Lust and Lies 04 - Pretty Maids in a Row

"You don't have to share until you're ready."
    Bobbi replaced her glasses and leaned back into the cushioned chair, resuming her timid pose, but Holly had already gotten a glimpse of the woman beneath the disguise. She took a deep breath to recover her own usual façade of calm. "That must be very effective in getting dishonest taxpayers to come clean."
    All three of the women laughed aloud.
    "Very astute, Holly," Erica said. "Bobbi is the chameleon of our group. Like Superman, she can slip into a phonebooth in her bookkeeper persona and pop out seconds later as whoever she chooses to be. Bobbi never suffered any addictions in the usual sense. She just developed a few... personality problems."
    Bobbi folded her arms and frowned at Erica. Her tone was now higher-pitched and defensive. "If we're going to tell Holly all our little secrets, I think the Black Widow should go next. How many husbands have you killed off now—seven? Eight?"
    Erica arched one perfect eyebrow then shrugged indifferently. "The police and insurance files say Ah'm innocent of any wrongdoin' an' those are the only opinions that matter." She looked at Holly and said coolly, "Ah was married three times after college. The first was an addict who accidentally got hold of a bad batch of heroine, the second committed a very messy suicide in our bathroom rather than face bankruptcy, but the third, George Donner, Ah was truly sorry about. He was the first man Ah'd ever known who could keep up with me mentally and physically. Ah almost miss him at times."
    Holly suddenly remembered reading about the millionaire businessman's accidental death during a mountain-climbing vacation with his much younger wife. She hadn't connected Erica's name with the incident until Bobbi called her the Black Widow.
    "At any rate," Erica continued, "your question to Rachel was never answered. The names of her other assailants were Kenneth Viello, Ike Brown and Jerry Frampton." She smirked at Holly. "Ah do hope y'all don't play much poker, because your expression is a dead giveaway. Obviously, Jerry Frampton was responsible for whatever happened to you, but don't let it make you feel special. As Rachel said, he was King Stud, so he had every one of our names on his dance card. He just acquired them in different ways. Just so you understand, we all have one or more names overlappin' on our personal hit lists."
    * * *
    David glanced at his watch, then returned his attention to the express elevator. A brief conversation with Suzanne had confirmed that there was a luncheon for five being served in Mrs. Donner's suite, but the names of her guests were unknown.
    David couldn't help but wonder if the odd gathering had something to do with the information Tim Ziegler had given him. Although Donner could very logically be having a business meeting, his reporter's nose told him it was something else. Even without the incentive of having a legitimate reason for meeting that last blonde, his curiosity demanded he find out who the four women were, what sort of relationship they had with Erica Donner and whether that connection extended to Cheryl Wallace.
    He tossed out his plan to use the room-service waiter routine and decided to go for a sneak attack through one of her guests. He could always return to the hotel later for another try at Donner. All he had to do was pick a woman and follow her. He smiled to himself. There wasn't much deliberation as to which one he would choose.
    * * *
    "Hit lists?" Holly asked, looking from one woman to another. She noticed how April stopped Erica from answering with nothing more than a slight twitch of her index finger then spoke for all of them.
    "Before we explain that expression, I'd like you to hear about the rest of our experiences and how we got together."
    Bobbi's assault was similar to Cheryl's in that she had been extremely inebriated and had knowingly had sex with one of the boys before the others joined them. Though she was a friend of Rachel's and knew about what had happened to her, the fraternity brother she had been dating wasn't involved in Rachel's attack, so Bobbi hadn't thought anything like that could happen to her.
    Bobbi had the unique distinction, however, of having been raped by all fifteen of the brothers involved in the dance contest.
    Erica's case was more like Rachel's. She had gone to a fraternity party with other girls and was singled out by one of the brothers. She had only had two beers when he suggested they go upstairs.