Free Homicide in High Heels by Gemma Halliday

her on next season. Maybe they fronted her some money?"
    I nodded. While the other wives had made it
sound like the show was far from a sure thing, it was certainly
possible that Lacey had made some quiet deal with the producers
behind their backs.
    Unfortunately, finding out the details of
her contract was beyond my snooping scope. I pulled my cell out,
dialing home.
    "Hey," Ramirez answered on the first ring. I
could hear the sounds of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse , two crying
kids, and some toy that played the "Farmer in the Dell" in the
background.
    "Hey. You guys doing okay?" I asked.
    "Yeah, sure. Great. Why wouldn't we be?"
    "I don't know, it sounds a little—" I
started.
    But Ramirez cut me off by yelling, "Livvie,
don't touch that! That is not food!"
    "Um, what's not food?" I asked.
    "Nothing. It's fine. What were you
saying?"
    "You sure you don't need me to come home
and—"
    "Nope," he said, quickly cutting me off
again. "I'm fine. I got this." Then I heard him cover the
mouthpiece, yelling again. " Do not put that in your mouth,
Livvie."
    "Uh, okay. Look, I was just wondering if you
could do something for me, but I can call back later."
    "Nope, we're fine. Shoot," he said. I had to
admit, for how chaotic it sounded there, his voice was perfectly
calm.
    "I need some financial info on Lacey."
    "You find something?" he asked.
    "Maybe. She seems to have had more cash than
we can account for," I said, filling him in on what Marco and Faux
Dad had told me. "We're wondering if the show paid her an advance
or something. Any way you can get that info?"
    I heard him nodding on the other end. "I'm
sure I can get someone at the station to float it to me. I'll call
you as soon as I have something—Livvie, spit it out. Spit!"
    "You sure you don't need me to—"
    "Hey, I gotta go, babe. Call if you find out
anything new."
    And before I could stop him, he hung up. My
hands itched to hit redial. But if Ramirez said he had it under
control, I had to trust him. Hey, he was trusting me with the
investigation. It was a two way street, right? Besides, I was sure
Livvie couldn't have put anything too bad in her mouth.
    I hoped.
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    With Lacey's mysterious cash in Ramirez's
capable hands, I decided to focus on the argument Beth had said she
overheard between Lacey and Bucky. Let's face it, CNN was sometimes
right—it usually was the boyfriend whodunit. Bucky was still my
number one suspect, and the truth was I'd yet to talk to him.
    As I left the salon, I pulled out my phone,
dialing the number for Kendra's cell.
    Four rings in, it was answered with a
sing-song, "He-llo?"
    "Hi Kendra, it's Maddie Springer. We met the
other day?"
    "Of course. Dana's friend."
    "Yes. Listen, I was wondering if you know
where I could find Bucky Davis today?"
    She paused, and I could hear mental wheels
turning. "May I ask why?" she asked.
    "I, uh, never got to give him my condolences
at the memorial yesterday," I said lamely.
    But it must have been good enough for her,
because she answered, "Well, he's at practice today. The whole team
is."
    "Oh." I was surprised to hear he was back at
work so soon, and it must have shown in my voice.
    "He says he needs to keep busy," Kendra
explained. "Hitting a ball, getting testosterone out. You know,
that's how guys do grief."
    I guessed I could understand. Hey, if retail
therapy helped me through hard times, who was I to judge someone
using baseball therapy?
    "I'm actually headed to the ballpark today
to speak with the management about the charity fund in Lacey's
name. Would you like me to put your name on the security list?"
Kendra asked.
    "Please!" I agreed, quickly jumping on the
invite.
    Kendra gave me direction to the player's
entrance and told me she'd leave my name with the guard.
    I detoured only long enough to hit a
drive-through Starbucks for a mid-morning pick-me-up before jumping
on the 2 and heading toward the stadium.
    The Stars stadium was located in Echo Park,
at the apex of the 5, 101,