Homicide in High Heels by Gemma Halliday Read Free Book Online

Bucky'd get involved
with an employee ."
    I tried not to roll my eyes. I was pretty
sure these three women weren't born with silver baseball mitts on
their hands, but they were clearly drawing social lines in the sand
now.
    "I tried to discourage him from getting
serious with Lacey," Liz continued.
    "We all did," Beth jumped in, nodding.
    "I take it you weren't friends?" Dana
asked.
    "God, no. She was such a gold digger and a
total poser," Beth blurted out. Then she yipped, and I could have
sworn Kendra kicked her under the table.
    "Posing how?" I prodded, turning my
attention to the brunette at the table.
    "Well," Liz answered, shooting a glance at
Kendra again. "We called her the 'knock-off' queen. Once she
stopped working for me, she'd come to the ballpark in a Juicy cap,
with Dolce jeans, a Michael Kors top, and a Coach bag. Everything
was label with her."
    "But it was all fake," Beth added.
    "Cheap knock-offs," Kendra clarified. "I
mean, I don't know who she thought she was fooling. We all knew she
didn't have the kind of money for that stuff."
    "She couldn't have gotten it from Bucky?" I
asked.
    Liz snorted again. "Honey, Bucky doesn't
have any money."
    "Wait, isn't he looking at MVP this year?" I
asked, sure that celebrity ball players made some money.
    " Possible MVP. My husband is doing
very well this year, too," Kendra clarified.
    "Bucky was a rookie last year," Liz
explained. "He signed a five year contract at league minimum. If he
keeps playing the way he is, he might be able to renegotiate next
year, but as it stands, he's making about as much as my son's
kindergarten teacher."
    "Ouch. He must not be too thrilled about
that," I said.
    But Kendra shrugged. "It's the way things
work. All of us went through it with our husbands when they were
rookies, too. Of course, not all of us resorted to garish
knock-offs like Lacey did…" she said, trailing off as if that sin
was reason enough for her demise.
    "I felt so sorry for Bucky," Beth said. "He
deserved someone with some class, you know."
    "We heard they were having problems?" Dana
jumped in. "Lacey and Bucky?"
    "Bucky is all Midwestern charm, but the
kid's naïve," Kendra told us. "He fell for her façade."
    "But he's no idiot," Beth piped up. "I mean,
she was only dating him for the status, you know? And he caught
onto Lacey's celebrity seeking."
    Liz shot her a look.
    "What? He did," she said. Clearly Beth
didn't catch the subtle undercurrent of guilt she was casting on
Bucky.
    "How do you know he caught on?" I pressed
before Kendra could kick her into silence again.
    "I heard them arguing. It was after a game
last week."
    "What were they arguing about?"
    Beth's eyes cut to Kendra and Liz, both
giving her hard stares. She licked her lips. "Well, I don't know
for sure. I mean, they were arguing, but I couldn't hear what they
were saying. Bucky just looked…upset. Sorta…" she trailed off,
grabbing her mimosa to cover the heat creeping into her cheeks.
    While these women had no problem airing the
dirtiest of their laundry on TV, it seemed they were reluctant to
let it out in person. I wondered if it was because they were saving
the drama for the camera or if they had something to hide.
    Either way, it was looking more and more
like Ling and Marco's CNN-fueled theory might be right. The
boyfriend really was the most likely suspect.

    * * *
     
    I swung by Mom's place to pick up the twins
before heading home, and when I pulled into my driveway, I was
surprised to see Ramirez's black SUV already there. A foreboding
hit the pit of my stomach. Ramirez home in the middle of the day
was a rare occurrence even when he didn't have a celebrity
murder on his hands. And the foreboding only grew as soon as I
opened the front door and heard banging in the kitchen.
    "Jack?" I asked tentatively, setting the
twins down in their play yard in the living room.
    No answer. Just more banging.
    I poked my head around the doorframe into
the kitchen. Ramirez had a jar of pickles, a can of