Staring into the Darkness (Urban & Brazil Book 1)

by Tim Ellis

  Once Lilly had finished, the two of them made their way back to the studio.

  ‘Excellent as always, Lilly,’ Frank said, and walked around staring at Katie again. ‘Okay Katie, let’s take some normal shots first.’ He directed her to sit on a high stool with a short back, made minor adjustments to the lighting and then stood behind his camera – a Rolleiflex Automat – which was screwed to the top of a heavy-duty tripod, looking through the viewfinder and said, ‘Smile.’

  She smiled.

  ‘Dear me. Is that the best you can do? Anybody would think that somebody had died?’

  She grinned.

  ‘Or that you were having dental treatment.’

  She laughed.

  ‘That’s better. You’ll be pleased to know that the dental treatment was painless.’

  ‘I’m very pleased.’

  ‘Right, let’s do the serious and intense you . . . No, don’t squint, don’t screw up your face, don’t furrow your forehead . . . All I’d like you to do is look into the camera with your lips closed and relaxed, slightly wide-eyed, now to the left, and to the right. Good. Relax for a moment.’

  She slumped in the seat. Being photographed was nerve-racking. She was glad she didn’t sit around doing nothing for a living.

  ‘What do you think, Sam?’ Frank asked him.

  ‘It’s going well. She looks like a million dollars.’

  ‘She will do once I develop the photographs. Okay, slightly more difficult now. The damsel in distress is an archetype that is prevalent throughout history and in the movies. What are you scared of, Katie? What do you have nightmares about?”

  ‘I can’t think of anything I’m scared of, and I never have nightmares.’

  ‘I knew you were going to be difficult the moment I laid eyes on you. What about a fire-breathing dragon?’

  ‘I’ve always thought of dragons as warm and cuddly.’

  ‘Warm and cuddly?’

  ‘Yes.’

  He glanced at Sam and rolled his eyes. ‘You’re helpless, unable to save yourself, you’re terrified. Think of Fay Wray as Ann Darrow being sacrificed in King Kong.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Doesn’t she know anything, Sam?’

  ‘Not about films, apparently.’

  ‘King Kong was a monster gorilla of epic proportions that had romantic designs on the hapless damsel. You’ve been abducted by the tribespeople on the island, and tied up as a sacrifice. He comes for you. You’re petrified. I want to see your eyes as wide open as they’ll go, your nostrils flared out, and hear you screaming for your knight in shining armour – your leading man – to come and rescue you. Do you think you can do that?’

  ‘I’ll try.’

  ‘That was more of a croak than a scream. Don’t worry about our hearing, we’ll recover.’

  ‘Okay.’ She screamed and saw Sam covering his ears with both hands.

  Frank nodded. ‘I feel like rescuing you myself. Okay, we’re getting in the mood. Now, you’re the doomed woman . . . The desirable and naïve young woman . . . And finally the lover . . . That’s it! I think we’re done. Good work, Katie.’

  ‘I wasn’t very good, was I?’

  ‘It took a while to get you in the mood, but that’s true of most women eh, Sam?’

  The corner of his mouth creased upwards. ‘Not that I have any experience in moody women, but I’d say you were in the right ballpark, Frank.’

  They both laughed.

  ‘You came good in the end, Katie,’ Frank said. ‘And that’s what matters.’ He turned to Sam. ‘I’ll develop the photographs over the weekend and they’ll be on your desk first thing Monday morning.’

  ‘That’ll be great. Thanks, Frank.’

  ‘A pleasure as always.’

  ‘Say thank you to Frank and Lilly, Katie.’

  ‘Thank you both for your hard work,’ she said.

  ‘You’re welcome, Katie,’ Frank said. ‘We both hope you make the big time, don’t we, Lilly.’

  Lilly gave her a weak smile. ‘If that’s what you want.’

  ‘Of course it’s what she wants,’ Sam said. ‘And who wouldn’t? Are you ready to go, Katie?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Let’s make a move then. I have a million and one things to do before I pick you up at seven-thirty tonight.’

  He hustled her out into the late afternoon sun.

  She checked her watch – it was nearly five o’clock. Where had the day gone? Don Carroll was standing by the side of his maroon 1946 Plymouth 15C Special convertible watching her.

  He inclined his head in acknowledgement.

  She smiled.

  ‘I’ll take you home now,’ Sam said, opening the passenger door for her. ‘Make sure you’re ready for seven-thirty, I’m not a great believer in waiting for people no matter who they are.’

  ‘All right. Where are we going?’

  ‘A small intimate party I’ve been invited to. I know that some of the directors from MGM, Paramount, RKO and Universal will be there.’

  ‘What should I wear?’

  ‘Something that will get you noticed.’

  ‘I think I might have a little something in my wardrobe.’

  ***

  There was a knock on Ruby’s apartment door, followed by voices and a knock on his bedroom door.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Erik?’

  ‘Yes, Ruby?’

  ‘There’s two police officers here to see you.’

  ‘Coming.’ He put his shirt and trousers on and shuffled out into the living room.

  John Harrity and Bill Ackerman were sitting on the sofa drinking tea.

  ‘Nice set up you got here,’ Bill said.

  He eased himself into an easy chair and put the walking stick on the floor.

  Ruby came in with a cup of tea for him.

  ‘Thanks, Ruby.’

  ‘I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.’ She gave John and Bill a cautious look. ‘Don’t you go taxing Erik, or you’ll have me to answer to.’

  John and Bill glanced at each other and smiled.

  ‘Ruby was kind enough to take me in when I was evicted from my apartment,’ he said.

  ‘Evicted huh?’ John said.

  ‘When the Lieutenant put me on quarter pay, the money simply dwindled to nothing until none of my bills got paid, but with the help of Ruby, Martha and Katie I think I’ve turned the corner.’

  ‘What happened, Erik?’ Bill asked.

  ‘I cared too much. Anyway, enough about me, what about Katie Brazil?’

  John shrugged. ‘Nothing to tell really. We found her at Sam Rich’s place. Don Carroll was hanging around outside like a bad smell in that jalopy he drives. From there we followed them to MGM Studios where she had a screen test, then to Frank Page’s photography studio on Fountain Avenue. Sam Rich then dropped her off outside. Once he’d gone, she spoke to Don Carroll. He left and she came inside. We followed her in and here we are – nothing to report.’

  ‘Except, she’s a real looker,’ Bill said.

  ‘Outside your league, Bill.’

  ‘For definite. I just thought I’d mention it unless you hadn’t noticed. What with your addled mind and all.’

  ‘She’s out of my league as well, Bill.’

  ‘But she’s in the killer’s league,’ John said. ‘She’s exactly what he’s looking for.’

  ‘Which is why I asked you to follow her.’ He checked his watch. It was five-thirty-five. ‘I’ll be seeing her soon. We have a meeting. So, I’ll find out what she has planned next and I’ll let you know.’

  ‘I don’t mean to pour cold water on your idea, Erik,’ John said. ‘But us following her is about as effective as Don Carroll following her. In fact, he’s more in the loop than we are.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘We don’t know much at all about the killer, or how he chooses his victims, but I’m not convinced he’s grabbing them in broad daylight. Not only that, but we’re sitting outside, while all the a
ction is taking place inside. Now, that’s fine if you want us to go in when she fails to come out. We’d be likely to find her body, or discover that he’d spirited her out the back door. To my mind, somebody needs to be with her all the time.’

  Erik took a swallow of his tea. He knew John was right. In fact, it had been nagging at him all day. ‘Don Carroll isn’t going to be much use as a bodyguard either if he’s sitting in his car outside.’

  ‘No,’ Bill agreed. ‘Thankfully, the killer took a day off today, because I’d hate to be reading tomorrow’s headline if she’d been murdered:

  Three stooges sat outside while the killer went about his grisly work.

  ‘You should have been a reporter,’ John said. ‘You have a knack for headlines.’

  ‘It’s often crossed my mind.’

  Erik shook his head. ‘Any ideas?’

  ‘Well, Sam Rich seemed to be with her all day,’ Bill said. ‘Is that likely to continue? I’d say, probably not. She’s a new client, he’s putting in a bit of effort to show her that he cares, but once the novelty has worn off she’ll be on her own. He has other clients who pay his salary that he’d be a fool to neglect.’

  ‘Not only that,’ John said. ‘I called Dennis at the office and he said that Mike was getting suspicious about where we’d got to.’

  He knew that his idea of asking two police officers to follow Katie wasn’t the answer, but he didn’t know what else to do. ‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘I’ll have to think about it, but thanks for your time and effort today.’

  ‘No problem,’ John said. ‘It was a nice relaxing day in the sunshine. Certainly made a change from sitting in the office and going round and round in circles like we normally do.’

  They both took their empty cups and saucers into the kitchen, thanked Ruby for the tea and then left.

  His heartbeat started racing; he felt as though somebody was pressing a heavy weight onto his chest, he was struggling to breathe; felt faint; nauseous and beads of sweat ran down his face.

  Ruby came in then. ‘Are you all right, Erik?’ But she could see he wasn’t. She felt the pulse in his neck. ‘You’re having a panic attack. Don’t fight it; sit forward; breathe slowly and deeply; it’ll pass soon; try and relax; and think of peaceful and relaxing things.’

  He did as she said and soon the symptoms began to subside. ‘I thought I was dying.’

  ‘What did they say that brought on the attack, Erik?’ Ruby said.

  ‘It wasn’t them. It was the realisation that I couldn’t protect Katie.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  He told her what he’d found out from Martha earlier.

  ‘Is she crazy?’

  ‘No, not crazy – desperate to catch her sister’s killer.’

  ‘Surely, there must be a better way than putting herself in harm’s way?’

  ‘Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be. The police have run out of ideas, which is what made me ill in the first place. She’s hired herself a bodyguard, but from a distance he’s as ineffective as John and Bill were today. To protect her, someone needs to stay close to her, but if someone is with her the killer won’t take the bait.’

  ‘You should stop her doing it, Erik.’

  ‘Do you think she’ll listen to me?’

  ‘Probably not.’

  ‘I told her she wasn’t to do it when she suggested the idea, and she simply ignored me.’

  ‘You could lock her up?’

  ‘A bit extreme.’

  ‘That’s what they do with crazy people.’

  He checked his watch. It was just coming up to six. ‘I have to go. I’ll try and reason with her.’

  ‘That’s not going to work either, is it?’

  ‘I’m not feeling optimistic, Ruby.’

  ***

  She’d bathed, re-done her hair and re-applied her make-up. All she needed to do, once the meeting was over, was slip into the floor-length black silk gown with the exposed back and cross-straps that she’d laid out on her bed in preparation for the party. She could only spare one hour for the meeting, and then she needed to get dressed and be ready for seven-thirty. In the meantime, she’d put on an old shirt and a pair of dungarees that she used to wear sometimes on the farm to disguise what she’d be doing later.

  The first to arrive was Eliza. ‘Well, did you do it?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m now officially an actress looking for work under contract to Sam Rich.’

  ‘How exciting.’

  ‘It might be if I was really going through with it. Have you seen how restrictive those contracts are?’

  ‘I’ve heard about them.’

  ‘No marriage, no babies, no unacceptable behaviour – your life isn’t your own anymore.’

  ‘I suppose they have to protect their assets.’

  ‘Is that what I am now – an asset?’

  ‘I suppose so. They invest money in you and then they expect a return on their investment.’

  ‘Anyway, after I’d signed on the dotted line, Sam took me to MGM for a screen test.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘I don’t think I was very good.’

  ‘I’m sure you were better than you think you were.’

  ‘Maybe. After that, we went to Frank Page’s photographic studio and I had my picture taken in various poses for my portfolio.’

  ‘Poses?’

  ‘Oh, nothing tacky. I said I wasn’t doing anything like that, but all he was interested in was my face. After he’d taken photographs of me smiling and looking thoughtful, I had to pose as a damsel in distress, a doomed woman, a desirable and naïve young woman, and a lover. Sam is going to send my screen test and portfolio to all the casting directors first thing on Monday morning and we’ll see which movie they want me to appear in.’

  ‘You’ve not lost sight of why you’re doing this, have you?’

  ‘Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.’

  ‘Have you told Erik?’

  ‘No. You know very well what he said when I suggested the idea.’

  ‘You should tell him.’

  ‘Maybe I will – tomorrow.’

  ‘Did you contact Don?’

  ‘Yes, he’s been with me all day . . . Well, when I say, “he’s been with me,” that isn’t strictly true. I’m inside, he’s outside. There’s not much body guarding going on, because if he’s with me he’d probably frighten off the killer.’

  ‘Yes, that’s a problem, isn’t it?’

  ‘He’s given me a small gun to keep in my purse – just in case.’

  ‘A gun! Are you crazy?’

  ‘Would you rather I die?’

  ‘I’d rather you weren’t doing what you were doing at all. Do you have a licence to carry a concealed weapon?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘I’m sure you’ll enjoy the women’s correctional facility at Tehachapi.’

  ‘It won’t come to that.’

  ‘Let’s hope not. If it does, all bets are off.’

  ‘I understand.’

  ‘So, what happens now?’

  ‘Sam’s taking me to a party tonight. There’ll be casting directors there.’

  ‘Casting directors?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Do you know what happens at those parties?’

  ‘No, but . . .’

  Just then there was a knock at the door.

  She opened it to find Howard Caplan standing there. ‘Hello, Howard.’

  ‘Good evening, Katie.’

  ‘Come in.’

  He stepped inside.

  She stuck her head into the corridor expecting to see Erik, but he wasn’t there.

  She shut the door and followed Howard into the living room. ‘This is Eliza . . .’

  ‘Linton.’ He offered his hand. ‘Yes, I know who Mrs Linton is. I’m a big fan.’

  Eliza raised her eyebrows. ‘I didn’t know I had any fans.’

  ‘Oh yes! Especially among the criminalistics fraternity. You have a wonderfu
l style of writing and seem to be the first crime reporter with the latest information. We wouldn’t read anyone else. I often use your articles to illustrate points in my lectures.’

  ‘I’m honoured.’

  ‘No, I’m honoured.’

  There was another knock at the door.

  Katie opened it to find Erik standing there leaning on his walking stick. ‘You don’t look so good,’ she said.

  ‘I’m fine. I had a bit of a turn. I’ll tell you about it later.’ He stepped inside.

  Katie shut the door.

  In the living room she introduced Howard Caplan.

  ‘Detective Urban . . . Yes, I’ve heard your name mentioned.’

  ‘All good, I hope?’

  ‘I don’t recall, but I’m sure it was.’

  Erik sat down on the sofa and said, ‘Can we get on? As you can see, I’m not in the best of health. It’s been a long day and I need my rest.’

  ‘Of course,’ Katie said. She glanced at Howard. ‘The floor’s all yours, Howard?’

  ‘Err, yes.’

  Katie sat down between Erik and Eliza.

  Howard stood in front of the boards. ‘As Katie has said, my name is Doctor Howard Caplan. I work in the criminalistics department at the university. I’m here because I’ve developed a hypothesis, which argues that it is possible to determine the kind of person the police are looking for by his or her behaviour at the crime scene. To test this hypothesis, I reviewed unusual homicides from a number of police agencies. I examined all the data, prepared a tentative description of the individual and then compared that description with the actual perpetrator who was found to have committed the crime. So far, my descriptions have been unusually accurate. Of course, it’s still early days, but I’m hopeful that one day it will prove useful to the police.’

  He cleared his throat, picked up a piece of chalk and moved to stand beside the blackboard that Katie had cleaned for him. ‘Katie has provided me with the details of the killer’s behaviour during the crimes, which I’ve used as the basis for my description of the perpetrator’s personality.’ He wrote a list on the blackboard as he spoke.