“Bullshit, now stop carrying on and give me something. I’m still tempted to show you the door, Sid.”
He was right. I was getting tired of this repartee.
“Well I really got the sense from here that she was not so much ‘in love’ with Lorenzo but definitely enjoyed his company if not his talents. She mentioned to me how much she liked his physique and his Latin charm. I don’t think that would turn into a murdering binge. She might have done the old man so as to have full reign with her assorted lovers, but even that I’m thinking is a long shot. Also, you had to have seen her last night and how she was dressed. She was to the nines and not looking like someone about to get up early the next morning to kill her lover. Especially after all the nice things she said about him to me. Now unless she’s psycho I don’t see how she could pull that off. I mean it sounded really sincere to me anyway.”
“Okay I gotcha. You haven’t forgotten that much. But let’s take it that she did Max so as to have greater access to her lovers or some other reason. Then who would be a candidate for Lorenzo? Honestly Anthony, you know as well as I do that the closer the emotional ties the more likely that you’ve got your prime suspect. Not all the time but a lot of the time. People, thank God, are not generally killing strangers as often as they are their apparent loved ones.”
“True.”
“So who do you think could be a good candidate for Lorenzo?”
“If I was a betting man and going on the paucity of information I have right now I’d say Vanessa’s other lover Jane. Jane Greenway. As a matter of fact I’m going to try and get in touch with her this evening.”
“Okay, but why Jane? And who is this woman anyway?”
I slid myself closer to the table and banged both my knees again. I called on Jesus again, using his full name. He was ignoring me so I added fuck to the sentence. John smiled, said careful. That was real helpful. I rubbed my knees. I needed a smoke to help me calm down.
“Jane is some actress that I’ve never heard of. But she’s a lover of Vanessa. Vanessa was a bit coy about it. Obviously its one thing having male lovers but quite another to have a female lover. Not sure how Max would have felt about that. If he knew or not. Who knows. The thing with this whole mess is how twisted and ugly it is. No integrity in just about anybody I’ve met related to it.”
“Focus Anthony. Stay with me on this one. Tell me about Jane.”
“Well, maybe Jane would’ve done it to limit her adversaries. Maybe she could’ve killed Max too for that reason. Maybe it was to protect Vanessa and her financial interests.”
“What do you mean her financial interests? I assumed she was inheriting everything.”
“Jesus Johnny, what have you been doing all day? I’ve had a meeting with the lawyer at Alliterating Lawyers R Us and I’ve had a tour of crack park with the son Stephen.”
“Unlike you old man, I’ve got other work to do. I don’t just get to complete one murder at a time. There’s a dozen on my plate right now chump.”
“That’s funny you calling me an old man. Seeing as how you’re gonna be fifty this year.”
“Ouch, now that hurt.” He laughed. I laughed back.
“Okay. You’re right about Vanessa she is going to be in on the bulk of the estate at roughly fifty mill or so. Come to think of it she’s single now, maybe I can manage an angle. Probably not, she’s a bit of a slut. Seriously though, she wasn’t going to inherit all the coin if Max was going to divorce her for cause. And cause in this case is infidelity. Their prenup was done before their love lost its shine and they came to this understanding of openness. Nevertheless, nobody knows if the old man was going to divorce her or not. Vanessa of course says not. Maybe Jane had a different interpretation?”
“Alright, that all sounds reasonable. I’ll add some notes to the file about it. Anyone else you can think of?”
“What? Am I in charge of your homicide investigation now? I gave that up a few years ago remember?”
“For old times Tony. Old times.”
He knew I hated it when anyone called me Tony. I wasn’t Italian and it sounded Italian. Now I’ve got nothing against Italians, it’s just that I’m not an Italian. Irish with an Italian name. I raised my eyebrows at him. He smirked at me and patted me on the shoulder. “For old times,” he said again.
“Well I understand that the postman rang twice that day. A Saturday too can you believe it. Now how unusual is that. I’d be looking at him pretty seriously if I was you. I think the postman’s name was Mure, Mure Darer.”
He pretended to write it down on the back of the folder.
“Thanks pal, that’s real encouraging. So you’re saying the postman’s name was murderer?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“So you’ve got nothing else. You just want to bust my balls and waste my time?”
“Yeah, something like that. What have you got? I get the feeling I’m just giving you your case here.”
He picked up the folder off the desk and put it back in his bag. I see why he chose that side of the desk. His knees had free reign under the desk. Nothing to bang into. He looked back up at me and leaned back in his chair. Took a deep breath, then exhaled a deeper sigh.
“Sorry pal, it’s all protected. Your pay grade doesn’t give you access anymore.”
I didn’t say anything. I looked at him. Gave him a wink. He laughed. He thought he was pretty funny.
“Okay, okay. For you Sid, I killa da bull. Well, we’ve got Vanessa of course. We’ve got Maria, naturally, and we’ve got the kid. Now thanks to you we’ve got Jane. I think that’s a good start.”
“I’ll give you another name to really get you off to the races. Jade Sky. You might want to check in on her too. After me of course.”
John shifted in this seat and crossed his leg over his knee.
“Jade Sky. Do you make this shit up as you go along?
I shook my head and smiled at him.
“No, this is the real deal. She’s a wanna be actress who had a thing for Max. Vanessa said that Max and her likely had an affair but he put a stop to it for some reason. She would call and leave mixed messages. Sometimes she’d plead with Max and at other times she’d curse him and apparently promise to cut off his balls and stuff like that. The good thing about all of this is that they didn’t keep any of these messages. So we can’t go verifying it. But from what Vanessa has told me I can see it as being a likely story. She’s been forthcoming about other sensitive stuff so I’d be inclined to believe. But, before you start off on me again, I’m keeping all my options open.”
“That’s my boy,” he said. “Jade Sky, sounds like one of those flakey actress types.”
“Yes I imagine she is. I’m hoping to go and see her tomorrow if I can get in touch. I’ve got an angle I want to try and play.”
“Alright, I’ll make a note of that name too.”
“Or you can just let me do all the legwork and report back to you.”
“Even a better idea. Absolutely splendid. Because I know just how much you want to help your old pal.”
“I do. You know I do. Vanessa thinks Jade is a good candidate. She gave me a personal list of Max’s murder suspects and Jade was at the top of the list. Underlined a couple of times too. But you know how it goes. Sometimes the one’s we wish for aren’t always the ones who actually do it. Could be sour grapes too. Who knows? This whole thing is becoming a dog’s breakfast. What say you and me go for some drinks and let the dead worry about the dead?”
“Tempting, only I might likely lose my paycheck. You on the other hand might just gain a day’s wages.”
“Yeah you’re right.” I looked at my watch and it was coming on four forty. I could use some food in my belly. Even though I was procrastinating I needed to face Gianni. I said I’d help out young Stephen and I needed to do that. Serve me right for shooting my mouth off like that. I should think first before I go and dig myself a hole like this.
“You going to go and see Gian
ni now?” He was listening to my thoughts. I nodded.
“Well listen. Why don’t you come by and see me later. I think some of us might be heading up to ‘The Long Shot’ up on Sunset Boulevard. You still know where that place is right?”
“Yeah just off of North Doherty right?’ He nodded soberly.
“Then we can chew the fat about how things went with Gianni.”
“Everything will be fine,” I said. Not sure if I was trying to convince myself or him. I needed to make a couple of phone calls first too. Try set up some more business. I needed to stay ahead of John on this. The LAPD could be like a leaky ship sometimes, especially with high profile cases. The media was always getting the inside angle somehow. Thankfully, as John said, he had more work to do than I did and he also didn’t have the same discretion. I could lean on people, talk to them without worrying about screwing up the case. Without worrying about their rights and such. On top of that, people were more likely to talk to you when you don’t have the power and authority of the state or the department behind you. Kinda like confessing to a priest. It was refreshing really. And I could use a refreshing drink too. I got up to go and John stood up with me.
“Listen, it’s good to see you again Sid. Seriously, if you need anything just holler. I’ve got your back.”
He gave me his hand and I shook it. He had a hard grip. I wondered if he wanted to keep me with him. I struggled my hand free.
“Come see us later at ‘The Long Shot’. They boys would like that.”
“So would I.”
He walked me out to the front entrance where he had found me earlier reading Police magazine. A couple of people were at the front counter writing out traffic reports. Traffic was going to be a nightmare.
“Thanks for sharing nothing,” I said to him with a smile.
“Just like old times,” he said. “I always like to help you out.”
And with that I turned my back on him and walked out to my car.
TWELVE
Selling Tall Tales
I got in my car. Someone had stuffed hot coals in it while I was away. Only I couldn’t see any. I started it up and put on the a/c. I got out of my car again, took out my phone and took off my jacket and placed it on the hook by the back seat. I got back in the car and put my fedora on the front seat next to me. I unclipped my gun and placed it in the glove box next to my insurance papers and a digital recorder I keep in there. It didn’t seem to mind the heat. I didn’t have a key to lock it with. Not a smart move, but where I was going I couldn’t take it in with me. Not that I’d win a gunfight in the Trattoria anyway.
I turned off the stereo. I just needed some peace and quiet for a bit. I dialed some numbers in my phone.
“Hello.” It was a chirpy voice. A female’s voice carrying the note of happiness. That could get infectious.
“Hello, I’m looking for Jane Greenway please.”
“And who is looking for her?” the voice was still chipper. I wondered for a moment if it was real.
“Max Ernst,” I said as if I meant it.
“I beg your pardon,” she said that as if she meant it too. The happy note in her voice was gone. We were strictly business. I thought I’d run with this angle.
“Max Ernst. You know, the guy whose wife she’s banging.” I figured I might be speaking to her directly but you never know with some people. I had assumed Vanessa had given me Jane’s personal cell number. But hell, if she wanted to play coy with me, I’d play coy.
“Hold on.” After that it was quiet. The voice had gone cold, so I turned down the a/c a bit. I wasn’t so hot and bothered anymore now that the chirpy voice was gone. I figured she might have put her hand over the mouthpiece. Taking her time to think about some smart come back. I’m a patient man so I waited for her to catch her breath.
“Max is dead smart ass.” Now that was better.
“Sorry Jane. Sometimes I just can’t help myself.”
“Huh, you must be that private dick Vanessa told me about.” She said dick like she had disdain for it. Like she was talking about the male anatomy. She almost coughed and choked on the k. I wondered if I had my murderer.
“Jane hun, yeah that’s me. I’m your private dick. And yours alone.” I thought I’d carry on this way seeing as how friendly we were now.
“You wish pervert. Before I hang up the phone Mr. Carrick what do you want?” Damn k again, she coughed it out like it had got stuck in her throat. It’s a nice name, I wish people wouldn’t abuse it like that. It almost hurt my feelings.
“I wanted to talk to you about Vanessa and Max. I’m investigating Max’s murder as you no doubt know.” I wondered if that made pillow talk for the two of them. I decided to concentrate on the task at hand.
“Anyway, I’m trying to understand who might have done this to him.”
“Yeah, well don’t look at me for sympathy. That son of a bitch had it coming.”
Some people roll those four words off the tongue like one word. Something like sonuvabitch. Jane was more eloquent. She enunciated every word, almost like it was the start of a song.
“That’s not helpful Jane. That makes you sound like you might have a motive.”
“If that’s what you think Mr. Carrick, then it’s no wonder that you left or were kicked out of the force.”
“It’s not a force anymore Jane. It’s department or maybe service. Force is just too aggressive. And anyway I left for my own reasons.”
“Right.”
I thought about that for a minute but let it roll past. I wasn’t about to let Jane of the Jungle here rile me this early in. What did catch me by surprise was how the hunter had now become the hunted. I figured I’d lob her an easy one.
“So now the investigator is the object of investigation. That’s not playing nice Jane.”
“Don’t worry Anthony, we just wanted to find out a little bit about you. How is Aibhilin by the way?”
Clever girls.
“So was it me Jane? Was it me in the office with the statue?”
“No it wasn’t you Mr. Carrick.” I preferred it when she called me Anthony, she couldn’t butcher that one as easily.
“Okay Jane, so when can we meet? Vanessa said you’d be happy to help out.” I was trying for the olive branch. “And Aibhilin wants you to come to her birthday party. She’ll be a teenager next year.”
“Okay Anthony.” Thank God for my first name. “A man with a daughter even if he is unmarried can’t be all that bad. How about at Here bar up on North Robertson Boulevard. Do you know it?”
Yes I did. One of the cool clubs for gays and metrosexuals. Looked good from the outside. I’d never been in though.
“Separated Jane, not unmarried. Yeah I know it. Should I bring my chaps?”
“Don’t think you’ll need them Anthony. From what Vanessa tells me you shouldn’t need any help leaving there alone. I understand you’re quite the specimen. For a man that is.”
“My daughter doesn’t think so. Anyway, I play for the other team. A losing team for me so far, but I’ve been loyal.”
“Well I’m sure there’ll be some very eager men to try and persuade you otherwise.”
“Hasn’t worked before,” I assured her. Though at my age and not having much luck with women lately, any interest was flattering. But not flattering enough.
“What time?” I asked her.
“Eight pm is best. The place doesn’t really get crazy until around ten. And on a school night like tonight it might not be that bad at all.”
“Mmm, a school night. I like that. So I’ll be on my best behavior then.”
“That will be up to you Anthony.”
Seemed like it was going to be a busy night of drinking. After a day like today I felt up to the challenge. I needed some oil for the machine. Grease the wheel to make sense of this all. Two murders in less than forty eight hours. Hadn’t seen that in several years. Not since homicide.
“Will you be alone?” I asked her.
“Y
es, but you won’t have any luck with me Anthony. I’m not your type. It’s not personal. I’m just not any man’s type.”
“Understood,” I said. “It’s just easier that way if Vanessa isn’t with us. Sometimes people don’t talk as freely if other people are around. And frankly Jane, I need to get to the truth of this sooner than later. I’ll share that with you tonight. But please understand that I’m discreet. And I’ve been around. There isn’t much I haven’t seen. There’s not much that bothers me or upsets me. What I’m saying Jane, is I’d like a real heart to heart.”
“Sure Anthony. I’ll bring my knee pads for the confessional. Though I think you’ll be disappointed.”
“Not as disappointed as you might imagine. This line of work is full of disappointment. You get used to it.”
“Anything else Anthony?” Her voice had found happiness again. It was hard for me to let it go.
“No, that’ll be just fine.”
“Okay then. I’ll see you at eight. And please Mr. Carrick don’t be late. I hate it and I won’t wait.”
“Of course.”
She then hung up in my ear and I looked at my phone. She was brazen if she was the killer. The back and forth banter would be ballsy for someone just finished murdering a fella that morning. I put my thoughts aside for a moment and pushed some different numbers into my phone. I put it to my ear and heard it ring. I wondered if it sounded with the same ring on the other side. I looked at the clock on my dash. It said it was five fifteen, I hoped it was lying. These people might be closed for the night.
“A-List Actors, this is Melody speaking how may I help you?”
They were working late. Maybe they needed the business. I was just their man. Her voice was a chirpy sing song. I didn’t want to ruin her happy tunes today.
“Hiya Melody,” I said in my best dapper Dan. “Listen, it’s Frank McIver over at Universal Studios, I’m looking for Jade Sky.”
“Yes Mr. McIver what is it about?”
She was a tougher nut than I thought. I had to play along a little. I figured that Universal Studios would be a shoe in.
“I want to talk to her about a project that we have coming up. Very early stages but I’m shopping around for the cast to see who we can get before we tighten it up you know.”
Anthony Carrick Hardboiled Murder Mysteries: Box Set (Books 1 - 3) Page 12
