Free Homicide in High Heels by Gemma Halliday Page B

gave me his
all-American smile, but it never quite made it to his eyes. Which,
I noticed were rimmed in red like he'd spent more time crying than
sleeping in that last couple of days. In fact, he looked exactly
the way I'd expect a brokenhearted, grieving boyfriend to look.
Which made me wonder if maybe he really was grieving. I'd
seen him in the Stars commercials. And actor, he was not.
    "Right. Well, we're a little concerned with
how much she was spending," I said, trying to find a tactful way to
put it.
    His sandy brows drew together. "What do you
mean?"
    "I mean, she was spending upwards of three
hundred dollars a week at our salon alone. Cash."
    He blinked at me. "You gotta be joking?"
    I shook my head. "No joke. And the clothes
she was wearing?"
    "What about them?"
    "Designer. As in expensive."
    "How expensive?" he asked, the confusion in
his face making it clear that he was connecting the same dots about
Lacey that I had. She'd had way more money to spend than she should
have.
    "Seven-hundred-dollar-heels expensive."
    He did more blinking, the frown between his
brows deepening.
    "Do you know where she was getting that kind
of money?"
    He looked behind me, as if searching the
ball field for the answers. "No. But, I mean, maybe she got a raise
or something. She works at a boutique on Melrose. Tony DeCicco's
wife owns it."
    I bit my lip. "Actually, Liz told me Lacey
didn't work there anymore."
    He did more blinking, the surprise on his
face plain. If he was faking, he was doing a bang-up job of it.
    "She didn't?"
    I nodded. "She didn't mention that to
you?"
    "Nuh-uh…" He trailed off, the realization
that his dead girlfriend had been keeping secrets from him sinking
in. I had to admit, I felt sorry for the guy. I was having a hard
time keeping him in the suspect numero uno spot.
    "Do you know if she had signed on to do the Baseball Wives show?" I asked. "Maybe received an advance
from them?"
    But he just shrugged. "I'm sorry. I don't
know."
    "I have to ask…someone said they heard you
two fighting. Last week after a game."
    His jaw clenched, and I could see his eyes
growing wet. "Yeah. We did."
    "Can you tell me what that was about?" I
asked.
    His eyes welled up, and he shook his head,
suddenly sinking to sit on the wooden bench behind him. "It was so
stupid. I mean now, with her gone, it seems like a totally petty
thing."
    "What was it?"
    "I got home early from our series in
Denver," he said, finally looking up. "I called her to go out, but
she didn't pick up. All night. When I confronted her the next day
after the game, she got all cagey."
    "Cagey?" I repeated, feeling my suspicion
radar perk up.
    "Yeah, like she didn't want to tell me where
she was. I got sorta upset and accused her of being out with
someone else. Then she got totally upset and said I needed
to trust her more. It got kinda loud, so I'm not surprised someone
overheard."
    "Did she ever say where she was?"
    He shrugged. "She said it was a girl's night
out at City Walk that went a little late. That's it. I mean, we
made up the next day."
    My heart sank. While I was 90% sure Lacey
had been lying to her boyfriend, I also had a feeling Bucky was
telling the truth to me now. And I didn't see him being the type to
kill over a girl's night gone late.
     
    * * *
     
    Out of leads and out of ideas, I pointed my
car toward home. Ramirez's SUV was parked in the drive, but the
house was silent as I slipped my key in the lock.
    "Hello?" I called, pushing the door open.
"Anyone home?" I did a slow survey of the living room and felt my
stomach clench. Again no toys littered the floor. No piles of
diapers. No half-drank bottles or sippy cups on the coffee table.
Ditto in kitchen. The sink was void of any dirty dishes, the
counters were cleared, and the dishwasher hummed contentedly. If I
didn't know better, I'd even say someone had washed the floors.
    I hated to say it, but my husband was Super
Mom.
    I was just about to go check if he'd had
time to do the laundry,