CHAPTER 19: DE MORTUISSTANDING IN HER KITCHEN INSPECTING a wedge of Stilton, Pam Nash told herself to cheer the f**k up.
Things could be worse. OK, tragic death. OK, half the morning at the police station. OK, Zappa’s gala debut teetering on the edge of fiasco. But at least—for once—she didn’t have to worry about Ashley.
What was the cops’ problem? They’d got their chronology. Squeezed it out of her family and guests two nights ago. It didn’t take a detective to see when Darla died. Between 5:30 and 9 PM. After the Zappa demo, when she went inside to ice her ankle and fix her dress, and before the band’s break, when Mack spotted her in the water. Asphyxiated. Meaning? Choked, most likely. What Harry said: she must have gone down for a smoke, tripped on those foolish shoes, and caught he
