“Do you think she was high that night? And when you say she was using, I assume you mean something serious, like meth or heroin?”
“Heroin, yeah. I don’t know for sure that she’d been using that night. But she seemed high. It should be in the tox report.”
We wouldn’t get the toxicology and autopsy reports for a while. It’d be good if the tox report backed up his story, but it wasn’t of critical importance right now. There was no question about cause of death. Chloe hadn’t overdosed; she’d been stabbed to death. “And where was Paige during all this?”
“Out. On a date with a guy they called Mr. Perfect. I saw her when I came to pick up Chloe that evening. Chloe said she probably wouldn’t be back till morning.”
“Who’s Mr. Perfect?”
“I don’t know. They never used his name. But I figured he was married because I remember hearing Chloe drop a comment about Paige not really needing to get all fixed up for their dates, since they never went out anywhere.”
So he lived in LA. “When you and Chloe got back to the apartment, Paige was gone?” Dale nodded. “And you never saw Paige again.” Dale shook his head. “So you’re saying someone else must’ve come in after you left and stabbed them both?”
Dale’s expression was bleak. “I know how it sounds, but that’s what had to have happened.”
He was right; it did sound impossible. But it was the only story that would get him off the hook. As much as it sucked, I knew I’d have to run with some version of it.
“Did Chloe ever mention anyone she was having problems with? Anyone who threatened her or-”
“No.”
“What about her dealer? Maybe she owed him money or pissed him off because she wouldn’t buy from him anymore…?”
“It’s possible. And I’d bet whoever she’s been buying from lately is working on the show, because a couple of times when I picked her up at the studio, she seemed loaded.”
I’d have to check that out. And I’d have to get every detail he could remember about Chloe and what she did every day, especially in the last week or so. The more I knew about her, the better my chances of finding someone else I could pin this on. “What about Paige? Did she have any enemies that you knew of?”
“No. But I do know she was no druggie.”
“What about jealous boyfriends? Or Mr. Perfect’s wife?”
“I wouldn’t know about boyfriends. And Mr. Perfect never came to the apartment. Plus…” Dale trailed off.
“Plus, what? You’d have heard if the wife had found out?”
“No, I probably wouldn’t. But if the wife knew about Paige, knew where she lived, why go to her apartment to get into it with her? Why not wait till Paige was in a place where she didn’t have to worry about a roommate or neighbors?”
