Kissing in Action

by Camilla Chafer

  "A Rolex?"

  "It's a fancy pants watch."

  "I know what it is! Are you sure?"

  "Positive. My mom bought my dad the same model. It cost thousands."

  "Maybe he saved for it?"

  "Isn't he the only one of the dancers without an alibi?" Lily pressed.

  "No, he was at the hospital but..."

  "We should check into that."

  "You know what? Yes, we should."

  "We can't take his word for it," continued Lily.

  "I'm going to check into it." The dancers moved away from the set, leaving the band to take up positions on podiums with the backup singers behind them, and I walked over to Don. Lily declined to follow, insisting she was watching Lauren and we couldn't do that if we both talked to Don.

  "Do you have a minute?" I asked. He was by the water fountain, pouring a cup of water.

  Looking up, he gave me a surprised look, then smiled. "Sure. What do you need?"

  "I'm just confirming everyone's location at the time of the murder for my notes," I lied. "Can you remember the name of the doctor who took care of your knee?"

  "Sure, but it was a nurse. She was really pretty and sweet, and I remember her name because it was my favorite childhood book, Alice in Wonderland. Her name was Alice. Alice Graves. She'll have my records, right?"

  I smiled at the stroke of luck. "Yes, she will."

  Don grinned. "Great."

  "Do you have the time?"

  "Sure." he held up his wrist, twisting to see the face of the watch. It was a Rolex, all right, and a real one. "It's quarter past the hour."

  "Thanks."

  "Let me know if you need anything else?"

  "I will. How's the knee holding up?"

  "Never better."

  "Glad to hear it. Take care."

  I walked back over to Lily, indicating for her to follow me to a quieter spot, away from any straining ears. "I need to make a couple of calls."

  "Did you work out who did it already?"

  "No, but I know that everyone we just spoke to has an alibi. How can everyone have an alibi except Lauren?"

  "Maybe Lauren really is the only one who could have done it."

  "Maybe." I dialed Lucas and he answered quickly.

  "Hit me with it, Lexi, and make it hard."

  "Sounds dirty," I replied, "and sorry, but this is easy stuff. Can you crosscheck a hospital admission? Don somebody. I have the surname somewhere, but I don't remember right now."

  "What time span am I checking for?" Lucas asked.

  "Around the time of Katya's murder."

  "Got it. Don Kenley. Checked into Montgomery General at ten and was seen by the nurse... hey, he was seen by your sister-in-law... at twelve-fifteen and discharged with a prescription for a painkiller at twelve-twenty-six."

  "That's a big gap in time."

  "I'm looking at the manifest and it appears the ER was really busy that day. Lots of breaks, fractures and minor wounds from some kind of vehicle crash. I'm crosschecking against the same time period of the previous two weeks, and they were overloaded for this shift."

  "That explains the long wait before he got seen."

  "Anything else?"

  "Can you check to see if B4U's dance crew ran a workshop at the dance studio downtown. Also at the same time as the murder?"

  "I can do that without checking. My fiancée attended it."

  "She dances?"

  "Beautifully."

  "Can you ask her what she remembers and get back to me if it's anything out of the ordinary?"

  "No problem!"

  "Look who's here," said Lily, nudging me as I hung up. Maddox and another man were standing on the other side of the warehouse. Maddox was looking around as if searching for someone. Finally, he settled his gaze on me and waved as they both crossed over to join us.

  "This is interesting. I've never seen a video filmed before," said Maddox.

  "They're just practicing," I told him. "They've been at it a while."

  "I know. I checked with the director and he says they'll be here a few more hours. How's the surveillance going?"

  "Not much to see. Lauren walks from there to there and strikes a pose, then sits down and looks sad, then moves to another set and mimes. It's all for the video," I explained at Maddox's puzzled expression.

  "How long have you been here?"

  "A couple hours."

  "Don’t you have better stuff to do?"

  "Not really."

  "Take a break. Grab a coffee. We'll watch Lauren a while."

  "You sure? I could use a coffee."

  "I'm sure. Go. You have thirty minutes."

  Lily and I walked over to the hospitality cart set up in the corner of the warehouse at the left of the main doors, before Maddox changed his mind. I poured both of us coffees and we helped ourselves to warm Danishes and fruit as the hospitality lady busied herself. She kept her back to us and organized the cardboard cups and paper plates.

  "You know, the band aren't as interesting as I hoped. I thought they'd be way more exciting," said Lily, reaching for a second pastry.

  "How so?"

  "I have no idea, but this looks like a lot of hard work, and it's like you said: move here, move there, sit there, now sing, and stop, and do it again. It's not how I imagined the life of a superstar would be," Lily confessed.

  "They get up to the interesting stuff on their personal time," I confided. "Did I tell you Shelley's big blackmail secret was a sex tape she made a few years ago?"

  "Get out!"

  "Seriously."

  "Who's the dude?"

  "Dudette."

  "No! Way!" shrieked a voice, only it wasn't Lily’s. The blood rushed from my face as the hospitality lady straightened up and turned around. My heart thumped and I suppressed the wail that rose in my throat.

  "Shayne?"

  Chapter Thirteen

  "Teen queen lesbian!" Lily passed the newspaper to me and I reached for it reluctantly. "Could have been worse."

  "Precisely... but how?" I muttered, unfolding the paper to read the screaming headline one more time. Below was what I could only describe as an absolutely stunning photo of Shelley. Unfortunately, the inset photo showed a very different story: somehow, Shayne Winter had managed to get hold of a terrible shot of Shelley. She was passed out drunk, her blouse half-unbuttoned, and lipstick smeared across one cheek. She was sprawled across a sofa with one hand still clutching the neck of an empty vodka bottle.

  "I was trying to be nice," Lily replied, taking the newspaper and throwing it onto the back seat of her Mini. "There is no way this could possibly be worse."

  "Did you read the bit about the unnamed source ‘gleefully’ outing Shelley?"

  Lily nodded. "I figured that was you."

  "I wasn't gleeful. I was gossiping... quietly."

  "In front of a reporter."

  "No, behind her, but I didn't know that. Oh man, when Solomon finds out!"

  Lily slid a sideways look at me. "Do you think he'll spank you?"

  "No, it'll be much worse."

  "You should dress extra sexy for the next few days and hope it distracts him."

  "Full on naked wouldn't work."

  "Try full on naked, but add stockings and heels."

  "That's not naked. And what's the point of the stockings?"

  "I don't know, but ask any guy, they love them to the point of getting googly-eyed."

  "Not enough to wear them themselves," I pointed out, although I was ninety-nine-point-nine percent grateful for that.

  "We hope. Is that Lauren?"

  I peered at the woman exiting the restaurant. "Nope. Similar coat and hairstyle, but not her."

  "She's taking a long lunch. I wonder what she's having."

  My stomach gave an ominous, little rumble that I hoped only I could hear. "I bet it isn't her words. I wish I could eat mine."

  "Forget about it. What's done is done. Being gay isn't a big deal these days. In fact, it's kind
of hot."

  "Really?"

  "Yeah, totally."

  "You think Shelley won't mind being outed?" I winced.

  Lily pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I think she'll kill you if she finds out it was you."

  I slumped further into my seat. "That's what I thought."

  "Then her manager will kill you."

  "Oh, great."

  "Finally, Solomon will kill you."

  "I may as well paint a bull’s eye on my head."

  "You could do that for Halloween."

  "Huh?"

  "Dress as a bull’s eye. It would be hilarious."

  I let out a wail and covered my face with my hands. "How can this day get worse?"

  "We could lose Lauren, and then you'd have to confess that too."

  "Let's not," I decided, jumping as my phone began to ring. "It's Solomon."

  "Don't answer. Avoid him."

  "For how long?"

  "Four to six months?"

  "That conflicts with getting all sexy in seamed stockings to distract him."

  "It does, doesn't it?" Lily shrugged. "You're in a sticky situation, and I don't mean in the naughty way."

  Taking a deep breath, I answered the phone.

  "Where are you?" asked Solomon.

  "Outside Alessandro's where Lauren is having lunch."

  "Is she alone?"

  "No, two of the dancers are with her."

  "Good. Don't lose her."

  "Promise," I said, crossing my fingers ever so slightly.

  "Have you read the news today?" asked Solomon.

  I screwed up my face, so glad he couldn't see me. "No."

  "Specifically... the entertainment section?"

  I closed my eyes and pulled a face. "No," I lied.

  "Someone leaked a story about Shelley's sexuality."

  "No way?" I squeaked, hoping I sounded credible. "That's terrible. Who would do something like that?"

  "Probably someone on the crew sold her out. I'm surprised it didn't come out before now."

  I huffed a breath of relief. Solomon didn't think I was the culprit. "Is it a big story?" I asked.

  "It just broke nationally," Solomon told me as I cringed. "Don't come to the hotel today. Shelley is ready to kill just about anyone who gets in her path. I hate to think what she'll do to the person who actually leaked the story."

  "Is it really that big a deal?"

  "Her sexuality? No! Who cares whom she chooses to bed? No one should care so long as it's legal. But her privacy? Yes, she has every right to that. That said, there's still a lot of homophobia, which is why so many stars choose to conceal their sexual preferences in case they challenge the old-fashioned ideal of ‘normal’."

  "Like George Clooney," whispered Lily.

  "He's married and his wife is gorgeous and smart," I whispered back.

  "What's that?" asked Solomon.

  "Nothing, never mind. Lily is with me on a stakeout."

  "Do I have to pay her?"

  "No."

  "Don't lose Lauren," Solomon warned before hanging up.

  "The good news is: he doesn't know it was me. The bad news is: Shelley is pissed and the hotel is off limits again. They’re trying to stop her from going homicidal."

  "That decides it."

  "Decides what?"

  "You should definitely dress sexy." Lily leaned over, popping two buttons on my blouse before using both hands to give my boobs a boost.

  "Lily!"

  "What? You have double whammy sexy going on now. You could use this to your advantage on Solomon and Shelley! Distracting them both!"

  "I never knew boobs could potentially save my life."

  "If they were as big as mine, they'd potentially endanger your life on a regular basis too."

  I looked at Lily's boobs. "They do look bigger than usual. Did you get a new bra?"

  "Hey, is that Lauren?" she asked, pointing again.

  I returned my gaze to the restaurant doors, wishing I were inside, eating a slice of the tastiest lasagna known to Montgomery. "No, that's a man."

  "Oops. Hey, is that..."

  "That's her!"

  "Oh, finally," sighed Lily. "I knew I'd get it right if I kept trying."

  "Follow that car!" I shouted, restraining the temptation to point when Lauren and her two companions climbed into the huge, blacked-out SUV that drew to the curb in front of them.

  "I love it when you say that; although I hope this doesn't turn into a high speed chase because I forgot to fill the tank and... oh, there they go!" We pulled into traffic several cars behind the SUV, but since the residents of Montgomery favored smaller, more inconspicuous cars, it wasn't hard to follow the behemoth. The journey didn't last long and the SUV pulled into the parking lot in front of the warehouse. It began spilling its occupants out in front of the doors as we pulled into a space. We watched Lauren and the dancers breeze inside, not waiting for the security guard to check their names.

  "We have to go in. There are too many exits that she could slip out by."

  "Yeah, and I bet there's paparazzi on every single one." Lily pointed to the four photographers leaning over the wall, their cameras pointed at Lauren and her mini entourage. "Do you think Shayne snuck inside again?"

  "No, I think Solomon would have tightened security."

  "Where do you think she's going to run to anyway? I still don't get why we're following her. She doesn't look like a murderer. She seems kind of nice, even pretty."

  "I don't think she'll run anywhere. It's who she talks to, and what she does that interests me."

  "Do you think she'll accidentally tell someone she killed Katya? Or do you think a murderer would be more careful?"

  "I can't predict anything."

  "Shame. I was going to give you some easy things to start off with before going big with the lottery numbers."

  I laughed, my mood lightening. It was a good idea having Lily for company on surveillance, and she was more than ready to do it when I called to ask. I suspected a large part of it was unfettered glee at my idiocy the previous day, as well as curiosity about what happened during rehearsals and filming a music video.

  As we exited the Mini, I caught sight of an SUV parked in the corner of the lot. It looked a lot like a vehicle I'd seen earlier, parked a block from Alessandro's, but I thought nothing of it until now. Two suited men exited the SUV, approaching the security guards ahead of us. They both flashed badges and entered. We followed them inside, moving easily past security and into the warehouse. I was surprised to see rehearsals had already started, but when I looked around for the two men, they were nowhere to be found.

  "They just don't quit, do they?" said Lily as we looked around at the activity. The set was ready, and some of the dancers were seated at the hair and makeup stations while the remaining three band members stood with wardrobe. "Blackmail, murder, secret marriages, sex tape leaks... and here they are, ready to perform."

  "They are true professionals," said a voice behind us.

  Whipping around, I could only wonder whom we had opened our mouths in front of this time. I found Joe Carter standing there with his arms folded. He stepped forward, alongside us. His eyes had gray patches underneath them.

  "Long night?" I asked.

  "Never-ending," he said with a shake of his head. "You heard about the leak? The stuff about Shelley?"

  "We knew nothing about it," said Lily quickly.

  "Just what we saw in the paper," I added, since that was already public news.

  "I may as well tell you since you're working for me... except you. Who are you?" Joe asked, noticing Lily.

  "She's working with me," I told him.

  Lily nodded furiously. "That's right, but I also own a bar that would be perfect for a wrap party."

  "Have we met before?"

  "Yes," said Lily. "Katya threw a vase at me."

  "What were you going to tell us?" I prompted, before Joe asked Lily to narrow down the occasion.

  "About the manag
ement company. We were this close to having the video canceled, thanks to that leak," Joe told us as he slid his thumb and forefinger close together. "The band would have been seriously penalized for the embarrassment it caused, and the tour could have totally failed, ensuring we all lost our jobs."

  "It's kind of like the blackmail plot finally unveiling," said Lily. She squeaked when I pressed on her toe with my foot. It might have been what I was also thinking, but it wasn't a good idea to voice it, especially to the blackmailer's husband.

  Joe didn't seem to notice as he continued. "Yeah, except Amelia wasn't the source of the leak. That blackmail stuff is history now that our marriage is out in the open. She's happy. I'm happy."

  I wondered if Amelia really was happy. She may have been happy that I alibied her and Joe for Katya's murder, but the band remained together, which wasn't her objective when she started the blackmail plot. If I didn't know I was the accidental leak, I would have thought she was making one last attempt to embarrass the band into getting fired. Despite his assurance that they were happy, I wondered if Joe suspected Amelia of being the leak.

  "You believe me, right?" Joe asked.

  I nodded. "Absolutely."

  "Good, thanks. I don't want anyone thinking Amelia did this. I talked for hours to the big bosses, and they were close to firing the whole band, but something amazing... hey, thanks," Joe said, pausing as a guy in a headset thrust a clipboard at him. Joe scribbled a signature and the guy hurried off.

  "But something amazing happened?" I prompted.

  "Yeah, our PR got some interest from a major publisher seeking the band's story. All this crazy stuff has made B4U super hot. There's going to be a bidding war for the tell-all story."

  "That's great," enthused Lily.

  "And Ellen DeGeneres called this morning and wants Shelley on her show tomorrow. She's flying in to do an on-set interview, and Giuliana called from E! and she wants to do an in-depth interview with the band on Beyond Candid and maybe do one of those hour-long biographies for the network chronicling their rise to the top. They're even talking about a reality show."

  "That all sounds great," I said, wondering why Amelia was cooperating with everything. What happened to her wanting to get out so she could have a married life and solo career?

  "This all sounds like money talking," said Lily.

  "Money, money, money!" added Joe, grinning. "Management canned all the rumors about the band getting fired, thanks to all the renewed interest in them. B4U aren't just going to be huge, they'll be megastars." He held up his hand and I high-fived him since it seemed like the right thing to do.