Chapter 1

"You know he got the cure but then he went astray..."

Lily Blake was really very tired as she was thinking of all the people that were waiting outside her dressing room just to see her. But it was her job and part of acting was being close to all the people that admire your work and want to congratulate you. She couldn't just leave even though she was dying to get rid of her make up and the high-heels that were killing her feet for the last two hours.

Who said that life is easy? At the age of 29 she was lucky enough to do a job she loved and the funny thing was that people loved her too. When she quit law school just before she got her degree and announced to her parents that she would study in drama school she had never imagined that one day she would be so successful. Her parents had cried that day and then her father had threatened never to speak to her again.

It wasn't easy to ruin all their dreams but she would do it again gladly. No regrets. Living her life according to others' wishes was not something she intended to do again. In the end she had to answer to herself and to fight for her own dreams. Eventually, her mother had come around but her father remained aloof.

She changed into her jeans and a red t-shirt and she stared herself at the mirror. She didn't look tired at all, but underneath all that make up she felt 100 years old. The play was very demanding and it was draining her emotionally and physically but she didn't complain. She inspected herself thoroughly, her long chestnut hair, her dark eyes, she put on some lipstick and deemed herself ready.

Trying to forget all about the play and her family she spent the next two hours discussing her part, her career and her love-life with people she would probably never see again in her life. The first question they all asked of course was about her relationship with Jerry Lowell. How was he? Why hadn't he come to see her? When did they plan to get married? Was she pregnant? She absolutely hated answering but she was forced to be polite and to tell people what they wanted to hear. She and Jerry were their favourite couple. She was a talented actress and he was a famous pop singer.

Actually Jerry had been famous long before she started acting. All his records were number one hits, he had won several MTV awards and the girls loved him despite all the rumours about drugs and alcoholism. When they met and moved in together the media went crazy. They couldn't stop writing about Jerry's love for her or the fact that he quit drinking thanks to her intervention. Women love a rake but what they love more is a reformed rake. Now they were just waiting for the wedding ceremony and the baby. Lily laughed to herself.

As she got out of her car she cursed silently. She was freezing. The winter in London was getting worse every year. That was when she felt the first snowflake on her nose. She cursed again and got into the building. She checked her mail and smiled. Her cousin Jen was on her honeymoon with the handsome Alex Devlin and she had sent Lily a postcard. On the back she wrote:

"Lily, we're traveling around the world. I planned to call but Alex said a card would be a better idea. Hope you like it!

P.S. Heard all about your latest performance and I'm proud of you.

Kisses,

Mr. and Mrs. Devlin"

Lily sighed. It was clear, even from a silly postcard that her cousin was ridiculously happy. Feeling a little jealous she entered her apartment on the fourth floor and called Jerry's name. When he didn't answer she walked in the living room.

"Jerry? I'm back."

But Jerry still didn't answer. She could sense that something was wrong when she saw him asleep on the couch with a bottle of wine on the table next to him. "You're incorrigible," she said and started delivering a lecture when she noticed the pool of blood at her feet.

Lily dropped Jen's postcard and approached the couch. She didn't scream, she didn't make a sound. Jerry was clearly stabbed and there was nothing she could do about it. She grabbed the phone with trembling hands and called for an ambulance but she knew beyond doubt that he was gone.

...

Inspector Derek Evans arrived at the address they had given him several hours later. By that time the front steps of the building were frozen and the coroner had already examined the body. Until then he was forced to listen to his superiors' orders about how he should handle Jerry Lowell's death. Among other things he was told that he should avoid talking to the media and that they would try to keep it a secret as long as they could. He was certain that it would reach the newspapers by morning.

Nobody had the power to keep a celebrity's death a secret. Not even Scotland Yard. But he had to do his job nonetheless. He climbed the stairs to the fourth floor and noticed that the building was surprisingly empty. He went in Jerry Lowell's apartment and he was greeted by another officer.

"The coroner's done, Inspector."

"Time of death?" Derek asked while he was focusing on his surroundings. Lowell had a professional decorate the place. Every item in there was worth a fortune and yet the person who had murdered the victim had not touched a thing.

"Eight to ten hours ago. The obvious reason is that the victim was stabbed to death but he can't be sure until he has run all the tests. Plus we can't find the murder weapon."

"Ok. Thanks."

"By the way the victim's girlfriend is in the kitchen if you want to talk to her."

For some reason he had totally forgotten the girl. "Right. She's an actress. What's her name?"

"Lily Blake," the officer replied.

There was something peculiar about his tone so Derek asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"No. It's just that ... Well she's too calm. She didn't cry, she answered all of our questions ... I don't get it. If she lost a loved one shouldn't she be more upset?"

"She should," Derek admitted and went in the kitchen, a simple but beautiful room. Unlike the rest of the place the lights were off. Apparently the light from the living room was enough for her. He found his suspect in the dark, sitting on the bench drinking a cup of coffee. Except for the fact that she was pale she looked almost bored. There was something about her that seemed familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Miss Blake? I'm Derek Evans and I will be investigating the murder of Jerry Lowell."

Her dark eyes focused on his face. Then she smiled, a fact that made him realize that she was a beautiful woman. "I know very well who you are," she announced. "But it looks like you don't recognize me."

Was she implying that they knew each other? How could that be? "Have we met before?"

"You could say that," she said taking a sip of her coffee.

"You must be mistaken," he insisted.

"Really?" she laughed. "You are Derek Evans, your parents are Diane and Henry Evans, you played soccer in high school and your girlfriend's name was Irene."