The Hollywood Serial Killers: A Mike Kane Mystery Series

by Sands, Jordan

  “Mark said he needed to come back, as he and I were the only two who were to place all of the bodies, as Martha said she didn’t want him to,” he says assuredly.

  “So Martha is the one who wanted Gracie killed? Who wanted Barbara Akin killed?”

  David looks up. “No, you’re wrong. It wasn’t Martha who told us to have her murdered; it was Mr. Tan.”

  “And Barbara?”

  “They were supposed to kill a couple of others in between Gracie, Patricia, and Michelle, but some things didn’t work out.”

  “So Mr. Tan wanted Gracie killed because he found out she was a he?”

  “Yes, but also, according to Mark, he didn’t want to pay half of his estate to her in a divorce.”

  “John wanted Patricia killed because he felt she used him?”

  “Yes.”

  “Mark wanted Michelle killed because she snubbed him?”

  “Yes. He thinks no women should ever be able to do that to him.”

  “But what about you? Didn’t you have a grudge against her also? After all, you were dating her before Mark.”

  “Yes, a little bit I suppose, but not like Mark. He was furious at the thought that any women would tell him where to go.”

  “Why Ms. Lee?”

  “She was killed to try to throw you off, but by then, I guess it was too late.

  “Where does Stephen come in here?” I ask.

  “He killed his wife, threw her down the steps. Mark went over to change the tapes and make it where Stephen got home several hours after his wife was to have been found.”

  “So Martha stabbed all of the women?”

  “All but Michelle.”

  “Mark killed her?”

  “Yes, he wanted to. He had his mother show him just how to do it.”

  “That would explain what Susan had said, it wasn’t as clean as the others.”

  “Okay, I got most of it, but where were they all killed?”

  “They were all stabbed in the foyer of Mark's house.”

  “We checked all over for any blood residue. Why didn’t any show-up?”

  “Layers of plastic were laid down, and when the women would ask why, they were told by Martha the painters had left them there and would pick them up after they were done.”

  “What prompted the women to go over there?”

  “Mark used different excuses. He would have either Stephen or myself meet them somewhere and then take them over to the mansion. It wasn’t difficult, except Michelle. Stephen really had to talk her into it, telling her Mark wanted to meet with her and apologize, even told her Martha had made her favorite meal. She liked Martha.”

  “So where do you come in?”

  “I helped move John’s body, and he and I had moved Michelle’s and Patricia’s.”

  “But only John was seen placing Michelle’s body on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.”

  “No, that was me. He was in the back seat keeping her from falling over. He was too small to move her like I did.”

  “Do you know where Stephen is now?”

  “No.”

  “So, was Martha or Mr. Tan the mastermind behind this?”

  “The ones who started this were Mark and Martha. One night, not long after Michelle had broken it off with him, and he had a few too many, Mark said he wanted her dead. The four of us were playing poker and Stephen said he wouldn’t mind seeing his wife dead either. John jumped in and said he was so mad about being used by Patricia she could be hit by a bus, and he wouldn’t care.”

  “So, a few drinks started this all?”

  “Quite a lot of drinks, but yes.”

  “What did Mr. Tan have to do with all of this, with the exception of wanting Gracie dead?”

  “He was the one who planned most of it. He and Martha, but there was one other, I just heard her talking to someone on the phone a couple of times, but I never picked up on who it was.”

  “But still how or better yet, when did Mr. Tan get involved?”

  “During the party, we all made a pact we would help each other out with this crazy ass scheme. I initially thought it was just a joke, and besides, I was the only one who didn’t have anyone I wanted out of my life. Mark called Mr. Tan the next day, told him what they had talked about at the card game, he threw in Gracie’s name, and that’s how it got started.”

  “So all you did was move a couple of bodies?”

  “Yes.”

  I looking over to Sharon., “And who was it that cold-cocked her, John?”

  “Yes, he was caught looking for some diary the women had hidden, and she showed up unexpectedly, and he hit her, he says just as she was coming around the corner.”

  “Who wanted these diaries found?”

  “ Mark and Mr. Tan.”

  “So they wanted to keep something secret that is in these diaries?”

  “He said one of them had some secrets he didn’t want anyone ever to find out?”

  “Do you know what they were?”

  “He never said, just for us to try to find them.”

  “Could they have been duplicate pictures as we found at Gracie place showing her making love with each one of you?” I ask.

  “Oh, I had forgotten about those. Yes, probably. Those would have made Mr. Tan mad enough to kill, although those were taken before they met.”

  “But still it would show his wife naked, and with other men, that would not portray him in a good light in the business community.”

  “I suppose if I were married and found pictures of my wife with other men, even if they were all longtime friends, I would probably get very angry too.”

  “You rest now. Will you testify in court to what you just told us?”

  “When someone tries to kill you, you really want to get back at them. You're damn right I will.”

  All this time, Sharon was recording this, just to have as a backup.

  Just then, Jonathan Peters walks into the hospital room. Looking at me, Sharon and then David, he says, “Here you are. I’ve been chased all over this damn hospital looking for you. I almost think that nurse deliberately sent me on a wild goose chase. This mini-conference is over. My client is not saying another word.”

  As Sharon and I leave the room, I replace the chair the officer was using back in front of the room's door. I walk over to the nurses’ desk and hand the head nurse two fifty-dollar bills, give her a wink and thank her. She smiles back. “You’re more than welcome.”

  “She seems nice and cute, are you going to ask her out?” Sharon says to me as we walk down the hospitals gleaming hallways.

  “Haven’t thought that much about it.” I press the elevator button to go down. “But it isn’t a bad idea.”

  Chapter 62

  As we walk into the office, Paul calls over from behind his computer. “I know where Stephen is headed.”

  “Okay, I’ll bite, where?” I ask.

  “He’s on a Matson cargo ship as a deck hand.”

  “Where to?” I wait for him to finish the information.

  “Oh, Hawaii. The cargo ship should be into Honolulu in a couple of days.”

  “Well, it means more frequent flyer miles, ha,” Sharon says with a laugh.

  “All right, we will have everyone but one person,” I start to say.

  “No, we have them all now,” Paul replies.

  “No, Paul, David told us Martha had been talking to someone local but doesn’t know who. Once we get that person, then I think we have them all.”

  “I can look back and run her phone record,” he says, jumping behind his computer. “Do you know when it was?”

  “Look two days before and two days after each murder,” I tell him.

  Paul looks up on the screen for all the dates to follow. “Okay, here are the ones from the first murder.” Sharon and I walk up to the monitor and try to get some numbers to go with each different date.

  “Bring up several at a time and run them side by side.” I turn around and look at Paul.


  “I was just going to do that,” he says, as he is placing them up. “It’s a good thing most of her phone calls are only to a few different people.”

  “Run each one and see if there is any person of interest we might not know about,” I say since there are not many different ones.

  Okay, 555-5434, this number is to her neighbor, right next door. The number 555-4334 is to her doctor. 555-5698 is a grocery store, for delivery. Here’s one 555-5512, from a discarded phone.” He places that number across the board and matches it up on the dates in question.

  “Can you find whose it is?” Sharon asks.

  “No, but I can try to triangulate it, to see what towers they were close to.”

  “Okay, how long will it take?” I ask.

  “Depends on how many calls, and if there is a trend in the area.”

  Chapter 63

  Sharon and I head for the airport. We arrive at the police airport hangar, and she parks the Audi 8 inside, off to the side of the office. The plane we are to fly to Florida is ready and waiting. We climb on board and the pilot taxis out of the hanger and down the side tarmac, to the end of the runway. He swings onto the runway and prepares to take off, awaiting permission from the tower. He receives confirmation, and he revs up the powerful Rolls-Royce BR725 engines, and we take off down the runway in the city's Gulfstream G650 business jet. What I like about it, is with my height and the ceiling inside is 6’5”, and I don’t have to duck so much. The G650 will carry eight passengers with a crew of four nonstop for 7,000 nautical miles, not that we are going that far, but at least we will be flying in comfort. With a speed of up to 0.925, it won’t take us long to get there. As Sharon relaxes in one of the plush custom cushions and reclines to take a short nap, I go up and look into the cockpit. It comes well equipped with many advanced safety features I wished I had with my little DE Havilland Beaver Seaplane which I use for fishing when I go up to Alaska. I’ve talked with these pilots on several other occasions when I’ve flown with them. They still ask me if I still have the Beaver, and when was the last time I went fishing. They keep mentioning they want to join me the next time I go, but our schedules haven't meshed for all of us to meet.

  We could have set course in two different directions, with Mark and Mr. Tan being taken to Florida now and Stephen arriving on a barge in Hawaii in two days. Since Martin is doing me this huge favor and was himself delivering Mark to us and handing him over on a golden platter, I feel we should go first to Florida and if time permits to Hawaii. If I need to, I have a couple of cousins who can pick up Stephen once he steps foot in Hawaii, but I would like to be the one to greet him.

  After going over some of the nuances of the G650, I head back to the cabin and take a seat. I notice Sharon is already asleep and has been covered with a blanket by one of the two policewomen who also act as stewardesses. Even the pilots are active-duty policemen. It will take us about four hours to get to Homestead Air Force Base, Florida.

  We enter from the south-southwest and land, at the far northeast end. All we have to do is taxi to the left side where the CIA has its hangar. As we are taxiing into position, we find out Martin's plane is just arriving. I step out of the aircraft to see his coming up the strip. They park theirs and he is the first to get out. He walks over to where we are and tells us he will brief us inside.

  “What took you so long to get here?” I ask.

  “Had a few more stops to make,” he replies.

  Inside the hanger, the windowless office is towards the front of the building on the right-hand side. Sharon and I enter, followed by Martin.

  “We’ll transfer the prisoners just as soon as we are done here,” he says, as he walks over to the counter and pours himself a cup of coffee. “Either one of you wants some?” he adds, lifting his cup.

  “I do,” I say.

  “I’ll take one also,” Sharon adds.

  “How you doing?” he asks me. “Haven’t seen you in a mahina of Lāpule,” he continues, as he slides both of us a cup and walks back to gets his. Looking over to Sharon, “I said I hadn't seen him in a month of Sundays.”

  “Been doing pretty good, these murders have been a thorn in my side.”

  “Well as you know, we caught both Mark and Mr. Tan.” He pulls up a chair next to me and across from Sharon.

  “But who are these other two?” I ask, taking a sip of coffee.

  “They are twin sisters who are Mr. Tan’s pilots and bodyguards. Those two are excellent at disposing of people; that’s what they were trained to do, to assassinate people. Interpol and Scotland Yard have them on a worldwide search for killing several prominent persons in England, Germany, and Italy. All are believed to be associates or past partners of Mr. Tan’s.” Martin looks at me. “Not a nice person to have as a partner.”

  “You're right there,” Sharon adds.

  “Our inside informant on the island of Cayman Brac, where we picked up these four, told us that two pilots and two stewardesses came in with them when they landed and haven’t been seen since. Our belief is they have been murdered. We’re sending a plane down there as we speak to talk with the caretaker and see what he knows or where he has buried the bodies.”

  “What do you have, an informant on every island?” I ask as a kind of a joke.

  “Just about. But Mike, you would know this one. You and I went to school with her mother. Remember Ethel Kaapana? I think at one time you had a crush on her.”

  “Oh, yes, but that was in grade school, in Punahou,” I say, with slight embarrassment at having said it in front of Sharon.

  “Well, her daughter just happens to work at the airport on the island. I’ve kept in touch with Ethel and many others throughout the years. It has come in handy.”

  “You and I will have to compare names that you and I both know. It’s always good to keep in touch, especially with those from Punahou.”

  “I’ll keep you in touch with what we find out from the caretaker; we’re going to keep the two ladies here until then. We’ll turn them over to Scotland Yard if nothing comes up concerning America.”

  “Let’s get them moved over to our plane, and we’ll get going. Good seeing you again, let’s not have it be so long.”

  “I agree, and let’s not wait till there is a murder involved,” Martin says as he puts his hand on my shoulder. “Oh, if you don’t want to listen to a whiner you should keep the tape on Marks's mouth, he complains and pleads way too much.”

  “I know you like fishing; let’s meet up in Alaska in a couple of months. I know some real good lakes up there; we’ll take my floatplane I have stored up there near my cabin.”

  Chapter 64

  We get onto our plane. Everyone is on board, including both Fred and Mark. The CIA is keeping the twins. Several other world agencies want them, and as soon as Martin finds out who has priority for the two, they will be deported to that country.

  Our plane takes off for home, back to California. Sharon goes to the back of the plane, where the two of them are seated apart. One is facing towards the back and the other towards the front of the plane, separated by a panel, so if one were to look around, they couldn’t see the other. She pulls off Fred’s hood first; he looks at her and just smiles with his eyes. She moves around to Mark’s, and as soon as she pulls his hood off, you can see he wants to yell at her and say some not so pleasant things. But both have their mouths taped shut and will remain that way throughout the flight. Right now, neither one of them knows the other one is on the plane.

  Fred might have a good hunch Mark is on board, but Mark hasn’t a clue. He figures he is the only one unless Santane is on the plane with him. Both of their window shades have been pulled down so they can’t see where they are.

  After around four and a half hours of flight time, we land back at Santa Monica Municipal Airport. Sharon goes back to where Fred is seated, replaces his hood, and leads Mr. Tan off first, passing him off to the policemen who is at the base of the steps. They place him in the first Dodge van. She goes b
ack and puts Mark’s hood back on, not without a glaring look from him. She takes him down the aisle, then down the steps, and places him in the second vehicle. They head back to the office. Once arriving, they place each one into different soundproof rooms. They start with Mr. Tan. Sharon first removes his hood and then the tape over his mouth.

  “Thank you. That was getting annoying,” he says, as he looks up at Sharon. “Maybe I should have had you working for me.” He smiles.

  “I don’t think so, I kind of like what I do and whom I do it for,” she says, taking a seat next to Mike, across from Mr. Tan.

  I show some pictures of Bob, the pilot, that had been emailed from Martin earlier.

  “Do you know this man?” I ask, looking straight at him to see his reactions.

  “I don’t have to say a word, and I would like my rights to a phone call,” he says without looking down at the photo in front of him.

  “That’s up to you,” I say as I pull the picture back and slide it back into the file folder.

  We both get up and head for the door.

  “Could I have some water? My mouth is awfully dry.” He asks this before we reach the door.

  “Sure. Sharon, get some ice water for Mr. Tan. Does that mean you want to tell us something?” I ask in a hopeful manner.

  “No, I don’t think so. Just thirsty. Thank you.” He takes a drink, then continues. “You know what you did, by kidnapping me, it’s illegal, and nothing you think you have on me will be admissible. I’ll have my lawyers get this thrown out of court.”

  “We’ll see,” I respond.

  I walk down the hallway and into where Mark has been placed. I take a seat and mention, “Nice to see you again.”

  “You can go to hell,” he throws back to me.

  “Well, let’s see what you know.” I pull out the photos of the pilot as well as the co-pilot and the two stewardesses. I have pictures of them before they were dug up and also those of after, showing the necks cut and dirt from the grave.

  “Oh my God, who the hell did that?” he says in total shock. He looks like he is going to throw up. “The last time I saw them they were going to be leaving to retire. They all seemed like real nice people; who killed him?”