More Star and Hero. This time, it’s their first meeting.
It would have been easy enough to slip away, but Jack had always been such a good host. It would have been rude to leave when the rest of the guests had to be interviewed by–or at least give their details to–the detectives when they arrived.
And, after all, poor Jack had staggered into the room and died almost in front of me.
The police arrived, the crime scene people arrived, and then the detectives arrived. Two women, close in height, though that was likely due to one wearing heels. Detective Heels wore a cream colored pants suit and a white top. Her blonde hair was pulled into a bun, and she wore black-framed glassed. All business, from the look of her. She began talking to the uniformed officers while the other detective had a look at Jack’s body.
The detective examining Jack wore boots–sensible but stylish–black slacks, white Oxford shirt, striped gray vest, and a black blazer. Her hair was very short and, with the way the light in the room hit it, I wasn’t immediately sure of the color, thought it was darker than the other detectives.
Eventually, the detective began collecting statements and information. The short-haired one started with me.
“Detective Danny H. Marsh. And that’s my partner, Detective Huff,” she added, gesturing over her shoulder at Detective Heels. “How well did you know Jack Terrance, Ms…”
“Estella Hathorne. I’ve known Jack for several years. He did some investing for me a few years ago, and we’ve kept in touch.” It was a little more than a few years, but Detective Marsh was unlikely to discover that detail in her investigation of Jack’s murder.
Our conversation continued in the usual way such conversations do. Did I know of anyone who would want to harm Jack? Did I know if he had any enemies? How had he been acting this tonight? How had the other guests been acting? I answered as truthfully as I could, but the detective herself was far more interesting than the conversation. Her eyes were a rich, golden brown. Her hair was a similar color, though lighter and slightly reddish when the light hit it a certain way. She was beautiful.
In a moment of curiosity–and perhaps weakness or playfulness–I attempted to charm her. Vampires have a…magnetic ability to attract nearly any human. But Detective Marsh seemed to take no notice of this.
She wrapped up her note-taking and held out a business card to me. She said, “If you think of anything else, give me a call.”
I took the card from her, purposefully letting my fingers linger slightly as they brush against hers. Detective Marsh tilted her head ever so slightly and glanced briefly–so quickly most people might have missed it–at my hand.
I smiled at her and nodded. “I certainly will.”
Kirkwall Was Totally Built On a Hellmouth 