Chapter 205

Ella POV

I smiled. People liked it when I smiled.

“So, you’re Agent Travis,” I said. “I’ve heard so much about you from Zane.”

He smiled back, but I could tell his heart wasn’t in it. He was quite attractive, for a beta, and he smelled newly mated. Zane sat beside him quietly.

“And you’re Ella, the face that launched a thousand ads.”

I laughed. It was a quote from an interview I did years ago that still showed up online as a meme.

“And how may I help you today, Agent Travis?”

His expression continued to be pleasant, but I could see his eyes looking around my apartment. I supposed he was looking for clues to my personality, but I’d had the whole thing done by a professional, so the best he could hope for was knowing I liked to keep things uncluttered.

I did have a favorite painting hanging on the wall behind me, a copy of Monet’s Woman with a Parasol. He could glean from that whatever he liked.

“First, I want to say I’m sorry for your loss,” he said. “I’ve been told you and Scott Cavendish were close.”

“Close?” I thought about that. I met Zane’s rather stony eyes and shrugged.“Yes, I suppose that’s true. He was a good friend, and of course, we were pretty much related.”

He nodded. I supposed he was thinking about the fingerprints I’d left all over his apartment, though never in the bedroom.

“And when was the last time you saw Mr. Cavendish?”

“Last Thursday.”

“The day before he died.”

“Scott died on Friday?” I let myself frown slightly. “I thought, well, it doesn’t matter.”

“You thought what?”

“I thought he died over the weekend. I know his cleaning service found him Monday morning, and well, it’s just a pity that he was alone for so long. Seems, I don’t know, somehow ghoulish.”

“Yes. And may I ask what the two of you talked about last Thursday?”

I nodded. “You’re aware Scott was the owner of BLI, Inc? The cosmetics company?”

“Yes.”

“Scott was thinking about branching out a little. I mean, the brand is so strong. He was considering a line of perfumes.”

“Perfumes?”

“Yes, and obviously, I would be featuring them on my channel, but, well. Oh dear.” I projected sorrow.

“You agreed that it would be a good idea, then?”

“For the line? Certainly.” I shook my head. “And to think just the next day he had a heart attack. I can’t believe it.”

“Heart attack?”

I frowned again. “Yes. That is how he died.”

“No, Mr. Cavendish was poisoned.”

I froze and then took my breath and pushed hard on my chest, making my face go pale. “Poisoned? Are you being serious?”

“Quite serious. Arsenic.”

“But that’s, that—Are you saying he was murdered?”

“Yes.”

I stared at him, letting him see my shock and disbelief. “But that doesn’t make any sense.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t know. Why didn’t he transform and save himself?”

“He also had chloral hydrate in his system.”

I looked at him blankly.

“That’s a strong sedative.”

“So, he was murdered?” I let my voice go up. Then I stood and made a show of looking at my hands.

“Are you all right?”

I sat down again and smoothed my hair back with a shaking hand. “Why would anyone want Scott dead?”

“So, on Thursday you talked about perfumes and your part in a marketing campaign. Anything else?”

I shook my head. “No, not really. I mean, I talked about Paris.”

“Yes, you were there for some time, I believe.”

“Almost a year.” I let my hands go limp in my lap. “You’re not actually with the police.”

“No, but they are coordinating with us on this.”

“Will the police be coming to see me?”

“Probably, if only to establish a timeline for his final days.”

“Anything I can do to help, of course.” I shook my head. “This is just so horrible.”

“Indeed,” Zane said.

“I’m so sorry.” I leaned forward. “I know your relationship was troubled, but he did care for you.” I stood up again.

“I need to drink some water. Can I get either of you anything?”

Both of them declined. I wasn’t thrilled to be leaving them alone in my apartment, but it was good to show trust. In the kitchen, I poured water into a glass and looked out the window.

It was a lovely day, actually. Sunny and bright.

When I returned to the living room, they were standing.

“You’re leaving?” I asked, taking care to sound forlorn instead of hopeful.

“For now,” Travis said and handed me a business card. “This is my cell number. If you think of anything, please, call me anytime.”

Zane gave me a rather stiff hug and nodded. “I’ll be in touch.”

“You’re sure it was murder? It couldn’t have been—well. Scott has seemed off lately.”

“Off?” Agent Travis asked.

I shrugged. “Joyless. He wasn’t even all that excited about the perfume, and he loves new business ventures. Oh, loved.”

“We’re going to be considering all angles,” the agent said before he and Zane left.

I sat and went over the conversation in my mind. It had gone well, I thought. Still, it had been foolish of me to kill Scott personally, even though my presence in his apartment was so easily explained.

I would need to be hands-off for Sarah’s death. I dialed a number by heart on my phone and let it ring three times before I hung up. Then I dialed again and let it ring only once.