Elaine Viets & Victoria Laurie, Nancy Martin, Denise Swanson - Drop-Dead Blonde (v5.0) (pdf) by Unknown (howl and other poems .TXT) 📕

``Sounds like a clever man,'' I said dryly.

``Oh, yes, that he was,'' Deirdre said with a bit of nostal- gia. ``But that's not what is truly funny here, ladies,'' she continued. ``The irony of ironies is that Celeste blew through all the money and was nearly as broke as I am the day she was murdered.''

``She blew it?'' Cat asked. ``How?''

Deirdre sighed sadly and said, ``She gambled it away and lost just about every penny. The really tragic thing for her was that she was reduced to living off the interest from the trust, because even though my father put the limitation on the prize that it couldn't be awarded to any blood relative, he allowed for Celeste to benefit from the interest the trust earned. So you see, this woman had become accustomed to living on millions, and after she wasted every penny she was reduced to making ends meet on only one hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year, which sounds easy enough unless you've got spending habits that calculate up to ten times that.''

Although we were all listening to Deirdre intently, her point was still elusive, so I asked, ``What does this have to do with anything?''

``Don't you see?'' she said, her eyes willing me to under- stand. ``That's why she was here in the first place. That's why she had decided to come after me. Celeste figured she could dig up some dirt and build on my success to write a book about debunking psychics. My agent flat-out told me she was looking for a book deal, and I think someone must have bought into it, because about six weeks ago I heard she was out there fishing around some of my clients. So my theory is that someone knew she and I would get into it, and this same someone knew this would be the perfect opportunity to frame me for the murder.''

``So when we asked you earlier if you knew anyone who gambled, and you said no, this didn't ring any bells?'' BLIND SIGHTED 329

Deirdre sighed heavily and lowered her chin. ``Well, yes, but I didn't think it was especially relevant.''

``Are you stupid, or just simpleminded, Pendleton?'' I said, my hands clenching into fists as my frustration mounted.

``Don't get snippy, Cooper. The reason I didn't tell you was because I had a similar problem about fifteen years ago. But unlike Celeste, I got help for my addiction. So when you asked me about a gambler, I didn't know if you meant me or Celeste. And I didn't want you to think I had something to do with the murder, so I just thought it would be better to focus on some of your other . . . uh . . . so- called `clues,' '' she finished, using finger quotes to finish her sentence.

``What the hell is that supposed to mean?'' I asked, grow- ing really angry now at having wasted so much time.

``Well, so far, Miss Cooper, your abilities on this case are failing to excite me.''

``Ohmigod, I'm gonna kill you!'' I said, jumping up and moving menacingly toward her.

Cat jumped up too and got right in front of me, blocking my way. ``Abby! Abby, calm down! This isn't the way to handle this!''

``She's purposely trying to stonewall our investigation!'' I stormed.

``No, she's not, Abby,'' Cat said sensibly, with a pointed look over her shoulder at Deirdre. ``She's just jealous of your abilities, and even though she desperately needs your help she secretly doesn't want you to succeed, because that would mean she really is a failure. So you see? She's clearly not thinking it through, because if she were, Deirdre would understand how much you've sacrificed on her behalf; how all you wanted to do was come down here and enjoy a little time in the sun, and instead you've been working your tail off trying to keep her out of jail--''

``You know what, Cat?'' I said, my anger mounting with every breath. ``You're absolutely right, and I think it's high time I got back to my original plan. Deirdre?'' I said sweetly over Cat's shoulder.

``Yes?'' Deirdre answered, Cat's words clearly ringing in her ears as she looked at me nervously.

``I quit. Millicent, Cat,'' I said, looking determinedly at 330 Victoria Laurie both of them, ``if you need me I'll be up in my room order- ing room service and planning my day tomorrow at the beach.''

As I turned to walk away I heard Deirdre call out des- perately, ``Abby! Please don't quit on me! If you leave now how will I clear my name?''

``Ask your guide, `Great Bag of Hot Air'! I'm sure he can help!''

Later that night, just as I'd finished eating my lobster salad, Millicent and Cat came back to the room and sat down carefully next to me. ``How you feeling?'' Cat asked nervously.

``Me?'' I asked, looking at her like she'd asked a silly question. ``Why, I'm fine. I'm finally going to get a day to rest and enjoy the beach, which is the sole reason I came here in the first place.''

``Don't be mean,'' Cat said reproachfully.

``I'm not being mean, Cat, I'm just sick of this whole thing. We've been on this wild-goose chase for what feels like an eternity, and it's gotten us nowhere and for what?''

``A trip to Hawaii?'' Millicent asked meekly.

I looked quickly at Millicent, and my mouth fell open a little. I'd completely forgotten about the deal we'd made with Deirdre. ``Shit,'' I said, ``I forgot about that, Millicent. I'm sorry.''

``It's all right, dear. I'm sure it's not as wonderful as everyone says it is.''

Guilt, guilt, guilt. Double shit. ``Millicent,'' I tried, ``I'm out of leads here. I don't know what Celeste's gambling problem has to