Prosecco Pink by Traci Angrighetti Read Free Book Online Page B

it a habit to show up at least fifteen minutes early to an appointment. But for the past week or so, she'd been showing up late, and I was starting to wonder why.
    "What can I get you, Franki?" the bartender, Phillip, asked in a monotone voice as he ran a wet dishrag over the stainless steel bar.
    I slid onto a bar stool and placed my Gucci knockoff bag on the counter. "How about an Italian margarita?"
    He nodded and reached across several rows of bottles for the Amaretto.
    I studied his face as he poured the amber liqueur into a shaker. Veronica said he resembled a young Kurt Cobain, probably because he was in a grunge rock band, albeit an environmentally conscious one. But I thought he looked and sounded exactly like the stoner Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High .
    "How's your music coming along?" I asked, tapping my knuckles on the bar to the beat.
    Phillip shook his stringy dishwater blond bangs out of his eyes. "Aw, I quit Saving Pumpkins. Making it in the industry these days is such a long shot, man. I decided it was time to focus on something more secure."
    "Smart move," I said, impressed. "What are you working on now?"
    "My skateboarding career," he replied, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "I think it's finally gonna be an Olympic sport."
    I stopped tapping. "Yeah, the Olympics are always a good fallback plan," I replied. But the irony was lost on him.
    Philip handed me the margarita just as Veronica rushed into the bar.
    "Sorry I'm late," she said, slipping her powder blue Prada bag off her shoulder. "How'd the research go today?"
    "Well, I spent some time online going over the media accounts and some articles on the history of the plantation. I didn't find anything we don't already know, but I'm starting to think this case has something to do with obsession."
    Veronica took a seat and grabbed the drink menu. "Why do you say that?"
    "When I was at the police academy, we studied something called Obsessive Love Disorder. People who have it usually start out by idealizing someone. But then they feel jealousy and resentment when the object of their affection can't live up to their unrealistic expectations. That's when their so-called love can turn violent."
    "Okay, but I don't see the connection between this disorder and Ivanna's death."
    "Think about the way her body was neatly laid out on that bed. If she swallowed a bunch of sleeping pills, I think her arm or her head or something would have shifted. But instead it's like someone carefully arranged her hair, her dress, even her hands to make her look as beautiful as possible. Someone who put her on a pedestal."
    "Or someone who wanted to make her look like Evangeline."
    "Could be," I said, stirring my drink. "But why?"
    "I don't know. That's what you're going to have to find out."
    I froze in mid-stir. "Wait. Me? "
    She smiled. "Yeah, I've decided to make you the lead on the case."
    I stared at her, stunned. Veronica was so type A that even her blood type was A, so it was shocking to say the least that she was assigning me the case when I was still new to the company.
    "I'm going to help you, of course," she continued. "But, I think you're ready. Plus, we've gotten busier, so I'm going to have to handle some of our smaller cases."
    Phillip slid a bar napkin in front of Veronica. "What'll it be, Ronnie?"
    She looked at the drink list. "Hm. One of the Italian sparkling wines…"
    While Veronica pondered the Proseccos, I pondered my promotion. It just didn't make sense that she was turning down the lead on a case that involved a legendary diamond, and a pink one at that. If there was such a thing as Obsessive Love Disorder for diamonds, then Veronica had it. Her favorite song was "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend," and one of the last vacations she took was to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas to dig for the dazzling gems.
    "I'll have a glass of the Riondo, please."
    Phillip nodded and turned to get her drink.
    I took a long sip of my margarita. "Hey,