by M. Z. Kelly
“She must have been targeted because she either knew something about what happened to Bert Prince or the theft from Lady and her daughters,” I said, agreeing with Buck. “It just doesn’t add up.”
The lieutenant pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled. “Let me run what happened by Dumbo. I’m sure he’ll want to take it up the chain and see if it changes anything.” He then moved the discussion in a new direction, asking about our interview with Addison Blaine.
Buck and I took turns, filling him in on everything. I then told Edna, “Blaine said that Abrams’ accounts were hacked a few months back and he lost a few million. She thinks an operative from her mother’s company was involved, but didn’t think it was Paulina Kristoff. She told us Kristoff might know something about it.”
“What’s Kristoff’s status?”
“She lawyered up,” Darby said.
I pushed down my anger over the fact that he was the one who had caused Kristoff to end our interview and said, “I think it’s worth trying to go back to her. Addison Blaine also said she’s willing to talk to her mother with us, providing she’s not in jail.”
“Unless she makes bail, that’s right where she’ll be,” Edna said.
“I’m also willing to take another shot at Kristoff,” Darby offered. “She was in love with Abrams, and I think we can use that to our advantage.”
I couldn’t resist the opening. “What are you going to do, counsel her, talk about how to mend a broken heart?”
His trademark smirk appeared. “You, of all people, should be an expert on that.”
“Enough,” Edna said, probably realizing I was thinking about going for my gun. He said to Darby, “The brass wants Sexton and McCade on Abrams.” He looked at me. “Go back to Kristoff, see if she’ll talk. We’re also going to need to talk to Blaine’s mother, either with or without her daughter.” His gaze moved over to Selfie and Molly. “What do we know about this House of Darwin place?”
Selfie tucked a strand of pink hair behind an ear and answered. “I made lots of inquiries, but haven’t gotten anywhere. If it does exist, it’s way off the radar, probably by design.”
“Anyone in vice ever heard of it?”
After a couple of headshakes, I said, “We did get an address from Blaine for the house.”
“What about her mother?” Edna asked, looking back at our crime analysts. “What’s her background?”
“I’ve got the bio,” Molly said. “She was born Deidre Elaine Scott, grew up on the east coast. Daddy was a wealthy banker, mom worked for a newspaper. The family was involved in a lot of social causes and her father had a brother who ran for the senate in Vermont. After graduating from Bixby, a small private college, she pretty much disappeared for a few years until she ended up on the Forbes list of one of the one hundred richest women in America.”
“How did she earn her money?” Edna asked.
“No one seems to know, but probably through her companionship service.”
“She’s just a high end madam,” Darby said, “and all this talk about Betas is just a cover for prostitution.”
“You don’t want to use that word around Kristoff or Blaine,” I said. “They claim their services go beyond sex and focuses on the emotional and intellectual needs of the client. There’s apparently a lot of training involved.”
“Yeah, I’m sure it requires a lot of training to screw.”
Edna was about to end the meeting when Molly said, “There’s one other thing we’re checking out. Cole Abrams’ condo had underground parking. We’re checking the CCTV footage to see if anyone accessed Blaine’s car, like she claims, the night he was murdered.”
After everyone had left the lieutenant’s office, I asked Leo to stay behind to talk to Edna with me about Pearl. I took a moment and explained about making two trips to Pearl’s cottage, first with Leo, then with my brother. “He’s not returning the messages I left, and his phone’s apparently been disconnected. An employee at the estate let us inside his cottage. There were clothes strewn around, making it look like he’d left in a hurry. According to the employee, Pearl left in the middle of the night and didn’t leave word with anyone where he was going.”
Leo chimed in. “I’ve known Pearl for over thirty years. It’s not like him.”
Edna put his elbows on the desk and rested his chin in his hands, apparently turning over what we’d said. “Why were you two trying to contact him?”
I knew it was extremely unlikely that the department would reopen the investigation into my love-dad’s death. I also didn’t want to discuss my suspicions that Pearl might be my biological father or what I’d learned about Noah until I had more facts. I glanced at Leo, letting him give the answer we’d discussed beforehand.
“We both worked with Pearl. We just wanted to catch up, see how he’s doing.”
“Catch up,” Edna said, looking from Leo to me, probably realizing there was more to the story than he was getting. He finally said, “If you think you’ve covered all the bases in terms of trying to talk to friends and family, go ahead and file the missing person paperwork. Let’s hope he’s just taken a spontaneous vacation and it’s nothing else.” He took a moment, before his gaze met both of us and he went back to talking about our investigation. “I need you both to do me a favor. Acting Chief Dumbbell is under lots of pressure, and our loud-mouth employee’s treatment of the press isn’t helping things. See what you can do to rein in Darby, keep him from stepping in another pile of dog shit.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
Buck and I made several calls to Paulina Kristoff that weren’t returned. In the meantime, Addison Blaine had been released from UCLA Medical Center and booked into jail. She was scheduled for a bail hearing tomorrow morning. We decided to wait on contacting her mother, depending on how things went with the hearing.
I was leaving work when Brie called, asking if I could meet her for dinner. I was exhausted, but had the impression that she needed to talk so I agreed to meet her at Mario’s, a Mexican restaurant that had just opened near Hollywood Boulevard. After settling in, we ordered drinks, and Brie told me what was on her mind.
“I’m going to be taking another medical leave for a few weeks.” My friend had on a lot of makeup, but she still looked pale and tired. “The chemo and radiation is leaving me too weak to work.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Just stay in touch. I’m lucky because Phyl has promised to take care of me, and it will give me more time to be with Lily.”
Phyl was Brie’s muscle-bound boyfriend; a larger than life figure with a heart of gold.
“I think I’m also going to have a lot more time on my hands, as well,” I said, “so we can get together whenever you feel up to it.”
“What’s going on?”
I felt the need to share what happened with Noah and there was no one I could trust more than Brie. I took a few minutes and filled her in on him meeting with Collin Russell and the woman at the bar. I held back my tears as I added, “Everything that happened between us was a lie. I’m convinced he was sent by Russell and Ryland to spy on me.”
After she expressed her concerns, Brie asked, “Do you think they know you’ve been looking into your father’s death?”
“I have no doubt that Noah has told them everything I confided in him. They may even have people in the police department that know I tried to get the investigation into the deaths of Jean Winslow and my dad reopened. To make matters worse, Pearl’s also gone missing.”
“Missing?”
Brie knew all about Oz’s last words, making me think that Pearl might me my father. “Leo and I went by to talk to him and it looks like he packed up and left home in a hurry. His phone’s also been disconnected.”
“Do you think Russell and Ryland are behind that?”
I sighed. “I have no idea. All I do know is that before Oz passed away, he admitted being at Jean Winslow’s thirtieth birthday party with my dad. He also told me that Dallas Walberg
’s death wasn’t an accident, and said he thought Ryland and Russell might have been involved. He speculated that Walberg knew they were skimming money from the studio.”
Brie knew about Walberg because she had done his autopsy after he’d supposedly jumped from a three story building. He’d been the financial controller for Wallace Studios, working directly for Donald Regis. Regis and Ryland had been at odds for years. The death of both men, supposedly by suicide, seemed suspicious to both of us.
Brie took a moment to process what I’d said. “Do you think your dad could have been killed to cover up the fact that he knew Russell and Ryland were stealing from the studios?”
“I’m almost sure that’s why both he and Jean Winslow were murdered. It’s been a cover-up thirty years in the making.”
“And Pearl? If he is your dad, how is he involved?”
I took a breath and shook my head. “That’s the big unknown. Before he died, Oz said that my father, my biological father, wanted everything kept quiet. He apparently told John, my love-dad, what was going on, but he was afraid my life would be in danger if anyone found out what really happened. If Pearl is my father, he would have been the one behind the cover-up.”
“You think that’s why he hasn’t been a part of your life all these years?”
“Maybe.” The server brought over our food, and I took a moment before going on. When we were alone again, I added, “All I know is that if Pearl is my father and he kept quiet about everything all these years…” I took a breath. “…I just don’t know if I can forgive him.”
“Even though he thought he was protecting you?”
“Protection is one thing. Keeping a truth that is central to my life is another. Whatever the motivation, I’m having trouble getting past it.”
Brie reached over and touched my hand as she saw the tears on my cheeks. “Where do you go from here?”
“I’m not sure.” I dabbed my tears with a napkin. “Leo and I filed a missing person’s report on Pearl. We just have to hope that he surfaces and tells us what he knows. In the meantime, I think I’m going to try and talk to Kellen Malone.”
“Russell’s son? Do you think that’s wise, given everything that’s happened?”
I took a bite of my rice and beans, considering what she said. After a moment, I said, “I’m not sure, but it seems like the only option left.”
“What about Noah? Are you going to confront him?”
I took another long moment, thinking about my options. “Not right away. If he knows that I know he’s working for Russell and Ryland, it could change everything.”
“You could be in danger.”
I chuckled. “I think I’m already in danger. It would just change the dynamics.”
Brie took a moment, expressing her concern and asking me to be careful. Our conversation then turned to the Prince and Abrams cases.
“I took a look at the scene where Christina Conrad was run down before doing the autopsy,” Brie said. “The impact was extremely severe. She died of blunt force trauma. The driver of the other car made no effort to slow the rate of speed.”
“You think it was intentional?”
“If it wasn’t, it meant that the driver was so distracted or so impaired that he had no idea what happened, even after he hit her. I think that’s extremely unlikely.”
I pushed what was left of my food around my plate, not having much of an appetite, then said, “I think something’s been going on in the Prince household that we’ve missed.”
“Something, as in?”
“I’m not sure. All I do know is that Bert Prince was all about money and sex. Whatever happened is tangled up in that.”
“Speaking of sex, I completed the autopsy on Cole Abrams today.”
“Anything unusual?”
“The COD was a twenty-two caliber round that pierced the heart. As you know, there were no prints on the weapon. We’re running it through the usual databases to see if there’s a match to anything in the system.”
“What about the time of death?”
“Based on the stomach contents and liver temp, I’d estimate it was sometime between midnight and three in the morning.”
“Giving both Addison Blaine and Paulina Kristoff a window of opportunity to kill him.”
“Yes, and there’s something else. There were burns on his body.”
“Burns?”
“Yes. Over a dozen burns in various states of healing across his buttocks and upper thighs.”
“Any idea what caused them?”
“It looks like some kind of heating element, maybe a hot poker, was used on him. All I know for sure is that in the weeks before he died, Cole Abrams had endured multiple sessions of torture.”
THIRTY-EIGHT
Multiple sessions of torture.
I was still wrestling with what Brie told me as I got home. Both Addison Blaine and Paulina Kristoff had to know that Cole Abrams had been tortured, but they’d both kept quiet about it. Why? Were they afraid whoever tortured Abrams would come after them? Or had one or both of them been a party to what happened?
As always, I had a lot more questions than answers. All I did know for sure was that we would need to talk to both women again and get to the bottom of what happened.
I went next door to pick up Bernie. He nearly knocked me over when Natalie opened the door. I sat on the floor and gave him lots of attention as I said, “He acts like he’s being held prisoner.”
“I think he misses the action,” Natalie said. “His therapist said he’s making good progress, so you might wanna start talkin’ to your boss ‘bout when he can return to work.”
I stood up. “That’s good to hear. I’ll talk to Edna tomorrow.”
Mo came over to us. “Speaking of him, how’s he fucking doing working for Section One?” She laughed.
“He’s a stress case, but it comes with the job.”
“That’s probably because Lady’s sister was run down and killed. You ask me, it was no accident.”
“Somebody wanted her out of action and used a road kill recipe,” Natalie added.
“That might be the case.” I took a seat on their sofa as Bernie continued to whine for attention. “What’s the talk around Nirvana about Christina’s death?”
Mo sat across from me, while Natalie joined me on the couch, saying, “All I know is Lady’s ‘bout as crazy as a rat in a shitter. She’s been screamin’ and cryin’, and makin’ Griselda whip up a bunch of new potions.”
“Speaking of that,” Mo said. “Your wart looks better.”
“It’s not a wart. I just had a pimple, and the swelling’s gone down.”
Her dark eyes shifted in Natalie’s direction. “If you say so.”
The curse Nana had put on Claude’s mother came to mind. “How is Wilhelmina doing?”
“She’s down for the count,” Natalie said. “Accordin’ to Nana, she looks like her face exploded. Not sure if she’s still going through with contesting the will.”
I sighed. “Well, I’m sorry for her, but at least that means Nana won’t be living with us.”
“Not so fast,” Mo said. “Last I heard, Claude has a brother named Boris. Nana thinks he might take over for mama.”
“Nana might need Griselda to also work her magic on him,” Natalie said.
Mo shook her big head, which tonight was adorned with curly green locks. “Not sure that would help. I heard that Boris already looks like a cross between a vampire and the wolf man.”
After Natalie told us she’d always been attracted to men with facial hair, she told me what she and Mo had been up to. “While Bernie was getting his PT, me and Mo followed Noah ‘round. He went back to Russell’s house today.”
“Did he see you?”
Mo’s heavy brow scrunched up. “’Course not. You think we’re a couple of bumbling amateurs? We kept our distance.”
“Noah met up with a bunch of guys at Russell’s house,” Natalie said. “We think they’re plannin’ somethi
n’.”
“Like what?”
Mo’s big shoulders went up and down. “Whatever it is, it can’t be good. I think we gotta head things off at the pass.”
“What does that mean?”
“Me and baby sis wanna go with you when you talk to Kellen Malone. If nuthin’ else, we can be there for protection.”
I sighed. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. For all we know, Malone could be as dangerous as the others. I don’t want you two getting hurt.”
Mo shook her head and looked at Natalie. “She thinks we’re just a couple of girls, instead of powerful women, like Beyoncé.”
Natalie stood up, did a little strut, and borrowed a line from the singer, “I got hot sauce in my bag, swag.”
I knew it was useless to argue with them. “Okay, but you have to promise you’ll let me do the talking.”
I got a half-hearted commitment from both of them, which meant they had no intention of keeping their mouths shut. Natalie then said, “Maybe we can talk to the bloke this weekend, then go shoppin’ for the reunion.”
I’d almost forgotten about this weekend’s family reunion, or maybe I just wanted to put it out of my mind, but agreed to what she said. Mo must have seen I was down.
“You look like you’re one breath short of needin’ CPR, Kate. What gives?”
I pushed the hair out of my eyes. “I’m just…I guess it’s Noah and the reunion, and the fact the Pearl’s still missing. I’m feeling a little lost.”
“You need a man,” Natalie said. “Izzy’s got a friend named Earl. He’s got a great sense of humor and is hung like a horse.”
I laughed. “How would you know?”
“We all got in Izzy’s hot tub last Sunday, and it was clothing optional.”
“I don’t think I’m ready for a horse or hot tub nudity.”
“Like I said before, maybe it’s time to give the cowboy another ride?” Mo said. “I always thought you two was a good fit.”
My phone was ringing as I said, “That’s over.” I tugged on Bernie’s leash, said goodnight, then answered the call as we left.
