“Yes,” Val said to Gavin.

“Hope you enjoy. Is there anything more I can get you right now?” Aiden said.

“I’m ready to order dinner.” Val looked at Gavin waiting for a response.

Gavin sat back and picked up his glass, he seemed to relax a little. “So am I. Go for it.”

“I’ll have the fillet, medium rare and the mashed potatoes.” Hell, they were in a steakhouse. Was there anything other than steak to order?

“Excellent choice, and for you, sir.” Aiden turned towards Gavin.

“Porterhouse rare, with a baked potato. Sour cream on the side.”

“Perfect. Enjoy the appetizers and then I’ll get these in.”

As soon as Aiden left, Val reached for a piece of bread and dipped into the white wine sauce, which was heavenly. Wiping her mouth on her napkin she said, “We took hair samples so that Zoe could do a toxicology screen on them to check for drugs. Hair can maintain a very nice calendar of intake for some drugs and testing hair is standard practice in a case like this.”

“Can she check for more than just drugs?”

Val narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing. “Not sure I’m following?” She picked up a mussel and speared the contents with her fork.

“A number of strands were stuck on to the duct tape covering her mouth. The crime lab found traces of crushed pearls on them. I’m not sure where pearls could have come, maybe it was part of the ritual. But wherever it came from, it was superficial, on the surface of the strand. Is this some woman hair thing that I don’t know about? Do women put crushed pearls in their hair?”

“Is this where your desire for mussels came from. You said you’d let me know why you were eyeing them on the menu.” Pearls are formed in all mollusks.

“You have me.” He smiled.

See, a G-rated explanation, Val told herself, somewhat disappointed. “No reason to use crushed pearls that I know of. I can ask Zoe to do a further analysis with this.” Val pulled out her phone and googled pearls and hair. A number of hairstyles showed up on the screen. Pearls weaved into braids, dotting buns, intricate wedding coiffures. She showed the phone to Gavin.

“I got the same kind of thing on my search. There were no pearls in Gabrielle’s hair, though. Unless they were removed. But these were crushed. In powder form.”

“Would that have been possible then if the pearls were placed whole in her hair? To find them crushed?”

“Pearls are one of the softer gems and they do break easily.” Sounded like Gavin was stretching for his answer.