Death by Diamonds by Annette Blair

act. Ursula won’t even have to be good. The show will go on.” I sighed. “I think the world will always want to see a car wreck or the aftermath.”
    “Gruesome as it sounds, they will,” Eve said, accepting a champagne flute. “Like right now, I’m watching for Nick.”
    “You,” I said. “You step in where Satan fears to tread.”
    “Like us in the theater, today?” Kyle asked.
    “That was different,” I explained. “We were looking for clues to your mother’s death, not gossip, but a trail of blood, or—” I gave Eve a pointed look. “Signs of suffering.”
    Eve sipped her drink. “At least the people who go to the theater tonight won’t be breaking in the way we did.”
    “Chill, Meyers,” I said. “If you were a cat, you wouldn’t have a whole life left. And you’d best keep my secrets, because I know yours.”
    She leaned into Kyle. “I know her secrets, too.”
    Kyle pointed at me with his chin. “But I’m thinking Mad has more lives left than you do.”
    He caught us in a playful headlock, one on each side of him, and pulled us close. “Thanks for making me smile,” he said, his voice raw and raspy as he let us go.
    “You mean I entertained you when I assaulted Nick?”
    “Hell no. That will give me nightmares.”
    I had to stifle a giggle. Sure, Kyle was younger than us, but Dominique had done a great job raising him. Good company, and honest about his feelings, he was easy to stand beside in a crisis. I felt for him. Hell, I could barely stop thinking about never seeing Dominique again. How must he feel about never seeing his mother again?
    Well, baste it; I knew the answer to that. The sad fact was that he’d never get over losing his mother.
    Eve gave Kyle a sip of her champagne, and I wondered if their attraction would outlast our visit.
    “Is Pierpont providing fresh diamonds for tonight’s show?” I asked. Kyle nodded. “Ursula said they are. Can’t blame the company for trying. A new and successful run for the show could be their shot at recouping months’ worth of lost profits. As for the diamonds, whether they’re found or not, there’ll be no loss there, thanks to the magic of insurance.”
    Kyle shrugged. “I heard there’d be extra men guarding the diamonds tonight.”
    “Not the actress,” I muttered. “Just the diamonds.”
    Eighteen
    In an epoch as somber as ours, one must fight for luxury inch by inch.
    —CHRISTIAN DIOR
    A woman, unknown to me, made a grand entrance into Dom’s living room, and she really caught my attention. “Who’s the brunette with the flowing mermaid hair?”
    “You mean the mermaid my ex-father is following with his eyes while hitting on someone else?”
    “Ian DeLong is your ex-father?”
    “Yeah, when he left Mom for another woman, I said if he was her ex, he was mine, too. Mom and I called him my ex-dad from that day on.”
    I chuckled. “I do believe he’s hit on every female without an oxygen tank, except for me and Eve.”
    “Only because you’re with me,” Kyle said. “Otherwise, you’d both have your chance. Good old dad. His current target used to be Mom’s catty “best friend.” Kyle made quotes in the air when he said best friend. “Her name is Quinny Veneble. She’s got money but not enough to hold Ian DeLong’s attention.”
    “Quinny?” I chuckled.
    “Silly name but it fits,” Kyle said.
    “And the brassy blonde Ian’s watching?” I asked.
    “That’s Phoebe Muir, Quinny’s daughter. I like Phoebe. She was my mother’s secretary, assistant, confidant, an all-around girl Friday, on and offstage, twenty-four-seven.”
    “That arrangement smacks of nepotism.” I didn’t mean to be rude. The observation just slipped out.
    “Depends on your point of view. Quinny wasn’t happy when Mom hired Phoebe. She wanted her daughter to marry rich and become a society queen, not work for her mother’s richer, more popular, and more famous ‘best friend.’ ”
    Phoebe’s flawless complexion caught