Free Danger in High Heels by Gemma Halliday Page B

anything odd going on that day?" Dana asked. "Anyone on the set that didn't belong there or anything different in Irina's demeanor?"
    "No." Lana looked at Dana, squinting her eyes for a moment. "You're Ricky's girlfriend, right?" she asked.
    Dana bit her lower lip but nodded.
    "I thought so. I knew I recognized you." She paused suddenly looking uncertain what to say next. Hallmark didn't exactly make a sympathy card for those whose boyfriends cheated on them then killed the other woman to cover up the crime. "I'm so sorry. This all must be very difficult for you," she finally settled on.
    Dana cleared her throat, looking about as uncomfortable as Lana. "Thanks" she said.
    "You were on set the day she..." Lana trailed off.
    "We were actually there to see you," I told her.
    "Me?" Lana's eyebrows rose. "Why?"
    "We heard you'd had some wardrobe items stolen."
    "Right. The thefts." Lana's back stiffened, and I could see a distinct shift in her mood.
    "Can you tell us about them?"
    Lana cleared her throat. "Well, it seems minor now in the face of..." She trailed off gesturing Dana's way. "You know. But, what did you want to know?"
    "When was the first one?" I asked.
    Lana looked off into space for a moment, searching the archives of her brain. "Last week. It was the shoes Irina had worn the week before in the tango number. Purple, strappy, rhinestones on the sides."
    "So it was Irina's costume that went missing?" I jumped on the link.
    Lana paused. "Well, hers was the first. But the missing items weren't limited to her things."
    Drat. There went my connection.
    "Anyway, the shoes weren't a big deal, since she'd already performed in that costume, and you know no costume gets used twice. But it was kind of annoying, you know? Like, I knew I had put them with the rest of the pieces, but suddenly they were gone."
    "You said this was the first. What happened next?" Dana asked.
    "Well, a few days later, after Kaylie did her waltz number, her headpiece was gone."
    "Another item that had already been worn," I noted.
    She nodded. "But the next time it was worse. A full gown that Shaniqua was scheduled to wear that week. It was missing right before dress rehearsals."
    "That was when production had to shut down for a day," I added, remembering the story Felix had told me.
    "Exactly! The producers were so pissed." I could see color staining Lana's cheeks at the memory. As much as she called the thefts minor now, I could tell they had caused her to get majorly upset at the time.
    "But you found the gown finally?"
    "Yes. Thank God!"
    "Where was it?"
    "It was shoved on a rack with a couple of Ricky's old costumes that were scheduled to be recycled."
    "Is it possible it was just misplaced?" I asked, trying to be as delicate as possible about asking if it had just been a simple mistake on her part.
    But Lana shook her head vehemently from side to side, her black curls bouncing around her shoulders. "No. That's what the producers thought, too. But it wasn't me. I can tell you that for sure! I'm not so careless as to recycle a current costume."
    "Do you have any idea who else could have moved the costume?" I asked.
    Lana shrugged. "I wish I did."
    "What about the other items?" Dana jumped in. "Did you ever recover them?"
    Lana shook her head. "No. But, like I said, we didn't look very hard. They'd already been used on the show, so we really didn't have much use for them. They were going to be recycled in the costume department." Lana paused. "We rip old costumes apart and use the pieces for new ones on other productions. The sequins and jewels from the dresses get repurposed. The shoes get re-dyed and reused elsewhere. Pretty much everything is salvageable, and what isn't gets donated to charity."
    I cringed thinking that had almost happened to a current outfit. Considering how much those gowns must cost, I could see why the producers were upset about almost losing one.
    "Anything else go missing after the gown?" I asked.
    Lana shook her head. "No.