I clucked my tongue. “About that closet? I talked to Nikki the other night, and she said she didn’t see who it was who locked you all in there. Did you see anything at all?”
Julie shook her head hard. “None of us did. But I’m glad I found the hammer to pry the stupid door open, or we’d still be in there. It felt like ages until someone heard us.”
“I bet it was pretty scary,” I commented sympathetically, reaching out to lightly touch her shoulder.
“Not as scary as Mitzy,” she said wryly, making everyone nervously giggle a little. “I’d have much rather stayed in the closet.”
But the janitor’s closet made me wonder something else. It was obvious someone wanted to keep the volunteers and Margot from getting to Mitzy with the EpiPens. I’m sure the police must know that, but it didn’t hurt to ask.
“Did the police take your fanny packs from you with the EpiPens still in them?”
“Yep. They confiscated everything—our phones, the fanny packs, all of it. They did let me come collect my phone today, though.”
“So you have no idea who locked you guys in the closet. Did you see anyone suspicious while you were doing your volunteer duties? Hear anything?”
Julie paused a minute with a frown. “No. I was so busy right up until I got the text from Mitzy that said our promised swag was in the basement, I didn’t really pay attention. I was too afraid I’d get kicked off the team to do anything out of line.”
My mind raced with endless possibilities. “And you’re sure you got a text from Mitzy, telling you to go collect your swag?”
Julie pulled her phone from her tiny purse and clicked it on, scrolling the screen. “We all did. We got the exact same text. See? It was from Mitzy.”
I read the text and nodded my head. It sure was the very same text as Nikki’s. “Margot, do you know if the police verified Mitzy’s phone to see if it really sent the text?”
People cloned phones all the time, so I wondered if Tansy had checked to be sure this message really had come from Mitzy’s phone, or a clone.
Margot shrugged again. “I have no idea. I only know they found her purse in a dumpster.”
Yeah. They sure had, and taken it away without allowing me to see what was on it.
“What about the other two volunteers? Where are they now?”
Julie blew out a breath, putting her foot up behind her against the brick side of the building. “Mickey’s been in his hotel room since it happened, except when they made us come in for questioning. He’s panicked and just wants to go home. His parents said they’d pay for his flight. They even offered to come get him. I also saw Sophie in the hotel lobby yesterday. They’re as freaked as we all are.”
I turned to Margot and decided I was going to ask her about the purse with Mitzy’s initials on it.
“What about Mitzi’s purse? I heard there were two. The real one with the EpiPens, and one that was placed on the couch she sat on. Did she have two?”
Margot rolled her tongue in her cheek. “Mitzy had a bunch of those. They were made originally for swag bags and to give to contest winners. Or sometimes she’d just hand them out randomly. We had a bunch of ’em with us that we brought from LA in a ton of different colors.”
Ugh. That meant anyone could have swapped them out. Dead end. “And your purse? You said that night the pens you carry were gone. Did you see anyone take your purse? Anyone suspicious near it?”
Margot shook her head. “It’s like I told the police, I was runnin’ around like a chicken with my head hacked off, tryin’ to make sure everything was perfect and on time. I don’t even remember puttin’ it down, to be honest. I don’t keep anything important in there, like my license or credit cards, except the EpiPens and some lipstick. No money or anything, you know? I put it around my neck just before Mitzy went on stage. I always do because I liked knowing the EpiPens were near.”
Now, if I were to believe Margot, and she’d left her purse unattended, anyone could have taken the EpiPens.
Shifting on my feet, because they were now officially killing me, I asked, “And where did you leave your purse before she went on stage?”
“In Mitzy’s dressing room, which anyone could have gotten into,” Margot replied. “I mean, there were a ton of maintenance men in and out of there. Something happened with the pipes in the bathroom. Maybe it was one of them, but it sure as sugar wasn’t me.”
Gosh, this was frustrating, but I made a mental note to talk to the maintenance men and the other volunteer named Sophie. Maybe, if I got lucky, I could talk to Mickey, too.
Margot eyed me under the neon lights of the bar. “So, now can I ask you a question, Trixie?”
“Of course.”
As cars drove by and a light rain began to fall, she asked, “Why are you so interested in what happened to Mitzy?”
I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly, but I decided to be honest. “I guess because I watch too many murder mysteries,” I offered on a self-conscious smile. “Not that I think any of you had anything to do with it, of course. I’m just a lover of true crime, and it kind of happened right under my nose. Something like this doesn’t happen very often.”
Okay, that was a tiny fib. I’d been involved in more than my fair share of crimes, but I did like to watch
