Nodding again, Renee blinked as if to clear her mind. “What can I do?”
“Tell me about Courtney,” Ellie said. “Were you two close?”
Renee shrugged. “Not really. Courtney was gorgeous and cared more about her looks and her business than her own family.”
Ellie’s heart clenched. “I’m sure she cared about you,” she said.
Renee lifted her head, and Ellie noticed the woman’s skin was pockmarked, as if she’d suffered badly with acne. “She was embarrassed by me.”
“That must have hurt.” Ellie knew all about family dysfunction. After wanting a sibling all her life, she finally had one. One who’d wanted her dead.
“I accepted how she was a long time ago,” Renee said with a shrug.
Ellie hesitated at the resignation in the woman’s voice. An image of the way Courtney had been dressed––in a plain dress and shoes, even plain underwear––taunted Ellie. The killer had chosen those garments for a reason.
“Did Courtney have a boyfriend or girlfriend? Anyone special in her life?” Ellie asked.
“Not that I know of.” Renee shrugged again. “She changed guys like she changed her shoes, always looking for a new style or prettier one.”
“How about enemies? Maybe a jilted lover?”
“Like I said, I don’t know about her personal life. We haven’t talked in months.” Renee stood, wiping her hands down her sides. “Although she did make a few enemies with her business.”
Ellie raised a brow, her interest piqued. “Tell me about that.”
With a sigh, Renee walked back to the laundry basket, picked up the fitted sheet and stretched it out to hang on the line. “Courtney’s makeup line made her wealthy,” she said, her tone tinged with disapproval. “Some people loved her products, but at least a couple of women had adverse reactions to some chemical in the foundation.”
Heading over, Ellie snagged the opposite end of the sheet and helped Renee even it out so she could hang it on the line. “What happened?”
Renee’s gaze met hers. “The women’s faces were scarred. A couple had plastic surgery to repair the damage. They sued Courtney, but she paid them off and made them sign NDAs saying they’d keep quiet.” Renee released a sigh. “But Courtney just kept on making the product without changing anything.”
“If you two didn’t talk, how do you know about this?” Ellie asked.
Renee lifted her hand to her cheek. “Because I was one of them.”
Seventeen
The Men’s Den, Bluff County
The darkness called him again. He’d fought it for years, but those little girls’ graves had stirred up all the pain and anguish he’d suffered. Suffering he’d hidden for so long that he’d become adept at wearing a disguise.
Even the ones closest to him had no idea the evil thoughts that consumed him.
“Tuesday’s child is full of grace,” he silently chanted as he swirled the amber whiskey in his glass. Country music boomed through the speakers of the titty bar that was situated off the highway drawing locals and truckers. Women twirled and gyrated, showing off oil-slick bodies that tempted the audience to reach for their wallets and throw cash on the wooden floor of the stage or stuff it in their G-strings. The dim lights meant to enhance the atmosphere and provide cover for the patrons who wanted to remain anonymous made him relax, even as stage lights painted the dancers’ bodies in a rainbow of colors.
The one he’d come to see finally took center stage. Her lithe form was silhouetted by the haze of light, the sheer beauty of her striking him as she glided like a cat from the shadows.
He sat up straighter. He was not here for pleasure, but to watch for the perfect moment to strike.
But hell, who said a man couldn’t enjoy his work?
Adorned in a skimpy black negligee with red sparkly heels and silver glitter shimmering off her inch-long eyelashes, her gaze spanned the room. It was as if she was a bloodthirsty vampire sniffing out the tastiest piece of meat in the house.
The music piped up, and she spun around, dropped to the floor and crawled across the stage, her head lifted, tongue flitting in and out like a serpent’s. When she reached the edge of the stage, she stood, twisted around, then dropped her head forward. Her long dark hair grazed the floor as she shook her ass in his face.
Shouts and jeers erupted from the men in the room, and an old fat guy at the table in the corner rubbed his cock.
The woman was definitely comfortable with her body.