Killer Cuts: A Dead-End Job Mystery by Elaine Viets

talk to us?” Helen asked.
    “It’s routine in a suspicious death,” the officer said.
    “Is King dead?” Helen asked.
    “He was pronounced DOA at the hospital,” the officer said.
    “But King drowned,” Helen said.
    “We don’t know how he got into the water, ma’am.”
    Another officer with Stevens on his name tag walked Helen across the street to a mansion slightly smaller than King’s.They crossed a vast empty parquet floor and climbed a curved staircase to a small bedroom.
    “Wait here,” Officer Stevens said. “We’ll be back shortly. Do you have a cell phone?”
    “No,” Helen said.
    “May I check your purse?”
    The officer looked through her purse, then left, closing the door. Helen sat down on a blue quilted spread and waited. She picked up the phone by the bed to call Phil, her fiancé.The line was dead.
    Helen paced back and forth until she was sure she’d worn a path in the pale rug. It was nearly five o’clock when Officer Stevens returned and led her to a nearly empty kitchen with stainless steel appliances.A man in a dark suit was sitting at the oak kitchen table.
    “Sit down,” he told Helen. “I’m Detective Richard McNally, and I’m in the Crimes Against Persons Unit.”
    McNally was her worst nightmare. His white hair said he was a veteran. His steel blue eyes said he was smart. His questions started out mild. Helen tried to be as honest as possible.
    Was she a guest at the wedding?
    No, she was here to assist the bride’s hairstylist, Miguel Angel.
    Where was he?
    Helen didn’t know.
    When was the last time she’d seen him?
    He’d excused himself to go to the bathroom just before the main course was served.
    No, she had no idea what time Miguel Angel had left the table.
    Helen was worried and tried not to say so.Would the police see the stylist’s disappearance as a sign of guilt? Did they know about his fight with King? Miguel Angel had a hot temper, and he’d threatened to kill the groom. But his anger passed quickly. Helen was sure Miguel would never hurt anyone.
    Where was Helen at the time the groom went into the pool?
    She didn’t know the exact time, but she’d sat at table twenty-nine during the whole dinner.
    Anyone else with her at the table?
    Yes, Phoebe, Miguel Angel’s assistant, who was there as a guest of the bride.Also an older gentleman with a woman in a red dress.They’d never introduced themselves.
    Where was the bride during this?
    At the head table, until the DJ announced it was time to cut the wedding cake.Then Honey went to look for the missing groom. So did Cassie, King’s daughter, and Melody, the maid of honor.
    Did Helen know the groom?
    She’d never seen him before today.
    Did anyone have a reason to kill King?
    Helen said she didn’t know. She remembered the bride saying King liked to keep his friends close and his enemies closer, but she didn’t say that. King’s ex-wife and former girlfriend must have hated his guts. King had groped a young staffer. His former business partner was suing him. How close did King’s enemies get—close enough to kill him?
    How did the deceased behave? Detective McNally asked.When was he last known to be okay?
    “He stopped by to see the bride about an hour before the cere mony,” Helen said.”I think he was drunk. Just before the bride marched down the aisle, I saw him take a drink out of a bourbon bottle and then stash it in a potted palm.”
    Helen didn’t mention drugs. She hadn’t seen King using those.The police didn’t seem to know about the fight with Miguel Angel, so she didn’t mention that, either. She gave McNally the name she’d used since fleeing St. Louis, plus the salon information, her current address and her landlady’s phone number. Helen didn’t have a phone in her name. She wanted to stay hard to find.
    It was six o’clock before Helen was allowed to leave. Across the street, she could see that the fire trucks were gone. A faint odor of smoke lingered. Trampled flowers