Chapter 34

The mood in procurement support was even stranger than it had been the day Doreen was killed. With the police gone, everyone was free to gossip about Nikki's arrest. It was the most sociable Isobel had seen the group since she arrived. On her way back from the supply closet for more Post-It notes, she passed Conchita and Paula, who seemed to have shelved their customary wariness.

"I never liked Nikki," Conchita was saying. "Something sneaky about her. And if she can steal, she can kill."

"One should never trust actors as a breed," Paula said. Catching sight of Isobel, they turned their backs and continued in lowered voices, with occasional, not very subtle glances in her direction. Isobel rounded the bend past Frank, Stan and Felice, whose voices followed her.

"She'd done this sort of thing before," Frank said. "Detective Harvey explained her system to me. She was stealing money through a phony vendor, then giving it to Scaletta to invest."