The Darkest Kiss (Riley Jenson Guardian 6)

I raised my eyebrows. "And here I was thinking you got along with everybody."

She snorted softly. "In my line of work, I have to try. Doesn't mean I always succeed. Though if Alana has been murdered, it's odd that I didn't see her death coming."

"So she was a client?"

Dia nodded. "So was Cherry. Neither of them were pleasant customers, so I was thankful the others stayed away."

"What do they come to you for?"

She shrugged. "Usual shit. Am I going to find wealth and happiness in my life, that sort of stuff."

The waitress brought over our coffees and a small glass of Coke. A squeal of happiness erupted from the play area, and a white-headed blur was suddenly scrambling over her mother to get to the soda.

"See what you've done?" Dia said, shaking her head in amusement. "She'll be hyper for hours now."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." I grinned as the little girl grabbed the straw and began drinking, a look of pure bliss on her face.

"It is when I have several clients to look after this afternoon." She shook her head. "I saw Alana two weeks ago. She seemed her normal, aggravating self then."

I hadn't yet read the cleanup team report, but the state of decay suggested Alana had been dead for at least a week - meaning Dia had probably seen her just before she'd died. "So you didn't sense anything odd about her?"

"No." She frowned. "Though with Alana, it was difficult to tell. The self-centered are often hard to read."

"Do you know of anyone who might want to kill her?"

She smiled. "She was certainly never on Cherry's Christmas list."

Dia's tone was dry, and I raised my eyebrows. "So the two of them didn't get along?"

"Cherry was more a wannabe Trollop than an official member. I'm afraid Alana delighted in proving to Cherry that she would never be one of them, simply because she wasn't good enough to keep her men."

"Meaning Alana deliberately seduced Gerard James just to prove a point to Cherry?"

"Oh, Alana wasn't the only Trollop to seduce away Cherry's conquests. It's something of a game for them all."

"Then why would Cherry want to be one of them?"

"Because they were the 'in' crowd, and Cherry is desperate to be seen with the right people."

"Even if she hates them?"

"Even if." Dia shrugged. "She is attracted to the power she thinks they hold. She wants that, even if the personal cost is high."

And that personal cost might just give her a motive for murder. "I don't suppose Cherry is a shifter?"

"No, as human as they come."

Damn. Though I should have known better than to hope things would fall into place that neatly. "Have you seen Cherry recently?"

"No, not for at least a month." She frowned. "In fact, she left in something of a hurry after our last meeting. She smelled frightened."

"What did you say to her?"

"That an event from her past was not as buried as she thought, and that she needed to be careful about who she let in her door."

I smiled. "That's a warning as clear as mud. As usual."

She shrugged. "Cherry was never very open when it came to readings. It makes it hard to get details."