Free Drop Dead Gorgeous by Suki McMinn Page A

been worried out of her mind until the body was found and only then could she grieve properly. That’s when the real pain must have kicked in. And then, on top of all that, her asshole ex-boyfriend had fired her. Derek knew there weren’t that many booking positions – especially runway – in Los Angeles and she must be so worried about finding something else.
    Had he lived, he could be helping her now like a decent and normal boyfriend would. He’d had plenty of money. And now he didn’t even have enough to buy her a pillow. And he had no means to provide for her in the future. He knew he needed to come up with some way to earn money for Madeline, and what were the odds she’d let him give some of it to Clara? Less than zero. Terence said Madeline had killed the woman Raymond loved. Derek would have to be very careful to be certain Madeline would never know about Clara. He would die himself before he’d let Madeline harm her. Die again, I mean.
    Dawn called him home, so he left Clara for his nest and died for the day. At dusk, once he’d risen and dressed, he went downstairs to find Terence and Raymond already in the living room in their usual positions.
    He stood and studied the progress of Raymond’s painting. Derek loved the pencil sketch Raymond had done from the same photograph. Raymond had exceptional talent. He’d painted Derek’s collar a little narrower so it looked appropriate for a model in the sixties. When it was finished, Madeline would “discover” it and sell it as a lost work from the now-famous Raymond Barrington who’d died tragically in 1969, a penniless artist. Derek hoped he might get to keep the pencil sketch. It was lying on the table beside Raymond’s easel among the pencils and brushes and various tubes of paint.
    Derek sat on the sofa and watched Terence reading in his chair. He cleared his throat and Terence looked up.
    “Would it be possible for me to get some money?” Derek asked.
    Terence looked at Raymond who said, “I think I’ll go help Bradley with that body.”
    Derek didn’t even want to know what that was about. He watched Raymond set his palette aside and his brush in an old coffee can with turpentine in it, and walk out into the entry way. The front door opened and closed. Derek turned back to Terence.
    “What do you need money for?” Terence asked.
    “Clara – the girl…you know.”
    Terence nodded. “Go on.”
    “She’s having some trouble. She lost her job. I thought I’d be helping her leaving her the house, but now it’s an expense she can’t afford. I feel responsible leaving her with money problems.”
    “I understand.”
    “You know how much I had – how much Madeline got.”
    “It’s for all of us.”
    “Yes, I know. But, if I could just have some of it back….”
    Terence looked away for a moment. “Let me think about this.”
    “Okay.”
    “It’s complicated. And a big risk. We could both be punished.”
    Derek had no idea what that meant and hoped he’d never find out.
    “Well, I don’t want to get you into any kind of trouble.”
    “Give me some time to come up with something, okay?”
     
    Derek left the house hopeful that Terence would be able to help him help Clara. As usual, he stopped in the park to feel for Madeline, and this time he felt she was near. Not wanting to take a chance she was following him, he sat on a concrete bench and waited.
    She came to stand in front of him.
    “What are you doing?” she asked.
    “Just stepped out to get a breath of fresh air,” he said, taking a deep unnecessary breath to punctuate his joke.
    She didn’t laugh. “Would you like to go for a hunt?”
    “No thanks.”
    She sat beside him on the bench and looked out into the dark trees before them.
    “You might have been a mistake,” she said.
    Derek was surprised to hear that. He didn’t think Madeline would ever admit to one if she had indeed made one.
    “How’s that?” he asked.
    “Have you seen Raymond’s portrait of