Fleur De Lies(95)

            “Maybe it was a polyp. I think polyps can bleed quite profusely.”

            “The girls have a lot of brass to target the head of the company. I think it’s a sign of how delusional they are. Beautiful women think they can get away with anything.”

            “Or it might be possible that the air-conditioning caused his nasal tissue to dry up. I think dry nasal tissue can cause all kinds of problems.”

            “Emily, pull your head out of the sand. The girls are staging a takeover of the company, although I’m not sure how they plan to eliminate all the board members. There’s a whole slew of them. Mostly old men with obscenely young trophy wives. I think that’s kind of a Texas tradition.”

            “How can Bobbi and Dawna take over anything? Neither one of them is equipped to run a multimillion dollar corporation.”

            “Which is exactly why they’re in this together! They know they can’t do it alone, so they’ve teamed up. Two bodies, one brain. And I hate to break it to you, but their current score ain’t too shabby. Benedict and Chestnut—Two. The rest of us—Nothing.”

            “Don’t stick Victor in their win column yet. He’s still alive.”

            “Let’s hope so. But if Virginia was too traumatized to give the paramedics some background on what’s been happening around here with toxic substances—” Her voice grew gravelly with emotion.

            “The police assured me that the hospital staff would pump her for information, so I expect she’ll give them a full history, even though she and Victor do run kind of hot and cold.”

            Jackie exhaled a dramatic sigh. “He’s such a sweet man. So Old World and mannered. The last of a dying breed. But I’m still puzzled about why the girls hit him instead of me. I mean, wouldn’t it have made more sense for them to get rid of their closest competition and then hit the bigwigs? That’s the way I’d do it, but then again, I’m not blonde.” She sniffed delicately. “I feel as if Victor took a bullet for me.”

            I drained my glass and set it down on a side table, casting about for explanations. “Maybe it was a question of opportunity and timing. You were holed up with the gang on the boat all day while Victor hung out with Bobbi and Dawna on the port walk. So they literally had unrestricted access to him all day long.”

            “See? Why is it taking you so long to admit I’m right?”

            I frowned. “But that doesn’t really wash because we didn’t stop for anything to eat while we were touring. We were too busy dodging raindrops.”

            “They could have eaten after the tour ended. I didn’t see them in the dining room at the luncheon buffet, so they must have stopped someplace on their way back to the boat. In fact, Bobbi and Dawna were probably lobbying to eat in some fancy little bistro so they could set the wheels in motion to take out Victor.”

            Weary from all the mental calisthenics, I slumped in my chair and scrubbed my face with my hands. “My head’s going to explode. I dunno, Jack. I get the feeling we’re missing something obvious, but I can’t figure out what.”

            She clasped her hands to her chest, her eyes brimming with nostalgia. “You know what I miss?”

            “Your old external plumbing?”

            “Twinkies. I was so crushed when Hostess stopped making them. I know they’re supposed to make a comeback with another company, but I doubt they’ll ever stack up to the originals.”

            “When did you start eating Twinkies?”

            “When I became a vegetarian. Sponge cake and artificial cream filling are so much better for you than red meat.”