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AN HOUR LATER, DANA sat down on the black leather massage chair at Bea’s Salon, her thoughts racing after the conversation she’d had earlier with Terry. But Dana couldn’t let anyone know about her mixed feelings about Terry’s innocence.
She’d just asked Bea about information on Gigi’s back up dancer.
“Oh, yeah, that Steve fellow was in here the other day, getting his pedicure,” Bea said with a smile after she’d just finished filling the basin with a scented salt water solution to have Dana’s feet soaked for her pedicure.
“You don’t see too many guys getting their pedicures these days. But you remember the ones who do,” Bea continued.
Bea had her hair done up nicely as usual. Like Gerdie-Sue, one of her frequent customers, her hair color changed almost every other week. Today, she donned a blond do upsweep ala Dolly Parton. She even resembled Dolly today in every way. From the shapely hips and full bosom. She’d always had a lovely shape to die for.
Her makeup was always perfectly done and her eyebrows perfectly shaped. Her lipstick was a bright glossy blood red color.
She had large gold dangling hoop earrings on each ear. And a gold necklace with a heart-shaped pendant on. Her own nails must have been an inch long. Dana wondered how on earth she was able to work with those nails. She certainly was the poster-child for her own business.
Bea was always onto Dana to come in more often and make sure she looked like a queen, especially if she ever expected to attract a man. Bea, bless her heart, was always trying to set up Dana on a date or at least get her looking hot for a potential date. But Dana had always been so busy with helping to run the café, writing her blog and taking care of the very old Victorian house her grandmother left her in the will which was always in badly need of repairs.
“I can imagine,” Dana said. Her mind still drifted back on Terry. In Dana’s heart, she really believed Terry had to be innocent. Maybe Terry was being framed? But then why on earth would she pick up the murder weapon? Did she clean it off somehow and not remember? Goodness gracious. This case was getting more muddled than she could have imagined.
“I remember you had that one-time man’s special when you encouraged men in the community to come in, but I didn’t think guys did pedis or manis on a regular basis.”
“Some do.”
“Like who?”
“Firefighters who are always on their feet all day. Some cops, too. They’ve got to massage those arches and calves and soften those heels and shape those nails with all that hard and dangerous work they do. Besides, they need to look good for their women. You want to date a caveman?”
“Nope,” Dana laughed, enjoying the deep massage from the black leather salon massage chair while she had her pedicure done, her feet soaking in the fiberglass resin bowl. The back massage gave a luxury shiatsu massage while the seat gave a vibrating air massage. Boy, was she overdue for some pampering. Bea’s Salon wasn’t too far from the Cozy Cupcakes Café. Bea was right, she needed to come in more often and not just to pick up news or the odd gossip about what’s really going on in the community.
Even though Bea owned the salon, she loved to work on her favorite clients once in a while when her other staffers were busy. She loved the art of grooming. Grandma Rae and Bea went way back and used to be good friends. Bea treated Dana as a surrogate granddaughter sometimes.
“Well then,” Bea continued while snapping gum in her mouth, “We just soak their feet—we don’t paint ‘em you know. Everybody needs to take care of their foot health. It’s not about looking pretty or painting the nails. It’s about proper self-care.” Bea raised one of her penciled eyebrows.
“Okay, Bea. You’ve got a point,” Dana said, scrolling through some Google search results on her smart phone. She had tried different searches on Google about Gigi and her suitors. Specifically her recent escapades and anything she could find on Steve, the back up dancer.
“What are you doing, child?” Bea said, toweling off Dana’s feet.
“I’m just searching for any information I can find on this Steve fellow.”
“Online?” Bea rolled her eyes. “Child you need to just come here once in while. Everybody talks their business at Mama Bea’s salon.” Bea grinned.
Dana smiled.
“I’m sure they do,” Dana said with a grin. “These massage chairs really do work some magic, don’t they Bea?” Dana teased. “Makes your customers so comfortable they just spill the beans. You sure you didn’t add some truth serum to the soak solutions, Bea?”
It was Bea’s turn to laugh now. “Oh no child. We use sodium in the solution. Not sodium pentothal.”
Dana’s jaw dropped.
How on earth did Bea know the actual name of the truth serum drug? Most people aren’t even aware that the psychoactive medication even existed. It was only through her online research on a mystery riddle she was working on for her blog that Dana found out about it.
“Wow, you really do scare me sometimes, Miss Bea.”
Bea laughed again. “Seriously, though child. That guy Steve was a real character. He just keeps yapping away.
Dana’s attention focused on Bea’s words. “What exactly was he saying?”
“Well, for starters, last week, he kept talking about how that Carlos was a real weasel.”
“Oh, Bea. That’s awful.”
“I know.”
“No, I mean it’s awful to speak ill of the dead. I mean Carlos is not here to defend himself.”
“Oh, child, please. He wouldn’t need defending. Besides, I’m just repeating what he said. I know you, child. You don’t fool me one bit. I bet you want to help solve this murder mystery just like you always do. You’ve got that OCD itch, you have. Just like your dear sweet Grandma, God rest her pretty little soul.”
Dana reacted with emotion. “Yes, she was wonderful, wasn’t she?” Dana’s voice was quiet.
“She sure was. And she always liked to solve puzzles and figure out unsolved crime stories.”
“So you believe that Terry is innocent, too?” Dana asked.
“Of course, child.” Bea started to clip Dana’s toenails carefully.
“Well, I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks so.” Dana sighed.
“It’s obvious there’s been some funny business going on back there. But,” Bea looked both ways. Dana’s pedicure chair was off in a private corner where Bea often has her special clients or socialites who don’t want to be sitting in a row of chairs with all the other customers. “I overheard one of his phone conversations while he was having his feet done.” Bea’s words were a whisper.
“You did?”
“Yep.”
“What did he say?”
“Well, he was talking about teaching that Carlos a lesson.” Bea started to file Dana’s toe nails.
“Bea, I need you to tell me, do you know who he was talking to?”
“Nope. I wish I did child. He didn’t exactly have his phone on speaker you know.”
“But you must have some sort of idea.”
Bea then rubbed and massaged an oil based solution on Dana’s feet. The therapeutic touch felt so good.
Bea scrunched up her face as if trying to remember what Steve had said.
“Well,” Bea said, “he did talk about Carlos’s other women.”
“He had other women while he was engaged to Gigi?”
“Oh, child, where are your brains?” Bea teased, lovingly. “Gigi and Carlos only started to date recently. Then all of a sudden, he pops the question after rehearsal.”
“Really? But I thought she was engaged to Steve?”
“She was, but I hear that she’s not very stable if you know what I mean.”
“I don’t follow.”
Bea looked around again to make sure nobody was listening in on their conversation. “This place is a hotbed for gossip. I’m not going to lie to you. Sometimes I have my share of news, but once you start dating one of the girls here. It’s a different situation.”
“You mean Steve?”
“Oh, yes. After Gigi left him, he went out with one of our girls here. And he kept talking about getting revenge on Carlos. He said that Carlos and he used to go way back and he couldn’t believe his own friend shamed him like that and stabbed him in the back.”
“Stabbed him in the back?” Dana echoed, stunned. Her hairs stood up on her skin. “Wouldn’t that be ironic?”
“What child?”
“That he got revenge on Carlos by stabbing him in the back, literally.”
“Oh, anything is possible, child. Crazy showbiz world. All these actors and dancers taking their onstage life offstage.”
“But what I don’t get is why would Steve date Gigi after she dumped her other fiancé, Thomas, after a short engagement?”
“True.”
“As Grandma Rae would say you can always tell a man or a woman by how they treat their ex lover. If they cheated on them or mistreated them, you can be sure you’re not going to be the exception. What makes you think they wouldn’t do the same to you, too?”
“Your granny was a wise one, she was,” Bea agreed. “And she was right about that. Steve should have known better. That Thomas fellow was really mad after he publically announced his engagement to Gigi and then a few weeks later, she runs off and dates her back up dancer, Steve, then ditches him...and then...Carlos comes into the picture...”
“Don’t you see a weird pattern, Bea?”
“Yep. She’s a bed-hopping head case.”
“Bea!”
“I’m sorry, child. I can be blunt sometimes. But she really does have issues. Some of these stars just can’t be left alone for a second. We all know how rebound relationships can be? Who would get engaged so fast? Three times in a year?”
“That’s true, and there’s a serious pattern there,” Dana said while Bea finished up massaging her feet. Bea then picked up the mango orange nail varnish that Dana had picked out earlier to paint her toenails.
“What are you getting at, child?”
“I think this can be related to Carlos’s murder. You said it yourself. Who would get engaged so fast? Three times in a year?”
“But Steve also mentioned that she kept yapping about that biological clock ticking away. Yeah, men really like when women pressure them like that. He talked about he didn’t like being used as a sperm donor.”
Bea carefully applied the mango orange nail polish on each of Dana’s toe nails. In the summertime she often had the gel nail polish because it lasted longer but today, she opted for regular shiny polish. Her toe nails sparkled. She felt good about coming in today, even though this wasn’t exactly open toe sandals weather.
“So what are you saying?” Dana asked.
“I’m saying, according to his conversation, she was only going to use him to make some babies and then probably divorce him down the road. Some weird arrangement.”
“I see. That really is odd. So then why was he worried about Carlos getting the job then?”
“Well, here’s the situation, child. Steve said it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t have kids. He had some accident or something.”
“What? That’s awful.”
“I know, child.”
“So that would explain why she dumped Steve to go with Carlos who was probably very fertile. So Steve really does have a motive to kill Carlos—he was jealous.”
“Hmm-mmm. Carlos already got somebody pregnant so that’s how Gigi knew he could have kids and because time is running out for her, she just got engaged to Carlos quickly. They were planning on having kids real soon.”
“Carlos has kids?”
“No, child, listen to what I’m saying. He got somebody pregnant.”
“Who did he get pregnant?”
“Terry. That girl who got arrested for his murder.”
Dana’s jaw fell open.