Emeralds always find their way home.”
Mullen smirked. “That's interesting. Never heard that before. You some kind of expert?”
“You could say that.” Inwardly, Park smiled. She was more than an expert when it came to precious gems and stones. Jewels had been one of her ruling passions ever since she was a little girl, and over the years she had devoted countless hours to studying everything from diamonds and pearls to the rarest sapphires. Her knowledge of the subject was huge. Her personal jewelry collection was even bigger. “Your wife would probably love an emerald for your anniversary this year,” she said.
Mullen made a sour face. “I'm divorced.”
“A good-looking guy like you?” It was Lex's voice this time. She was standing directly behind Park, and now she feigned a ditzy smile as Detective Mullen blushed. “I find that
so
hard to believe.”
“So do
I,
” Coco said with mock seriousness, a hand to her chest.
“Well, you know, this is all very flattering, ladies,but I do have a few questions to ask you,” Detective Mullen told them sternly. He flipped open his notepad and began riffling through the pages. “Now, I was told by the security guards that right before the body was discovered, you all ran into the coatroom and then closed the door. Why was that?”
“We were trying to outrun a psychotic paparazzo,” Madison said. “We were very lucky. I thought he was going to kill us.”
“Uh-huh. And had you ever seen this …paparazzo before tonight? I mean, since you girls are used to being photographed all the time.”
“Never,” Lex said. “He was short and fat and bald.
And
he tore my dress.”
“Right,” Mullen mumbled as he wrote. “So it was you four girls being chased by this man. And you didn't see where he disappeared to?”
“No, we didn't.” Park bit down on her lip. “It wasn't actually us four. I had a … guest … with me.”
Mullen glanced up at her. “Yes, I know. Jeremy Bleu. I guess you have no idea where he is right now, huh?”
“I don't know,” Park admitted. “Everything got so crazy after we … saw the body … and, well, when we came out here, he was gone.”
“He ditched us,” Lex chimed in.
“He did
not,
” Park cut in sharply. She stared at Detective Mullen. “I'm sure Jeremy has a positivelygood reason for not being here. Like I said, this was all just a misunderstanding.”
“Jeremy Bleu not being here is the same thing as Jeremy Bleu fleeing a crime scene, Ms. Hamilton,” Detective Mullen snapped. “How well do you know Mr. Bleu? Is this characteristic of him?”
A silence fell as Park considered her response. Was she supposed to tell Detective Mullen the truth?
We met each other tonight, Detective. The attraction between us was intense and I just wanted to jump his bones.
Totally not! The truth sounded way too slutty. She sighed and said, “I haven't known him for very long. But I do know that he's smart and polite and very thoughtful.”
And completely gorgeous. Don't forget completely gorgeous.
“At what point this evening did you first see the victim?”
The girls glanced at each other. Lex, still cradling Champagne to her chest, shook her head. “We first saw Zahara Bell in the coatroom. She was absolutely dead by the time we got there.”
Mullen kept writing in his notepad. “Think back now. When you first started running down this corridor, did you see anyone else standing here, or even close by?”
“I was the first one to run down the corridor,” Madison answered. “I didn't see anybody.”
“What made you run down this particularcorridor? Big museum here. You could've gone down any corridor.”
The edge of suspicion in Detective Mullen's voice was very slight, but it angered Madison. “We were being
chased,
for God's sake,” she told him sharply. “When a crazy person is chasing you, the most common reaction is to run away. Don't they teach you that when you become a cop?”
Detective Mullen dealt
Mullen smirked. “That's interesting. Never heard that before. You some kind of expert?”
“You could say that.” Inwardly, Park smiled. She was more than an expert when it came to precious gems and stones. Jewels had been one of her ruling passions ever since she was a little girl, and over the years she had devoted countless hours to studying everything from diamonds and pearls to the rarest sapphires. Her knowledge of the subject was huge. Her personal jewelry collection was even bigger. “Your wife would probably love an emerald for your anniversary this year,” she said.
Mullen made a sour face. “I'm divorced.”
“A good-looking guy like you?” It was Lex's voice this time. She was standing directly behind Park, and now she feigned a ditzy smile as Detective Mullen blushed. “I find that
so
hard to believe.”
“So do
I,
” Coco said with mock seriousness, a hand to her chest.
“Well, you know, this is all very flattering, ladies,but I do have a few questions to ask you,” Detective Mullen told them sternly. He flipped open his notepad and began riffling through the pages. “Now, I was told by the security guards that right before the body was discovered, you all ran into the coatroom and then closed the door. Why was that?”
“We were trying to outrun a psychotic paparazzo,” Madison said. “We were very lucky. I thought he was going to kill us.”
“Uh-huh. And had you ever seen this …paparazzo before tonight? I mean, since you girls are used to being photographed all the time.”
“Never,” Lex said. “He was short and fat and bald.
And
he tore my dress.”
“Right,” Mullen mumbled as he wrote. “So it was you four girls being chased by this man. And you didn't see where he disappeared to?”
“No, we didn't.” Park bit down on her lip. “It wasn't actually us four. I had a … guest … with me.”
Mullen glanced up at her. “Yes, I know. Jeremy Bleu. I guess you have no idea where he is right now, huh?”
“I don't know,” Park admitted. “Everything got so crazy after we … saw the body … and, well, when we came out here, he was gone.”
“He ditched us,” Lex chimed in.
“He did
not,
” Park cut in sharply. She stared at Detective Mullen. “I'm sure Jeremy has a positivelygood reason for not being here. Like I said, this was all just a misunderstanding.”
“Jeremy Bleu not being here is the same thing as Jeremy Bleu fleeing a crime scene, Ms. Hamilton,” Detective Mullen snapped. “How well do you know Mr. Bleu? Is this characteristic of him?”
A silence fell as Park considered her response. Was she supposed to tell Detective Mullen the truth?
We met each other tonight, Detective. The attraction between us was intense and I just wanted to jump his bones.
Totally not! The truth sounded way too slutty. She sighed and said, “I haven't known him for very long. But I do know that he's smart and polite and very thoughtful.”
And completely gorgeous. Don't forget completely gorgeous.
“At what point this evening did you first see the victim?”
The girls glanced at each other. Lex, still cradling Champagne to her chest, shook her head. “We first saw Zahara Bell in the coatroom. She was absolutely dead by the time we got there.”
Mullen kept writing in his notepad. “Think back now. When you first started running down this corridor, did you see anyone else standing here, or even close by?”
“I was the first one to run down the corridor,” Madison answered. “I didn't see anybody.”
“What made you run down this particularcorridor? Big museum here. You could've gone down any corridor.”
The edge of suspicion in Detective Mullen's voice was very slight, but it angered Madison. “We were being
chased,
for God's sake,” she told him sharply. “When a crazy person is chasing you, the most common reaction is to run away. Don't they teach you that when you become a cop?”
Detective Mullen dealt
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