Shocking Pink

Shocking Pink
Erica Spindler

I spy…murder…The mysterious lovers the three girls spied on were engaged in a deadly sexual game. No one else was supposed to know – especially not Andie and her friends. But curiosity can become obsession. Now, years later, someone is watching Andie.Someone who won’t let her forget the unsolved murder of ‘Mrs X’. Andie. Julie. Raven. Three very different women bound by much more than friendship. And they’re about to discover that loyalty can be murder…

I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the following people for their help and support during the writing of this book.

Jessica Schneider and Erin Engelhardt for honestly sharing their thoughts, feelings, hopes and wishes; for reminding me what it’s like to be fifteen and best friends.

Linda Kay West (as always) for answering my many questions about the law and legal proceedings.

Dianne Moggy and the amazing MIRA

crew for helping me make this book all it could be.

Evan Marshall for his support, enthusiasm and incomparable instincts.

And special acknowledgement to Deanna Breheny, winner of my “Fantasy Proposal” contest. Deanna, you and Jim are the greatest!

About the Author

The author of twenty-five books, ERICA SPINDLER is best known for her spine-tingling thrillers. Her novels have been published all over the world, selling over six million copies, and critics have dubbed her stories “thrill-packed, page turners, white knuckle rides, and edge-of-your-seat whodunits.”

Erica is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author. In 2002, her novel Bone Cold won the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for excellence.

Also by Erica Spindler

COPYCAT

SEE JANE DIE

IN SILENCE

DEAD RUN

ALL FALL DOWN

Shocking Pink

Erica Spindler

www.mirabooks.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

Prologue

Thistledown, Missouri 1998

The call had come in at 3:01 a.m. An anonymous tip. Something weird was going on over at the Gatehouse development site, the caller had said. They had seen lights.

Something weird, all right. A homicide.

Detective Nick Raphael climbed out of his Jeep Cherokee, stopping a moment to take in the scene. Two black and whites, his partner Bobby’s truck and the coroner’s wagon. No press yet, thank God. An officer stood guard at the door of the model home, cordoned off with yellow tape.

Nick moved his gaze slowly over the face of the house, then the land around it, careful not to rush, not to take anything for granted. He had learned long ago that rushing equaled missed opportunities. He had learned that good police work required a quick mind, a slow eye and the patience of Job.

He rubbed his hand across his jaw, rough with his morning beard. Funny place for a murder. Or a brilliant one. Located twenty minutes east of Thistledown, in the middle of nowhere, the development was hardly even up and running. It had, no doubt, been created with the St. Louis executive in mind. Only a forty-minute commute to a better life, Nick thought, mouth twisting into a grim smile. In relatively crime-free Thistledown.

Right. And tonight’s little event wouldn’t do much for the neighborhood.

He brought his attention back to his immediate surroundings. So far, the development consisted of three model homes, this one complete and two others nearly finished. Pool and tennis court just under construction; lots parceled off. No residents yet. Completely deserted.

Not completely deserted, Nick thought. Not tonight. The anonymous tip proved that. So did the stiff.

Nick started for the front door, squinting against the light spilling from the house into the darkness. He greeted the officer at the door, the man’s rookie status apparent by his pallor.

“Davis, right?” Nick asked.

The kid nodded.

“What’ve we got?”

Davis cleared his throat, his color turning downright pasty. “Female. Caucasian. Twenty-eight to thirty-two. The M.E.’s checking her out now.”

Nick swept his gaze over the face of the house again. Nice house. He’d bet it’d go for a half a million or more. He motioned with his head. “Everybody inside?”

The kid nodded again. “Straight ahead, then left. The living room.”

Nick thanked him and went inside, noting the alarmsystem panel as he did. Fancy, all the bells and whistles. It was on but not armed.

He heard voices and followed the sound, stopping dead when he saw her. She hung by her neck, naked, her hands bound in front of her by a black silk scarf. An identical scarf had been used to blindfold her. A tall stool lay on its side under her dangling feet, a short one sat beside it, undisturbed.

“Holy shit,” he muttered, the past coming up behind him and biting him in the ass. “Holy fucking shit.”

“Raphael. Glad you could make it.”

Nick shifted his gaze to his partner. “I had Mara. It took her baby-sitter a few minutes to get to the house.” He moved his gaze back to the victim, his sense of déjà vu so strong it disoriented him. Nick forced himself to focus on this crime, this victim. He narrowed his eyes, studying her. She was—had been—a looker. Blond. Stacked. Even in death her breasts stood up high and firm. The blindfold covered too much of her face to be certain, but he’d bet the face had gone with the body. It just seemed to go that way with stiffs, though he couldn’t say why.

The coroner stood on a chair, carefully examining the corpse. He stopped working and met Nick’s eyes. “Hello, Detective.”

“Doc.” Like Nick, the M.E. had been around a long time. Long enough to remember. “Talk to me,” Nick said.

“Not a suicide,” the doctor said quietly. “Not an accident. Her hands are bound. Kind of hard to string yourself up that way. She definitely had a playmate.”

Nick moved closer. “Do we recognize somebody’s work here?”

“We might,” the coroner said, returning to his examination. “Or it could be a copycat. No outward signs of a struggle. I think we’re talking consensual, up to the very end anyway.”

“Right,” Nick muttered. “Up to the moment the bastard kicked the stool out from under her.”

“Whoa.” One of the uniforms came up beside them. “What’s this ‘recognize’ bullshit? Have you guys seen something like this before?”