Staying on Top Page 4

  Not you were the first words that popped into her head, but she knew they were the wrong answer—wrong if she wanted to keep that smile on Dahran’s face, wrong if she ever wanted to get a husband who could get her out of Tobin’s house.

  The trouble was Kadin hated to lie, and somewhere deep in her gut, she knew this was exactly the wrong time to do so. If she lied now and told Dahran she wanted him, she could never take it back. She would marry him and have 2.5 children and be stuck with him for the rest of her life. With that possibility glaring her in the face, she couldn’t find the breath to answer him.

  A timid knock at the door interrupted them, and all the air she couldn’t manage to inhale came out in a whoosh. “That must be Philindra Dixie.” Kadin moved toward the door, smoothing her skirt as she went for want of anything better to do with the nervous energy that had gathered in her hands in the last minute.

  Out in the hallway stood a woman with long black hair and brown eyes that had probably looked smoky when she’d put on her eye makeup earlier that evening. As she stood before Kadin, Philindra Dixie appeared more like a splotchy raccoon. Kadin hadn’t recognized the name when Olivan had mentioned Philindra, but upon seeing the woman, Kadin remembered the actress from a film she and Dahran had gone to about a month before.

  “Miss Dixie.” Kadin made her voice as soothing as she could. “Please come in. My name is Kadin Stone, and this is my associate, Detective White. We have a few questions for you.”

  The girl—Kadin couldn’t help thinking of the waifish, vulnerable-looking film star as anything else—shuffled into the room, her eyes on her feet. Her bearing was so different from that of the femme fatale Kadin had watched in the film that she had to wonder if this meek, terrified Philindra was the real person hidden behind the camera or if grief had dulled her spirit.

  Or if both of them are just performances on different stages.

  Kadin led Philindra over to the loveseat and sat in one the chairs, motioning that Dahran should do the same. Dahran didn’t seem to notice, as his gaze was glued to the beautiful film star, and not in a manner Kadin would describe as professional.

  So Baurus can’t look at me with any interest, but Dahran can drool over the first eligible film star to cross his path? Kadin felt an unattractive frown crinkling her brow and reminded herself to stay calm. It’s different. Philindra Dixie is beautiful and famous. Who could help staring at her?

  After a few seconds of silence, Dahran started and sat down in the chair next to Kadin’s. “Do you know why we’ve asked to speak with you, Miss Dixie?” Dahran asked.

  “I thought… I mean, I heard… I thought someone said that Coelis… that Coelis…” Black tears welled up in Philindra’s eyes then trailed down her cheeks, leaving more chalky black-and-red stains on her dusky complexion.

  “I’m sorry.” Dahran’s voice held a level of compassion he reserved for interrogating witnesses he wanted to keep at ease. “Coelis Crest is dead.”

  Philindra’s mouth opened in a silent scream, and she buried her face in her hands. “She can’t be dead! She can’t! I mean, I hadn’t been able to find her for a while, but I just thought—” Philindra stopped and looked up, as if realizing other people were in the room. She sniffed, took a deep breath, and sat up straight, her face a serene, mascara-covered mask.

  This is the act, which means that the grief is real—unless she’s playing a very complex game.

  “Miss Dixie, it’s very important you tell us what you thought,” said Dahran. “Did you see Miss Crest disappear with someone? Another party guest, perhaps?”

  A burst of laughter escaped Philindra, but she shook her head and resumed her stoic demeanor. “Detective, I assume you’ve never been to an Imperial Gala because commoners are not welcomed here. No one wanted to talk to Coelis, Mandrick, or me, much less disappear with one of us.”

  “Really?” Dahran made a note on his pad then raised an eyebrow at Philindra. “It seems to me that a lot of nobles might see a pair of actresses at their party as little better than the help with one useful skill in their repertoire.”

  Kadin wanted to gasp at Dahran’s crude implication, but she had her own detective’s aide mask to keep up.

  While Dahran hadn’t broken Kadin’s calm, he had certainly broken Philindra’s. “Coelis wasn’t like that!”

  “Really?” Kadin hadn’t known Dahran could pile so much disbelief into one word. “Then what was she like? Where did you think she was, Miss Dixie?”

  “I thought she’d gone home!” Philindra wiped tears away from her eyes, her movements as incensed as her words. “I figured she’d gotten tired of being snubbed and propositioned and went home!”

  “That seems unlikely to me,” said Dahran. “Why wouldn’t she tell her best friend, who she came to the party with, she was leaving? Would you do such a thing, Miss Stone?”

  Kadin couldn’t quite keep the pained look off her face. Not only had Dahran botched this interrogation in the worst way imaginable, he was bringing her into it. I’ve got to salvage this interrogation, though Dahran’s not going to appreciate my not siding with him.

  “Miss Dixie, perhaps you can tell me more about your relationship with Miss Crest,” said Kadin.

  “What are you, good cop?” Philindra glowered at Kadin. “He insults me, and you try to calm me down?”

  I am good cop, thought Kadin, in the sense that I actually am a good cop who can conduct an investigation without insulting a witness so thoroughly that they don’t want to talk to me. But she couldn’t say that, nor could she apologize for Dahran right in front of him.

  “I know our methods may seem unorthodox to you,” said Kadin. “But I promise we are trying to do whatever we can to find out who killed Miss Crest. She was your best friend. You knew her better than anyone. If anyone knows who might have wanted to kill her, it’s you.”

  Philindra hid her shaking hands behind her back. “I’ll tell you,” she said to Kadin. “But he has to leave.”

  Kadin turned to Dahran, hoping against hope he’d behave out of character and acquiesce to Philindra’s request. Though his face remained neutral, his neck had tensed, and Kadin knew Dahran was going to rant at her when all this was over.

  “I don’t think you understand how this works,” said Dahran. “We ask the questions, and you answer them if you want any hope of justice for your friend. Besides which, I’m the real detective here. She’s just an aide.”

  “Fine.” Philindra stood. “Then I guess we’re done here.”

  Dahran whipped out his card and waved it in Philindra’s direction. “Call us if you actually feel like assisting in your friend’s murder investigation.”

  Kadin hurried to catch up to Philindra as the actress rushed to the door. “If you wouldn’t mind waiting in the hallway for a few minutes, the other detectives would like to talk to you as well.”

  Philindra gave Kadin a pained look as she exited the room.

  As Kadin made her way back across the room to Dahran, she kept her eyes cast downward and wondered what she should say to him. Sometimes, when she didn’t work with him for a while, she forgot what a terrible detective he was.

  Do you really want to be dependent on this guy’s skills for a paycheck for the rest of your life? she asked herself, too frustrated at the poor outcome of the interview to immediately chastise herself for the uncharitable thought and remind herself of Dahran’s virtues.

  She raised her gaze to meet Dahran’s and suspected that the anger in her eyes matched his. “What was that?” she asked.

  “I know, right?”

  Kadin felt the anger rush out of her, and confusion took its place. He’s agreeing with me about his own incompetence?

  Dahran stood up, nearly knocking over the brocaded chair behind. “How dare she ask to talk to you and not me!”

  Oh. Ohhh. He thinks I’m angry on his behalf. That’s… tha
t’s probably good.

  “I’m the detective here!” Dahran formed his hand into a fist and punched his chest. “That should be obvious from the fact that I’m the man in the room, and you’re just a woman. You’re lucky I let you tag along on this case without Fellows’s permission!”

  Heat rose to her face, and her own hands longed to form fists at her sides. How dare he! Just a woman, indeed! I’m perfectly capable of solving cases, and we both know we wouldn’t even have this one if Baurus hadn’t wanted me here. But of course, Dahran’s delusional mind has made it all about him.

  “These female ‘Entertainers...’” Dahran made air quotes around the word. “They’re getting above themselves, thinking women can do whatever they want because being famous lets them violate the laws. But those laws exist for a reason!”

  Kadin felt the bite of her nails in her palm and knew she had to calm down. If she exploded, not only would she would lose any romantic progress she had made with Dahran, but he would probably also report the incident to Fellows. She wasn’t a hundred percent sure Fellows would fire her—he did seem to like having a competent aide—but she couldn’t risk it. So she took what felt like her hundredth deep breath of the evening and sat back down in her chair. She was trying to calculate what to say when the door swung open behind her and banged against the wall.

  “I was not having sex with Coelis Crest!”

  Kadin didn’t know whether to be grateful for the interruption or appalled at its content. She turned around to see a man so handsome he must have done some modeling before becoming a film star—which Kadin knew for a fact he had. Mandrick Pane’s dark hair, blue eyes, and perfectly symmetrical features had brought him fame in the glossies before he appeared opposite Coelis Crest. Kadin had seen enough of his films to know his acting better suited the glossies.

  Also, he was apparently not sleeping with Coelis Crest.

  “Mr. Pane.” Dahran also looked taken aback by the actor’s declaration. “Please, come in and have a seat. We have some questions for you.”

  Mandrick snorted, but he did cross the floor, turn a chair around, and straddle it.

  My chair, thought Kadin, but rather than argue about it, she settled into the loveseat. Much to her chagrin, Dahran settled down next to her instead of taking the empty chair.

  “You want to know if I was sleeping with Coelis like those two morons one room over,” said Mandrick. “I wasn’t.”

  “Do you have any proof of this, um, lack of affair?” Kadin hated the way she stumbled over her words, but she wasn’t used to people discussing things like sex so openly. Also, she disliked having Dahran’s leg pressed up against hers while she was trying to interrogate someone. It was unprofessional.

  “Proof.” Mandrick barked out a laugh. “How do you prove you didn’t have sex with someone?”

  Now who’s the rotten detective? “Well, an autopsy can certainly attest to Miss Crest’s virginity.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if it did,” said Mandrick. “Coelis was always more interested in her career than in any man.”

  “And you resented that?” asked Dahran.

  “Nah.” Mandrick stretched out his legs and flexed his feet. “Nah. It was Coelis’s business who she did or didn’t screw. The glossies liked to pair the two of us up since I usually hung out with her and Philindra. Coelils is the classic beauty, of course. She’s the one everyone’s supposed to be in love with. But I’ve always had more of a thing for Philindra.”

  Dahran arched an eyebrow. He’s skeptical. And I’m not. Both Mandrick and Philindra insisted that Coelis wasn’t the type to sleep around, and while it might seem like a lie to protect her reputation, Mandrick at least was aware that an autopsy would prove it if they lied.

  “When did you notice Coelis was missing?” asked Kadin.

  Mandrick shrugged. “Didn’t. At least, not until the Oriole broad started screaming about a dead girl in her closet.”

  Kadin smiled a bit at Mandrick’s casual reference to the oh-so-respectable Duchess Beatrin. Not that she was very respectable when I saw her this evening. Maybe it’s her night for not rising to her station.

  “Then where were you at the time of the murder?” asked Dahran.

  “We-ell.” Mandrick rubbed his jaw. “Tell me, how confidential is what I’m telling you?”

  “There are no confidences in a murder investigation.” The words of Kadin’s teacher came back to her. “Anything a suspect says that can help you get to the truth is fair game.”

  “I assure you, we operate with the utmost discretion,” said Dahran.

  “Though if anything you say becomes evidence in a trial, we cannot promise it won’t come to light,” Kadin felt the need to add.

  “So Philindra and I got to talking about how we’d probably never be invited to another Imperial party, and this house probably had dozens of empty bedrooms. We thought it would be the perfect opportunity to, shall we say, couple in all the luxury life had to offer.”

  Kadin called upon all her experience as a detective and as Dahran’s girlfriend to avoid wrinkling her face in disgust. The idea of having sex—Mandrick’s words to describe his lack of actions with Coelis, if not his actual behavior with Philindra—in someone else’s bed, even a seldom-used spare room bed, appalled her.

  The heat of Dahran’s leg pressed closer to hers, and she glanced at him. His eyes held a lascivious glint. Oh, Deity. He thinks it’s a good idea. Does he actually think I would… She felt the truffled potatoes she had eaten with dinner roil in her stomach, and she was unable to hide a visible gulp.

  Mandrick winked at Dahran.

  Deity, they think I’m flustered because I like the idea and am too proper to say so.

  “Well.” Kadin stood up, grateful to no longer feel Dahran’s leg against her own. She held out her hand to Mandrick and smiled for all she was worth. “We thank you very much for your time, Mr. Pane. I trust you will be available should we have further questions?”

  “Of course.” Instead of shaking her hand, Mandrick brought it up to his lips and kissed it. “Do enjoy the rest of your evening.”

  Oh, Deity. He thinks I’m rushing him out so Dahran and I can disappear somewhere in the house and have sex. I wonder if I would get fired if I vomited on his shoes.

  Kadin stared at her blank notebook page as Mandrick said his goodbyes to Dahran. She didn’t want to see any innuendo that passed between the two men.

  These interviews were a complete waste of time. I didn’t get anything. She focused all her attention on writing “Mandrick Pane having affair with Philindra Dixie, not Coelis Crest” until the door clicked behind Mandrick and Dahran’s shadow loomed over her.

  “So!” The pitch of Kadin’s voice was high enough to be considered a squeak. “That was some pair of interviews! I think we got some very useful informa—”

  “Kay.”

  “Hm?”

  Dahran put his finger under her chin and raised her head until their eyes met. “Mandrick makes a very valid point about the facilities this residence has to offer.”

  “Right.” Kadin’s breathing became heavier, and she feared Dahran would interpret it as unbridled lust rather than the actual mix of terror and loathing that coursed through her veins. “That.”

  For the second time that night, Dahran’s face came nearer to hers, and she knew she would have to suffer through another one of his kisses. She needed to figure out a way out of anything worse than kissing.

  “Well, um…”

  The door burst open, and Kadin jerked away from Dahran.

  “Oh, thank the Deity!” she couldn’t stop herself from saying.

  Dahran gave her a confused look, and the interruption gave her enough presence of mind to give him a reassuring smile before she turned to see Baurus, Jace, and the three CrimeSolve men standing at the door.

  Baurus looked ready
to hit something. “Are you quite finished?”

  Kadin felt heat rise to her face, but she wasn’t sure if it was anger or embarrassment. Baurus DeValeriel doesn’t have any right to be angry at me for kissing my boyfriend.

  “The investigation is ongoing,” she said with as much dignity as she could muster. To the CrimeSolve men she added, “I’ll have detective Fellows contact you first thing Monday morning.”

  Kadin let Dahran leave the room first, and as the group paraded back down the hallway, she found herself next to Jace. “What did you get off the body?” she asked.

  Jace put a finger to his lips and nodded toward the CrimeSolve forensic analyst. “I don’t want to say until I’ve got a better picture of what’s going on. I’ll put something together for you on Monday.” Jace opened his mouth and looked like he wanted to say something else then shook his head.

  “What?” asked Kadin. “Is it about the case?”

  “No, and it’s none of my business. It’s just...” Jace nodded at Dahran. “What do you see in that guy?”

  Dahran had virtues. Kadin knew he did because she had listed them out for herself several times that evening. Yet somehow none of them were coming to mind at this moment.

  “Ask me Monday.”

  Chapter 5

  Kadin got home so late on Saturday night—or rather so early Sunday morning—that her brother, Tobin, let her sleep in and miss church, much to Octavira’s annoyance. When Kadin finally did wake up, she had to call Olivan and fill him in on all the details of the case, as she had promised she would, and as soon as she got off the phone with him, Ralvin called and wanted the scoop as well.

  “So I don’t think anyone suspects Baurus this time around, at least,” Kadin finished up telling Ralvin. “But honestly, I don’t know who to suspect. No one at that party had a motive for killing Coelis Crest.”

  “Well, that’s good, I suppose,” said Ralvin, “that Baurus isn’t in trouble again, I mean. I’m sorry he brought you into the whole ordeal.”

  “Honestly, I don’t mind. Solving murders is my job.”