Death of a Chorus Girl (The Delacroix Series Book 1) by P. M. Briede Read Free Book Online Page B

looks at me, you truly do.
     
    Richard Giordano: Broadway
     
    This woman is going to cost me this case and my career!  I have to get away from her!   “Steve, you ready?” I ask, my voice cracking a little.  He comes bounding down the steps, announcing he is.  I can’t let her ensnare me again with her enchanting eyes so I have to walk past Em with no other farewell.
    “What did you learn backstage?” I ask him the second we get in the charger.
    He props his elbow on the edge of the door by the window and leans his head into his fist.  “The lighting rig wasn’t the only piece of faulty equipment.”  The rats told us last week that the rig fell because all the screws on one side of the harness were tampered with.  When the side finally gave, the weight of it stripped the opposing end, sending it crashing to the stage on top of our victim.  “Their people found loose screws on some of the set rigs and awnings that surround the stage.  It’s amazing that no one else was hurt or that it didn’t happen sooner.”
    “So basically, the whole theater was tampered with?” I ask.  He gives a short nod in agreement.  “Do you think it was intentional then?”
    Steve chews his cheek before answering.  “I don’t know how else an entire theater of equipment ends up faulty.”
    The idea makes a pit fall into my stomach.  An image of Em, lying beneath one of those contraptions, bleeding to death, fills my mind.  I swallow the bile that crawls up my throat.  “We didn’t get any evidence off all that other equipment, did we?”
    “I don’t think anyone even thought about it,” he confirms with a shake of his head, “not after cause of death was confirmed.  I doubt it would have mattered, though.”
    “Why?”
    “We’ve got two sets of DNA on file already and the busted rig.  And not a single match in CODIS!” he blew, which is unexpected for Steve.  He typically keeps a level head on cases.   “ Sure the semen samples match the epithelial trace on her neck and under her nails but none of that proves anything.  We don’t even know if they are from the killer.  All of it could easily be from her extracurricular activities!”
    We don’t talk for a few streets.  “So,” Steve’s slick tone tells me I am about to be grilled.  It’s not a surprise.  The plan had been for him to interview Em and for me to talk to the techs.  “How deep in her web are you exactly, Dick?”
    Steve knows how deep.  However, it is his personal mission to get me to admit it aloud.  So far, the only person I speak to about it is Frisco, and she knows everything.  The dreams.  The fantasies.  The nightmares.  I’m a mess, and all over a woman.
    “Still in denial.  Fine, but I’m putting you on notice now, Dick.  When this case is over, you better move on her quick, or I will,” Steve’s hollow voice pronounces.  “What did you learn from the toity?”
    “Ah, I didn’t get a chance to ask any questions,” I confess.  “Her dancers needed her.”
    “Tongue-tied again,” Steve sneers.  “Thought that was why I was supposed to talk to her.”  I don’t answer.  “Look, what are you going to do if she’s our perp?”
    I glare at him. “She’s not.  She’s not involved in any of it.”
    He brings his hands up in a defensive gesture and treads a little more carefully.  “Easy there.  I’m not the bad guy.  You’ve got the best gut I’ve ever worked with, but you’re saying she’s innocent without any evidence.”
    “I know it’s not her semen,” I growl in frustration.
    Steve rolls his eyes.  “Don’t need a dick to fuck a person.  She still could have killed the girl,” he grumbles, and I bite my tongue.  Em has been Steve’s primary focus and I am not sure why.  We review our case notes daily and have re-questioned the cast.  There are no helpful tidbits.  No one knows of any enemies or jilted lovers.  The location of Annie’s phone is yet another mystery.