“Thank you.” Bliss’s own smile dimmed. “I can’t believe our evening started out so wonderfully and ended up this way. I’m such an idiot. I should have just agreed to take him to Regina’s.”
“Aren’t her parents home from their trip?” Dani asked, refusing to give in to the impulse to point out that if Vance treated Bliss this way now, chances were he would only get worse once they were married.
“Actually, no.” Bliss continued to finger her necklace. “The day after she was killed, Mrs. Carnet told me that they had informed her that since the police weren’t releasing Regina’s body, they didn’t see any point in rushing back.”
“That’s…” Dani was at loss. What kind of parents would continue their vacation when their only daughter was lying dead in the morgue?
“Yeah, hard to believe isn’t it?” Bliss puffed out her cheeks. “In a way, her parents’ behavior makes me feel a little better about myself. I’ve always been sort of jealous of Regina. She was beautiful, smart, knew that Laz would marry her, and her folks are filthy rich.”
“But you can’t compare yourself to someone else.” Dani tried to reassure the girl whose self-confidence was so low she was ready to marry an obnoxious jerk like Vance because she didn’t think she could do any better for herself. “You have no idea what that person’s life is really like.”
“Look.” Bliss waved off Dani’s words. “I know that I’m pretty, but I’m not drop-dead gorgeous like Regina.” Bliss heaved a heavy sigh. “And I’m intelligent enough to make it through college, but Regina was majoring in creative writing and acing all her classes.” Bliss shook her head. “Not to mention that my parents are comfortable, but I certainly don’t have a trust fund.”
“I can see how Regina’s life would cause some envy,” Dani said. “And I imagine it wasn’t always easy being her best friend.”
As she learned more about Regina, Dani still disliked her, but she certainly felt a lot sorrier for her than she had previously. No one chose to be bulimic. And working in HR, Dani had come to realize that everyone had a story, and most didn’t have a happily ever after. Which is exactly why she liked to read romances. At least with those books she was guaranteed a heartwarming ending.
“Regina was well aware of the advantages associated with being her friend.” Bliss’s expression was thoughtful. “And she certainly demanded equal compensation in return. But it was worth it.”
“What did she make you do?” Dani asked. “Besides run her errands.”
“Whatever she said.” Bliss crossed her arms. “She expected absolute loyalty.”
“Like not living in the sorority house when she was kicked out?”
“Definitely.” Bliss glanced at her ring. “She wanted me to quit the sorority completely.”
“But you didn’t,” Dani guessed. “How did you manage to go to meetings and stuff? I understand there are certain required activities.”
“Instead of quitting, I deactivated, which is like a leave of absence.”
“Now you can go back,” Dani murmured.
She knew there was something she should ask Bliss while they were on the subject of the sorority, but she couldn’t come up with it.
“Uh-huh.” Bliss bit her lip. “Vance wants me to do it right away.”
“Of course he does.” Dani couldn’t keep the sarcastic tone from slipping out. But having just thought of what she needed to find out from Bliss about the sorority, she quickly asked, “Is the girl who Regina stole the manuscript from still living in the house?”
“As you can imagine, although the sorority handled the incident perfectly, Gail left before she finished pledging.” Bliss made a face. “I bet she doesn’t have too many fond memories of her time in Alpha Beta Delta.”
Bingo! Dani kept the elation off her face. Now all she needed was a last name. Could she ask Bliss for it?
No. Dani didn’t want her to feel like she was being interrogated and there was no casual way to get that information. She’d have to hope Gail was enough.
Now on to the next issue. Which would be the most innocuous? Vance’s reason for needing to get into the Bournes’ house or Regina’s bulimia?
Dani widened her eyes as if she had just thought of something and said, “You know, I almost forgot that I heard something about Vance that might give you a clue as to what he needs to get from Regina’s.” She reached out and squeezed the girl’s hand. “But I should warn you, it may not be something you want to know.”
“Who told you?” Bliss pursed her lips. “A lot of people are jealous of Vance.”
“This person claimed it was from her own personal experience.”
“Her!” Bliss screeched. “This was from a woman? A woman he dated?”
“I don’t think they were exactly dating.” Guilt stung Dani, but truly Bliss would be better off without a guy like Vance. “Do you want to know?” When the girl nodded, she continued, “He and this person had a sort of”—Dani searched for a nice way to put it—“a professional arrangement. While Vance was involved with Regina, this woman supplied him with sex.”
“Why?” Bliss tipped her head. “I know for a fact Regina put out for him.”
“Maybe not in the way he wanted her to do it.” Dani hesitated, but Bliss absolutely needed to be aware of her boyfriend’s true tastes regarding sex before she married him. “From what I understand, he was into BDSM—bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism—and Regina must have something that shows his participation in that lifestyle. You said his family owns a religious supply company so I’m pretty sure that’s not something he’d want made public.”
“I… That can’t be true… He never… We never…” Bliss’s freckles stood out in stark relief as her face lost all color and she collapsed against the couch. “He’s been strictly…uh…you know…normal with me.”
“Maybe Regina reacted so badly when he told her, he decided to keep that part of himself away from his girlfriends,” Dani offered.
“That makes sense.” Bliss
