Ник Сайнт - Purrfectly Hidden. Purrfect Kill. Purrfect Boy Toy

“Well, now we talk to the members of Opal’s staff,” said Odelia. “Only Opal gave us strict instructions not to divulge anything about what happened today, so we’re a little handicapped.”

“But we came up with a plan,” said Gran. “A very clever plan, if I say so myself.”

“Well? What’s the plan?” asked Harriet.

“We’ll let all of the ladies record a message and then we’ll play that message to the girl from the spa who picked up the phone. She’s assured us she would recognize that voice out of a thousand.” She beamed at her present company.

Lady said something that Odelia didn’t understand, so Max translated. “Lady says it sounds like a great plan, and she hopes you’ll catch whoever is responsible. She’s a big fan of Opal and wouldn’t want anything to happen to her.”

“Thanks, Lady,” said Odelia.

It was the best plan they’d been able to come up with. Odelia had actually suggested to bring Uncle Alec and Chase in. They were both experienced cops and would be able to help them conduct the interviews. But Opal had put her foot down once more: no cops, and no one was to find out what was going on.

Tough to catch a killer with not one but two hands tied behind your back, though.

Chapter 29

The next day saw a long procession of Opal’s staff members file in and out of the meeting room. Opal had told them she was working on some ideas for a new segment, and she wanted their voices on tape so she could pick one to do the voice-over for the new bit. None of them seemed suspicious about the ruse. On the contrary, they were all excited to read the two lines: ‘Hi, this is Opal Harvey’s personal assistant. Just touching base to let you know that Mrs. Harvey will be having the full Botox treatment this morning. Yes, that’s right. The full Botox treatment. Lips, brow, chest and cheeks.’

I didn’t think they’d fall for the ruse but they had—happily! Of course, the substantial bonus Opal had promised probably had something to do with their enthusiasm.

“Did I get the part?” asked Suzy excitedly, her pigtails bouncing and her glasses sliding from her nose. “You can tell me, I won’t tell the others.”

“How long have you worked for Opal, Suzy?” asked Gran.

“Um, going on five years now, I think. A long time, huh? I never thought I’d last this long. Opal has a reputation for hiring and firing quicker than her shadow, so…”

“But you stuck it out. And why do you think that is?” asked Odelia, following her grandmother’s cue.

“Oh, I don’t know. I guess I’m more eager than most to make this work. I don’t want to stay in this position forever, you know. I want to reach the top myself, if I can.”

“You mean… host your own show one day?”

The plump young woman nodded eagerly. “That’s the plan. Only there aren’t that many opportunities out there for potential show hosts. So you have to grab what you can and show the bosses that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to move up the ranks.”

“Make sure they notice you,” said Gran.

“Exactly! Which is why I joined Opal’s team.”

“More opportunities here than in other places.”

“Oh, definitely. Opal is a tough taskmaster, but she’s also the best of the best. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere, as the song goes.”

“One more question,” said Gran. “Do you know something about brake lines?”

After Suzy had left, Odelia discussed the interviews with her grandmother. “I think it’s that Suzy,” said the old lady. “She’s clearly an ambitious little hustler, and prepared to do whatever it takes to reach the top. She probably figured if she could bump off Opal, the network bosses would hand her the show on a silver platter.”

“Let’s wait and see what the results of the recordings are,” said Odelia, “before jumping to conclusions.” She’d already sent the audio files to the beauty salon, and they were eagerly awaiting the verdict. It would probably take a little while, as the girl had to listen to all the recordings.

Finally, after a very tense twenty minutes, Odelia’s phone dinged. She picked up and put it on speaker.

“Hey there, Janice,” she said. “Did you get a chance to listen to the recordings?”

“I did, yeah,” said the young woman.

“And?” asked Gran. “Who was it?”

“Well, I listened twice, as I didn’t want to make a mistake, and I think it’s audio file number fourteen.”

“Audio file number fourteen,” said Odelia, checking her list. And as her finger slid down the page, it finally landed on… Suzy.

“See?!” said Gran triumphantly. “I told you it was her!”

“Are you quite sure, Janice?” asked Odelia.

“Yeah, pretty sure. Of course, I didn’t really pay attention yesterday, and a lot of these voices sound the same, but one thing really struck me.”

“What’s that?”

“The person on the phone sounded nice. I mean, not all voices sound nice, you know, but this one did. I remember thinking, this person is so nice and professional. And only recording fourteen had that quality. That upbeat quality, if you know what I mean.”

Gran shook her head, indicating she had no idea what the girl was talking about, but Odelia said, “I know exactly what you mean, Janice. Thank you so much. You’ve been a tremendous help.”

“Glad I could help. Will Opal be all right? We all feel terrible about what happened.”

“She’s fine.”

And she was. That morning, Opal’s lips and face had been back to their natural proportions, and the swelling in her throat had completely disappeared, too.

Odelia rang off and shared a grim look with her grandmother. “So now what?”

“Now we tell Opal and she’ll have to take care of the tricky part.”

“Call the police, you mean, and have Suzy arrested.”

“Exactly. Our work here is done, honey.” And she raised her hand for a high five, which Odelia half-heartedly slapped.

“What? You don’t look happy.”

“It’s just that… the evidence is a little thin, don’t you think? All we have to go on are the words of Janice, and she wasn’t even a hundred percent sure.”

“Good enough for me! You heard Suzy. She’s one ambitious young lady, and can’t wait to rise up in the world of showbiz. The only person standing in her way is Opal, so she decided to move things along by bumping her off. Easy peasy. Come on. Let’s get out of here. I’m sick and tired of this Opal business.”

“And here I thought you were her biggest fan.”

“ Was her biggest fan.”

They walked out of the conference room and into Opal’s office. Contrary to her custom, Opal had come in to work on a Sunday, as eager as Odelia and Vesta to find out who the culprit was.

“And? How did it go?” asked Opal as she rose from behind her desk. On top of her desk Prunella was softly snoring. Odelia’s own cats were in the studio canteen, enjoying a meal. Odelia hadn’t wanted to bring them in today, not seeing the point of dragging them out there again while they could simply stay at the house and enjoy its surrounding gardens and Helga’s cooking, but the foursome had insisted they join her. They hadn’t sat in on the interviews, as that would have been a little hard to explain.

“We got her,” said Gran triumphantly.

“Who was it?” asked Opal anxiously.

“Suzy Parker,” said Odelia. “Janice formally recognized her voice.”

“Suzy!” said Opal, and dropped back down in her ergonomic chair. “Oh, sweet Jesus. She’s the best one I’ve got.”

“Well, she did it,” said Gran. “Do you want me to get her in here? You can interrogate her yourself. I’m sure she’ll confess immediately.”