Page 87 of Passions in Death
“Still, I followed the code.”
“The code?”
“You know, about dating a friend’s ex. Even though we’re talking some years. When Greg asked me out, I mumbled something about checking my schedule and getting back to him, and tagged Shauna to make sure it was okay with her.”
“I take it, it was.”
“She said she’d hoped we’d give it a try because she’d seen a spark. She’s my best friend for a reason, Lieutenant. She’s loving, kind. She’s no pushover, but I’ve never known her to deliberately hurt anyone. Even back when she was high school royalty, she never punched down.
“I hate this happened. I can’t understand how it could have.”
“You’re helping us find out how and why and who by being here,” Peabody told her. “Shauna was all good with your relationship with Greg. What did you think when you met Erin?”
“Surprised—my first reaction—because this time I saw a spark where I absolutely didn’t expect to. I said something to Shauna like did she know Erin had a crush on her, and it looked like she was crushing back. She started to brush it off, you know, then she blushed. The redhead’s curse,” she said, tapping her own hair. “She said, ‘Well, maybe.’ They just worked, fit together, made each other happy.”
“How did your other mutual friends react, to Erin, to the relationship?” Eve asked.
“I guess there was some surprise, like my initial reaction. And I guess some figured it was just a phase, but that figuring didn’t last long because it so clearly wasn’t. Greg was a little weirded out.”
“Weirded out,” Eve prompted.
“Yeah, he’s like WTF baffled. But he’s a guy, and a guy she’d been with—her first been with—and reacted like a guy. I ran into Marcus—”
“Marcus Stillwater?”
“Yeah. We just ran into each other on the street, grabbed a drink, and he was a little bit baffled, too. Guys.” She shrugged.
“Had she and Marcus ever been serious?”
“No, not on either side. Buds. Buds with bennies, but nothing more than that. And it didn’t take long for him to make buds—no bennies, but good buds—with Erin. He tossed them a little engagement party at Tippler’s. That’s a bar some of us go to.”
“It sounds like Shauna’s circle absorbed Erin into it,” Peabody commented.
“Yeah, you could say that. First, I guess, because Shauna loved her, but just as important because everyone just liked her. She was fun, talented, always up, you know? And it was so crystal how much she loved Shauna, how much she wanted to make Shauna happy, make a good life with her.”
“You and Angie Decker seem like good friends,” Eve said. “Did Erin’s circle do the same, absorb Shauna?”
“I think so. I mean Angie, Donna, and Erin went back. I felt comfortable with them right out. I’d say we’ve gotten to be solid friends with helping plan the wedding, doing the shower, all of that. From what I know now, I’d say Angie and Donna, especially, had some worries Erin would get her heart broken. You know like some of Shauna’s friends thinking Shauna was going through a phase. But it didn’t last.
“And since you’re talking circles, it’s like the circle widened, or the circles interlinked. For me, the high school wheeze, having so many women friends is a personal miracle. And we sure as hell need each other right now.”
“You’re a diverse, interesting group,” Eve commented, and opened the file as if referring to it. “We’ve talked to all of you now. Artists, managers, execs, businesswomen, professional mothers, medicals, chefs, a stripper with a family who owns restaurants and real estate.”
She glanced up. “ChiChi Lopez and Erin were involved at one time.”
“I’m not sure that’s the word for it. Maybe buds with bennies again, at least on Erin’s part. And like with Marcus and Shauna, the bennies stopped.”
“And did ChiChi accept that as easily as Marcus did?”
Becca shifted, and hesitated for the first time. “I guess so. I don’t know her as well as I do Marcus.”
Eve offered an easy smile. “You’re not as friendly.”
“Not really. I mean, we get along fine. A bunch of us went to see her perform, and wow, that was an eye-opener.” She popped her eyes wide to demonstrate. “I don’t mean just the naked part, but she’s got some moves.”
Eve waited a beat. “But?”
“Okay, well, she’s a little bit mean. Got a bite to her, and I try to avoid getting bitten, so we’re not as friendly.”
