Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 06 - Tiaras & Texans Read online

  “Harvey, I understand your frustration. It will be easier once the police can narrow down exactly what plant was used for the poison. We then might be able to figure out where it came from and who was behind it. I know you want to let people know what’s going on but we need to contain this as much as possible.

  “What do you mean? It’s all over the news. Reporters have been calling all day, and thank goodness for the hotel security for keeping them off the premises.”

  “I mean as far as the contestants and your employees are concerned. We don’t need guesses and speculation. That will just build fear. Business as usual will help keep that to a minimum.”

  “If you say so,” Harvey muttered, not really seeming to believe what Cooper was telling him.

  “I say we ask them to stay here in the hotel due to basic security reasons throughout the course of the pageant. It will be easier to keep track of them if we don’t let them off site.”

  “That shouldn’t be that difficult. They rarely have time to leave anyway. My only concern is that Hollie was poisoned in this hotel. You think this is still the safest place to be?” Harvey asked.

  “Harvey, this isn’t easy, but at least if the girls are all under this roof it will narrow down the possibilities and be easier for us to contain. Unless you think moving the location of the pageant is an option.”

  “No, not as this stage. And I don’t want to cancel, but I don’t want my girls in danger either.”

  Cooper nodded. “Candy was with Hollie at dinner, so it stands to reason she was poisoned after she left dinner and before Candy found her. I have more guys coming in today, and I will have a team stationed in the two restaurants, the lounge, and the Starbucks. My hope is the security will be a deterrent to anything else like this happening while we work to find out who’s behind this. Rest assured, Harvey, between the police and my team, we will find the person responsible.”

  “That’s what I hired you for. I just can’t imagine who would want to go after my girls?”

  “Harvey, we will get to the bottom of this. I promise.”

  “I certainly hope so. If you’ll excuse me now, I have work to do. The show must go on.” He stood up, looking to me as if he had aged ten years.

  Harvey walked out and left Cooper and me sitting there.

  “You’re thinking about something,” Cooper said to me.

  “Promise me you won’t be mad?”

  “Nothing that starts out that way can be good.”

  “Allie heard me talking to you about Hollie being poisoned. I had just finished telling her to keep it quiet when Elaine came up and Allie told her.”

  “Presley!”

  “I know, I know. I’m sorry.”

  “So, what did you tell them?”

  “The truth. I didn’t see the point of making something up. I said that she was poisoned, but it was too early for any other information, and that’s all I could say for now and to please keep it to themselves. For all the good that will do.”

  “How confident are you that they won’t go gossiping? This is the last thing we need,” Cooper said, running his fingers through his hair in frustration—which just made him all the more attractive. But I hated him being stressed out because of something I did.

  “I know,” I said. “I have no idea with Allie. I don’t think she would blab on purpose, but I had just finished telling her not to talk about it when Elaine walked up and Allie spilled it. I don’t think it was intentional, but I’m not sure how much she thinks before she speaks. Elaine, I’m not sure either. There’s something odd about that girl.”

  “What do you mean odd ?”

  “She comes across all perky and energetic and at first seemed quiet harmless, but there have been a couple times when talking with her I sensed an underlying negative tone, and just this morning she was downright antagonistic, saying we let Hollie get murdered right under our noses. Not that I blame her, but she was more hostile sounding than necessary.”

  “Me, either, I’m afraid. Everyone here has a right to be angry.”

  “She’s just more snarky than the others, I think. Every once in a while she slips from that bubbly, obnoxious persona and snarky comes through.”

  “Snarky. Is that an actual tone?” Cooper said, teasing me, which was a good sign he wasn’t that mad, or at least he was getting over it.

  “Shut up,” I said with a flirty grin. “You can Google it. It shows up.”

  “Well, if it’s on the Internet it must be real.”

  “Well, of course it is.” I smiled. “It’s probably on Facebook somewhere, too, which means it’s gospel.”

  “Riiight. What does the rest of your day look like?” he asked me.

  I flipped to my “to do” list page in my notebook that I had made last night. “I still need to track down Marissa and Janine and get their take on what happened to them. When I spoke to Allie she didn’t seem too rattled about it and felt it was more of an annoying occurrence rather than malicious, so I’m interested in hearing what the other girls have to say. What about you?”

  “I’ve got a call with Joe.”

  “Are you having him do background checks?” Joe was Cooper’s intelligence guy. If it was out there to find on someone, Joe could find it. I had never asked if Cooper had done a background check on me at any point, I didn’t even want to know, but I had on occasion asked Cooper to do me a favor by doing one on someone else. It came in very handy at times.

  “Yeah. See if anything pops up. And then I thought I would check out the swimsuit practice. You know, just to make sure the girls are safe.”

  I punched him in the arm. “I don’t think they need you at swimsuit practice. I’ve got it covered.”

  He smiled. “I’m just teasing. I have a few more calls after Joe to get everything lined up for when the extra guys get here. Their plane gets in at six and they will be coming directly here. I need to get the schedule setup for Bob so he knows where everyone belongs.”

  “Who’s Bob?”

  “He’s the team leader. He makes sure everyone is in the right place, and he compiles a daily report for me.”

  “Got it. Want to try dinner again tonight?”

  “I would love to, but it will have to be late. I need to make sure the team is set once they get here. So would eight work?”

  “That’s fine.” I stood up and set my empty coffee cup on the side table for the staff to clear it away. Then I walked around the table to give Cooper a kiss. “See you at eight, then.”

  Chapter 6

  Think we’ll be able to finish a meal this time?” I asked Cooper. We were once again sitting in the same upscale restaurant as last night when we’d been abruptly pulled away before we even ordered. Tonight I wore a strapless empire waist dress that was cream colored with large black polka dots. I wore my favorite black patent leather heels and had my phone and lip gloss in a cream silk clutch. Cooper was looking handsome in a black suit with cream silk shirt underneath. He had chosen that shirt when he saw what I was wearing, so we complimented each other very well.

  “I hope so. I’m starving.”

  “Me, too. I think I’ll have the swordfish with a side of asparagus,” I said to the waiter who’d been waiting to take my order. This time we didn’t linger over conversation before ordering.

  “Filet, medium rare,” Cooper said, “and a side of creamed spinach.”

  We gave the waiter back the menus, and after taking a sip of my wine, I set my glass down and asked, “Was Joe able to find anything out with the background checks?”

  “Yes, and it’s the strangest thing. Every one of them has had some brush with the law. Nothing too serious, but I can’t remember a job before where all the key players we checked into had something in their past they probably didn’t want people finding out. More from embarrassment than anything.”

  “Really? Who did you check?

  “Harvey and Linda of course. The three ladies who have been targets, Elaine, and the other main office staf
f. Since they have more access than the contestants.”

  “Oooh. What’s in Elaine’s closet?”

  “Presley, you shouldn’t be excited over this,” Cooper said, frowning. He could be way too serious sometimes.

  “Oh, please. Lighten up.” I rolled my eyes. “Why shouldn’t I be excited? Maybe it will be a clue. At least as to her personality.”

  “I somehow doubt that’s why you’re excited,” Cooper said, raising his eyebrows. “I know you too well.”

  I ignored that remark. Mainly because there might have been just a tiny bit of truth to it. “Okay, fine, but there’s something hinky about that girl. I just know it.”

  “Hinky? Is that another official term from Google?”

  Again I ignored him and asked a second time, “So what did Elaine do?”

  “Embezzlement from a former employer.”

  “Wow, surprised she was able to get another job. I understand people make mistakes, but embezzlement is one of those things that is hard for an employer to overlook.”

  “She got off with probation, and unless a company does a background check they wouldn’t know. Many companies just do the standard references, not a full background check. Besides, didn’t you say her aunt knows Harvey? In that case, he probably didn’t bother to do any reference or background check.”

  “And we both know references aren’t worth anything because only an idiot would put down someone who would give them a bad reference,” I said, knowing this all too well from my past life in human resources. “What about Harvey and Linda?”

  “Harvey has an indecent exposure arrest, and Linda public intoxication. No, they weren’t together at the time.” He smiled. Knowing me well enough to know where my mind was headed.

  “Now that would have been interesting. Somehow I’m not surprised at Harvey. Does he know you were doing a background check on him?”

  “No, and I’m not planning on bringing it up. It’s not relevant to this, and he’s the last person who would want to sabotage his own company. I had that checked out before we took this job. He’s made quite a living for himself. This really seems to be his passion and it’s definitely been his livelihood. His company is doing great and has been for the last ten years. I don’t think he is in anyway involved in what is happening around here. I just thought by doing a background check I might find a clue as to who would want to ruin his company, but unfortunately I didn’t.”

  “The same probably goes for Linda, right? I mean there are plenty of times I technically could have received a public intox arrest when I was in college,” I said, laughing.

  “That was exactly it, and you’re right. Nothing we need to bring up or worry about. As far as Allie, Janine, and Marissa—it was shoplifting, and they were all together, so we need to talk to them about their relationship outside the pageant circuit. It could have been as to why they have been targeted in the past.”

  “It didn’t seem they were that close after my talk with Allie. At least that was my impression.”

  “Maybe the other girls will give you a different story. Were you able to talk to them yet?”

  “No, I kept missing them, but Linda set up a meeting for me tomorrow with them, separately of course, before evening gown practice starts.”

  “Good. I want you…” We were interrupted by the waiter arriving with our food. I moved my glass to make room and inhaled deeply as he set down my plate.

  “This smells amazing!”

  “More wine, Miss?” the waiter asked.

  “Yes, please.” The waiter didn’t ask Cooper, since he had hardly touched his. He didn’t drink much while on a job. Me, I looked for any excuse for a glass of wine, or two or three. “So what were you saying?”

  “I want you to talk to Marissa, Janine and again to Allie and make sure you ask them about how often they get together outside of the pageants, and if they have ever had any of these harassing things happen at home or anywhere else, for that matter.”

  “I can do that. When will you have the full report on what kind of plant killed Hollie?” I said, taking a bite of my swordfish, which did not disappoint me. It was as delicious as I thought it would be.

  “Should be by tomorrow. Once we have that information I’m hoping it will give us more of a direction to go in.”

  “How’s the filet?” I asked him.

  “Very good. I’m glad we got to actually eat food this time.”

  “Me, too,” I said, smiling.

  After what was an enjoyable dinner, Cooper and I decided to walk around the hotel to see what other beautiful features there were and to walk off the big dinner we just had. I couldn’t resist the crème brulee dessert, but my stomach felt like it was about to explode. Why did I do this to myself?

  We walked down the stairs to head out to the garden when a handsome-looking man walked up to us. He approached Cooper and said, “Excuse me. Are you Cooper Sands?”

  “Yes. Can I help you?”

  “My name is Woody Adams, and I’m Hollie’s brother,” he said, tears welling up in his eyes.

  I put my hand on his arm to comfort him he looked so upset. “I am so sorry for your loss,” I said, as did Cooper.

  “Please, can you tell me who did this to my Hollie?”

  “I’m sorry, sir. You should probably talk to the police about that,” Cooper said.

  “But I was told you were the one to talk to.”

  “Who told you that?” Cooper asked.

  “I don’t remember,” Woody said, vaguely giving me the impression he just didn’t want to let us know who told him. Made me wonder if it was Elaine. I could see her running her mouth. “Please! I just need to know what happened.”

  Cooper shook his head. “I’m sorry, Woody. I really am.”

  We walked away and I glanced back and saw Woody staring after us, looking forlorn. “I feel bad,” I whispered to Cooper. “Isn’t there something we can do?”

  “We can’t give out information like that. If the police want to, fine, but we need to stay away from things like that. All it does is usually make things more complicated.”

  Chapter 7

  Cooper hung up the phone and came into the bathroom, where I was blow-drying my hair. “Turn off the dryer. I need to talk.”

  “Can’t this wait? You know I only have a small window of time before my hair dries too fast naturally to round brush it,” I said, only partly joking. The humidity here wasn’t helping, so waiting a few more minutes wouldn’t make it any worse.

  “Do you think I would interrupt your beauty regimen if it wasn’t important?”

  He had a point. I set the dryer and brush down to give him my full attention, smiling to let him know I was willing to cut him some slack for interrupting. “Okay, what’s going on?”

  “You know how the preliminary results said Hollie was poisoned by some type of plant or flower? Well, that was Detective Miller on the phone, and we have more information now. The poison came from a tassel flower. There are about ninety different species that grow mostly in Asia and Africa, but are grown here in the US as well. It’s not a common flower but not impossible to get a hold of either.”

  “So, what was someone here doing with a flower that grows better on other continents, and why would they go to the trouble of extracting the juice or whatever you call it to poison someone? I’m assuming that’s how it’s done, unless they put it in Hollie’s salad disguised as fancy lettuce. Wouldn’t it be easier to get arsenic or something?”

  “Yes it would. That’s why this is great news for us. It significantly narrows down the places from which the poison could have been retrieved or who could have had access. In fact, I’m heading over to the biggest greenhouse here in the Dallas area right now to ask them where someone could get their hands on tassel flower extract.”

  I held out my cheek for him to kiss me goodbye. “Okay, well, I have that meeting with Janine and Marissa at nine, so I guess I will catch up with you later and we can compare notes.”

  “
All right. Bye,” he said, grabbing his jacket and letting the door close behind him.

  I finished drying my hair and doing my makeup. I felt extra pressure here to look as good as I could, being around all these beauties. It didn’t help that they were all ten or twelve years younger than me. Today I decided to pair a deep red sheath dress with silver sandals. It was a little bit fancy for the daytime, but in this glamorous setting I didn’t think it would be a problem. I made my way to the meeting room where Linda was waiting for me and with her was a young lady. Another beautiful blonde with green eyes. They were all starting to look alike. Still not sure if her eye color was real, but it looked more realistic than Allie’s violet ones.

  “Presley, meet Janine. Janine, Presley from Sands Security. She’s here to help find out who’s behind all that’s been going on lately,” Linda said. “We would appreciate it if you would tell her everything you can.”

  “Nice to meet you, Janine,” I said, holding out my hand. She took it, and surprisingly had a firm handshake, and not so surprisingly a beautiful manicure that made me immediately cringe, thinking of the chips in my polish I had noticed this morning.

  “Likewise,” Janine replied in a strong Texas drawl. “Linda said ya’ll had some questions for me?”

  “Yes, we do.”

  “I don’t know how I can help, but I’m sure sad about what happened to Hollie. Poisoning seems such a bad way to go. I want to do anything I can to help find her killer.”

  Well, the gossip mill was starting to make the rounds. Just like we had assumed. “What have you heard, Janine?”

  “Just that Hollie was poisoned. I tell ya, lots of the other girls are scared to eat. I told one that being scared to eat would just help us fit in our clothes better.”

  That was one way to look at it I guess. Janine came across as not being too concerned for her own safety. And it was evident either Allie or Elaine or both couldn’t keep a secret. Though to be fair, it could have been any number of people talking. “I wanted to ask you, Janine, about what happened to you in the last pageant.”