His Song Silenced

by Michael Arches

  Naomi nodded, and tears welled in her eyes. “Because our Asian market is so important, we started with two top rappers from China. We’ve since replaced Splendiferous with a young man from Shanghai. Next year, the Asian market will get its own show.”

  The business details didn’t mean much to me, except to show that an incredible amount of money was at stake. To focus again on the murder, I asked, “First off, Tyrone, did you sense any trouble, even the vaguest feeling, before Splendiferous vanished?”

  “No, exactly the opposite. He was perfect. Unlike a lot of young American superstars, he was humble and funny and cooperative. A pure pleasure to work with. His handler was a pain in the ass at times, but Splendiferous was like a young Elvis Presley or Stevie Wonder. A supernova. And let us be candid right up front. A big part of the reason we want to help your investigation is because our Asian partners doubt our criminal justice system will find Splendiferous’s killer. They’ve seen too many Hollywood movies about corrupt American cops.”

  I had, too, but didn’t want to dwell on that. “I assume you’re aware his family has deep and long-standing organized crime connections. Isn’t it inevitable that his reputation is going to be tainted by the family’s connection to drug smuggling?”

  They both shook their heads.

  “Sinatra got along fine despite a lifelong association with mobsters,” Tyrone said. “Hell, it probably helped his career. And remember, hip-hop culture has always been linked to the underworld.”

  “We have been aware of Wang’s troubled family history for months,” Naomi said. “We conducted extensive background checks on every contestant, including him. We’re happy to share those with you.”

  Splendid’s mob ties might be the key to finding his murderer. “I can’t tell you how much we appreciate your cooperation. Did anybody involved in the project have organized crime connections besides Splendiferous?”

  Willow spoke up. “My research indicates several of the contestants have criminal records.”

  Tyrone laughed. “We aren’t recruitin’ for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Nobody else is in a gang, but they ain’t angels either.”

  Sharlene buzzed on the speakerphone at the center of the conference room table. “Tyrone, honey, the head of HBO is on the line. Swears he has to talk to you this minute.”

  “I’ll be right back,” he said. The producer gave us an apologetic smile and left the room.

  To kill the time until he could return, I said to Naomi, “He seems to be doing really well.”

  She nodded. “A lot of these record and video producers are grifters, but not Tyrone. He came from the slums of Camden, New Jersey, but his mother taught him how to behave. This is our third project with him, and the last one won two Emmys.”

  As he came back in the room, he was laughing. “HBO wants one of my artists for a two-hour Christmas special.”

  After another laugh, he sat down again. “Where were we? Oh yeah, no angels. I’m happy to arrange interviews for you with every one of ’em.”

  “I tried that. Didn’t work out so good.”

  Naomi’s lips formed a tight line. “Very disappointing. If they want to work on this project, their attitudes will turn around immediately.”

  Tyrone saluted. “I’ll make it happen or find more cooperative contestants.”

  This was too good to be true. “What’s really going on? Nobody’s as helpful as you two are. God bless you both, but really?”

  Naomi gave me a sheepish smile. “We’re entirely sincere, and we do have a great incentive to help you. Our Asian network intends to terminate our contract if you don’t find Mr. Wang’s killer within two weeks.”

  “Aha, and you’ll be out thirty million?” I asked.

  Tyrone winced. “Actually, only out twenty-seven. We’ll get to keep the ten percent we’ve already received.”

  Suddenly, I understood their enthusiasm for justice. “We’ll do our best to make sure you get the rest. To begin with, I’m most interested in talking to your people who had a close relationship with Splendiferous. He might’ve told them about some problem.”

  “Gotcha,” the big man said. “That narrows it down to three of the ladies. At first, he was hanging out a lot with Dinah White. Then—”

  I held up my hand to interrupt him. “Already interviewed her. She told me she hardly spoke to the guy.”

  Tyrone snickered. “Maybe they didn’t chat much, but she spent at least one night in his bed. You can watch the footage. They weren’t playing Scrabble.”

  Willow giggled.

  “I thought he was a minor,” I said. “That would be statutory rape in Colorado. I’m definitely going to need that video.”

  Naomi and Tyrone both burst out laughing.

  “Don’t believe everything you read in the gossip rags,” she said. “Back in Hong Kong, he was supposedly seventeen, which would’ve made him too young for our program. When they found out, he suddenly became eighteen. Our investigator verified the truth with Wang’s original birth certificate. It will all be included in the package we send to you.”

  “Good to know,” I said.

  “As for White,” she continued, “I’m very disappointed that she lied. We could terminate her contract immediately because it includes a morals clause.”

  “Wait,” I said, “don’t fire her yet, not until I’ve had a chance to talk to her again. Maybe she misunderstood me.” Although I knew I’d been clear with her. But if they booted her, I had no chance of getting the truth.

  “Who are the other two women?” Willow asked. “I can conduct a more in-depth investigation.”

  Tyrone leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead. “Let me think.” After a pause, he said, “During a few meals, Splendiferous talked a lot to Michelle Mobutu, but no slipping and sliding with her. By the end of the workshop, he and Katrina Tanner were very tight. I can give you one bit of good news. Michelle is from Baltimore, but when she heard the show was picked up by MTV, she flew here right away. And Katrina lives in the area. We should be able to get them both here this afternoon.”

  “Perfect. How soon can I get the videos and other stuff?”

  “Depends on how busy Sharlene is,” Tyrone said. “The damn phone never stops ringing lately. But we’ll get you everything sometime today.”

  “Before we finish this wonder meeting,” I said, “could one of you explain the basic rules for your rap contest?”

  Tyrone ticked them off with his fingers. “First, they sign over all of their intellectual property rights to us. Second, no outside romantic relationships from last June until we’re done filming the first season. That will be about six weeks. Fourth, we control everything they do until taping ends, including all electronic communications. We’ll return to Aspen in two weeks to film their month together. Those are the basics.”

  He’d know everything they did or said. Probably typical for survivor type reality shows. “Of course, I’d love to get their phone texts and voice recordings.”

  Tyrone gave me a fist bump. “I live to serve.”

  We all stood, and I shook his hand and Naomi’s again and thanked them one more time. He then checked with Sharlene, and she was sure she could have everything copied to an external hard drive by midafternoon.

  Even better, she contacted both Michelle and Katrina. They promised to drop by at three p.m. and four p.m., respectively. Things were finally looking up on this damned case.

  Chapter 12

  Outside in Willow’s Mercedes, she gave me a kiss. “Good progress. We make a great team.”

  In the past, I’d usually worked alone, but she was right. “I can’t thank you enough for everything. Do you want to sit in on the interviews?”

  “Of course, and between now and then, I’ll try to collect more information about Michelle and Katrina.”

  I decided to leave my car in the building’s parking garage. “Let’s get lunch. You know anywhere to eat around here?”
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br />   She did, and while she drove, I called Randy. He didn’t answer. I left a message saying I’d need help in reviewing a couple of hundred hours of video and a dozen investigative reports. There was no way Willow and I could do that alone.

  A few minutes later, he emailed me. You can have Skip and Linda to help with the review.

  Someone had to be putting major pressure on our office to find Splendid’s killer. That was fine with me.

  -o-o-o-

  I reminded Willow how poor the sheriff’s office in Pitkin County was. “I only get fifteen bucks a day for lunch.”

  “No problem,” she said.

  Then she pulled up in front of a restaurant with an awning and a valet. I knew I was in real trouble. “Darling, my fifteen bucks probably won’t pay the tip here.”

  “I’m not eating fast food, Hank, and I’m happy to pay for whatever you want. You throw in your fifteen dollars at the end, and I shall be completely satisfied.”

  This was a seafood restaurant made to look like the inside of an old ship, with nets on the walls and portholes. All the fresh offerings were listed on a blackboard. Cod was the cheapest, at fifty bucks. The lunch special. I couldn’t even get a house salad for my fifteen.

  Our waiter took our drink orders, iced tea for me and a glass of French Chardonnay for Willow.

  When he left, I whispered, “I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

  She beamed at me. “Good, and stop worrying about the bill. My personal per diem for meals is a thousand dollars per day. As long as we stay within that, I’m happy.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll do my best.”

  She ordered the fresh Norwegian salmon, which the waiter claimed had been caught by vestal virgins in some secret, magical fjord. I went with the cod and steak fries for ten times what they’d cost me at McDonalds.

  “Why so grumpy?” she asked.

  I hadn’t realized I was, but she was right. “Although we got great information from Tyrone and Naomi, it occurs to me I still have no good motive for Splendid’s murder. The triad gang war theory is fine, but we need to prove a Hong Kong assassin traveled all the way to Aspen, lured Splendid outside somehow, and forced him to eat a gun. That’s going to be tough, and unfortunately, but my other theories are even worse.”

  “I didn’t realize you had other theories.”

  They’d been too nebulous, had hardly coalesced in my mind. I began thinking out loud. “Money is always a popular motive for murder. Maybe Splendid was grabbed outside that fancy hotel because he looked rich. His yellow shirt was silk. Unfortunately, we found him with his wallet, which still contained plenty of cash and credit cards.”

  She snickered. “You’re right, not such a good theory. What else?”

  “Lots of people get killed because a relationship goes south. Maybe a jealous boyfriend whacked our favorite Hong Kong rapper.”

  She sipped her wine then scrunched up her face like she was thinking. “Except all the contestants, including Splendid, had promised Tyrone they didn’t have any outside love interests. Next?”

  “I told you they were lousy. The desire for fame is often a good motive for murder. Maybe one of the other contestants realized Splendid was super-hot shit, and the jealous rapper arranged to kill his or her main rival.”

  Willow rolled her eyes. “First problem is nobody had heard of the show back in June, and in fact, they still haven’t. At the beginning of the summer, the chances that the story concept would be sold were poor. Would someone kill another contestant on the remote chance that the show would be produced? I doubt it. Second, almost everybody stayed at the party until after Wang left, so the jealous contestant would have needed an accomplice to waylay Splendid and end his life. Plus, a third problem, there were twelve people competing, not two. Did the evil rapper think he or she was the best of the also rans?”

  “Can’t disagree about the problems,” I said. “As for White, she agreed with you, told me she didn’t think the contest would happen. On that point, at least, I believed her.”

  My new girlfriend sighed. “I’m sure someone had an excellent reason to kill the man. We just have to see the world from the murderer’s perspective. Then, his motive will become obvious.”

  “Yep, that’s all there is to it. Easy-peasy. Let me know when you’ve figured that part out.”

  Her brow furrowed. Now, I wasn’t the only one frustrated. That made me feel better. And Willow had pointed out a critical truth. The killer must’ve had a great reason to end young Splendid’s life. What the hell was it?

  -o-o-o-

  I enjoyed the lunch, but like I’d expected, my fifteen hadn’t even covered the tip. Willow slapped down her platinum card without any complaint.

  We returned to Camden Waterfront Productions. Sharlene found us an empty office there for our research while we waited for Michelle and Katrina.

  Willow worked on the Internet while I took a peek at some of the video clips of Splendid hanging out with the women coming in.

  They were both gorgeous but very different from one another. Despite the contest’s supposed focus on music, it was obvious the show would really spend lots of time on relationships.

  One of the first clips Sharlene had selected out for me showed Splendid flirting with Michelle. She had the striking, narrow face of a runway model. He had a huge personality, charming and funny, and her face lit up as he sang a few lines of one of his songs to her.

  She sang back, seeming to make up new lyrics on the fly. Then he did the same, rhyming with what she’d started. Although I wasn’t a hip-hop fan, I was impressed by how easily they could improvise.

  I continued to watch video clips containing the two of them, and although they didn’t talk about anything out of the ordinary, Splendid showed an easy familiarity with her. I would’ve thought he’d known her for years. She, however, kept her cool. They were casual friends, nothing more.

  In another clip, he took her hand after they finished eating a meal. On the spot, he began dancing with her as he sang. It was surprisingly intimate, although she had been keeping her distance. Maybe he saw that as a challenge to overcome.

  What struck me most was the guy had an effortless appeal to others. Despite her emotional distance, he drew her out, like coaxing a flower into bloom. My heart ached when I realized this man’s incredible connection with others had been cut short by some monster.

  I’d thought Splendid had flirted with Michelle, but that was nothing compared to the sizzle between him and Katrina. Her face wasn’t going to appear on the cover of Vogue, but she had much better curves. A very sensual woman.

  Katrina and Splendid were both personable, and they played off each other’s attraction as they teased each other, a different kind of improvising. At the end of one clip, they sang an a cappella version of Diana Ross’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

  It sent chills down my spine. I had no doubt the duet would make its way onto Tyrone’s first broadcast, and I stopped Willow’s work long enough for her to see the video with me. It brought tears to her eyes.

  -o-o-o-

  Michelle stepped cautiously into a small conference room Sharlene found for our interviews. “We’d like to record this,” she said. “We’ll provide you a copy.”

  Witnesses occasionally wanted to record what they said, and I always agreed. Less chance that anyone would misremember later. “Fine, but only one camera, and it stays pointed at the witness.”

  Sharlene shrugged and placed a small, round camera the size of a tennis ball on the table. Its tiny lens faced Michelle. “It’ll pick up all sound in the room,” Sharlene said before leaving and closing the door.

  Willow and I sat on the opposite side of the table from the witness.

  Michelle had dressed in a short, tight dress with sequins and lace, like she was going to a party. That was the way they’d dressed during the workshop, too.

  I introduced myself, and without mentionin
g my assistant, launched into my questions. “Did Wang seem worried or uneasy during the few days you knew him?”

  She shook her head. “He was always upbeat and excited. Although he was very popular in Asia, nobody knew him in the US. He expected our show to change that. Once I got to know him a little, I was sure he was right. He was a supernova about to explode over the entire world.”

  “How could you expect that when the odds of the show being produced were so small? Maybe one in a few hundred.”

  She shook her head. “Most of us were sure it would happen. Tyrone has a great rep in the hip-hop world. This is my chance of a lifetime.”

  Her comment gave me a new angle. If Splendid was such a bright star, he would inevitably outshine everyone else. That had to make them jealous. “Sounds like you expected him to win the contest.”

  She gave me a crooked smile. “No doubt about it. Within a half-hour of when I first met him, I knew he’d blow away all the competition, including me.”

  That sounded like a great motive for murder, particularly if most of them had thought the show would air. One of the contestants could’ve used an outside accomplice to do the dirty work.

  “Do you have any friends or relatives involved in organized crime?”

  For the first time, her tone turned wary. “None of my close family has been involved with gangs, but friends at school and neighbors? Sure, everybody in the ‘hood knows somebody in a gang. Our part of Baltimore is rough.”

  That sounded like a non-denial denial. I’d have to dig further into her background or get help from Willow. “He seemed like an attractive guy. Certainly, lots of women thought so. Maybe he made someone jealous?”

  “Doubt it.” She spoke quickly. “Everybody liked him.”

  I noticed that she seemed uncomfortable with relationships. An introvert, like me. That had to be hard for a performer. She waited with her hands folded in front of her for me to ask the next question rather than trying to connect with me.

  I asked her about romances between the contestants.