Free Dark Illusion: A Psychological Thriller Novel by Dana V. Moison Page A

and Sharon was glad to walk them by foot. Those ten minutes
were like a vacation for her, filled with different colors, sounds, and
flavors.
    I really need to get out more ,
she determined.
    She arrived at an impressively
polished office building. The Inner Beauty logo was displayed above the
entrance, along with some other well-known symbols.
    To her surprise, when she entered
the big corner office, Kelly greeted her warmly.
    “Would you like something to
drink? Coffee, tea, water?” she asked in a sweet tone.
    “Strong coffee. Thanks.” Sharon
chose to play along with Kelly as long as she couldn’t be sure if it was all an
act or not. In any case, it had been nearly two hours since her last cup of
coffee, which was unheard of.
    They chatted while Kelly’s
assistant served their drinks, and then, to Kelly’s request, left and closed
the office door behind her.   
    “Well, as I made clear in our
conversation yesterday, I’m here to help.” Kelly smiled but seethed inwardly
over the lie that came out of her mouth, and even more over the fake kindness
she had to maintain for now. “I will do my best to answer all of your
questions, Detective Davis.”
    “Alright, let’s start with the
first victim, Mandy Sheldon.”
    Kelly couldn’t bear to hear that
hideous name even one more time, but of course she didn’t say anything.
    “As I’d mentioned in our previous
talk,” Sharon continued, also trying to avoid that awkwardness after they’d
both lost their tempers, “The deceased’s sister said Mandy got your business
card just days before she was found dead.”
    Kelly had prepared herself for
this moment. She knew that she had to change her version of things. This was
the one spot where she might slip.
    “Indeed, after our conversation,
I did try to remember the poor girl. I even asked my secretary to print her
photo. Still, it’s been three years.”
    Sharon nodded understandingly. She
wondered what had led to this gracious cooperation. Perhaps Kelly really was a
model citizen? There was no doubt that Miss Danes was a respectable and
influential woman – far from the lonesome killer stereotype. Sharon almost
began to question herself and understand Rob’s logic, who at times found her
theories scattered and bizarre.
    But damn it, something didn’t
feel right.
    “And I was able to remember her.
Gorgeous girl. A real sweetheart. She originally came in for a job interview as
a receptionist, were you aware of that?” Kelly asked with faux naivety.
    “Of course.” Sharon tried to
project confidence in her answers. “Mandy had told her sister every little
detail,” she added in the hope that Kelly would take the bait.
    Oh, Mandy, you have been dead
for three years and still make things so complicated!
    “Anyway,” Kelly continued, “as
soon as I saw her, I realized she had great potential and that she could have
become an asset for the magazine,” Kelly tried to emphasize the fact that she
had lost out from the girl’s death. “You see, when models are discovered by the
magazine, they sign an exclusivity contract. They can shoot commercials and
campaigns, because we want them to get famous as well, but in regards to
interviews, covers, and juicy scoops, we get first exclusivity,” Kelly
explained, hoping she managed to distract the simple cop, who obviously knew
very little about how things worked in the fashion industry.
    “And that was all to your
relationship with Mandy?” Sharon stayed focused. She wanted to see if Kelly
would lie to her again.
    “Pretty much.” Kelly chose her
words carefully. She didn’t know what and how much the detective knew, so she
tried not to get tangled in her own answers. Kelly wanted to leave herself an
escape route, an option to claim she had been misunderstood.
    “I would love to hear about the minor details as well,” Sharon forced a smile. She began to lose her patience. So far
Kelly hadn’t told her anything new.
    Kelly felt her heart beating
strongly.