[COMPLETED] When a handsome hotelier is accused of murder, he has no choice but to rehire the woman he fired after she claims to be a psychic who can prove his innocence.
Handsome, wealthy, and charismatic-- it's hard to believe anyone would leave p...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Former beauty queens aren't supposed to get strangled by strands of twinkling Christmas lights.
The sound of Christmas carols filled the room as Detectives Rick Conners and Daniel Chavez stared at the beautiful blonde sprawled atop a bloodied faux fur rug.
"Can someone shut off that music?" Daniel demanded. One of the officers taking pictures of the room nodded and did as the young detective asked.
"She's the chick who starred in all those foot fungus ads," Rick said, shaking his head with a grimace. He tugged on his wrinkled tie and exhaled deeply. "If it's true, it's a shame a beauty like her had stinky feet."
Daniel ran a hand over his dark hair already flattened by a handful of gel. "Can we not talk about foot odors? It's disrespectful to the murder victim."
Rick chuckled. He dragged the end of his pen across his bearded cheek before scratching his neck with it. "What's she going to do? File a complaint from the dead? You're too uptight, kid."
"Rick, I'm not a kid. And did you already forget? Saying inappropriate things is what landed you in hot water last month."
Rick adjusted the collar of his wool coat before scratching at a stain on the material. He smiled, causing the lines on his face to deepen, reminding Daniel his partner had been a detective for over twenty years.
"That's because everyone is too sensitive these days. You can't make a joke about anything without offending anyone. I'm surprised comedians still exist. If you want to last in this job, you need to have a sense of humor, Dan."
"It's Daniel not Dan."
"Fine, I won't call you Dan but you really need to lighten up, kid. You stare at dead bodies long enough, it'll warp who you are. Learn from a seasoned detective like myself. Find the humor in everything."
"You mean I should learn to insult the victims like you do?" Daniel asked.
"I never insulted anyone." Rick scowled.
Daniel raised a brow. "Is that so? Last month you said the murder victim had a face only a prostitue could appreciate."
"I stand by that statement," Rick insisted. "The man looked like a treasure troll with a meth problem."
"You said that in front of his mother," Daniel snapped.
"I didn't know their relationship at the time."
"Obviously not, since you also asked her if he was her pimp."
"She wore fishnets and a pleather dress. It isn't my fault she looked like a prostitue! Can't we just leave this in the past?" Rick whined. "The captain already ripped me a new one."
They stared down at the scantily dressed corpse of Kelly Vitali. Her silk crimson nightie matched the bright lights tangled around her neck.
Rick chewed on the end of his pen before glancing back at Daniel. "Don't be mad, Dan. You know I didn't mean anything by it. Is it possible her murderer killed her to steal her job in an upcoming foot fungus commercial? Maybe the perp we're looking for has stinky feet."
