Betrayal

It was a brief message. But it was also as long as it needed to be.

Brandy got up and passed by the mirror as she went to the bedroom. She barely glanced at herself. Seeing her reflection in the afternoon light was so unforgiving, and it made her feel even more bitter.

The bedroom was in complete disarray. The bed was unmade; the nightstands were littered with the obvious remnants of a party for two. A pair of Diesel jeans, a black T-shirt, and Armani Exchange underwear were scattered by the door to the bathroom. Brandy wasn’t alone, but it dawned on her that being with someone didn’t mean an end to loneliness.

Chapter 12

DESPITE THE LATE AFTERNOON DOLDRUMS and a protein energy bar that was doing flip-flops in her knotted stomach—like the tasteless snacks always did—A

Or gawking.

A

Only her own.

“How’s Teagan doing?” A

“Fine,” Mindee said, applying lipstick and blotting with a tissue from the chief’s desktop dispenser. “He’s learning how to manage his disappointment and anger. Most of it, if not all, is caused by his absent father.”

A

“That’s good,” A

“I know,” Mindee said, fishing a Tic Tac from the depths of her purse, a wet-look leather satchel that was so shiny, she occasionally used its glossy surface as mirror. “He and I are a lot alike. We’re both deep. We care so much about everyone and everything.”

Again, A

“I understand that you’ve done a great job with your community service, Mindee,” she said.

Mindee checked her makeup. “Don’t call it that. That makes it sound like I’m a criminal.”

Too easy.

Mindee snapped her purse shut. “I’m not here about me. I’m here because I saw something that was very disturbing and it is my civic duty to tell you about it.”

“Your civic duty, yes,” A

Mindee tilted her head as if she was about to say something she didn’t want anyone else to hear, though, of course, that wasn’t much of a worry. No one else was listening.

“Bria

That was one response A

“Olivia Grant,” A

Mindee leaned forward, revealing cleavage in major need of a push-up bra. She wanted to make sure that all of what she was about to say was completely understood.

“Okay,” she said. “You might want to write this down.” She pointed to a pad.

A

Mindee cleared her throat. “I’m not a gossip, and you know that. You know from sitting in my chair at the salon that I never, ever speak badly about anyone.” She stopped when she caught the look of disbelief in A

A

“Wrong?” she asked. “Just what do you mean by that? Be specific, Mindee.”

“Who carries on like she was shopping for her honeymoon when her girlfriend was sliced like a Benihana hibachi steak the night before?”

“That isn’t fair. People handle shock in different ways.”

Mindee nodded. “I know. But I Googled it. She’s a sociopath. You should Google it too. And besides, it isn’t just me,” she said. “Others think something’s up with her too.”

“Others? What others?”

Mindee shrugged. “I’m not sure. Just others. You know, kids at school.”

“Did Starla tell you something?” A

Mindee looked away for a second. “Starla isn’t talking to me right now,” she said. “Not much. You know, we’re so close that sometimes we just don’t get along.”

A

“Just people,” Mindee said, clearly backpedaling.

A

“You should go to Victoria’s Secret,” Mindee said. “Investigate or something.”

ANNIE GARNETT HAD NEVER been inside a Victoria’s Secret store, though she’d always dreamed of doing so. It took a criminal case, not desire, to get her inside of the Pepto-pink store at the Kitsap Mall. She made her way past the displays of the things that would never, ever fit her right. Look. Don’t touch. This isn’t for you. The big-boned police chief longed to feel silk on her skin, not the stiff weave of polyester, staticy gra

It took a murder and a visit from Mindee Larsen to bring her into this lingerie dream/nightmare.

Doralee, the manager, was a pretty, 40-ish woman with soft curls, a sugar voice, and a name to match. She set up A

“Chief,” Doralee said, “you’ll want to watch this tape here. Counter numbers actually match the time stamp.”

“Thank you,” A

“If you see something you want to keep, let me know. You’ll need a subpoena for that, but no worries. I’ll guard the tape with my life.”

The tape was HD-clear, which surprised A

As her heart sank lower into that PowerBar-churning stomach of hers, the word Mindee had uttered, had Googled, came to A

They’d just come from being questioned by the police about a murder in Bria