The Love Killers by Jackie Collins Read Free Book Online Page A

thereafter she became a successful teen model.
    Photographers loved her; she had a chameleon quality essential for a good model. With no trouble at all she could look girlish, sophisticated, sexy, even plain. It was a matter of expression, and Lara mastered the art.
    Her work was the most important part of her life. She dieted, exercised, ate health foods, and slept at least eight hours every night. Dates were unimportant, work was all-consuming.
    Soon her incredible beauty deepened and bloomed, and she began to add polish to the diamond. She started to go out with specially selected men. One who could teach her about wine, another about racing, and yet another about baccarat,
chemin de fer,
and ‘twenty one.’
    She refused to sleep with any of them, although they all tried. She hadn’t found the man to teach her about sex.
    A week after her twentieth birthday she met Jamie P. Crichton and knew at once that this was the man she was destined to marry. Jamie had already inherited a trust fund worth several million pounds, and there was plenty more to come. He was young, good-looking, and arrogant. He was also surrounded by girls, and although his initial reaction to her was predictable, she knew that if she wasn’t very careful, she could sink without a trace into the sea of females around him.
    So she played it very smart, refusing to go out with him at all. Instead she cultivated his friends. Everywhere Jamie went, she was bound to be.
    His best friend, Eddie Stephen Keys, fell madly in love with her and proposed. Lara wasn’t prepared to settle for anything less than her original choice.
    It took several months for her to get through to Jamie. And then suddenly one day he knew, and that was that. He chartered a jet, they got married in Tahiti, and the world press embraced them as the latest Beautiful Couple.
    Their marriage lasted exactly one year. A year during which Lara became a celebrity.
    Then just as suddenly it was over; they both wanted a divorce. They were equally bored by the restrictions of marriage and the drudgery of being with each other all the time.
    It was a friendly parting of the ways. Jamie agreed to pay her a generous settlement, and she took off for Tijuana, where she got a quick divorce, and then on to Acapulco, where she met her first Italian prince.
    Since that time Lara had moved around. All the best places at the best times with the best men. It was only when Margaret was shot that she finally stopped to think. What was she doing with her life? Why was it so important to be in the right place at the right time with the right man? Why did she constantly seek out hedonistic, boring escorts who could offer her nothing but money? Was it
that
exciting to be photographed at every airport? Quoted in every empty fashion magazine?
    And why did she need to travel down the Nile? Safari in Africa? Ski in Gstaad? And summer in Sardinia?
    On reflection, it all seemed such an empty life. The death of Margaret, traveling to New York, and spending time with Margaret’s friends and her sister Beth had finally made her realize this.
    Now her mind was made up. She was determined to help avenge Margaret’s death.
    Nick Bassalino was the perfect opportunity. And soon he would be all hers.
    * * *
    Lara had been brought to the party by Jeanette and Leslie Larson, a young couple whose only claim to fame was that Les’s mother was one of the richest women in the world. Lara had arrived in L.A. several days before. She was staying with the Larsons as their houseguest, and they were thrilled to have her. Within a week she knew she’d get to meet Nick Bassalino, for April Crawford was known to be an avid partygoer. Running into him so soon was pure luck.
    She pointed him out to Jeanette. ‘Who’s that man?’ she asked casually.
    â€˜I guess you mean Nick,’ Jeanette replied with a knowing laugh. ‘He’s April Crawford’s boyfriend, and he’s
strictly
not up