by M. Z. Kelly
Lang stood up as Blaine did the same. He said, “We’re done here.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
After a heated exchange between Darby and Lang, Addison Blaine was allowed to leave with her attorney. While she’d admitted being present during the murder, she consented to a GSR test that was negative and there was nothing in the way of physical evidence to tie her to what happened. As usual, Darby’s lack of finesse had only served to alienate a witness. It was becoming a repeating pattern, something that we were going to have to eventually address with Lieutenant Edna.
After Blaine and her lawyer were gone, Darby further irritated me by saying, “If it’s true what Dietz said about Abrams not having any other friends, then it means that either Jimmy or Addie is our killer, and my money’s on the sex kitten.”
“If we’re going to make anything stick, we’re going to need some physical evidence, rather than just conjecture,” I said.
“We impounded Blaine’s car and are getting a search warrant,” Buck said. “Maybe something will turn up.”
“And maybe I’ll win the lottery,” Darby said. “Blaine capped off two to her boyfriend’s chest, tossed the weapon somewhere, and then washed off the GSR.”
“Let’s stop spinning theories and go talk to Brie and SID,” I said, turning away from the blathering little asshole.
A couple of minutes later, when the elevator opened upstairs, we all saw that Brie was standing there.
“I’m not feeling well,” she said to me. “I’m going home to rest, but I’ll send you my summary. You might want to get with Maitland. They found something in the bedroom.”
She didn’t elaborate, instead getting into the elevator as I said, “Take care of yourself. I’ll call you later.”
When she was gone, Darby’s thin brows inched together. “We’re gonna need to find a replacement for her. She’s not up to the job.”
His words pushed my no impulse control button. “She just had chemo and isn’t feeling well.”
“Dead woman walking.”
My voice pitched higher and it took every ounce of control I had not to slug him. “What did you just say?”
“I know she’s your friend, but you need to face the facts. She’s got a terminal illness.”
I was winding up to throw the punch when Kathy Maitland’s voice stopped me. “If you all want to come into the bedroom, I’ll show you something interesting.”
Leo came over to me as we all followed her down the hallway toward the master bedroom. He whispered, “I’ll have a talk with him. I don’t think he has any idea how he comes across.”
“Of course he does. He’s an asshole and everything he says is full of shit.” I then managed to regain some control and told Leo that I appreciated him making the effort.
When we got to the bedroom, I saw there was a door on one wall that wasn’t there when we’d checked the room earlier. I was trying to make some sense of it when Maitland explained what they’d found.
“It’s a hidden entrance to a safe room,” she said. “The opening is remotely controlled from the nightstand.” Her gaze swept over to the hidden room. “And you’re going to find that our victim had a lot of things to keep him busy inside.”
The safe room was as big as the master bedroom, with an adjacent en-suite bath. It had what looked like a king sized bed at one end and several shelves lining the walls.
“It looks like a fucking sex shop,” Darby said, holding up a pair of bondage bracelets.
I barely resisted the urge to tell him to put them on and go… Never mind!
Upon closer examination, I saw the shelves were filled with dildos, harnesses, vibrators, condoms, and several other instruments, some that I had no idea what they were used for.
“Maybe this is where he forced himself on the girlfriend,” Darby suggested. “If he was using some of this stuff, it must have made her…”
His words were cut off by a mechanical whirring sound. My hand instinctively went to my gun as we saw another wall, this one inside the safe room, open up. A woman had been hiding in a small alcove behind the wall and she took a step toward us.
“Who the hell are you?” Darby demanded, with his hand on his own weapon.
“My name is Paulina,” the woman said. “I’m Mr. Abrams’ Beta.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
“What the hell are you talking about?” Darby demanded of the beautiful young woman.
She chuckled. “Cole didn’t tell you?” She laughed again. “You must be kidding.”
Darby reached inside the small room and pulled her out by the arm. “Do I look like I’m kidding?”
I came over and did a pat down as she peered through the open door of the secret room. “Where’s Addie?”
“Answer the question,” Darby demanded. “What the hell is a Beta?”
Her answer left us all speechless for a moment. “I’m Cole’s partner. I’m trained to provide intuitive companionship, and…” Her gaze drifted back over to the bedroom. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”
“What’s your full name?” I asked her after searching her.
“Paulina Kristoff.” Her gaze moved back to the open door. “Where’s Addie and Cole?”
“We’ll let you know in a moment,” I said, not wanting to give anything up until we had some answers.
After we made sure there were no other secret rooms with other subjects hiding inside, we took her downstairs through a back entrance to the first floor apartment for an interview.
Kristoff, who had long auburn hair and green eyes about the color of mine, told us she was twenty-seven and lived in Long Beach. There was something exotic about her appearance. She was also dressed in a black leather outfit, something that I thought might hint at the real nature of her occupation.
Darby, once again, insisted on taking the lead, asking Kristoff about her previous statement. “Let’s talk some more about this Beta thing.”
“You really don’t know, do you?”
Darby’s features hardened. “Clue me in.”
“I was trained by the House of Darwin. My duties are to please Mr. Abrams in every way possible. Where is he?”
To his credit, Darby didn’t answer her question, instead asking about Blaine. “How does Addie fit into this picture?”
“She’s my employer. Her mother runs the House and helped arrange for my employment.”
“Tell us about this house,” I said, trying to suppress my shock at what I was hearing. “We need to know how it works and specifically what your duties involve.”
Kristoff took a breath. “I’ve already told you, I’m Mr. Abrams’ Beta. I please him in all ways possible. The House is where I was trained.”
“In other words, you’re a prostitute,” Darby said.
Kristoff’s beautiful features hardened as her eyes bore into Darby. She raised her voice. “I despise that word.” Her gaze moved off. “I’m not going to say another word until you tell me where Cole and Addie are.”
The way she said it gave me the impression she genuinely didn’t know Abrams was dead. Thanks to Darby, she was about to close down, but I wanted a few more answers before that happened.
I softened my tone. “Just a couple more questions, then we’ll explain everything. Can you explain more about what it means to be a Beta?”
She took a moment, but finally looked at me and answered. “The House of Darwin specializes in serving individuals with exceptional personality traits and characteristics. Most of our subjects are intellectually gifted and have unique talents that are designed to be brought out by the services of a Beta. When a Beta is assigned to an Alpha, they are given over a thousand hours of training specific to their assigned subject. Before I met Cole, I knew his every need, want, and desire. I also knew how to bring out the best in him, physically, emotionally and intellectually.” Her features softened. “It might sound strange to you, but Cole and I had grown so close to one another because of the training and my duties that I thought of our relationship as being a
form of love.”
“And how did Addie feel about you being in love with her boyfriend?” Darby asked.
“Addie couldn’t have been happier. Her relationship with Cole is much better because of the services I render.” Kristoff looked back at me. “Can I see him now?”
“Just a couple more questions. How long have you worked for Ms. Blaine and Mr. Abrams?”
“Almost two years. As I mentioned, I spent over a thousand hours being trained for my assignment. That took about a year’s work in the House.”
Now it was Buck’s turn to appear flummoxed. “Who in the House trained you?”
“The Controllers.”
“Who?”
“They’re like teachers. Each of them has a skill they specialize in.”
Buck seemed at a loss for words as he met my eyes, trying to make sense of what he was hearing.
I took over for a moment. “So, the Controllers instruct you on how to provide pleasure and companionship, I take it?”
Another nod. “Yes, but there’s much more to it than that. The training is very intensive and intuitive. We’re trained to discern the needs and desires of the Alpha, even before they’re spoken. The Betas work all over the world, mostly with wealthy and gifted clients.”
Leo glanced at me and lifted his brows. I had the feeling he was also trying to process things. “Let’s talk about last night,” Leo finally said to Kristoff. “When did you arrive at Mr. Abrams’ apartment?”
Kristoff brushed back her auburn hair. “A little before eight. It was my regular Sunday night schedule.”
“And what happened when you got here?”
“Addie let me inside, and I went to the privacy room.”
“The safe room?”
“Yes.
“And then?”
“You really want all the details?”
Leo smiled. “Maybe the abridged version.”
“I spent a little over an hour with Cole, then he left.”
“What time did you finish up?”
“I think it was about nine-thirty, give or take.”
“And then?”
“I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until…until Addie joined me.”
Leo’s brows went up again. “You and she engaged in sex?” After a nod, he asked, “What time did you…when did your session with Addie end?”
“She woke up around eight this morning and left the privacy room.”
“Did you see her after that?”
“No. I stayed right there until…until you all found the room.”
“Let’s cut to the chase,” Darby said. “Did you and Addison Blaine kill Cole Abrams?”
Kristoff bit her lip, her eyes filling with tears. Her voice pitched higher as she said, “What are you talking about?”
She seemed genuinely shocked by the question. I lowered my voice and said, “Mr. Abrams was shot and killed last night.”
“Oh, my God!” she screamed. “I don’t believe this.”
Paulina Kristoff’s body slumped forward. She fell off her chair and became hysterical.
TWENTY-NINE
It took us almost an hour to get Kristoff calmed down enough to resume our interview. Her reaction to hearing that Cole Abrams was dead seemed genuine to me, something that Buck and I talked about as Leo got her a glass of water and tried to comfort her.
“I think she’s completely shocked by what happened,” I said to Buck.
“What do you make of this job she had, working as Abrams’ so-called Alpha?”
“This is Hollywood, or close to Hollywood, so nothing much surprises me. Even so, this House of Darwin and talk of Betas is all news to me.”
Leo called us over as he and Darby resumed questioning Kristoff. “Did you hear any gunshots last night?” he asked.
Kristoff’s makeup was smeared. Her demeanor was now sullen, without any of the prior defensiveness. “No, but the secret room is soundproof for privacy reasons.”
“What about Addison? Did she leave the room at any time last night?”
“I don’t think so, but I’m not sure. I’m a sound sleeper.”
“So, tell us about the problems she and Cole were having,” Darby said. “We heard they had a lot of issues.”
“Addie…” Kristoff sniffed and wiped her tears. “She told me that early in their relationship they had problems, but after I was assigned to Cole, everything got better.”
“They had a lot of problems,” Darby said, “as in sex.”
She exhaled slowly and nodded. “That was part of it. Cole wasn’t a very social person and had trouble relating to other people. Addie felt there was some distance between them because of that. I think she felt like she was being used in some ways.”
“And then you came along, slept with Cole, and everything was hunky dory.”
“I guess you could say that. Things got better, but not just because of the sex. I was trained to emotionally connect with Cole. I think that made a difference in his personality and the way he related to other people.”
Darby leaned in closer to her, until he was inches from her face. “Addie killed him because he was cheating on her with you, didn’t she?”
“No…that’s ridiculous.”
He raised his voice. “Then you killed him. Where’s the gun you used?”
“I didn’t kill anyone.” She broke down crying again. “I was in love with Cole.”
“You were his prostitute. Tell us what happened.”
“I’m not telling you anything. I want a lawyer.”
Darby stood up. “We’ll get you a damn lawyer. Hey, maybe Addie will share her mouthpiece with you, since she also shared her boyfriend.”
***
We got back to the station a little before five after impounding Addison Blaine’s car, but we were still waiting on the warrant to come through to search it. Paulina Kristoff had been released, but we told her we had more questions and advised her to have her attorney contact us. She’d left in a huff, saying that she was heartbroken over Cole Abrams’ death and we didn’t understand her relationship with him.
Before calling it a day, Molly asked me to take a walk with her so that she could update me on what she’d learned about Noah. We were on the sidewalk, a block down from the stationhouse when I learned that almost everything I thought I knew about the man I’d fallen in love with had been a lie.
“For starters,” Molly said, pulling her long auburn hair over one shoulder, “I found out that Noah Fraser never served in the military.”
“Are you kidding?”
She shook her head. “He lost his leg six years ago in an automobile accident. He was drunk and hit another car head-on, killing a woman who was a passenger in the other vehicle.”
I exhaled and closed my eyes, feeling like a fool for not running my own background check on him. “What else?”
“He was married a couple of years before the accident, but it looks like it only lasted about a year. His ex was a woman named Stephanie Crosby.”
“He told me about a Stephanie he was engaged to, but said they broke up after his injury.”
“It sounds like you got half the truth.”
We stopped walking and I turned to her. “Damn it. I feel like such an idiot.”
“You couldn’t have known. From what I was able to determine, he’s told the story about being injured in the war to almost everyone he knows, including everyone at the veterinary hospital.”
“Did you find out anything about his connections to Collin Russell and Harlan Ryland?”
“There’s nothing I found that specifically ties him to either of them. He doesn’t show up on the current database we have of individuals associated with the Tauist Society, but I did a membership search from a couple of years ago and found that he was active with the organization at that time.”
“That’s probably because they had him go underground before he became involved with me to find out what I know.” I put my hands over my face, my emotions taking over. �
��I can’t believe this.”
Molly touched my arm and lowered her voice. “I’m so sorry. But, nobody could have suspected any of this. You’ve been set up and used in the worst way possible.”
I took several deep breaths, trying to regain some composure. “What about Kellen Malone? Did you find out anything about his involvement with the Tauists?”
We moved down the sidewalk again as I tried to steady my emotions. “Malone’s an interesting subject. He was involved in Hollywood behind the scenes for several years. He was basically a finance guy who found investors for several productions and made a fortune. About ten years ago he quit the business and retired. He currently lives on a horse ranch in Hidden Hills and is no longer in the Hollywood scene.”
“Anything about his involvement with his father or Ryland?”
“Nothing. I talked to someone I know who works for the studios. He confirmed that Malone and his father had some kind of falling out a long time ago, but he didn’t know what it was about. He’s been living a quiet life, pretty much off the radar for years.”
I thanked her and was ready to return to the station when she stopped me. “There’s one more thing.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask what it is.”
“This is something else I found out about Noah. I was able to get ahold of the officer that investigated his DUI arrest and accident. He said that the driver of the car, the husband of the woman who was killed, survived. A couple of years after the accident he went missing.”
“Missing? Did he ever turn up?”
“No, and the officer said that Noah Fraser had made threats against him, saying that even though he had been drinking, the accident was the man’s fault.”
“Oh, God.”
Molly went on. “The officer said he can’t prove it, but he thought it was highly likely that Noah tracked him down, murdered him, and dumped his body somewhere.”
THIRTY
I got home about six and took a long, hot shower. I then went next door to get Bernie. When I saw that Nana and Hermes Krump were with my friends, I nearly turned around and left, but Natalie pulled me inside as Bernie greeted me.
