He had a lot more to say, but nothing that shed any light on the murder of his wife. When Damien offered to play his song again, so they‘could look deeply into his soul, and find the purity within,’ they kindly declined.
The interview over, Odelia’s impression was that Damien LeWood was a nutcase. Still, he didn’t seem dangerous, and she couldn’t imagine him killing his wife. He might be a little weird, but he came across as a devoted husband.
As she and Chase descended the stairs, he said,“Oh, I got a text from the coroner. Turns out we were right. The killer did drug everyone in the house.”
“So both sisters, Dion, Damien…”
“And Shana. The film crew was fine.”
She thought about this. It provided all the Kenspeckles with an alibi. Unless… “The killer could have drugged himself, then disposed of the chloroform in the morning.”
“Good thinking, Poole. You’re right. This doesn’t mean anything.”
They’d arrived on the ground floor, and decided to check Dion’s room, to see if he was holed up in there. He was next in line for an interview.
Very conveniently, all the rooms sported a hand-painted sign indicating whose room it was. The signs were all inspired by Disney movies. Shana and Damien were Cinderella and the Prince. Dion and Shayonne were Belle and the Beast fromBeauty and the Beast, their faces nicely rendered by the artist.
“I wonder if they change these out every time someone rents this place,” said Odelia, as she let her fingers trail across the sign. It had been enameled.
“I hope they do. I wouldn’t want to sleep in a room with that on the door,” Chase grunted, pointing at the portrait of Dion Dread as the Beast.
An image of her and Chase’s faces superimposed over the portrait flashed before her eye. She’d be Belle, of course, and he’d be the Beast. Yum.
She made to knock, but Chase simply pushed open the door.“Another benefit of being a cop,” he said. “You can just barge in and nobody minds.”
Well, that remained to be seen.
“Hampton Cove PD,” he announced. “We would like to ask you a few questions, Mr. Dread.”
Dion Dread stood in the middle of the room, completely naked, droplets of water clinging to his body. It was obvious he’d just stepped out of the shower. He didn’t seem to mind being caughtau naturel.“Oh, hi, detectives. Come on in. Excuse the state of undress. I’m a big fan of air-drying.”
Chase’s jaw tightened. It was obvious he wasn’t a big fan of Dion. “What can you tell us about your affair with Shana Kenspeckle, Mr. Dread?”
Dion languidly reached over, picked up a towel from the bed and draped it around his waist. He was built like an athlete, with sculpted muscles and great abs. He also had enough tattoos to keep a tattoo artist on a retainer.
“That was all ancient history, Detective. Shana had decided to end the affair and come clean to her husband and her sister, which she recently did.”
“And how did you feel about that?” asked Odelia.
Dion walked to the window and gazed out, looking thoughtful.“I wasn’t happy about it, I can tell you that. I liked Shana. She was very sweet and sexy. Her sudden conscience issues placed me in a very awkward position.”
“Did she confide in you before she came clean to her husband and sister?”
“No, she did not. One day we were an item, the next I was confronted by my wife and told she was getting a divorce. You can imagine how I felt.”
“I can imagine you were furious,” said Chase. “A divorce meant the end of your cushy life as a Kenspeckle.”
Dion turned and smiled. Backlit by the sun, he looked like a Greek god. Before becoming a reality star, he’d been a swimmer, winning multiple Olympic medals. “Look, I won’t lie to you, Detective. I was extremely upset. On the other hand, the whole affair led Shayonne and me to do a lot of soul-searching. After the first shock had worn off, she agreed with me that our marriage the last couple of months had been a sham. Shayonne had been, shall we say, sexually unavailable to me for a long time, due to some personal issues she was facing.” He shrugged. “Hey, I’m a guy. I have a guy’s needs. When I couldn’t satisfy those needs with my wife, I went looking elsewhere.”
Yeah, this guy was a real prince, Odelia thought.
“And your wife was okay with that?” asked Chase gruffly.
“No, she wasn’t okay with it, but she understood. Coming out here was a blessing. We spent the last couple of nights taking long walks along the beach, and talked like we hadn’t talked in a very long time. I like to think that we rediscovered the spark that had been extinguished through disuse.”
“And how did Shana feel about you remaining a part of the family?”
“She was fine with it. Like I said, she was a very sweet person.”
“Wasn’t it uncomfortable for her? To see her former lover all the time?”
“Before we were lovers we were friends. So we went straight back to being friends. I loved Shana a lot. I would never harm her. Or kill her.”
“Not even to save your marriage and your position in this family?”
But Dion wasn’t to be goaded. He merely smiled enigmatically. “Not a chance. I’m a man at peace with myself and my past. I made a mistake. I owned up to it. I’m a man reborn, Detective. This whole affair has made me realize that I love my wife, and that I want to start a family with her.”
Oh, great. Another family man.
“You don’t seem very upset about the death of your mistress,” said Chase.
“Oh, I am very upset. Don’t let my calm demeanor fool you. Inside I’m a total wreck, Detective. I loved Shana to bits, in spite of the fact that she dumped me. She was a wonderful person and I will miss her. We all will.”
Somehow the words didn’t ring true to Odelia. The man was entirely too slick, and the whole thing felt like an act. But then what else was new with the Kenspeckles? This whole dreadful murder felt like an act. It wouldn’t surprise her if Shana suddenly popped out of the closet and announced she wasn’t dead after all. So when suddenly the closet did pop open, she yelped, fully expecting to see Shana’s face. Instead, Max and Dooley came tumbling out, and along with them a black robe, a mask and a very large meat cleaver.
“The killer!” Max announced. “The killer is right behind us!”
Chapter 13
It’s not much fun being locked up, especially if you’re a cat. We don’t like it. It makes us feel trapped, and there’s no telling what we’ll do when we feel trapped. In our case what we did was stare at the door, hoping Brutus was kidding and would come back to save us. When a minute had passed and there was still no sign of the big brute, I figured he hadn’t been kidding. Of course, even if he did come back, there was no way he could open that door. Nature, in all its wisdom, hasn’t outfitted us cats with opposable thumbs. Imagine what we could do if it had. For one thing, we could open this door. And for another, I could make a fist and punch Brutus in the whiskers.
“I think we’re stuck,” Dooley said, showing his firm grip on reality.
“I think you’re right.”
We glanced over our shoulders at the massage area. Dion and Alejandro were still face down, chatting up a storm, kneaded by the capable hands of the massage therapists. It looked like they were going to be here a while.
“Maybe Harriet will come to the rescue?” Dooley asked, expressing a hope beyond hope that our friend would switch allegiances again.
“I doubt it. And even if she did, she can’t open this door by herself.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“Cheer up, buddy. There has to be some way out of here.”
“Or we can just wait,” he said, languidly stretching out on the floor. “Sooner or later that door will open again. It’s inevitable.”
“And let Brutus share our hard-won secret with Odelia and take all the credit? No way.”