"I can see why Matterson was eager to paint you," the detective said.

Beverly Atwood was glad she was wearing her white knit jersey Basque shirt. It was very good for her kind of figure.

"I never posed for Rudy," she said.

Beverly ran her hands slowly down her Basque shirt. The detective's eyes followed her hands.

"Your father knew Matterson tried to attack you!"

The women in this case don't hesitate to use sex to get themselves out of tight corners. But detective Ben Helm grimly follows the thin red line of passion that leads from the murder of artist Rudy Matterson to more killings, and finally, to one of six people. But which one?