Page 35 of The Perfect Illusion

“Gail says she’s supposed to go into a meeting in a minute,” she said.

“Please tell Gail that the meeting will need to be postponed,” Jessie informed her. “Now if you could hang up and lead us back there, Officer Devery and I would be most appreciative.”

The receptionist nodded.

“We’re coming back now, Gail,” she said, then hung up.

She scurried out from behind the desk and motioned for them to follow her as she led them down a long hallway to a glass-walled office near the back corner of the floor. A wispy blonde that Jessie assumed was Gail sat at a small desk just outside the office. She stood as they approached. Behind her inside the office, a statuesque woman with bright red hair was looking out her corner window at the city.

“Thanks,” Jessie said to the receptionist before turning her attention to Gail. “I’m Jessie Hunt. I work for the Los Angeles Police Department, and this is Officer Devery. We’re here to speak with Ms. Hughes. Please let her know.”

“She’s on a call so I didn’t get a chance to tell her you were here yet,” Gail said, “but I’ll announce you.”

Gail knocked on the glass door and started to open it. Diana Hughes turned around. Jessie noted that she had an earpiece in her left ear.

“I told you to push the meeting until I finished the call,” Hughes barked at her. “Why are you interrupting me?”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Hughes,” Gail said meekly. “But there are people here from the police who need to speak with you.”

Hughes turned her attention to Jessie and Devery, eyeing them skeptically.

“I’ll be with them in a minute,” she sneered. “I have to finish this call.”

Gail helplessly looked back at Jessie, who felt the animosity that was already simmering in her gut rise to a boil. She turned to Devery.

"Stay out here and look menacing," she said quietly. "If I wave my right arm above my head, that's your sign to come in. Otherwise, this is going to be a ladies' heart-to-heart. Okay?"

“Okay,” Devery said, spreading his feet wide to assume what he must have thought was an intimidating posture.

“Thanks for your help, Gail,” Jessie said, walking over to the door and yanking it open. Once inside, she fixed her gaze on Hughes, who had turned back to the window. She addressed the woman’s back. “Your call is over. We’re talking now.”

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Jessie got way more satisfaction than she should have from Hughes’s reaction.

The woman, clad in tan pants, a black top, and a red power blazer that matched her hair, spun around. Her face turned as crimson as the rest of her. Jessie noted that Hughes’s hair looked slightly damp.

“This is an incredibly important call regarding our fall line,” she objected. “I can’t just push it off.”

"And this is an incredibly important visit about some very serious crimes," Jessie told her as she walked in and took a seat in one of the plush chairs opposite Hughes's desk. "That takes priority, so please hang up. I'd hate to ask Officer Devery to come in here and make things more formal.”

Hughes, clearly seething, took several seconds to compose herself before muttering into the phone. “I’ll call you back.”

“Thank you,” Jessie said with less sincerity than she’d intended.

“Who are you again?” Hughes asked, sitting down across the desk.

Jessie wasn’t sure if Hughes was playing dumb or really had no idea who she was. The woman was either genuinely unaware or very good at hiding that she wasn’t.

“My name is Jessie Hunt. I’m a criminal profiler with a special unit of the LAPD.”

“Your name sounds vaguely familiar,” Hughes said. “What is this all about?”

“We’re conducting an investigation and your name came up,” Jessie told her, keeping the particulars vague for now. “So we had a few questions for you.”

“My name came up?” Hughes said derisively. “What does that mean exactly?”

“I noticed your hair is a bit damp,” Jessie replied, ignoring the question. “Why is that?”

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