Lust and Lies 04 - Pretty Maids in a Row

undoubtedly heard the news about Timothy Ziegler. Well, as fate would have it, Rachel has been assigned to head up the team of agents investigating the murder. Apparently the method suggested a ritualistic killing. She paid me a visit a while ago and asked me to pass some advice on to the two of you."
    "Advice?" Holly grew more tense by the second.
    Erica nodded. "Yes. She strongly recommended that each of us make sure we have an airtight alibi for last evenin' between the hours of six and eight, documented if at all possible."
    Holly glanced at Bobbi/Roberta, but she wasn't giving away any hints.
    "April and Cheryl both left town before the murder took place, but Rachel said she'd be speakin' to each of them about this anyway. She insisted it was only a precaution. But take it from me, bein' at the center of a homicide investigation can be terribly disruptin' to one's schedule." For Holly's sake, she elaborated further. "If anyone was clever or nosy enough to discover our little secret, we would be prime suspects. You see, although it could have been a ruse, the manner in which he was... executed suggests the killer's motive.
    "Our late friend Timothy Ziegler wasn't simply murdered, he was... well, there just isn't a delicate way to put this. He bled to death after he was castrated. No, that's not technically accurate, since castration is the removal of the testicles. Those were removed, mind you, but his dick was also sliced off and—stuck in his mouth, like a little cigar." One corner of Erica's mouth lifted in the beginning of a smile but she quickly grew serious again.
    "Of course, that information hasn't been released to the public as yet and Rachel's going to do her best to keep it that way as long as possible."
    Erica closed her eyes and gave a small shudder as a testimony to her delicate sensibilities, but Holly thought she looked like she was fighting the urge to snicker over the gruesome picture she described.
    Roberta had no such ladylike restraints. She burst out laughing.
    Remembering Philip's bad joke, Holly wondered if a case of black humor was spreading around her. "I don't mean to question Rachel's professional advice, but surely it would take a very strong man to do that to someone Ziegler's size. No one our size could feasibly overpower him." It crossed her mind that Rachel might accomplish it, however.
    "Not normally," Erica explained. "But Rachel said the preliminary lab report showed his system contained enough sleeping pills to knock out a horse. The only question was how it got into his body. He didn't have a prescription for it but, thanks to the good doctor, several of us do."
    "Not me," Holly denied, recalling April's generous offer to write her a prescription.
    "Oh, that's right," Roberta said with a sneer. "You don't like being out of control. But I'll bet someone you know has a prescription that you could tap if you really wanted to."
    Holly wanted to deny that as well, but the truth was she knew both Philip and her mother took something to help them sleep. "It doesn't matter. Not only am I incapable of butchering a man—no matter how much I hated him—I wasn't anywhere near the hotel last night."
    Erica leaned forward. "Can y'all prove that?"
    Holly opened her mouth to back up her claim of innocence and was stunned to realize she couldn't prove a thing. She had left work at five and stayed home all evening. She couldn't remember seeing any other tenants when she arrived at the apartment building. There had been no phone calls or visitors, not even Philip. She had fallen asleep around eleven o'clock reading a magazine, been awakened by the nightmare, finally fell back to sleep about four, and Philip had called at six.
    All things considered, if someone chose to accuse her of committing a crime, she would have one hell of a time defending herself. A week ago, she had never even heard of the Little Sister Society. Now, a group of virtual strangers could connect her to a violent murder.

Chapter 7

    By the time she returned to her apartment, Holly realized how ridiculous it was to worry over something so remote. No one had discovered the Little Sister Society in all the years they had been performing their secret operations and there was no reason someone would learn about them now. There was as much chance of her being accused of robbing a convenience store Friday night as of killing Timothy Ziegler. The burden of proof was not on her, but the courts, and since she had been at home