Beautiful Girls

by Gary S. Griffin

  Revelations

  Los Angeles, California, Monday, October 18, 2004

  My plane touched down on a California runway just a few minutes late at 4:45 PM west coast time. Edie was waiting for me outside the LAX security gate. As usual, she saw me first and rushed towards me. Fortunately, I caught sight of her a second before she jumped to hug me. Edie’s tears began again. We didn’t know what to say or do except hug for many minutes. It felt so good to hold my beautiful little woman. If only it had been under different circumstances.

  Our careers had kept us apart for four months due to Edie’s erratic filming schedules and my demanding investigations. When you’ve been separated from a loved one that long, those first minutes bring your memories of them up-to-date with reality. Of course, I was wowed by Edie, as I always am when I’m around her. She is a striking woman with exotic beauty due to her maternal grandmother’s Mexican-American heritage. She is also petite and we must look funny together as a couple because I’m eleven inches taller than her. And, it always seems a greater height difference when she isn’t wearing heels, which doesn’t occur too often. Edie brings out my protective instincts even more as she appears to be a mature woman in an adolescent’s body; I never want to let her go.

  She wore black; a simple, above-the-knee, short-sleeved, cotton dress, and sandals. Her very-dark brown hair was longer and loose, trailing down her back; she knew I liked it that way. She clutched a wad of slightly damp tissues in her right hand, and her small purse was on a long strap over her left shoulder.

  Despite the tragedy we faced, Edie looked gorgeous and glowed in good health. However, something was a little different from our last time together in June. I noted she’d gained a few pounds; they looked good on her, as I always wondered about her eating habits. Some of the gain was in Edie’s chest. It was definitely larger.

  As we started walking towards baggage claim, Edie moved ahead of me onto the automated walkway. It was then, under the skylights and bright fluorescents. Edie turned a certain way and leaned against the moving black rubber handhold. I noticed the belly bump. That was not just normal weight gain.

  I closed the three steps between us and put both of my hands on Edie’s belly. Our eyes met. I smiled. She smiled. Then, we hugged and kissed so long that we tripped at the end of the hundred-yard walkway.

  I pulled her to the side of the airport wing and we sat side by side in chairs at one of the gates.

  “Oh my God, Edie.”

  “Are you OK with the surprise?”

  “Sure, I am. But, why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I wanted to surprise you and I didn’t want to change our wedding plans and none of our plans to get together worked and…Are you mad at me?”

  “Yes, I’m mad, madly in love with you.”

  Putting on a very serious face, Edie said, “Stevie, I must keep our baby…”

  I put my right index finger to her lips. “Of course you are. Don’t even think otherwise. I just wish you had told me sooner.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. Oh, Stevie, I didn’t expect this to happen. I mean, I wanted it to happen, but it was earlier than we wanted and I thought I had screwed up our plans. I didn’t know what to do.”

  “How far along are you?”

  “Four months, of course.”

  “Oh sure, of course you are.”

  “So, how has the pregnancy been?”

  “Really good. I’m so happy and feeling good. I only had a little morning sickness at the beginning. But, now, I love to eat. I didn’t start to really show until a week or two ago. I just wish the filming had ended earlier so we could have got married last month or even earlier.”

  “Oh, Edie. This is amazing news! What a surprise!”

  “Are you OK with this?”

  “Yes, please believe me; we just need to make sure everything’s OK, that you’re OK. Have you been seeing a doctor?”

  “Yes, several times and all is going fine. I’m eating right and haven’t had alcohol or caffeine since I did the pregnancy test two days after I flew back west. I’m taking my special vitamins and getting sleep. Oh man, am I sleeping. It’s like all I do. I got so tired in Vancouver. All I did was work, eat and sleep. I’ve already gained seven pounds.”

  “I thought so, that’s what caused me to look at you closer.”

  “I know, I’m getting fat.”

  “No, you aren’t. Don’t think that. This is not the time to diet.”

  “I know. I want you and a healthy baby. I’ll do anything to make that happen. But, I can’t fit in my wedding dress anymore. That’s what Bambi and I were going to do today, get it let out so I can squeeze into it. Bambi was so happy for me, for us. She wanted me to tell you. In fact, I’m surprised she or Tawny didn’t call you.”

  “They both know, knew?”

  “Sure did. But, I made them promise to keep it a secret. As I only told them a month ago and told them I wanted to surprise you when you got here.”

  “Well, you sure did that. Oh, Edie. We’re going to have a baby! We have so much to do.”

  Then, I realized the tragedy that we faced. “Oh, my god, Edie, why did this happen to Bambi, Troy and Lisa?”

  Edie sniffled and said, “I don’t know. I can’t believe all this is happening. Where are Dad and Tawny?”

  “I don’t know. Where do we go from here?”

  “Home. I mean, let’s eat first. I’m starving and you must be hungry, too.”

  “OK. Yeah, let’s go eat.”

  Edie said, “After dinner, we’ll go to the mansion. We’ll stay in my place; the pool house. The police took the bodies away a few hours ago after they finished all their photos and stuff. They said they’ll keep the reporters off the property; I hope that’s true. Let’s talk about what we should do next.”

  I said, “OK,” and thought, that’s my partner!

  ***

  I drove Edie’s royal blue BMW. The ride was first filled with talk about our baby, our marriage and our future. We agreed the wedding had to be postponed, for now, but only until this tragedy was solved. We agreed we had a thousand people to call and things to do to stop everything that was supposed to happen in five days. We agreed that being together was all that mattered, and we agreed never to let such a long time separate us again.

  My head was spinning with all the news. That morning I was working in Philadelphia, wrapping things up so I could fly to the wedding in L.A. on Friday with my cousins, Christian and Hannah, and their families. Then Edie’s phone call changed everything. Now, thirteen hours later I was in L.A. going to dinner with my pregnant fiancée and our wedding was indefinitely postponed. But, I was very happy to be with my little woman, and I knew I really needed to be here for her, too.

  We were a team again. We were a team that worked well together. We knew it and liked the feeling. And, we knew our team was about to go through some tough challenges.

  Once we entered the freeway the conversation about us ended and we started thinking about Edie’s family and the House of Gabriel. We agreed our future would start when this nightmare ended.

  “Stevie, let’s eat at BLD. It’s a cool restaurant off Beverly Boulevard. You’ll love the food.” I thought we both could use some time to regroup and discuss our next steps, so I said, “Sure.”

  Edie directed me there. We exited off I-10 onto La Cienega Boulevard. We continued north on La Cienega and turned right onto Beverly. After a mile and a half, Edie pointed out the restaurant on the south side of the road. I parallel parked into a curbside spot, fifty feet past the entrance. Edie stayed in the car while I checked out if we could get a table right away. There were two couples ahead of me at the hostess station. I turned and watched Edie while I waited in line and I could see her making a series of short phone calls.

  I had to pinch myself; I was really here in L.A. with my beautiful fiancée, my beautiful, successful fiancée, my beautiful, successful, pregnant fiancée. And, we were in love, but, we were frightened and overwhelmed and
I was thinking about who killed Bambi, Troy and Lisa. I had to go over these events with Edie as soon as we were seated, while it was still fresh in her mind.

  The couples ahead of us were waiting for a delayed, third couple to arrive. After they moved to the bar, I learned that we could be seated right way.

  I said, “My fiancée and I will be right in.”

  As we entered the restaurant, Edie said, “BLD’s initials stand for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner – the name alone tells you this place is all about the food.”

  I could tell. The décor was very simple yet inviting. Simple so that you can focus on what’s important, the food.

  Edie recommended the Tuesday night special, fried chicken, and that’s what I chose. Edie went vegetarian and selected strozzapreti pasta with goat cheese and grilled vegetables. I also selected an appetizer of steamed mussels, while Edie ordered a fresh vegetable salad. I think I made out best.

  The fried chicken breasts came with collard greens, cornbread and a heap of cheese grits. The chicken was juicy and spiced right. I loved the grits and collard greens; both were first time side dishes for me. Edie loved her pasta. The food was so good we had the chef come out so that we could personally compliment her. My glass of California Chardonnay wine tasted buttery, our coffees (decaf for Edie) and dessert (raspberry sorbet for me and a warm peach crisp for my fiancée) were great.

  We had a witty, very competent server named Fern. She would frown if she didn’t like what we were considering on the menu and would say, “Yummy”, if she liked our choices. Our selections received Fern’s praises.

  Over coffee, Edie asked, “Do we really need to go back to the mansion, Stevie?”

  “Are you scared?”

  “I sure am, aren’t you?”

  I said, “Yeah, a little. What did the police say they are doing?”

  “Well, they were all over the property, asking me a thousand questions, making me explain what I knew, you know?”

  “Sure. But, are they going to watch the place?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “Who’s the detective?”

  Edie said, “Umm…I can’t remember. Oh, yeah, he gave me his card. Here.”

  I looked at it and it read, Lieutenant Peter Lomita. I stopped and smiled as memories flooded back from nine years earlier in 1995. Lomita was the detective on the case of Sid Gabriel’s murder.

  “What is it, Stevie?”

  I pointed to the card and said, “Do you recognize that name?”

  “No, why should I?”

  “He was the detective on Andi’s case when Sid was shot.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, remember, we met him at the airport, the morning they found Andi’s car.”

  “Oh, that’s right. I do remember him, now.”

  “I’m sure he remembers us. I should speak to him as soon as possible. I’ll call him from the mansion.”

  After dinner we moved to a booth in the bar area and watched the final innings of a baseball playoff game. We continued to talk about our next steps. We also continued holding each other. Edie couldn’t get enough of my touch. From time to time, she shivered and cried.

  “Stevie, I just want to run away with you for a while.”

  ***

  For a second time in my life I drove to the House of Gabriel in the midst of a tragedy. We arrived a few minutes after nine o’clock. From the front of the estate all seemed unchanged from my vacation the year before. The media were nowhere to be seen. The backyard showed tragic differences. A police car and a tech van sat at the end of the driveway. Yellow police tape marked off the entrances to the garage, both the double car doors and the rear, outside staircase. Bright light poured out of the garage apartment’s second floor windows. More tape surrounded an area of the lawn about two feet off the patio.

  Officer McBride met us as we exited the BMW. We introduced ourselves and he checked his clipboard. We must have appeared on the approved list of names as he moved aside to let us pass. McBride was a strong redheaded six-footer. My guess is that he was a recent academy graduate and wanted to do nothing wrong on this, his first murder case, even though his duties were to guard the scene of the crime.

  We asked and McBride offered that the crime technician was just about done and that when he departed there should be no other activity at the estate this day. McBride said, yes, he and his relief officer would be staying guard overnight to keep the curious out. Edie unlocked the French doors at the rear of estate and offered him the use of the mansion’s kitchen and first floor bathroom.

  We continued down the path to the pool house. Edie paused as she got to the front door.

  She turned and said, “Do you know how long it’s been since we’ve been together in my L.A. home?”

  “I wish it was under different circumstances.”

  “Oh, Stevie, I know.”

  As we hugged a thought passed through my head. I kept it there until our embrace ended.

  “Was this door unlocked when you got here last night?”

  Edie answered, “Yes, it was.”

  “Do you usually lock it when you leave?”

  “Sure, I always do.”

  “Who also has keys?”

  She said, “Bambi, Troy, my father. I think Tawny does, too.”

  I thought about that as we walked inside and shut the door behind us. Edie went through the little home, turning on some lights and the stereo, and said, “Stevie, put your bag in the bedroom. I’ve made space in the closet and the bottom drawer of my bureau and the medicine cabinet for you.”

  I walked in the bedroom, dropped my bag and quickly returned to the living room.

  I asked, “If Troy and Bambi are dead and the others are missing, who left it unlocked?”

  “Oh, maybe it was Solana.”

  I asked, “Who?”

  “The maid, she has a key.”

  “When was she here last?”

  “Last week; she’s here twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, but she only cleans the pool house on Thursday. But, she always locks the door when she’s done.”

  “OK, let’s ask her about it tomorrow. Was anything missing or disturbed in here?”

  “Well, it was cleaned and orderly, like Solana leaves it.”

  I asked again, “Did you notice anything, anything at all, out of order?”

  “No, Stevie, not that I…wait a minute. I think the bedroom door was open and the bathroom door, too; Solana always closes them. Why are you asking all this?”

  “Because I want to say a prayer of thanks to God.”

  She looked at me quizzically, “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m thankful your filming went long.”

  “Why?”

  Then, she gasped and paused.

  “Oh, Stevie!”

  “Yes, I’m very glad you weren’t here.”

  “No, you don’t think…”

  I said, “Yes, I think the killer could’ve been in here, too.”

  “Oh, God, Stevie, you’re really getting me scared!”

  “I’m sorry, darling.”

  I closed the distance between us and held her tight. Edie was shivering. I grabbed the quilt off the couch and wrapped her in it as we sat down.

  I asked, “Were Bambi and Tawny home yesterday?”

  “Yes, they were. Or, I think so. I spoke to Bambi yesterday morning and told her I had to stay in Vancouver a few more hours to re-film a scene.”

  “Hmmm…”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking you were very lucky not to be here yesterday afternoon!”

  She looked at me stunned.

  I said, “I also think Tawny and your dad’s disappearance could be connected to the other three’s deaths.”

  “Oh, my God!”

  “I better call Detective Lomita.”

  ***

  Twenty minutes later Edie and I were in bed holding each other. I told her that Lomita would stop by the next morning
to talk further. Lomita wasn’t surprised to hear from me. I was surprised that he listened to me without any of his usual acerbic comments. I guess that was the respect I earned from Sid Garrett’s murder investigation nine years earlier.

  Bambi, Troy and Lisa had died instantly from their gunshot wounds. Lomita thought Troy was killed first because Lisa was splattered with Troy’s blood. Both were seated on their couch watching TV. There was no sign of a struggle. It looked like Troy and Lisa either knew the killer or the killer surprised them or both. They were shot in the forehead.

  It was Lomita’s opinion that Bambi heard the first two shots. She had left the mansion and was walking towards the garage when her life suddenly ended. She or someone had left open the kitchen’s French doors. Bambi was shot in the right temple. The murder weapon was in Bambi’s right hand and had only her prints on it. But, Lomita didn’t think she committed the murders or her suicide. Lomita also mentioned that there had been a third incident near the garage. A paving brick had been removed from the side of a planter. It was lying in the driveway and had a small amount of blood on it. Lieutenant Lomita also wanted Edie to give a blood sample to determine if this could be her father’s. He would also check to see if a DNA trace matched with Bambi or Troy to see if it was Tawny’s blood.

  Lomita and his partner had conducted a search of the mansion and the poolside cabana. While there was no sign of foul play in either home, he wanted to escort Edie on a search in the morning as she might notice something.

  Lomita told me that he had ordered a search of Edie’s cabin in Tucson. He also had passed the license plate number of Rob Nealy’s car to the California and Arizona Highway patrols. Nothing had turned up yet.

  Edie was snoring before I finished explaining this phone conversation. I was awake for a while as all these thoughts tumbled around inside my head.

  House of Gabriel

  Tuesday, October 19, 2004

  I woke first, early. It was 6:30 AM. Edie was soundly sleeping. I got up, showered, shaved, dressed, unplugged my cell phone from the charger, and walked to the living room, shutting the bedroom door behind me.