Poisoned Prose (A Books by the Bay Mystery)

requested a copy of the sheriff’s file on Hicks. And Laurel tells me she’s gathered a stack of background material on Violetta. I was hoping you and I could go through those papers after supper.”
    Olivia couldn’t hide her pleasure in being asked to assist with the investigation. “How will I be compensated for my time?”
    “I’ll pay my debts with physical labor.” He grinned.
    The couple fell silent. They sipped their drinks, sampled the food, and watched the restaurant’s patrons. Olivia savored these quiet moments with Rawlings. He was the only person in the world with whom she could sit in comfortable silence for long periods of time.
    A woman at the bar threw her head back and laughed loudly at something her male companion said. He whispered something into her ear, and she laughed again. Then he got up and headed to the restroom. Once he was out of sight, the smile slid from the woman’s face, and she glanced at her watch and frowned.
    Olivia’s eyes met the chief’s, and she guessed that the woman’s performance had him thinking about the case again. “Why would anyone want to hurt a storyteller? The competition for performing tall tales can’t be that intense. People can win grants and stipends, but is that motivation enough for murder?”
    “A grant changed Violetta’s life,” Rawlings pointed out. Then he gave a little jump and pulled his phone from his pocket. Glancing at the screen, he said, “It’s the ME. Be right back.”
    He strode from the bar area and hustled outside. Gabe suddenly appeared at the table. “Another round?”
    “I’d better not,” Olivia said. “I have a feeling I need to stay sharp tonight.”
    When Rawlings returned, he wore a befuddled expression. “The ME believes the killer slipped a plastic bag over Violetta’s head and then wrapped a piece of fabric around the bag and pulled tight. After she asphyxiated, the killer removed the bag and took it with him. The line on her neck isn’t very deep, so the ME doesn’t think she was strangled with a sharp object. That rules out any kind of thin wire or rope, but it still leaves us with too many possibilities.”
    Olivia thought back on the scene. “There was no sign of a struggle. If someone tried to kill me that way, I would have clawed at the plastic bag and kicked out with my legs. I don’t remember seeing scratches on Violetta’s neck.”
    “No. She was still wearing her gloves and her hands were bound to the chair. There are faint lines on her wrists. Here’s the strange thing,” he began, and then paused and turned over his palms, gazing at them intently. “The ME said that it wasn’t just her face that had that bluish tint. Her hands and chest and legs were the same color. She was blue everywhere.”
    Now Olivia was confused too. “What does that mean? Was it makeup? Body paint?”
    Rawlings shook his head. “No. Her
skin
was blue. The ME thinks it’s a blood disorder, but he needs to run more tests.”
    Olivia didn’t know what to make of this strange information. She mulled it over and then drew in a quick breath. “That’s what Lowell meant when he said Violetta knew what it felt like to be different. That was their bond. That’s why they understood each other so well.”
    “The dwarf and the woman with the blue skin,” Rawlings said softly. “Two misfits.”
    By this time, the bar had filled up with people. The Boot Top’s patrons sipped drinks, talked, and laughed. Olivia observed the attractive vacationers and handful of locals. She saw their stylish clothes and relaxed postures, their perfect white teeth and toned bodies, and she realized that not one of them had an ounce of Violetta’s charisma. Hers had been a presence too powerful to ignore. She could eclipse every woman in the room by uttering a single word.
    “Have you ever heard of a blue star?” Olivia asked Rawlings. He shook his head. “A blue star is extremely large and very, very bright,” she said. “It burns quickly, and when it dies, it doesn’t shrink like other stars. It explodes, forming a supernova. The light it gives off is spectacular. And beautiful.”
    Rawlings reached across the table and took Olivia’s hand. “We’ll give her justice. It’s the only thing we can offer her now.”
    Olivia squeezed his fingers hard. “Then let’s get to work. I want to know her whole story. I want Laurel to be able to tell it when we’re done. That way, Violetta can shine again. If only for a little