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“What’s going on?” asked Verna’s husband Thaw, walking out of the house. “I heard screaming and shouting…” Then he saw his wife and immediately said, “Honey, what’s happened?!”

He took over from Odelia and hugged his wife close.“Oh, she’s dead, Thaw! She did it—she finally did it. She killed herself!”

“Who killed herself?” asked Thaw. “Who, Verna—talk to me!”

Verna turned her tear-streaked face up to her husband and sobbed,“Kimberlee. She took a pill and killed herself!”

“What?!” he said, visibly shocked.

Alina’s husband now came staggering out of the house. “I don’t believe this,” he said. “She—she’s really dead. It-it’s not a joke.”

“Kimberlee? Is she…” Thaw asked.

Reinhart nodded distractedly.“She must have done it straight after she returned to the house. Took one of those pills—cyanide. Horrible business—horrible.” He took out this phone and walked off, and they could hear him talking into his phone, “Get us the hell out of here, Henry—now!”

Chase and Odelia shared a look, then walked into the house. Taking the stairs two at a time, they arrived at Kimberlee’s bedroom. Emerald stood outside the door, her hands balled into fists, pushing her arms against her chest. She’d been crying, her face red, eyes red-rimmed, her nose runny.

“Oh, you can’t go in,” she said when Chase and Odelia walked up to her. “She—she’s dead, you see. Quite dead.”

“Yeah, we heard. I’m a cop, Mrs. Rhone,” said Chase.

“Oh, you’re a cop… Of course you are. Then—by all means—I’ve called in your colleagues, of course. I’ve—they’ll be here quite soon.”

She’s totally out of it, Odelia thought, and no wonder.

They entered the room, which looked pretty much like theirs, only twice as big, and immediately saw the body of Kimberlee lying on the floor near the window. Apparently she’d been sitting in a chair, which had fallen down next to her, and had been grasping something. A can of Coke Emerald, which had rolled away, spilling its contents onto the carpet. The poor woman’s face was contorted and when Odelia knelt down next to her she got a whiff of almonds.

Chase must have smelled it, too, for he nodded and said,“Cyanide.”

Emerald’s husband Pete was in the room, and said, “Please don’t touch anything. The police will be here soon, and I’m sure they don’t want anyone to touch anything…” He swallowed with difficulty, staring at the dead woman.

“It’s all right, sir,” said Chase. “I’m a cop. Hampton Cove Police Department. And Odelia is one of our civilian consultants. Who found her?”

“Her boyfriend,” said Bruce. “Zoltan Falecki. Terrible business. He’s completely upset, of course. Imagine finding your loved one like this—terrible business—terrible.”

“Where is Zoltan now, Pete?”

“In the salon. We’re taking care of him, of course. Making sure he doesn’t do something to himself, too. Who would have thought that a young woman, on the brink of global stardom and a stellar career, would ever…”

Odelia took a sniff from the Coke Emerald can, and the same odor filled her nostrils.“The cyanide was in the can,” she said. “That’s how she must have administered the poison to herself.”

“Self-administered cyanide,” said Pete. “What a horrible death.”

“Yeah, cyanide is not a pleasant way to go,” Chase agreed, “but it’s quick and effective. The question is—where did she get it? It’s not like you can buy this stuff at your local Walgreens.”

Discreetly, Odelia took out her phone and snapped a few shots.

“Poor woman,” said Pete. “I can’t imagine…”

“Where is Alina?” asked Odelia.

“Alina? I don’t…”

“It’s an obvious question, and one the police will ask, too,” said Chase. “Alina was seen almost hitting Kimberlee with a hammer, and now she’s dead.”

“Surely you’re not implying—this is obviously a case of suicide. Very tragic but suicide nonetheless. Alina had nothing whatsoever to do with this…”

“Where is she?” Chase insisted.

“I have absolutely no idea,” said Pete, slightly stiffening.

Chase was using his cop voice, and his cop stance, and it differed from the casually laid-back attitude he’d hitherto displayed. He looked a little grim.

“Surely you don’t think—I mean Alina is not likely to carry cyanide on her person on the off chance she decides to kill her love rival,” said the man with a nervous laugh.

“No, that’s not very probable,” Odelia admitted.

“I think you better leave now,” said Pete, his friendly demeanor quickly waning. “The police will be here soon and they won’t like it that we disobeyed a direct order not to let anyone near poor Miss Cruz.”

He ushered them out of the room, but not before Odelia took another quick snapshot.

“I hope you’re not thinking about publishing those,” said Pete, horrified.

“No, of course not,” she said, earning herself a slight nod. The door closed, and then they were out.

Behind them, there was a commotion on the stairs, and a large man with a hangdog look on his face came trudging up with some effort. The moment he saw Chase and Odelia his ruddy face broke into a wide smile.“Chase! Odelia! Fancy meeting you here!”