by Liz Talley
Picou shrugged. “Inside? Maybe to check on the boy?”
Made sense. Yesterday had proven the boy’s mother wasn’t exactly the most responsible person on the face of the earth, so Annie’s instinct to find and secure the child was good.
His mother looked a little spooked, but that was to be expected. Dead birds and presumably threatening notes brought back bad memories—memories that were about to be waded through regardless of the movie people and their harassment problem. He’d read the file on Sally Cheramie early that morning when sleep escaped him—the results had left a wake of acid churning in his stomach. Part of him wanted to toss the file aside, smother the query into his sister’s disappearance, but facts didn’t lie. The woman might be more than a desperate charlatan looking to get rich quick. This inquiry might bite.
He went around to his car, grabbed a kit from the trunk and pulled out his phone to call in the threat. This time it would be official.
He hung up with dispatch and shifted his mind back to the task at hand just as Annie appeared at his elbow. He stopped. “Spencer?”
“Safe with his mother. Both are unaware anything is amiss. In fact, Spencer is modeling his mother’s shoe collection while she’s getting a facial. The makeup artist arrived twenty minutes ago. Might want to question her and see if she saw anything.”
He looked at her. “Oh, so you watch Law and Order, too?”
“You don’t have to watch police shows on TV to use common sense. If someone put the bird on the mat, then Linda, or whatever her name is, might have seen him.”
“Or her.”
Annie glanced sharply at him. “Or her. That reminds me. I did see someone on the highway—Jane McEvoy.”
He gave her a questioning look.
“She’s Tawny’s former roommate and BFF. She might not be involved in this threat thing, but you never know. Could be anyone with a grudge. Or a loose screw.”
He didn’t comment. She was right. If the threats were connected, it could be anyone who’d made the trek from California. He’d start with the production crew and work his way to those closest to the boy, including Annie.
He started walking again, noticing Annie’s steps matched his stride for stride as they approached his mother, who wore a bright caftan along with flip-flops with sparkly doodads on them. She looked a little like a circus fortune-teller, but her purple-blue eyes were grave.
“You can go inside now, Mom. Just use the side or front door so we don’t contaminate evidence out here.” Nate studied the “crime” scene before placing his case on an out-of-the-way table. He opened the kit, aware he carried more than the average detective. His time in med school studying pathology had taught him some tricks that gave him an edge. Or at least he thought they did. He knew his success rate came from good old-fashioned research with a side helping of gut instinct.
“That’s a lot of stuff in there. Do all detectives carry—” she picked up a spray bottle of luminal “—stuff like this?”
He took the luminal out of her hand and placed it back in the kit. “I was an Eagle Scout. I’m always prepared.”
“What’s this for?” she asked, picking up a vial containing fingerprinting powder and holding it up to the sunlight streaking through the overhanging trees.
“Something I may need. Put it back, please.” He pulled out the high-resolution camera and caught a gleam in her eyes. He couldn’t get a handle on this woman at all. She didn’t look disturbed by the dead bird like most women would. He turned and caught his mother crouching beside the note and bird. “Don’t touch.”
“I’m not. Just making sure it’s dead.”
Annie walked over. “Oh, it’s dead, Mrs. Dufrene. Birds don’t lie that still if they’re living.”
Picou rose and took a step back toward Annie as Nate snapped photographs of the bird at several angles. After photographing the entire patio, he pulled on gloves and placed the dead bird in an evidence bag.
“You’re not going to throw it away?” Annie asked.
“You’d be surprised what a lab can do with ‘evidence’ like this. We can learn if the person who did this killed the bird or found one that had died of natural causes. And sometimes we can lift prints or find fibers that might give us a clue to help solve the crime.”
“Oh,” she said. He didn’t miss the fact Annie acted out of character. Since he’d met her, everything had been deliberate, careful and no-nonsense. Now she asked him questions she must know the answer to. Hell, half of America watched CSI. He sealed the bag.
She shifted, pushing back her hair. “So what about security cameras? Don’t you have them?”
“Why would we?” he asked.
“Well, with the disappearance of—I mean, Tawny said—” She stopped herself, looking for the words. “Some families who have suffered tragedies are more protective and plan against other—”
“We’re not paranoid,” Picou interrupted, her tone marginally defensive. “Our daughter was taken and it didn’t matter whether we had dogs, fences or guards on every corner of the property. Bad things happen despite our best efforts.”
His mother’s response didn’t surprise him. Even now, she tried to tell him she was sorry—that Della’s disappearance had nothing to do with him. But it couldn’t erase his mother’s accusations the day Della disappeared. Couldn’t wipe away the way she’d shrieked at him, accusing him of not watching out for his sister, labeling the kidnapping his fault. To a ten-year-old boy, it had been devastating. Picou had spent years trying to apologize.
At times, he felt the emptiness in her words. Felt the unreasonable blame. His mother didn’t want to feel the way she felt. She couldn’t help herself.
“I didn’t mean to offend, Mrs. Dufrene. Just trying to help.”
Nate looked at Annie. “Since you’re in the mood to help, give me your opinion. You think this is related to the threats in California or just a simple prank?” He watched her gaze hit the bag dangling in his hand.
“I’m not sure. Most of the staff and crew know Tawny calls Spencer ‘birdie.’ The whole thing could be a sick joke. No one has tried to hurt him, so it could be someone wanting to get the Keenes’ goat. Someone who wants to use fear against them.”
“Nice thinking, Watson,” he quipped.
“What? You asked,” she snapped, her happy-camper vibe gone. He liked her better serious with her feathers ruffled. Felt right.
“I thought it sounded good.” Picou nodded, her eyes earnest.
Actually it was valid. Someone was using terror as a weapon against the couple. He knew how powerful the love between a parent and child was. Not firsthand. But he’d watched his parents’ marriage unravel with Della’s disappearance and murder. They’d never healed. His thoughts flickered back to the folder. He needed to talk to his mother before word leaked out at the office. Someone, namely Kelli—the bigmouth in the unit—was bound to squeal about the woman asking questions down in Lafourche.
Nate set the bagged bird on the wrought-iron table and turned to Annie. “Did you use this door this morning?”
She shook her head. “Almost, but I went back to talk to Tawny. After that, I checked on Spencer and slipped out the side door. I didn’t see anyone around Beau Soleil, but I wasn’t looking either. The only person up this morning was Mr. Keene and he was in the kitchen fixing coffee. Maybe he heard someone.”
Briefly the idea of Keene staging the threat for press or to suit his own needs crossed Nate’s mind, but he quickly discarded it. Only someone with no soul would falsely threaten his own child for attention. Keene wasn’t a nominee for Humanitarian of the Year, but he didn’t seem to be lacking in love for his son, not to mention he’d tried to keep the threats quiet. No, someone else was playing a sick game with the Keene family.
As far as Nate was concerned, the dead bird on the doormat meant game on. The need to best the perpetrator welled up inside him. “Let’s find out. Is Keene around?”
“His Jeep is.” Annie pointed toward the
gravel parking area at the side of the house.
“Grab him for me.”
Annie narrowed her eyes. “Just because I’m the Hispanic nanny doesn’t mean you can order me around. I don’t work for you.”
“Just like his father,” Picou said, putting her hands on her hips.
Nate stiffened. “I’m not like my father.”
Picou shrugged. “You could have fooled me. Annie may work for the Keenes, but she’s a guest in this home. Go get Carter yourself. We’ll watch the crime scene until someone from the department gets here.”
Nate hated being compared to his domineering father, though he knew there was much of the man in him. For one, he looked like Martin and for the other, he had abnormally high expectations of those around him. Hard to fight the need to command and have people jump to fulfill his orders. He’d been called asshole more than once. Just like his old man.
“Sorry. I didn’t intend it as it came out, and it certainly had nothing to do with your ethnic background or gender.”
Annie nodded. “Apology accepted. I’m heading inside to shower and assume my duties, so I’ll tell Mr. Keene you need him.”
“Thanks.” Nate looked at his mother as Annie headed toward the side door. Picou studied him, a hint of a smile on her lips. He knew then and there she approved of Annie Perez, which both pleased and distressed him. He knew his mother. She’d been throwing women in his path for the past five years, groaning about dying without having grandchildren. She’d be pushing the capable, sexy nanny his way every chance she got. The question was would he be waiting? “Don’t you have something better to do, Mom?”
“No,” she said, folding her thin frame into a patio chair and stretching her arms overhead. “You know I’m fascinated by police work, so I’ll enjoy watching you in action. I won’t have to watch Cold Case reruns this afternoon.”
“Not much to watch, Mom.”
“You trying to get rid of me?”
He drew a deep breath and held it for three seconds before releasing it. His mother was many things, topping out at fascinating, but she also had a childish, bratty nature. He looked at her, and she smiled winningly.
“Actually I’m here because of you.”
“I know. I birthed you.”
He gave her a deadpan stare.
“Okay, not funny, but I am glad you came by to check on me. Gets lonely out here all by myself.”
“With all these people around, I can see you’re starved for attention.” He buried his guilt under sarcasm. He should check on Picou more. It was his duty.
The crunch of several cars sounded in the gravel.
“The cavalry has arrived, so I’ll leave you to it. Come in later and tell me why you’re really here. In the meantime, I’ll hope it has something to do with that adorable little nanny. She’s got spit and fire.”
He heard car doors slam and the voice of Blaine Gentry, the St. Martin Parish Sheriff. “I’d hate to smother your matchmaking plans, but this has to do with Della.”
Picou stopped in the middle of the path. “Della?”
Nate swallowed, wishing he could snatch back his flippant words. Wrong move. Should have waited. “Probably nothing, but a deputy down in Lafourche called me about a woman asking a couple of flag-raising questions. They sent a file on her, but we’ll talk later.”
Sheriff Blaine Gentry tromped onto the patio. “Morning. What we got here?”
Picou muttered “morning” before heading inside. Her shoulders were taut and he didn’t miss the way the sunshine had been sucked out of her. Yeah, talking about Della did that every time.
“A dead bird.”
Blaine’s eyebrows chased his hairline. “You called us out here for a dead bird? Kelli said you found a body.”
Nate stifled aggravation. Along with a big mouth, Kelli was known for exaggeration, one of the main reasons he’d hot-footed it out to Beau Soleil to tell his mother about the query in Lafourche. “And a note.”
Nate’s sometimes-partner Wynn Mouton ambled toward the bird sitting in the plastic bag. He lifted the bag and eyed the contents.
“Wow, you bagged this all by yourself and wrote the date on it, too. Your talent amazes me.” Wynn grinned like the smart-ass he was.
Nate ignored him, walked to the mat and lifted the folded paper, opening it. “Yeah, I can write my name, too, asshole. But you can write my name when you write up the report.”
“The hell I will,” Wynn said, dropping the bag back onto the table. “It’s a dead bird. Why we running lab on it?”
“You owe him, Mouton,” Blaine said, his dark eyes taking in the perimeter. “And this ain’t no regular dead bird. Feels like an iceberg case with lots underneath we can’t see.”
“Ah, hell,” Wynn muttered, absentmindedly rubbing the shoulder he’d had surgery on after falling during a foot chase.
“Take a look,” Nate said, holding the letter toward Blaine but not allowing him to touch it since he wore no gloves. It was regular copy paper with typed words centered on the page. Times New Roman font. Size 12.
“Twisted bastard,” Wynn said, looking over the sheriff’s shoulder.
Birdie, Birdie in the sky
You will pay an eye for an eye
Tell your whore mother to draw a line
Or her precious baby will soon be mine
“A rhymer,” Nate commented, sliding the letter in the bag he held in his other hand. He sealed it. “Anger’s directed toward the mother, so the kid’s a tool.”
Blaine nodded. “Sounds right, but let’s try all angles. LAPD should have files and we’ll make a request, but let’s come at this fresh with our own guys. Dufrene, you take lead. Mouton, you assist. Start with who has a grudge against Tawny. Maybe someone she beat out for a part? Or one of Keene’s ex-girlfriends?”
“I’ll start with family and staff then move on to the production company looking at anyone who’s been nursing a grudge for even the slight offense. Never know when taking the last donut might break someone.” Nate slid the sisal mat into a large plastic bag and swept the patio with his eyes. He often did the work for crime-scene investigation. Dez Shaver, head of CSI, hated fieldwork and trusted Nate to preserve the scene. Nate would put in a call for a few more deputies to do a complete sweep, including that of the perimeter.
He looked up and surveyed the familiar line of trees extending outward on the huge estate. The entire property was slightly over a hundred acres with many places to hide. Chances were, the perp had snuck through the woods and left the “gift.” They needed to broaden the crime scene and look for footprints. It would be the first step on the path to finding out who might have it in for Tawny. “We’ll need more help. Widen the search perimeter. Digging into Keene’s past will take a huge team. I hear the man fancies himself Casanova.”
“Not anymore.” Carter Keene stepped out the back door, directly onto the spot where the mat had lain. Nate suppressed a wince.
“Mr. Keene.” The sheriff replaced his cowboy hat and held out a hand. Keene took it, but didn’t look impressed.
“You might want to watch what you say when you’re insulting a man on his own movie set,” Keene said, addressing Nate.
“Which happens to be owned by my family,” Nate finished. “And it’s not an insult. It’s a compliment. Wynn once dreamed of catching a tenth of the action you got.”
Wynn played along. “Hey, I did all right. Married, ain’t I?” He wiggled his left hand.
Carter smiled, his ego apparently stroked as he sank into the chair Nate’s mother had vacated minutes before and crossed his long legs at the ankle. Very nonchalant. “All in the past, gentlemen, all in the past. Now Annie said you wanted to see me? What’s with the gloves and glowering police faces? Someone on set get out of line?”
“Sheriff’s department,” Wynn muttered.
Blaine regarded Keene with piercing blue eyes. The sheriff’s hat sat low, nearly glancing the bushy gray eyebrows beneath. On the surface Blaine looked very much a
good ol’ boy, but he’d been elected after serving an integral role on the task force that caught the Baton Rouge serial killer. Blaine had been the first to develop a geographical profile and pinpoint the area in which victims disappeared, earning himself a spot as the poster boy. “There’s been a definite threat this go around.”
Carter bent forward. “A definite threat? Against me? Or Spencer?”
Blaine picked up the protected note and handed it to Carter. Carter blanched, handing the note back to the sheriff. “How? I thought we’d left this nonsense back in L.A. Thought yesterday’s scare was a fluke.”
“It was,” Nate interrupted, “but this isn’t. This is someone getting serious with your family.” He nodded his head toward the dead bird.
Carter’s gaze slid to the gruesome talisman lying on the table. “Christ.”
Blaine motioned toward the house. “We’ll need to ask some questions. Why don’t you go inside with Wynn?”
Carter shook his head. “I’ve got to get to the set. We’re behind and—”
“Your son is more important, don’t you think?” Blaine said, nodding toward Wynn. “Get a statement from him and the mother. Nate, talk to your mother, Lucille and the nanny. Let’s make this official. I’ll put a call out to Hollywood division and see if we can get what they have. Then you can take it from—”
“Call Burrell,” Carter interrupted. “He’s at Quantico and has all the files.”
Blaine looked at Nate, communicating what they both knew. This FBI agent had humored Keene. High priority would not be given to a threat such as the ones received by the Hollywood couple...unless it went public. And it really didn’t need to be made public at this point. Later Nate would call the agent Carter had an “in” with. Relatively speaking, the FBI was rather useless on something like this, but he’d be courteous. Never know when he might need a favor of his own someday.
Carter rose without another word and followed Wynn inside the kitchen. A few more deputies arrived, and Blaine gave them instructions for canvassing the area. That left Nate to find Annie.
