Page 39 of Dark Obsession

“Oh, you.” Gladys blushed and turned coquettishly away.

“Did you go to Ivan Diverno’s visitation?” Vanda asked the group.

“I did,” Patricia said. “It was at Billings.” She lowered her voice and gestured to the side of her neck. “Ivan had marks on his neck.”

Cody went very still beside him, and Demetrius’s heart beat faster.

“It’s the makeup girl they hired,” Stan said.

“Make up woman,” the women all corrected him at the same time.

Even with the danger lurking beneath the conversation, Demetrius had to fight to hold back a laugh.

“All right, makeup woman,” Stan said. “Whatever she is⁠—”

“She’s a woman,” Vanda said with exasperation. “Aren’t you listening?”

“Okay! Whatever. It’s because of her you’re seeing stuff like that now. Before her, Bernie would layer the stuff on like he was troweling cement for a brick wall. Now the new…” He glanced at Vanda, “employee doesn’t use as much cover up, and we’re seeing stuff like that.”

“Have you been seeing a lot of those marks?” Demetrius asked. “On people’s necks?”

Stan lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “A few.”

“The doctors say it’s because of their ages,” Patricia said. “The skin tears more easily.”

“You need to moisturize,” Gladys said, nodding. “Everywhere and every day.”

“Everywhere?” Stan asked, looking slightly startled.

“Did they ever find a body?” Eileen asked. She was sitting just outside the group, puffing on her pipe.

“No, they haven’t,” Patricia said, shaking her head. “Just terrible.”

“I’m telling you,” Vanda said, pausing to sip her martini. “It’s always the ex.”

“Hey, Stretch,” Eileen said from the other side of the group.

“What?” Cody said.

Eileen waved the stem of her pipe between the two of them. “What’s up with you two?”

“Good God,” Demetrius said, his face growing hot.

“Nothing’s up with us,” Cody said. “What makes you say that?”

“You’re acting like you just met.”

“Whatdya mean? We’re standing here next to each other.”

“Yeah, in a Catholic school kind of way.”

“Jesus Christ,” Cody said.

“Pretty much,” Patricia said, the group all laughing.

“I need to use the bathroom.” Demetrius turned away, then back again. “And it’s not because of this conversation.”

“It’s the bean dip,” Stan stated. “It’s been working its way through me, too.”