Murdered in Hollywood

by Dianne Harman

  “Actually, it sounds perfect,” Kat said. She made a mental note to book a one-day hotel break by herself so she could have the same treatment. Marie gave her the trademark double air kiss for which she was so well-known, ruffled Jazz and Rudy’s heads with kissing noises, then left in the Mercedes she’d rented.

  Kat put the finishing touches on the table, picking some flowers from the garden and putting them in a vase in the center. Then she went inside to check on the meatballs. Meatballs in a mushroom Marsala sauce, to be precise, over mashed potatoes with a wedge salad on the side. It was Lacie’s favorite ‘celebration’ meal, the meal Kat had cooked when Lacie had lost her first tooth, when she’d started ‘big kid’ school, when she’d aced a report card, when she’d passed her ballet exam with top marks, and every other special event for Lacie.

  She heard the front door open, and Jazz and Rudy immediately raced into the house from where they’d been lazing on the patio and ran through the house to the front door.

  Normally, Kat would have stayed put and waited for all of them to come in. But this? This was too exciting to wait. She rushed to the door right along with the dogs.

  “So?” she asked to the figures of Blaine and Lacie and Tyler, who were stepping into the hallway from outside. “Tell me!”

  Lacie couldn’t keep the grin off her face. “It’s a girl, Mom.”

  Kat rushed to Lacie and hugged her tightly in a hug. “Oh, sweetie. Are you happy?”

  “So happy, Mom,” Lacie said, beginning to get a little tearful. “I mean, a boy would have been great, too, but secretly I was hoping for a little girl. I want her to be as close to me as you and I are. I’ll raise her just the way you raised me.” She laughed. “Except with maybe not quite so much piano practice.”

  Kat laughed. “Remember how you wanted to give up after three lessons, when you’d begged and begged me for months to let you have them? I thought I had to make you understand that you had to follow through with things, or you’d get into bad habits. In retrospect, I think I was wrong about that. You weren’t the kind of kid to pick up and drop things.”

  “Hey, I was kidding,” Lacie said, poking Kat gently with her elbow.

  Kat looked at Blaine and Tyler. “What great news, right?”

  Tyler was beaming. “You bet, Ms. Denham.”

  “Please, how many times have I asked you to call me Kat?”

  “He was just brought up well, Mom,” Lacie said. “Don’t blame him.”

  Blaine put his arm around Kat. “Smells like someone’s been cooking up a storm.” He was much taller than she was, so his kiss landed on her forehead.

  “I hope your morning sickness isn’t troubling you, Lacie.”

  “Oh, no,” she said. “Thank goodness, it’s getting less and less every day. I can actually look at a banana now without feeling repulsed.” She laughed. “Pregnancy is weird.”

  “You’re right about that,” Kat said. “All those hormones flying around in your body. But I’m super glad you’re not sick, because I want you to enjoy your special occasion dinner to the fullest. And then, Tyler, you have to leave. We’ve got lots to do to get Lacie ready for tomorrow’s big day. I expect you may have a few things to take care of, too.”

  “I do,” he said. “I’ve got to iron my socks.”

  “Iron your…?” Blaine shook his head. “If there was one thing that I never would have thought needed ironing, that would be it. Never mind, I won’t ask.”

  “Tyler loves ironing,” Lacie said as they went into the kitchen.

  “Well, that’s good,” Kat teased, “because it’s not your forte. Like mother, like daughter, I think.”

  Lacie scrunched her nose up at her mom, then turned to Tyler. “You just don’t like anything to have a crease, do you?” Lacie asked.

  Tyler was flushing red. “You might call it my personal eccentricity,” he said, looking embarrassed.

  “Oh, we all have our little glitches about certain things,” Kat said. “Did you know, if I’m writing a book on paper, which rarely happens because I mostly do it on a laptop, it has to be with a pen that has green ink?”

  Tyler laughed. “Okay, now I feel better.”

  Kat grinned. “Knew you would. Now, outside, all of you. There’s champagne out on the patio with a non-alcoholic version for Lacie, courtesy of Marie, and some bread sticks to get you started.”

  “Anything I can help with?” Blaine asked.

  Kat looked around. “I think we’re all set for now, Mr. District Attorney.” She winked at him.

  He winked back. He wasn’t about to use her saucy nickname in front of Lacie and Tyler.

  They soon sat down to the meal and Kat felt all was right with the world. Jazz and Rudy ate some meatballs from their own bowls, then lay down on the deck and slept.

  “You know, I’m glad Marie’s around,” Lacie said. “You’ve even brightened up, Mom, since she’s been on the scene.”

  “I agree, you have,” Blaine said. “And I thought you were already at maximum happiness capacity.” He chuckled. “She’s extended your meter.”

  “I hadn’t thought about that,” Kat said. “I think you’re right. But it’s not only Marie being around. It’s you two having your lovely baby, a baby girl. I had a feeling it would be a girl. And getting married. Things are just going beautifully for all of us right now, aren’t they?”

  Blaine leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Indeed they are, my love.”

  Lacie smiled at her mom. “Life takes all kinds of twists and turns, doesn’t it? But sometimes the unexpected things bring us the most joy.”

  Tyler rubbed Lacie’s belly. “I’ll say.”

  “Have you thought of any names?” Kat asked.

  “We have, but we’re not sure of any yet,” Lacie said. “We thought of Isabella, Daisy, Harper, and Rose.”

  “Oh, I love Rose,” Kat said.

  “Me too,” Lacie said. “But Tyler thinks it’s a little old fashioned.”

  “You’ll get there in the end,” Kat said. “I’m sure you’ll choose something lovely.” Kat beamed with happiness, sure she couldn’t be any prouder of her daughter.

  *****

  But she was wrong. Because, the next day, sitting at the front of the church, watching Lacie get married with tears streaming down her cheeks, Kat felt like she was going to burst with motherly pride.

  Lacie was radiant and smiled at Tyler the whole way through the ceremony while the pastor spoke. Her blonde hair was braided in a wreath around her head, with small white flowers in it, and her long gold and pearl earrings caught the light whenever she moved her head. She wore an empire line white crepe dress with a small trail, and clutched a white flower bouquet.

  At Lacie’s request, both Kat and Blaine had walked her down the aisle, and Kat knew she would remember it forever as one of the best moments of her life.

  Tyler was a great young man. He worshipped the ground Lacie walked on, and was kind and attentive to her. He wore a light gray suit and his eyes danced with happiness.

  Kat smiled at Marie, who was sitting nearby. She’d toned down her extravagant style and wore a simple pale blue pantsuit. Kat knew she’d done it so she wouldn’t steal the show, and felt it showed a lovely side to Marie’s character. Despite all her natural head-turning ways, she’d made a real effort to blend in and make this day all about Lacie and Tyler.

  After the ceremony they headed to a local hotel, where they were having photos taken followed by a huge wedding feast and then a party in the lovely hotel gardens afterward.

  Just after cutting the cake, in a quiet moment, Marie came over to Lacie and Tyler and Kat, who happened to all be sitting together.

  “I know this isn’t much,” Marie said, rooting around in her bag, “but I do hope you’ll like it.” She drew out a frame, which had a cross stitch piece in the center, saying Family. It had Tyler, Lacie, and Baby Girl written underneath, and a lovely border with rosebuds. It was quite well done, but not 100% professional,
like someone who wasn’t extremely good at it had tried their absolute best.

  “Did you do it yourself?” Lacie asked, taking it in her hands.

  “Yes, I know I’m not the best, but I…”

  Lacie didn’t wait for her to finish. She threw her arms around Marie. “It must have taken you ages,” she said.

  Kat saw Marie wipe a tear away. She had a feeling she was thinking about her estranged son.

  “It was all worth it for you,” Marie said.

  Lacie smiled at her, then pointed out all the little details to Tyler and Kat. “Look, just look at those rosebuds. It’s gorgeous, Marie, I’ll treasure it. Thank you so much.”

  “You’re most welcome,” Marie said. “I’m a little tired, so I’m going to head back to my hotel now. You two are lovely together. Enjoy every moment.”

  Lacie took Tyler’s hand. “We will,” Tyler said. “I’m going to take care of her.”

  “Good man,” she said as she turned and left.

  The rest of the day was heavenly. Everyone was having a wonderful time. A jazz band played and people slow danced out on the terrace and lawn. People drank champagne until they were very happy indeed, and the roast duck had been absolutely wonderful.

  When Kat tumbled into bed next to Blaine that night, after getting a taxi home, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

  CHAPTER 4

  “The Inside Scoop on Hollywood Drama,” James Strauhan spat down at his iPhone.

  “What is it, darling?” Angelica Smith, one of the most famous actresses in Hollywood, asked sweetly. She untangled her naked body from the pristine white sheets and went over to rub James’ back.

  “It’s that horrible woman Marie Moorhead,” he said, his voice trembling. He shook off Angelica’s tender caress and walked out the double doors and onto the balcony. They were staying at a luxurious Barbados resort. He’d told Lucy, his wife, and Angelica had told Brad, her husband, that they were scouting for a new film location.

  Angelica wrapped the sheet around herself and hurried after him in her bare feet. “Please talk to me, darling. You know I can’t stand it when you’re angry.”

  “We may be outed, Angelica,” he snapped.

  “Outed? What are you talking about?”

  His voice trembled, despite his best efforts to sound calm and collected. “Don’t be so thick, Angelica. You do remember…”

  But Angelica had burst into tears. “Why do you have to be like that, James?” she asked through her sobs. “Why can’t you just love me? Why did you approach me and bring me to Barbados, jeopardizing your friendship with Brad, just to insult me?”

  James took a deep breath trying to calm himself. If it had been Lucy saying that to him, he’d have flown off the handle, slammed the door behind him, and gone inside to drink at the bar. But he didn’t want to hurt Angelica. Their affair was no longer the paradisiacal escape it had once been, but it was still much better than real life. A slice of fantasy, where the real world could not encroach.

  Until now.

  “Sorry, darling,” he said, rubbing her bare arms and looking into her eyes. “But listen to me. Marie Moorhead once saw us together on the set of Deepest Secrets in L.A. when we were on the private beach together. I didn’t tell you at the time, because I didn’t want to worry you. But it seems she knew about that private beach, too, and she caught a glimpse of us together. We were naked, remember? That wonderful day…”

  “I remember,” she said, starting to giggle. “That memory will stick with me until the day I die.”

  “I know… but… this new book of hers, The Inside Scoop on Hollywood Drama. It says in the article it’s some kind of tell-all.”

  “It’s probably just the drama from her own life,” said Angelica. “Lord knows she’s had enough.”

  “No,” he said. “It said it’s drama from her own life and from numerous other Hollywood figures. Secrets that people don’t want revealed. That’s what it said.”

  Angelica gulped. “That’s probably just the spin on it,” she said. “A marketing ploy. I’m sure it won’t have any actual new information in it. The potential for libel would be huge.”

  “That’s true,” he said.

  “I’ll certainly sue for libel if the book comes out and it has as much as one word about me in it,” Angelica said. “I can’t have it jeopardizing my career.”

  “But that’s not going to be good enough,” he said. “The papers will be all over it. All the salacious gossip that will result from it will ruin our reputations, not to mention our marriages.”

  Angelica wrapped her arm around his waist. “Would that be so terrible? Maybe then we’d be free to be together, to show the world our love. To run away and forget about everything,” she said as she let her hand drift below his waist.

  James was angry, and shook her off. “Absolutely not. I’m not throwing my life away over this.”

  Angelica rocked back like he’d slapped her in the face. “Are you saying I’m not worth it?”

  “What?” he said, irritated.

  “I’m not throwing my life away over this, that’s what you said. Does ‘over this,’ mean over me, James?”

  “You can twist absolutely anything to be about you, can’t you?”

  “You did mean it about me,” she said. “I know you did. Well, I’m sorry I’m such an inconvenience to your precious little life.” She went back in the bedroom and began to angrily pull on her clothes. “You said you’d leave Lucy eventually, and I said I’d leave Brad. We’d be together and take the world by storm. That’s what you said.”

  James had no intention of ever doing that. He liked things just the way they were. But he’d tell Angelica whatever she needed to hear to keep her with him. “Yes, that’s what I said, and I meant it, darling,” he said, softening the tone of his voice. “But on our own terms. Not because Marie Moorhead has decided to make a load of money writing some tabloid trash.”

  She paused, her arm halfway through one of the straps on her dress. “So why don’t we go public first?” she said. “If we pre-empt it, it’ll look a lot better.”

  James turned away. “I’ll think about it.”

  Angelica was angry again. “You’ll think about it, you’ll think about it. That’s what you always say. Haven’t you had enough time to think about it? Five years, in fact?”

  “Don’t be like this, babe. You know it hurts my heart.” He managed to put just enough softness into his voice to crack through her anger.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, and tears began to flow again. “I’m just… I’m just… Well, I love you so much, James. Keeping all this secret is killing me. Every time I go back to Brad, it’s harder and harder to pretend. I just want to blurt it all out.”

  “Don’t,” he said.

  “I won’t, darling,” she said. “But each year you keep saying we’re going to make it public, step out into the bright life of the truth, and we never do. You’re always asking for more time, more time, and this looks like the perfect time to me. It’s almost like fate is inviting us to step out and show the world our love.”

  “You’re right, darling,” he said. He turned to her and began stroking her hair. “Maybe fate really is calling us. I just… well, I don’t want to hurt you. I want to make sure you’re okay, and your career is okay, and nobody thinks badly about you.”

  “I know,” Angelica said, tipping her head back and reveling in his touch. “But I’ve already thought of that. Remember my idea? I can say Brad was abusive, and leave the marriage without ever mentioning your name. I’ll do a big special in one of the tabloid magazines, an exclusive describing in great detail the hell our marriage was.”

  “I remember you said that,” James said. “It’s only…”

  “He’s your best friend,” Angelica said coldly. “You don’t want to do that to him.”

  “Right,” James said. “It’s bad enough we’re here doing this. I don’t want to sully his name with lies.”

  “It’
s not technically lies,” she said.

  “What do you mean? Has he been abusive to you?”

  “Well, he’s away a lot making movies. That constitutes emotional abuse.”

  “It doesn’t, and you know it. Anyways, he phones you at least three times a day and calls you snuggle bear and honey pot and all of his other names that are definitely not abusive. You forget that I’m usually able to hear those calls.”

  “Well, okay, he’s not abusive,” Angelica said. “But we can just pretend.”

  “I don’t know, Angelica.”

  Her voice quickly became strained. “I hear what you’re saying. You’re saying that you’re taking his side over mine.”

  “No, I…”

  “That’s it, isn’t it? Your loyalty to him is more important than your loyalty to me. Well, I’ll tell you what, James Strauhan, when I’m at the top of your list, give me a call. Goodbye.”

  With that, she stormed out of the room.

  James didn’t bother to follow her. He knew she’d be back within a half hour or so, saying she was sorry and covering him with hugs and kisses. She couldn’t really go anywhere. She’d left the room in a sundress and flip flops, for goodness’ sake. She hadn’t even taken her purse.

  And sure enough, a few moments later, he saw her outside, making her way over to the pool bar. She saw him up at the balcony, and stuck her middle finger up at him. Then she made very obvious flirty body language with the bartender.

  James sighed and went back inside. He had bigger things to worry about than Angelica.

  If this got out, and some other secrets that Marie Moorhead could potentially be privy to, his whole career would be over, and he wasn’t about to let that happen.

  CHAPTER 5

  Auberon Lennon-Shroeder took the letter in his hands. He recognized it immediately. It was from his mother. Her overly ostentatious looped handwriting was singularly recognizable.

  He sat at the kitchen table, deliberating whether he should open it or not, which was his usual routine whenever one arrived from her.