Salon, and nose by plastic surgeon.
“How about their husbands?” I said, reeling off the husbands’ names and professions.
“Yeah, I know the guys,” Jack said. “Not very well, but well enough to say hi to.”
“Ok. Well, maybe the wives will be with the husbands.”
“Nah,” Jack said. “They tend to split up.”
“Do you expect us to split up?”
I stared at him in horror. I didn’t want to be alone among these monsters; fake, pretentious, rich people. Who throws a gala evening for the rainforest? I didn’t believe that the forest appreciated all this effort they went to; the rainforest, wherever it was, would probably have preferred cash donations.
Still, I wasn’t here to party – I was here to grill these four women about Adam Bitzer’s death.
The moment I stepped into the massive Riverbelle Casino Ballroom, I knew exactly why these people wanted to donate to the rainforest. It was a hell of an excuse for a party.
At least half the ballroom space was taken up by lush, verdant greenery. Palms, fronds and large, impressive trees I’d never seen before in my life were scattered throughout the room, arranged to create a kind of maze which opened up in the center. In the middle, there were a couple of round tables where a seven-course dinner would be served later on but, for now, the guests thronged around one wall, drinks in hand, acting as though they were oblivious to their surroundings.
Cocktail waitresses in relatively demure black uniforms walked around politely displaying their trays of drinks and hors’d’oeuvres, while somewhere in the back, a DJ piped subtle “rainforest noises” over the sound system, mixed in skillfully with some kind of techno beat.
A couple of people glanced up when we entered, and some of them seemed to know Jack. They looked at me curiously, but if I looked any different from the kind of girl they expected to see with Jack, they didn’t show it.
I didn’t really feel too out of place. The women wore jewel-colored dresses, and the men wore white or black tuxedos. It would’ve made more sense if the men wore garish Hawaiian shirts, but I suppose those with actual invites would probably have seen the dress code written out.
“See any of the women?” I whispered to Jack. I wanted some input before he had to wander off and together we scoured the room, pretending we were just having a harmless conversation together. I linked my arm through his, and leaned against him for a second, enjoying one extra moment of proximity before I had to run off.
I spotted Rachel Nge first. She was wearing a deep green floor-length gown that set off her jet black hair and perfect skin to perfection, and she was chatting with two other women who were both wearing red.
Jack coughed softly. “That’s Nicole Weiss,” he said in a hoarse whisper. “To my ten o’clock, talking to the silver-haired fox and the lady in purple.”
I glanced in that direction, and spotted the lady in purple. Nicole was standing opposite her, wearing a sky blue dress that I knew must’ve been picked to set off her baby-blue eyes.
“Michelle Ackermann’s next on my list,” I said.
We glanced around, and spotted her just as she entered the party with her husband, a tall, thin man who looked to be about a hundred.
“Who’s the last one?” Jack asked.
“Alexia Boyle.”
We glanced around, but there was no Alexia Boyle nearby.
I was just about to start scanning the crowd again, when a strawberry-blonde in a peach dress came up to us. She was as wide as Jack and I put together, and she reeked of a terribly floral perfume.
“Jack!” she exclaimed, smiling broadly. “What’re you hiding out here for? Come mingle! And who’s your friend?”
“This is Tiffany,” he said. “Tiffany, Miffy.”
“Miffy.” I smiled at her, thinking that it sounded like a cat’s name. Although a cat would probably smell better than she did. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too,” she said, smiling broadly. Her eyes took me in carefully, and I could sense the hostility behind her gleaming white teeth. “Have we met before? I don’t remember your name, but you look familiar.”
I glanced desperately behind her
, hoping to see Alexia Boyle appear behind one of those massive potted plants. No such luck.
“Umm,” I said. “No, I don’t think we’ve met. I – this is the first time I’ve been to one of these parties. It’s very nice.”
She brightened up, as though she’d pegged me for who I was – a cheap date for Jack to impress and then discard. “Yes, isn’t it dear?” I was of no importance to her, so she rotated her thousand-watt smile away from me and towards Jack again. “Come on, sweetie,” she said to him. “I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”
She made as though to thread her arm through his, and Jack gave her a polite smile and kept his arms to himself.
“Actually,” he said. “I’ll join you in just one minute. There’s someone I want to meet first, and I’ve got to take Tiffany with me. Come on, Tiff.”
He grabbed my arm, and half-dragged me away.
“Who do you want me to meet?” I asked.
He grinned. “Isn’t she terrible?”
I looked down and shook my head. “It’s not her fault. I don’t belong here.”
“Don’t be silly! Come on, let’s look for Alexia Boyle.”
We strolled through the party, nodding to people but not stopping to say more than a quick hello. “I’ll be back in second,” Jack would say, and we’d continue walking.
We must have passed everyone at least three times. Alexia Boyle wasn’t here. We’d reached one corner of the cocktail area, away from the guests, and were half-hidden by the massive rainforest plants.
“I should get talking,” I said to Jack. “I guess you should go mingle.”
He let go of my arm and wrapped his arm around my waist. Our eyes locked for a second, and he said softly, “I’ll miss you.”
And then he was leaning in to me, his breath warm on my cheek. Our lips met, and I drowned in his kiss. He smelled so nice, and his lips were so soft, and I felt myself falling deeper and deeper, the blood pounding through my veins.
I forgot about the rest of the world for a moment, forgot about the rest of my life. There was nothing but Jack and me together, and I didn’t care about anything else.
A.R. Winters - Tiffany Black 03 - Red Roses in Las Vegas Page 14