Swan Dive by Kendel Lynn Read Free Book Online

know anyone was in here.” She put her hand on her chest and backed up a step.
    “Johnnie Mae Tidwell,” I said. “We met at the volunteer luncheon last week for the theatre.” Johnnie Mae was new to Inga’s studio and to the island. And she probably thought I was pilfering through Lexie’s belongings. “I’m Elliott Lisbon with the Ballantyne Foundation, one of the sponsors of the ballet.”
    “Yes, of course. Nice to see you again,” she said. “Well, not nice. I mean, under the circumstances.” Her face was drawn, her eyes red, not a dab of makeup.
    “Did you need something in here?” I’d left the crime scene tape on the door. Interesting she slipped beneath it, too.
    “Deidre asked me to clean her condo. The kids are staying there and they left such a mess. Teenagers, you know? She mentioned Lexie’s dressing room. I thought I’d clean in here, too.” She stood close to the entry, barely a foot inside the room.
    “Did you know Lexie well?”
    “Well…” She looked past me, into the makeup mirror and beyond, far, far away. Her reflection looked pale and fragile, with tiny opal earrings and a delicate knit sweater. She shook her head as if to bring herself back. “I did. And I didn’t.” Tears pooled in her eyes, then dripped down her cheeks. “It’s the most awful thing in the world.”
    “I’m so sorry,” I said and crossed the room to hug her.
    She hugged me as if she never wanted to let go. After a full ten seconds, she pulled back. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why this hit me so hard. I only knew her a week.” Johnnie Mae took a crumpled tissue from her pocket, then looked at its tattered state. It seemed to sadden her more.
    A paper box of tissues sat on the vanity. I grabbed the box and held it out to her.
    “Thank you,” she said. “This probably wasn’t a good idea. To come in here. I keep thinking about Lexie’s mother. I lost my only child, too, and it broke me.” She blew her nose and took another tissue. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I don’t even know you,” she said with a half laugh.
    “Please don’t apologize. I lost my parents twenty years ago and I still miss them,” I said. “The loss never fully goes away.”
    “Or the loneliness,” she said softly. 
    Though I missed my parents, I probably missed the idea of them more. I never experienced profound loneliness after they were gone. They loved me, but I arrived later in their lives, and they were inseparable, even to make room for me.
    The door flew open and Berg Guthrie burst in, nearly knocking Johnnie Mae to the floor. “What are you doing in here?” He was in his full Mouse King costume and carried the head in his hands.
    Courtney and Vigo came in behind him. Both in tees and tights, but Courtney wore her hair in a tight shellacked bun.
    “You can’t be in here,” Berg said. “None of us can. This is private.”
    “I know it’s upsetting,” I said. “But I’m assisting the police.” The room felt overcrowded and stifling. But more, it felt inappropriate. “Let’s go outside.” I held the door while everyone shuffled into the hall backstage. “Courtney, I noticed you and Lexie shared that dressing room, but Berg, you’re the one who found her?”
    “Lexie wanted to lie down, so I left her alone,” Courtney said. “Took my stuff down to the kids’ room.” Courtney led us to Berg and Vigo’s dressing room and sat at the lighted table in the center of the room. She opened a makeup bag larger than a carry-on. “I won’t do that again. Those dance moms are nasty to be around. Really bad vibe. Even worse than the volunteers.”
    I winced on Johnnie Mae’s behalf, one of Inga’s volunteers, but she hadn’t followed us into the room.
    “Lexie’s dressing room should open up soon, right?” Vigo asked me. He sat on the loveseat and rested his feet on a black trunk. “You were in there, and the tape’s been torn down. It must mean they’re