wrap.”
“Any idea who she is?”
“I’d have to peel the paraffin off her face in order to try to identify her. I really don’t want to do that.”
“Don’t worry, we’re not going to touch the body. She’ll be discovered in the morning by someone on the spa staff. If we report this tonight, there’s a high degree of probability we’ll land at the top of a list of suspects. We can’t afford to get tangled up in a murder investigation. We’ll lose too much time trying to talk our way out of it.”
“Agreed,” Lyra said. “Finding Raina is our first priority. Wait. Point your flashlight at her again.”
Simon did so without comment. Lyra took a cautious step toward the tub and forced herself to take a closer look at the victim. The hardened paraffin had formed a thick white shell over the entire body, including the head. The woman appeared to be nearly nude, but there was a chunky beaded necklace around her throat.
Lyra got a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“Miss Frampton, the woman who gave me the facial treatment today—the one who did Raina’s facial—wore a necklace of violet Bakelite beads that was the same shape and size as that necklace. She said it was a gift from Madam Guppy, a reward for selling the most products last month.”
Chapter 31
What are we going to do now?” Lyra stalked across the front room of the suite, arms tightly folded. “We can’t just sit around and wait for something else to happen.”
“We could do that,” Simon said. “But it would be smarter to get some sleep.”
Lyra stopped in the middle of the room and glared at him. They had made it back to their suite by way of the service stairs. As far as they could tell, no one had seen them. Simon had poured each of them a glass of whiskey. Then he had settled into a reading chair to drink his nightcap. He looked far too calm, she decided. Controlled. In charge of the situation.
It was annoying.
She, on the other hand, could not sit still. She had swallowed some whiskey and begun pacing the room. She could not get the picture of the woman encased in paraffin out of her head.
“I couldn’t possibly sleep,” she announced.
“There’s nothing else we can do until we hear from Luther.” Simon glanced at his watch. “It’s nearly dawn. He should be in Pasadena soon, if he isn’t there already. Even if he’s successful in locating Angela Merryweather and persuading her to talk, it’s going to be a while before we hear from him.”
“We should confront Guppy.”
Simon leaned his head against the back of the chair and appeared to give that idea some serious thought. After a moment he straightened and shook his head.
“Not yet,” he said.
“Why not?”
“It will be interesting to see how things play out after the body is discovered later this morning.”
Lyra circled the table in the center of the suite. “Do you think Guppy is the killer? She would certainly know how to operate the paraffin equipment. But so would any of the treatment ladies.”
“Why would Guppy take the risk of staging such an elaborate scene in her own spa? Encasing the body in wax is more than a bit extreme. A murder staged as an accident would have made more sense. Whoever tried to kill you certainly wanted your death to appear accidental.”
“Good point,” Lyra said. “Maybe the killer is simply insane. Frampton’s death might have nothing to do with the gang of kidnappers.”
“Trust me, it’s connected. There are no coincidences in a murder investigation.”
“But the paraffin bath is so bizarre. Not to mention time-consuming. The killer had to go to a lot of work to heat the paraffin and pour it over the body. Kevin Draper emphasized that the gang is running a business. The last thing they would want to do is draw the attention of the police with a killing that looks like the act of a madman.”
Simon set his empty glass aside. “I’m not so sure about that. When you think about it, there is a certain logic to making Frampton’s death appear to be the work of a crazed fiend. It will point the authorities in the wrong direction. They certainly won’t be looking for an organized ring of kidnappers.”
Lyra sighed. “I see what you mean.”
“It’s also possible someone is sending a message.”
Lyra glanced at him. “To other members of the ring?”
“Maybe. There are too many questions, Lyra. We need more information.