Free Easy as One Two Three (Emma Frost) by Willow Rose Page A

afterwards?" I asked, still hoping for anything that could help me out.
    Sascha shook her head. "Good gosh no. I would have told the police if I did, now wouldn't I?"
    "Of course you would," I said, disappointed. I looked at Morten. "Well, I guess we have what we came for."
    I got up from the couch. Morten followed. In the doorway, I turned to face Sascha. "Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us."
    "No problem. I hope you have enough. As I told you, I don't know Mads very well. I mostly remember him from high school, but I don't think he ever noticed me."
    "Say, do you have any idea who invited all of you to this party?" Morten suddenly asked.
    I took over. "We’ve been wondering about it. On the Facebook invitation, it just says that it is the club called Mystery-murder club that created the event. That was also the name that was given to the theater when the person rented the premises for the party. It was paid in cash sent by mail, they told us when we called. On Facebook, the club has no members yet, but the moderator of it is someone calling himself M. Arple. There are no photos on his—or her—profile or any other information."
    Sascha bit her lip and shook her head. "No, I can't say that I do. I wondered who was behind it as well, but figured they wanted to be anonymous to make it more fun. It was kind of the premise of the entire thing. It had to be all secretive, right? It had to be a mystery to get people's attention to get them to come."
     

22
    April 2012
    B EING BLONDE AND VISITING Turkey had become quite annoying for Signe. The many stares from men she met in the streets had been enjoyable in the beginning, but after a couple of days, it had become unbearable. She could hardly walk into a shop without the owner asking to touch her hair and giving her unwanted attention. Even just walking in the streets of Alanya, she was constantly stopped by people, especially old women reaching their hands out to touch her hair like it was somehow magical or especially blessed. At the hotel, they had told her to be careful and not to go out alone and never to wander into dark and deserted streets.
    Now that they were leaving the hotel at night, she had put on a scarf to cover her hair. She was wearing a long coat covering most of her body and holding her husband's hand as they walked into the heavily lit street.
    "Now, will you tell me where we're going?" Mads asked. He didn't feel comfortable not knowing what she was up to. Not after what happened in Egypt.
    Signe had been very secretive all day while preparing what she had planned. She had been to a shop downtown all alone in the afternoon but never showed what she bought to Mads. She had gotten dressed in the bathroom and put on make-up, brushed her short blonde hair carefully, then covered it all up with a scarf and the long black coat.
    "Not yet," she said with a grin. "It's a surprise."
    Mads was tipsy and it affected his sense of judgment. He was intrigued, but at the same time, very scared of what she might have come up with. The alcohol sedated his strength and capability of saying no to Signe.
    They had been drinking in the hotel room. They had ordered wine and champagne through room service, then emptied the many small vodka bottles in the mini-bar. Signe was drunk too. She looked at Mads and he felt a chill go through his body, a thrill of excitement. She looked so happy. He liked that. But it also made him feel anxious.
    "Just tell me," he said with a slightly shivering voice.
    "In time, my dear. In time," she said, as they turned a corner and walked into a smaller street. The streetlights were gone and suddenly it was darker.
    "Are you sure this is the way?" he asked. "It doesn't look safe to go down this street."
    "I know," Signe said. "We'll be fine. Just trust me."
    She took another turn around a corner and brought them into an even darker street. "It should be around here somewhere," she said.
    "What should?" he asked.
    They weren't alone in