One of Us Is Dead(68)

“Me too.” Karen and Crystal nodded.

“Yeah, I don’t have a rich husband, ex or otherwise, so . . .” Keisha said with a laugh.

“What a shit night!” Shannon stamped her foot.

“You can say that again,” Crystal laughed. Shannon and Crystal exchanged tight smiles.

“Let’s remedy it. How about we go have a drink at the salon?” I offered.

They all looked at each other and then back at me and nodded.





59

Jenny present


Detective Sanford picks up the empty pizza box and tosses it on top of a small trash can beside the door. He wipes his hands off on a napkin and pitches it in the garbage can too. Retaking his seat, he flips through his notes. He glances at me. “Did you know Olivia and Dean were having financial problems?”

“I had a feeling they were.”

“Why?”

“Because on the evening we were all going out, I ran the membership fees at the end of the workday, and Olivia’s card on file was declined. I had meant to talk to her about it the next time I saw her. When she ran out on the bill, I put two and two together.”

“Did you tell the other women about Olivia’s financial problems?”

I shake my head. “No, it wasn’t anyone’s business.”

Detective Sanford nods and jots down a few notes.

“Were you aware Olivia had created a fake profile impersonating a man on a dating site?”

I furrow my brow and shake my head.

“So, you probably weren’t aware she was using that profile to talk to Shannon—or better yet, ‘catfish’ Shannon, as the kids say?”

My mouth fell open. “Are you serious? That’s awful.”

He nods. “We believe Shannon knew about it too.”

I cock my head. I don’t know where he’s going with this or why he’s telling me about it.

“Did you know about Karen’s relationship with Keisha?”

I nod.

“Did you know Shannon had Crystal privately investigated?”

I shake my head.

“Did you know Olivia was sleeping with Mark?”

I nod. His questions are like rapid fire.

“Did you know Olivia knew about Karen and Keisha’s relationship?

I nod. Without thinking, I stand from my seat with force and my chair falls backward, banging on the floor. I slam the palms of my hands on the table.

“What do you want from me?” I yell.

“I want you to help me understand these women. I want you to help me understand Buckhead. Because right now, I’ve got a dead body, a fuck ton of questions, and not enough answers. What happened in the days leading up to the party?”

I take a deep breath, pick my chair back up, and sit down.

“Start with the night you guys went back to the salon for a drink. What happened?”





60

Jenny


Keisha helped gather up the dirty glasses. Karen, Crystal, and Shannon had just left after coming to the salon for a few drinks. It was nice to unwind with them and vent about what had all happened that evening. Shannon had urged me to cancel Olivia’s membership, and she made a good case for it, but I told her I’d sleep on it and wait until I spoke with Olivia in order to give her the opportunity to explain herself. I was livid with Olivia. I wasn’t sure if she had done it on purpose, but all signs pointed to yes. She had been trying to cause problems all evening, she left without telling any of us, she skipped out on the bill, and she took the limo.

Keisha sat down, letting out a deep breath. “We survived an evening with Olivia.”

“Barely.” I laughed, pouring two glasses of water. I handed one to Keisha and took a seat next to her. We were silent while we slowly sipped our water.

“I have to tell you something.” Keisha spun her chair toward me.

“What is it?”

She looked at me, then at her glass of water, took a sip, and returned her gaze.

“It’s about Karen.”

I took another drink. “What about Karen?”

“Something happened between her and me.”

“What do you mean by something?” I raised an eyebrow. I had a feeling something was going on with Keisha these past couple of weeks. There was a glow to her, and she was practically giddy, which was not the norm for Keisha.

She blushed. “Remember when I told you the spray tan machine malfunctioned . . . ?”

I nodded.

“It didn’t. I dropped it during my make-out sesh with Karen,” she confessed.

I took another sip of my water and swallowed hard.

“And every tanning or waxing appointment Karen’s had in the past two weeks . . . well, no waxing or tanning were done.”

“I figured that much.” I laughed.

“How?”

“First, Karen is like paper pale . . . for starters. Second, I’ve noticed how you two have been interacting. I didn’t know Karen was gay.”

“I didn’t either, and apparently, neither did she. But I do have a way with women,” Keisha said with a smirk.

“What’s going on with you two then? She’s married, and she has a kid,” I said in an attempt to bring Keisha back to reality. I didn’t want her to get hurt, but I knew there was a good chance she would. Women in Buckhead didn’t leave their husbands.