Free The Lady Who Cried Murder (A Mac Faraday Mystery) by Lauren Carr

Is that all you’ve got?’ I told her. ‘You’re a joke,’ I said. ‘You’re a pathetic pathological liar and a joke.’ Then I had security remove her from my office.”
    After a pause filled with pride for what she considered a winning moment, she added, “But I didn’t kill her.” The ice cream in her float was gone. From across the booth, she leaned toward him. “I forgot to ask. How did she die? I mean, how was she killed?”
    “She was stabbed to death.”
    Lily shuddered. “You know, knowing Khloe the way I did, being friends from back when we were kids, I knew she wouldn’t live to an old age. She lived too fast and hung out with—” She shook her head. “Like that guy that I saw her talking to that night at the lake. I never did get a clear look at him, and it was dark, but I had a bad feeling about him—like he would only lead her into trouble. But then, she wasn’t kidnapped.” She cocked her head at Mac. “I wonder who he was.”
    Mac wanted so much for her to confirm that the Nick that Khloe had come into the inn with was the same man she had seen her talking to the night that she faked her disappearance. “Have you ever seen that man since that night?” he asked while studying her face for a reaction.
    Lily stared into her float for a long moment. “To tell you the truth, since it all ended up being a lie, I never looked for him. I mean, he didn’t end up being a killer or anything. Why?”
    “Well,” he replied, “she did end up spending four days in a motel with him.” He shot her a grin. “They must have been friends. Maybe you’ve seen him around—hanging out with her and her crowd.”
    “You know that was so long ago and it was dark when I saw him…”
    They finished their respective drinks. His brandy drained, Mac asked, “Did Khloe come in with anyone else besides this Nick?”
    “Bevis Palazzi.”
    Mac sighed. “Really? I thought he was your friend.”
    “Are you kidding?” she replied. “I never did like him. He had latched onto Khloe, or rather Khloe’s theater friends.” She shook her finger when a thought came to her mind. “That guy could have been one of her theater friends—playing the role of a crazed kidnapper and all.”
    “Maybe.” Mac tucked her suggestion away in his mind. After all, Nick was playing Khloe’s gay best friend on her show. It was a good suggestion, the more he thought about it. “Tell me more about Bevis and Khloe.”
    She sighed. “Bevis was a theater groupie.”
    “Are you kidding? Bevis was a groupie?”
    Lily nodded her head. “He would do volunteer stuff for the local theater groups. You do remember that Khloe was big on the local theater in Morgantown and other groups around here? I worked backstage as stage manager and assistant director. Bevis played the big shot by throwing money around to help support the groups. So they would let him hang around no matter how big of a jerk he was.”
    “Was he a closet wannabe star?” Mac couldn’t envision Bevis being a thespian.
    She shook her head. “He never performed on stage. It was backstage stuff that he would do in order to hang out with the theater crowd. Khloe may have been a lousy actress, but she did have this star quality that attracted guys—even some gay guys would hang around her all starry eyed. Sort of like she was Liza Minnelli or something. Bevis had it bad. I mean, he was ten years older than us and was a spoiled jerk. But he had money and was generous with it, as long as Khloe and her entourage let him hang with them.” She added, “Florence couldn’t stand the air he breathed.”
    Realizing why, Mac nodded his head. “I can imagine.”
    “Bevis and Khloe stayed tight,” she said. “When she went to Hollywood, he made regular trips out there to see her and rub elbows with celebrities to drum up support for when he ran for national office. As a matter of fact, I hadn’t seen him in years when he came in with her—and he was in here with her more