Jeopardy in High Heels (High Heels #12) - Gemma Halliday Page 0,53

covered the surface of the makeup table.

"You think the police have been through here already?" Dana asked me.

"Probably." I glanced around. "But I doubt they made this mess."

"Wow, what a slob," Tina said, and I could envision an unflattering headline forming in her mind. She picked up an ashtray and took a small sniff. "That's not Marlboros he was smoking."

"Yeah, I figured as much," I said, trying not to inhale the skunky scent too deeply.

Dana walked over to the closet. "This guy had a flannel shirt in every color of the rainbow," she noted.

"Yeah, he used to match his plaids to his bagpipe tartans," Tina said.

Dana and I stared at her curiously.

Tina shrugged. "What? I can't be a Doggy Z fan?"

"You are into bagpipe rap?" I asked. "The kind that degrades women and glorifies casual sex?"

Tina put her hands on her hips. "Yes, I like bagpipe rap. And how about, it's a thought-provoking parody of the gender stereotypes and celebrates a woman's sexual freedom?"

"Wow, you can spin anything," Dana said.

"Thank you."

"Again, not a compliment," I pointed out.

"Just take the desk, will you?" Tina ordered, pointing to a duplicate of the one in Mae's dressing room. Only this was painted black. And had little metal studs glued to the legs.

I did, gingerly moving fast food wrappers and beer cans out of the way to uncover the top of it. I pulled open the top drawer of the desk and was met with dozens of items all thrown randomly together—gum wrappers, pens, lighters, guitar picks, plastic spoons, and even a couple of bagpipe mouthpieces. I was about to investigate further when something moved in the corner of the drawer. If I had to guess, it was of the eight-legged variety. I quickly slammed it shut.

"You okay?" Dana asked from the closet.

I nodded, my heart thudding. "Spider."

"Gross," she agreed.

"He's not much of a housekeeper, huh?" Tina asked, using a Sharpie to move a couple of dirty socks from the sofa.

"Don't they have assistants for that kind of stuff?" I asked Dana as I gingerly pulled open another drawer. Luckily nothing stared back at me from it.

"Sometimes," Dana said, nodding. "Or janitorial, but I know some sets only do that every few days."

"This is just from a few days?" Tina asked.

"That's going in your column, isn't it?" Dana asked, sounding like she wished she hadn't said anything.

"Are you kidding?" Tina replied. "Slayed slob of sexy song lyrics."

I cringed at the reaching alliterations as I turned my attention to the papers in the second drawer. Bills, scripts, some hastily scrawled notes on Post-its, and a pile of fan letters. I picked one of the letters up. It was written on floral stationery with a little daisy in the top left corner.

From my heart to yours, in an instant I knew. We were meant to be one, where once there were two.

"What's that?" Tina asked, gesturing to the note in my hands.

"Looks like some sort of fan letter," I said. "Listen to this: An old flame never dies. It lives on in my heart. Like love from above, never shall it depart."

"Whoa," Dana said. "That's not a fan letter. That's a love letter."

"Who's it from?" Tina asked, coming up behind me to read over my shoulder.

I shook my head. "No idea." I turned it over. "Not signed."

"A secret admirer?" Dana asked.

Tina clapped her hands. "Or maybe a secret affair!"

"He had four ex-wives and countless girlfriends," I said. "I'm not sure he had any secrets left."

"Maybe there's an envelope around here that goes with it," Dana suggested.

"Good idea." Tina started to riffle through the rest of the papers in Dog's desk. "Maybe we could find some sort of address book or contact list and—"

She froze mid thought.

In fact, we all froze as a sound echoed outside the door, coming from the previously quiet set.

"What was that?" Dana whispered.

I shook my head. "I dunno," I whispered back, my heart suddenly thudding in my chest again as I strained to listen.

Tina quickly shut off the lights, bathing us all in blackness.

We all stared at the door. A stream of light appeared between the bottom of it and the floor. Footsteps sounded in the hallway. Growing louder.

Heading straight toward us.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Hide!" I hissed.

Dana jumped into the closet, sliding behind the flannel shirts. I dove onto the floor behind the sofa, landing facedown on Dog's multicolored shag rug, which sent the aroma of stale weed and sour beer right up my nose. I choked back a gag reflux. There had to