I swear Lucas blushed as he shook Maggie’s hand. “Lucas. Thrillers.”
Maggie raised one white eyebrow, a knowing look crossing her creased face. “Are you that Salvatore fellow everyone is going on about?”
“One and the same,” he admitted. Yep. Definitely blushing.
“Splendid.” She sat back with satisfaction. “We should compare notes later. Cozy versus thriller. Writing. Marketing. Those kind of shenanigans.” She punctuated her words with gusto in a broad, slightly nasally East Coast accent.
“I would enjoy that,” he said graciously.
I noted that, other than the driver, Lucas was the only man in the vehicle. Apparently haunted mansions didn’t appeal to as many gentleman writers as one might have thought. Interesting since ghost-hunting shows tended to lean heavily to the male arena. “All at the bar,” Maggie barked.
“Huh?” I glanced at her, confused by her non-sequitur.
“The men. All at the bar. Why they come to these things mostly. Conferences, I mean.”
“Ah. I see.” I didn’t really, but then I’d been single for a long time, and my previous relationships had proven I understood little about the opposite gender. Or rather, I understood too much, which was probably worse.
Just as the driver started the engine, a figure dashed toward the van, waving a floppy white sunhat. A large green and white striped bag banged wildly against her side as her silver flip-flops slapped against the hot asphalt.
“Oh my word,” Cheryl whispered, leaning forward to squint through the window. “That’s Piper.”
I peered around her shoulder. Sure enough, the red hair was unmistakable. The woman running toward us was none other than Piper Ross, Natasha’s former assistant. The woman at least partially responsible for the breakup of Natasha’s marriage, although I held Jason equally responsible since he couldn’t keep it in his pants. It took two to tango and all that.
I smiled widely, excited about the prospect of more sleuthing. “Oh, this is going to be an interesting adventure.”
I ignored Cheryl’s groan.
Chapter 9
A Suspicious Event
PIPER ROSS PAUSED IN front of the open van door, holding her floppy hat up to shade her eyes. I noticed there was a giant red poppy glued to one side. Very colorful. “Is this the van to the haunted place?” She blinked big, pretty, green eyes rimmed with thick, dark lashes. They looked fake, but I had a feeling they were real. Darn her.
The driver beamed down at her, his basset-hound face getting an instant facelift. “Sure, miss. Hop in.”
She gave him a charming smile, revealing a dimple in her left cheek, and climbed aboard without so much as a single drop of sweat marring her perfect face. Her eyes lit up when she saw Lucas, and she immediately squeezed in next to him. I held back a growl. It was silly of me to get jealous, but really it was for Cheryl’s sake. Although Cheryl seemed not to notice.
It wasn’t that I had a personal thing against Piper. It was just that she was so darn...flawless. At five foot eight and a hundred thirty pounds tops, she had the perfect figure. At least according to today’s standards. Me, I’d have been in vogue about fifty years or so ago.
With her milky-white skin, flaming-red hair, and slightly tilted green eyes, she was, in a word, perfect. No wonder Jason had tossed Natasha for her. I probably would have, too. Especially if her personality was anything like her looks. I couldn’t imagine Natasha had been an easy person to live with. Still, it didn’t justify what they’d done, to my way of thinking.
Piper buckled herself in and gave the driver another blinding smile. “Ready when you are.” Even her voice was charming and sexy, doggone it.
As the van swung out into traffic, Maggie and Lu began talking excitedly about the history of the mansion we were to visit. Well, Maggie started chatting. Lu mostly nodded her head, earrings shooting colorful sparks of light around the van.
I expected Piper to start chatting Lucas up, but instead she bent over her smart phone, stabbing rapidly at the screen with her forefinger. I tried to see what she was typing, but all I could see was that it was a text...and it was to Jason Winters. Big surprise. The two were still a couple, after all. Which was so odd. I mean Jason was not bad looking, but he was at least twenty years older than Piper, pudgy around the middle, and balding. Not to mention that since the split with Natasha, he was out of a job. Not the sort of person I expected a woman like Piper to go for. At least not in the long run. Although now Jason would probably inherit Natasha’s money and that meant he’d be a very rich man.
Unless, of course, Natasha had changed her will or something. Which was possible. Even likely. I made a mental note to find out who inherited. Whoever it was would have an excellent motive. But if it wasn’t Jason, why would Piper still be with him? Could they actually be in love? I’d need to watch them more closely to decide. Anything was possible. Love was crazy like that.
Time to dive in. I cleared my throat. “You’re Piper Ross, right?”
She glanced up from the screen, startled. A tiny frown line marred her forehead before smoothing away. “Um, yes. Why?”
I gave her a bland smile. “Viola Roberts. I’m really sorry about Natasha. I know you worked for her for a long time.”
A scowl crossed her face, quickly replaced by that dazzling smile. Aha! So, Piper Ross wasn’t so perfect and perky. Whatever she might pretend in public, she really didn’t like Natasha.
“Oh, yes. It’s very sad, isn’t it?” she said, not sounding at all sincere.
“Very. Such a shocking thing, you know.”
“Oh, yes.” She didn’t sound at all shocked.
“Jason isn’t interested in haunted mansions, I take it?”
She looked confused for a moment. “Oh, he has a meeting today. With some lawyer.” She shrugged. “I don’t really understand legal stuff, and I figured it would be boring just
