Private Dick Casefile 01 - Lily White Rose Red

to Mr. Morgan. I’ve heard Woods can’t stand to leave a case unsolved.
    Maybe it’s gotten to be an obsession with him, a score he has to win, and that’s all there is to it.”
    “But if you saw him actually plant the necklace—” Celestine said.
    Lily was quick. “He didn’t. He was under the bed. Grey could identify the shoes, but they aren’t nailed onto Woods’s feet permanently. Damn!” She got up and started to pace. “Max would never believe you based on that evidence, it would have to be something you witnessed. Who else?”

    Lily White, Rose Red: Grey Randall, Private Dick Casefile #1
    167

    “Sgt. Bert Guthrie.” The name didn’t seem to ring a bell with any of them. “You wouldn’t know the name of the crossing guard at Marguerite’s first school, would you?”
    “I drove Marguerite to school everyday,” George said.
    “It seems Guthrie is something of a woman hater, unless he’s lying about that.”
    “Unless he’s a nut with a campaign to wipe out all the women in Vegas who sing or dance, you’d have to prove to me that he had a grudge against her before I’d buy him,” Lily said.
    “He’d have his work cut out. And there’s Phil Martin.” They looked at me blankly. “Ahem, also known as Mr. Big.”
    “He would never do it! He knows me! He knows Max! He knows what Max would do to him if he—”
    “Easy, Lily. We can strike him off the list later, but we have to include him for now.” No need to tell her that listing the pros and cons for him had been driving me crazy since I met him. Whatever his motivation might have been, it kept running up against my desire to believe he couldn’t have done it, if only because his blood didn’t run hot for women. But I could see that my feelings might be affecting my slant on Mr. Big, so for that reason alone I had to leave him on the list.
    “If you don’t need the satisfaction of seeing the killer go to trial—” I started.
    “I don’t care about that,” Lily waved it away. Her face was like some ruthless goddess of retribution, hard as stone and carved into a beautiful icon. “It doesn’t have to be a public humiliation.” George patted his side pocket. “I could take care of him, Miss Lily.”
    “No, George, I couldn’t let you take that kind of risk. If you were caught—I couldn’t bear it.” Lily stopped pacing to pat his shoulder.
    “Besides, I want Max to know , to accept who did it. Neither of us will ever be able to—”
    I wondered if the death of their daughter had brought them together after so many years apart and now it was threatening to drive 168

    CATT FORD

    them apart. If they didn’t both believe the same thing, I could see how Lily would push Max away again. And maybe his pride would get the better of his sense again and they would part acrimoniously.
    If I’d had wings, I’d have been groping for them for the second time that night. “I can think of a way. If all we have to do is convince Mr. Hamilton who did it—”
    George chuckled without humor. “And then let justice be done in the way of the west.”
    I shivered at that. I knew what he meant.
    “But what do we do?” Celestine asked.
    “We set a trap,” I answered. “And we find the proof.” Okay, we were all on the same bloodthirsty page. From the intent look on all their faces, I was glad I wasn’t going to be the one walking into that trap.
    We talked till the sky was light, and I never did make it home.
    Celestine showed me to a guest room upstairs, and I slept in my shorts.

    “NOT black,” I said.
    Lily pouted charmingly. “I look good in black. Besides, this is more of a steel grey.”
    “You do. But it would be better if you wore another color. More eye-catching. Red, maybe.”
    Lily swirled in front of the bank of mirrors in her dressing room, carefully watching her own reflection and the graceful movement of her gown before handing out a fashion tip to the wise. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you that a redhead can’t wear pink. But red ! That color is a problem.” She patted her coppery curls complacently. “It tends to clash.”
    “I stand corrected. How about a color other than red or black?”
    “Why are you so anxious to get me out of my clothes, Mr. Dick?” Lily White, Rose Red: Grey Randall, Private Dick Casefile #1
    169

    “I’m not! I mean, not in front of me, anyway!” She giggled with glee when she saw my blush. “Don’t worry, darling, I’ll preserve your modesty.”
    “Marguerite