Page 7 of Deadly Sins: Lust
“I was about to say the same about you,” I said. “No pigtails today?”
“I’ve decided it’s time to make peace with the fact that no matter how youthful I feel, I’m not in my twenties anymore.”
She wasn’t in her thirties, either. Neither was I. “Mid-forties is not old.”
“Depends on who you ask.”
She’d traded out her usual platinum-blond pigtails for a dozen braids, which she’d rolled on top of her head into a messy, braided bun that actually looked like it had been styled by a professional.
“You hear about what’s going on with Nick?” I asked.
Maddie replied, but I didn’t understand what she’d said.
“Am I on speakerphone?” I asked.
A few seconds passed and then she said, “Sorry. I was cleaning my bone cutter. Is Marissa pregnant?”
“Pregnant?”
“I know they’ve been trying.”
“I don’t know anything about a pregnancy. Marissa has been in Australia for a wedding this weekend.”
“Oh, yeah. He mentioned he was flying out for it. After the wedding, he’s taking her to Bali for a week. Lucky girl.”
How fast things change. “Maddie, Nick called me a bit ago. Marissa was found dead this morning.”
“What are you talking about?”
I told her everything I knew.
When I finished, she said, “And you’re headed there now—today?”
“There’s not another flight for several hours, and it will take a day to get there ... but, yes.”
“Does Nick know you’re coming?”
“Not yet. He’s in the air. His phone’s off.”
“Where are you right now?”
“About to get on a plane to Salt Lake City. From there, I fly into Los Angeles, and then to Australia.”
“How long before you’re in Salt Lake?”
“A little over an hour,” I said. “I’m about to board now. Why?”
“I have a lot of vacation time built up.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’ll see you in an hour.”
CHAPTER 7
When we arrived in Cairns the next day, I called Nick. He didn’t answer. Maddie contacted Victoria Bennett, the coroner for the North Queensland region. Maddie explained who we were, how we were affiliated with Marissa, and said we were looking for Nick. Victoria was reluctant to give Maddie any information over the phone, but she said Nick had called asking questions about his wife’s autopsy, and she expected him to drop by in a few hours. She told Maddie where he was staying.
“He’s at the Laureate,” Maddie said.