AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The baby,” she said. “Same deal, nothing for you because she got herself a zillionaire.” Another harsh laugh, impossible to read. “We actually watched her do it, it was like one of those nature shows. Started as a joke. A challenge. Nerdy guy all alone at a table, doing paperwork. Who knew he had bucks? She didn’t.”
“What was the challenge?”
“Hey, look at that one, I could get him like this.” Finger-snap. “No you can’t, yes I can. We’d all had a bunch of drinks, were taking a night off. So forget her, too, she’s probably jetting around somewhere with the zillionaire.”
Milo got up and left.
Rhonda Montel said, “Did I offend him or something?”
“Not possible,” I said.
That confused her.
Sean smiled.
Milo returned and showed her Meagin March’s photo.
She said, “Really? You already know Meg? Why are you guys trying to mindfuck me? You trying to trap me? There’s nothing to trap, I don’t know shit. And don’t tell me she did something bad, no way, not her.”
I said, “Did she date Giovanni?”
“Not saying it couldn’t happen but I never saw it. If she did, it was when I was on leave.”
“From Giovanni?”
“From everyone,” she said. “I get busy.”
She gave a sly look and uttered the name of an A-list film director.
“Okay? Get the picture? Someone like that wants your time, you give it to him, okay? And trust me, he wanted it until he went to Canada to shoot a picture. So is it possible Meg hooked up with Giovanni? I guess, but who cares, why are you guys wasting your time? No way Meg would hurt him. Hurt anyone, she’s a sweetie. Kind of like him, now that I think about it. They probably did a lot of cuddling. He liked to cuddle.” She touched her left breast. Unconscious move, evoked by a memory.
Milo leaned forward and looked her in the eye. “Rikki, Meagin was murdered with Giovanni.”
Another sudden body slap, this one to her left breast. She clutched fabric. Turned away from Meagin’s image and began panting. Standing, she covered her ears, took a few steps, lowered herself heavily.
“You…are…going to give me…a stroke. Or something. A heart attack—I feel like I’m—I feel shitty, really shitty…hold on, just hold on.”
Shutting her eyes, she tried to deep-breathe herself back to normalcy. Checked her own wrist pulse and said, “It’s like a fucking race car, you guys are going tokillme.”
No one spoke.
Rhonda Montel deep-breathed some more, did another wrist-read. “Now it’s a Tesla—don’t tell me you were lying about Meg, don’t do that. I’m used to lying but don’t do that, I don’t deserve it.”
Milo said, “Wish it wasn’t true, Rikki. Can I get you some water?”
“How ’bout vodka? No, no, I’m fine. Not really.” A third pulse exam. “Lexus—killed together? At the same time?”
“At his house.”
“Don’t tell me they were using the pool.”
“Not right then.”
“But they did use the pool,” said Rhonda Montel. “It’s a nice pool. I used it. It could’ve been me.”
CHAPTER
20
