“I just don’t get it, Bils. What does the killer want?”
“I think it’s Richard.”
“I know; you’ve said so. But look at it like this: He kills all these people, and his movie doesn’t get made. Why would he want to screw up his own movie?”
“Let’s go over this logically.” Billie hefted her backpack onto her shoulders. “Lark slept with him, and she’s dead. So did Elyse, Cassie and Serena. All dead.”
“True enough, but half the crew slept with Dick, and that doesn’t account for Pam. Pam hated him.” Diana bit her lip; she didn’t want to leave Closet Sidney behind, but the poster tube was too big to fit into her backpack.
“Maybe the murderer killed Pam because she poisoned Richard.”
“Why would you kill all these girls Dick slept with and the girl putting laxatives in his food? I can’t see Dick pulling a Blue Beard and ruining his own movie, but maybe Miles is trying to frame him. Pam might have been killed because Dick would have a good motive to kill her.”
Billie’s eyes widened. “Oh my God, Diana. The murderer did kill Pam because she poisoned Richard! She killed Tiny because he saw the murderer disabling the vans and Judd either to get at Cassie or because he caught the killer murdering Cassie. All the others . . . the murderer is killing the competition.”
“Competition for what?”
“For Richard.”
“There’s a competition for Dick?”
“Don’t you see?” Billie turned toward her. “Whoever it is, is jealous of the girls Richard is sleeping with, so she’s killing them! And Pam, because she figured out Pam was poisoning Richard—remember, the Ex-Lax was scattered all around? I bet she came into the kitchen for something and caught Pam putting it in the hummus. Nobody ate that, except Richard.”
Diana hated to admit it made sense. “Thank God we never slept with him, then . . . you didn’t sleep with him, did you?”
“No!”
“Just checking. Okay, we’re safe, and that’s the important thing. So, who do you think it is? You said ‘she.’”
Billie shook her head. “I don’t know . . . but Jenny, Brandi and Claudia might be in danger. He slept with them, too.”
“Claudia? Really?” Diana shuddered at the thought. The idea of Dick screwing anyone was gross, but Dick and Claudia were worse.
“Yeah, Fay told me. Diana, we’ve got to warn them!”
“I really don’t want to die the way Judd did.”
“Diana!”
She sighed. “Oh, alright. I think Brandi and Jenny are still packing next door. You go there.” She squared her shoulders. “I’ll go warn Claudia. She’s probably either in Dick’s room or hers.”
She hoped she was in Dick’s room. Claudia’s room was down the hall and around the corner, and she rather not go by herself, but she should be safe, since she very sensibly had not fucked Dick. It was a no-brainer. Besides, she didn’t like the idea of Billie being too far away from Closet Sidney’s protective aura by herself. It was possible the protection extended into Brandi’s room, since it was next door.
Billie gave her a hug. “Okay, meet us downstairs in ten minutes. If I don’t see you in ten minutes, I’m coming back to look for you.”
“Ditto.”
While Billie knocked on Brandi’s door, Diana hurried down the hall. She knocked on Dick’s door, but no one answered. She knocked a second time and still no answer. Diana tried the door, but it was locked. She continued down the hall.
Claudia’s door was ajar, and Diana knocked. No answer. She was spooked. Diana closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She did not want to find another dead body. She met her quota for discovering dead bodies on this trip. It was unfair she had found blood baths, and the one body Dick had found was smothered.
Di braced herself. If the walls were painted in Claudia’s blood, she would be pissed. She pushed the door open.
The room was empty.
Diana let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She stepped into the room. “Claudia? Hey, Claudia, you here? I’ve got something important to tell you.” She stopped to listen. “Claudia, you could be in danger.”
Di took a look under both beds, in case the killer slit Claudia’s throat and stuffed her under the mattress. Nothing. That was a relief.
Diana checked the bathroom and the shower, still nothing. She began to relax. Claudia may have gone downstairs. She checked her watch. It had been five minutes, so she better hurry downstairs before Billie got worried.
She was halfway across the room when she remembered the closet.
Diana studied the closed closet door, remembering Miami, and how dead bodies had popped up everywhere to spite Billie and her. Even in closets that should have been empty.
“Fuck it,” she whispered, throwing the closet door open.
When she saw what was inside, she staggered back. It was horrible.
It was a shrine to Dick.
A collage of pictures—close-ups, full-body shots, profiles, right side, left side—covered the inside of the closet door and a lock of hair and a scrap of cloth were taped in there. Several shots of Dick shirtless were in pride of place. Diana’s gorge rose.
“And that motherfucker made fun of Closet Sidney!”
Some of the photos included other people, and all the women’s eyes were X’ed out. Even the one with Diana and Billie. They weren’t one bit attracted to Dick; it wasn’t fair.
Claudia was strong; Di saw Claudia carrying heavy shit all shoot and hadn’t thought a thing of it. Claudia was tall, too, tall enough to comfortably cut Tiny’s throat. Billie was right—the girls who slept with Dick were in danger . . . but they forgot that meant one of those girls was the killer.
It was Claudia, all this time. It was Claudia, and they were all in danger. “I’ve got to warn them.”
The door shut behind her, and Diana turned toward the sound.
It was Claudia.
“Oh, shit.”
Claudia looked from the closet to Di, shaking her head. “Someone’s been snooping.”
Diana backed up, holding out a hand in a stop gesture. “Claudia, you need help. You’re not well. Anyone who builds that – ” she motioned to the shrine “—has got a fucking serious screw loose. Of all the people on set, you get crazy-obsessive over Dick? Come on, there are way better choices.”
Without a word, Claudia plowed into her, knocking Di to the floor. Claudia’s lips were peeled back and her teeth bared in a snarl, her fingers hooked into claws.
Diana twisted beneath her. “Fuck no, asshole! You aren’t killing me!” Diana scrambled to her feet and ran for the door.
With a bang, Claudia kicked the closet door shut and charged after her.
Di opened the door and leapt for the hallway, but Claudia caught her by the hair and yanked hard. Tears of pain rolled down Diana’s cheeks as her checked momentum took her feet out from under her. She landed flat on her back in the doorway and saw stars.
Claudia landed on top of her.
Di drew in a breath to scream, and Claudia grabbed her around the throat and squeezed. The stars became a galaxy as Claudia dug her thumbs into Di’s windpipe. Her chest ached, hitching to draw in air.
Di bucked, but Claudia knelt on her chest, and Claudia was heavier. Di tried to claw Claudia’s face, her eyes, but Claudia locked her elbows and turned her face away.
Darkness nibbled the edges of her vision and her struggles weakened.
Claudia dug her fingers deeper into Di’s throat.
“I’ve always been there for him, always!” Claudia hissed. “Supporting his artistic vision, helping him! I knew he was a great artist, he only needed the right movie to prove it.” She squeezed harder and shook her. Di beat at Claudia’s chest.
“I loved him like no one else loved him. These stupid girls, they just fucked him because he was the director, because they hoped he would put them in a scene! They didn’t love him. I love him. And he loved me. He listened to me. Trusted my advice. Valued it! We were a team. And then she showed up.”
Claudia literally spat with anger, and Di would die with Claudia’s spit all over her face. It sucked.
“Fay,” Claudia snarled. “Now he only listens to her. I might as well not even be there! After all I did for him! I got rid of everyone, thinking it would help, but now I know it’s her! Once she’s dead, then everything can go back to normal. Richard will love me again.”
Everything hurt. She would die. Billie would be so sad. A tear rolled down Diana’s cheek as she thought about how sad Billie would be once she was dead. Billie would come up here and find her dead . . . Billie would be here any minute now. If she caught Claudia, then Claudia would try to kill Billie, too. Claudia would hurt her.
Diana snarled, twisting, twisting.
“Stop it, you stupid girl!” Claudia squeezed even tighter. “You know! You have to die, to protect Richard. I have to protect him. It’s my job!”
Diana bent her leg, twisted, groped.
Claudia banged Di’s head off the floor. The galaxy of stars exploded into supernovas.
Di grabbed the heel of her shoe, wiggled her foot out, and brought the shoe upside Claudia’s head.
Claudia fell back, clutching her temple, bright with blood.
Diana sucked in gasping, grateful breaths. Asshole! Diana tried to scream, but her throat wasn’t working right. She half-clawed, half-rolled to her hands and knees.
Claudia sat up, dazed.
Diana whacked her up the other side with her shoe. Still breathing heavily, she crawled forward.
Claudia, bleeding from both temples, collapsed against the far wall.
I won’t let you hurt Billie, Diana tried to say. She raised the shoe.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Miles stood at the intersection of the hall, a hiking backpack on his back.
Claudia rolled her eyes toward him. “Miles, help me! She attacked me.” She touched a hand to the blood on her temple, then held it out to him.
No, Miles, she’s the killer! Diana wheezed. Nothing came out.
Miles shrugged his backpack off and ran down the hall. He snatched the shoe out of her hands and tossed it down the hall.
That’s Badgley Mischka, you ignorant jerk!
Miles tackled her and knocked the breath out of her. Son of a bitch. She only just got it back. He pressed her against the floor. Diana was under Miles, and it wasn’t anything like she had dreamed.
“You okay, Claude?”
“I think so.” She struggled to her feet. “My head hurts. She ambushed me and hit me with her goddamn shoe. She’s fucking nuts, Miles.”
Lying, murderous, treacherous asshole!
“I knew it was you, but I didn’t want to believe it.” His face was inches from hers and his eyes had turned the light sherry-gold that meant he was angry. He looked up at Claudia. “Claude, do you think you can get into my pack? I have some rope in there.”
“Maybe we should just . . . .” Claudia drew a finger across her throat. It left a bloody smear.
Miles shook his head. “No, we’re taking her to the police. Judd and all the rest, they deserve that. They deserve justice. And their families deserve a trial, closure.”
“I don’t know, Miles. She’s dangerous.”
“I’ve got her. Just go get the rope. She won’t be dangerous tied up.”
Diana tried to squirm out from under him, but he caught her hands and pinned them up over her head. This felt like one of her idle fantasies, only with important differences.
Claudia staggered down the hall—Di was convinced she was selling it—rummaged through his pack and came back, offering Miles the rope.
“Are you sure? All of our friends she killed . . . it would feel good to get revenge.”
“I understand, but I’m sure. Give me the rope.”
You idiot, it’s her, not me. Go look in her closet! She’s got a fucked-up shrine to Dick!
Claudia handed it over, and Miles looped the rope around Di’s wrists several times, knotted it, and rising to his knees, flipped her over on to her stomach. Miles wrapped the rope around Diana’s ankles and knotted it. A short length of rope ran from her wrists to her ankles, forcing her to arch her back, bend her knees and keep her feet in the air. It was uncomfortable. Her chest and throat ached.
Claudia caught Di’s gaze and smirked. Miles either missed it or was just that dumb.
“I’m going to wash the blood off my face, then go get the others,” Claudia said. “Are you sure you’ve got her under control?”
“Go take care of yourself, Claude,” Miles said grimly. “I won’t let her escape.”
Claudia nodded. “I’ll try not to take too long.” She hurried down the hall.
“I never wanted to be wrong so badly in my life,” Miles said.
She glared at Miles. You asshole, look in the closet!