“Oh, I’m still working down there, but my clients kept asking me about all the jewelry I wear, so I decided to sell the stuff online. I can’t believe all the orders I’ve gotten already.”
“That’s exciting. How long have you been doing that?” Thank God for regular paychecks.
“Only a couple weeks.” As Sam reached inside a box, several large medallions hanging under her scarf clanked together like gaudy wind chimes. One-of-a-kind pieces. Definitely. Missing were her trademark dangling chandelier earrings and all the bracelets she usually had stacked oneach wrist. She must even be selling the jewelry she wore, because she never took the stuff off.
“You still on for Friday night?” Mackenzie asked.
“The auction? You bet. But I prolly won’t bid on anything. Been spending all my extra funds on my jewelry stuff.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure I will, either, but these things are still fun to attend. It’s at the top of the Columbia Center. You know, the one with the amazing women’s bathroom.”
“Is that where each stall has its own individual view of the city with floor-to-ceiling windows?”
“Yup. That’s the one.” Mackenzie picked up her brush and turned her attention back to her painting as Sam sifted through the contents.
“You haven’t been home much lately. So this is what you’ve been up to.” Mackenzie fanned the canvas with her hand as ifit would speed up the drying of oil paint. She knew it wouldn’t help, but she did it anyway because the piece needed to be finished by the weekend.
“Yeah, and, well, I’ve been seeing someone new.”
“What happened to Ethan?”
“He’s long gone. Started getting too serious, so I broke up with him. Talking marriage and stuff.”
Oh, to be that cavalier knowing you actually do have a future. “So who’s the new guy? Someone you hooked up with at the club again.” Mackenzie didn’t begrudge her roommate’s dating habits, but she did like to tease her.
“He’s a client, actually. Been staying at his place a lot, but he works the graveyard shift, so we...ah...sleep a lot during the day. Don’t say anything if Gretchen calls. If my manager knew I was sleeping with a client, she’d have a shit-fit.”
“How’d that happen? You ask the guy if he wanted a happy ending?”
“Something like that. Said I had magical hands.”
“How original.”
Sam laughed, but it sounded a bit hollow.
Mackenzie looked up. Sam was rubbing the backs of her arms, a strained expression on her face. “You okay?”
“Of course.” But the words came out a little too fast.
Sam’s eyes drooped slightly at the corners and her posture lacked its usual energetic stance. She usually was so perky. Annoyingly perky. Had she not been sleeping well? Mackenzie decided not to ask. What woman wants to know she looks tired?
Over the top of her canvas, Mackenzie watched her roommate pull item after item from the boxes. Several large spools of wire, a bunch of hand tools and an item that looked like a freestanding, oversized butane lighter.
“What’s that for?” Mackenzie had seen a smaller, yet similar, device at Corey’s, but somehow she didn’t think Sam had bought it to smoke weed.
“It’s a torch. You melt the ends of silver wire to make headpins. You know, the danglies on earrings, necklaces and bracelets? It can also fire small bits of precious metal clay. Like these.” She twisted her empty wrists and laughed. “Oops. I’m so used to wearing those bracelets, I forgot I didn’t have them on. I made these silver Celtic crosses with that clay, too, but they have to be fired in a kiln at the bead store. Too big for that little thing to work.”
“What are those going for? That’s a lot of silver. And they’re so ornate.”
“Five hundred bucks apiece.”
Mackenzie whistled and reached over. “May I? Have you sold many?” Sam came around the table and moved her scarf aside for Mackenzie to examine them more closely.
“Yeah, quite a few. I take orders for them online. Four or five should be out of the kiln today. Damn. That’s right. I need to pick them up and mail them out.”
With the scarf out of the way, Mackenzie’s eyes zeroed in not on the jewelry, but on several dark bruises marring the skin on Sam’s neck. She snapped her head up, but Sam turned away and hastily covered them with her scarf again. What the hell was going on?
“Sam? You okay?”
