Hollywood Forbidden: A Hollywood Alphabet Series Thriller

by M. Z. Kelly

  As Buck and I were on the sidewalk headed for the car, I looked up and saw Quinton’s son going to his car. He glanced over and saw us, but then turned away.

  We walked up the driveway and I introduced myself and Buck. I then took a moment, explaining in general terms about our investigation and Jackson Caldwell’s involvement.

  “I’ve never heard of him,” Quinton’s son politely said.

  “You ever hear anything about somebody picking up girls, maybe taking them from the beach or other parts of the island, for money?”

  “What?” He shook his head. “That’s disgusting. I can’t believe someone would do that.”

  I gave him my card at the same time asking him his name when I realized we hadn’t gotten it.

  “I’ll be sure to call if I hear anything,” he said, taking the card. “My name is Joey.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  Grace sees the headlight as the motorcycle moves into the woods, coming straight for her. She hits the ground and rolls into the heavy cover of brush. The barbs and branches are sharp, cutting into her flesh, but she remains silent. If she calls out she knows that she will be caught.

  The whine of the engine stops but the motorcycle’s headlight still cuts through the darkness, illuminating the nearby woods. The forest is now silent. Grace holds her breath, willing her trembling body to remain calm.

  “Listen to me,” a man’s voice calls out. She realizes it’s Priest. “I know you’re here. If you come out now all will be forgiven. This is your only chance.”

  Grace has a thought about jumping up and running deeper into the woods. She pushes the idea away, knowing that Priest is stronger and probably faster than her.

  Priest is walking now, coming closer to where she hides. She sees that he has a flashlight and is shining it through the woods, searching for her.

  Her body remains frozen in place, unmoving. She remembers reading somewhere about a butterfly that has the ability to take on the color and texture of its surroundings. The insect became like a leaf in the woods where it lives. Grace wishes she could be a butterfly and do the same. All she can do now is remain still. She holds her breath but her heart is rattling in her chest. It’s so loud that she thinks Priest might hear it.

  When her pursuer passes by, going deeper into the woods, Grace breathes and takes a moment to shift her body, tucking her white dress beneath her as much as possible. Priest turns back, moving over in her direction again. Maybe he heard her and he’s coming for her?

  “Final warning,” Priest says, his eyes scanning the woods. “Either you give yourself up now or I’m going back to the house and killing the other girls. Their murder will be on your hands.”

  Grace hesitates, now unsure what she should do. Her emotions take over, tears streaming down her cheeks. She opens her mouth, starts to cry out, but at the last second stops herself. Her mind takes over. She knows that if she gives herself up, she will die along with the other girls. No one in the house has a chance. She’s always known that.

  After another plea for her to give herself up Priest finally turns, goes back to his motorcycle, and leaves. Grace stays hidden until she hears the motorcycle receding down the road. Somewhere in the distance she hears the engine stop and knows that Priest is back at the house. She says a silent prayer for Maddie and Clara as the woods grow dark and silent again.

  Grace pulls her cut and bleeding body out of the hiding place and takes a moment to calm her nerves and refocus. She looks up seeing that the light of a new day is beginning to lift the shadows of night. Soon it will be morning and she knows the men will come for her again.

  Grace turns, her heart beating wildly, as she sees there’s a shadowy figure standing in the clearing. She’s unable to catch her breath, a jolt of fear shooting down her spine. The figure steps forward, the filtered early morning sunlight now illuminating the familiar face.

  Grace takes a breath, comes over to the figure, and says, “Hello Sissy.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  After leaving Quinton’s house Buck and I agreed that we needed to go back to Jackson Caldwell’s mother and see what she knew about his involvement in the cult Aster’s former legal assistant had told us about. We discussed that Caldwell, or Priest, might be working with someone who’d been involved in the cult in another state.

  “I also think we should go by Carly Lucia’s place,” I said. “Based on what Quinton told us, she knew a lot about what Brill was up to and his relationship with Caldwell, and she withheld that information from us.”

  Buck agreed, adding, “The DA also needs to be involved at some point. Carly withheld information pertinent to our investigation. And Quinton may have been an accessory in setting up Hopkins for murder. There may be enough to file charges on both of them.”

  “Do you think the department will arrange for any kind of protection for Quinton?”

  “Probably, at least until the investigation is over.” He looked over at me. “But if I were Hal Quinton I’d be looking over my shoulder as long as Jackson Caldwell is alive.”

  We were less than a block from Caldwell’s house when Buck got a call from Lieutenant Sloan over the car’s Bluetooth system. “The captain gave us forty-eight hours. Day after tomorrow the feds sweep in and take over unless we make an arrest.”

  “Anything new on the Marlena Aster investigation?”

  “Spencer finally sobered up, so I put her and Baxter on it. The M.E.’s doing the autopsy this afternoon but, so far, there’s nothing to make it look like anything other than a fall.”

  Buck took a moment, filling him in on what Quinton had said. Sloan said he’d run the idea of providing protection for Quinton up the chain and then said, “I going to set up another meeting this afternoon. I’ll invite Tom Kincaid. We can talk to him about Quinton and Lucia withholding information as well as the circumstances around Hopkins being framed.”

  When we got to Caldwell’s house we knocked on the door several times before his mother finally opened up. “I haven’t seen him and I’ve got nothing more to say.”

  “We have a few more questions,” Buck said. “You need to let us in or we’ll all go down to the station and talk.”

  She lowered her eyes and the door swung wider. Once inside, I glanced into her son’s bedroom. The work of the crime techies was still evident. There was a brown coating on everything from the office being dusted for fingerprints. Caldwell’s laptop had been taken along with the DVD’s and the bridal dresses in the closet.

  “He’s not coming back,” Diane Caldwell said, slumping down in a chair. I again had the impression that she’d just gotten out of bed but then decided maybe it was the way she always looked. Her fleshy face was florid and I thought it likely there was a bar nearby where she spent a lot of time.

  “We need to know about the cult, your son’s involvement,” Buck said, after coming over to her and sitting down on the sofa.

  Her dark eyes slowly came up to him, maybe while she decided what lies to tell us. “I don’t know anything…”

  “Priest,” I said. “That’s the name the cult gave to your son. Either you tell us what you know or your can spend the night in jail while we go to the DA and have him file charges for obstructing justice.”

  “Okay.” She found a cigarette on the coffee table, lit it, and blew smoke above her head. “Jackson got involved with a group of people in another state. From what I know they all lived together in some sort of commune.”

  “Where was this?”

  She took a heavy drag on the cigarette, smoke billowing from her nostrils like a dragon. “Somewhere in Idaho, I think. Far as I know he’s no longer involved.”

  “When did Jackson come back to Catalina?” Buck asked.

  “About three years ago. He lost his job and I offered to help him out.”

  “Did he come here with anyone else, anyone he knew in Idaho?”

  She shook her head. “He wanted a fresh start.”

  I held my breath, trying to avoid the s
econd hand smoke. “Tell us more about this cult, what they believed in.”

  “I don’t really know much about it. From what my son said they just all lived together, sharing meals and expenses.”

  “We know from other sources that they believed in polygamy and your son was their priest. He performed marriage ceremonies.”

  “Then you know more than me.”

  I was sure she was lying, or at the very least withholding information. I’ve always believed in that old adage, one good lie deserves another, so I gave it a shot. I raised my voice, leaned over to her. “Tell us about his arrest. That’s why he left Idaho, isn’t it?”

  She blew out a smoky breath, flicked ashes but missed the tray and wiped them off the table. “Yeah, he wanted to get away from everything.”

  “The charges, tell us about them?”

  “All I know is they said he and another guy held some girls against their will in the house where they were living. It was a lie. My son would never do anything like that.”

  “How many girls did this involve?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe a couple. I’m not really sure.”

  “And what happened to the charges?”

  “He got an attorney and was released on bail. As far as I know the charges were dropped. That’s when he came to live with me.”

  We went at Diane Caldwell for another hour but got nothing more. I was sure we were getting the abridged version of a much bigger story behind the charges her son had faced.

  As we drove to Carly Lucia’s house I’d called Molly Wingate who works at Hollywood Station and asked her to run some records on Jackson Caldwell. The record’s clerk was a whiz at gathering a lot of information from multiple sources on short notice. After Buck and I stopped for coffee, I got a call back from Molly when we pulled up in front of Lucia’s condominium complex.

  “I spoke to the local cop shop in Pocatello,” Molly said. “In September of 2010 Jackson Caldwell was arrested for the kidnap and murder of four girls, all of them disappearing from local college campuses.”

  “I don’t understand. Why isn’t he in prison?”

  “According to the detective who worked the case there was no forensic evidence linking him directly to the crimes and he denied being involved. Despite all that, the detective told me he’s sure that Jackson Caldwell committed the crimes. He said Caldwell’s part of a cult, something called, The Family. He’s sure the other members of the group covered for him, provided an alibi.”

  “Did you get any other information about the cult?”

  “Just that Caldwell’s known as Priest. He performed the marriage ceremonies for the girls who were taken in. It sounds like they believe in polygamy and all the girls were shared by the men in The Family. He said they also answered to one man, who’s their leader.”

  “Did you get a name, Molly?”

  “According to the detective I spoke to he goes by one name only. He calls himself, Lamech.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  “I got over the fence first by climbing a tree,” Sissy tells Grace. “When Wendy tried to jump she fell and…” Her words dissolve into tears.

  Grace takes a moment, consoling her. “What happened then?”

  Sissy brushes her tears on the sleeve of her dress. “Priest found her.” Her watery eyes look up at Grace. “I don’t know if she’s still alive.”

  The girls formulate a plan. Stay together. Move quickly. Parallel the dirt road but stay in the woods. Run and hide if there’s any sign of Priest or Lamech.

  The sun is up now, the day dawning clear and warm. They’ve only been moving for an hour when Grace feels exhaustion setting in brought on by her escape from the house and long night in the woods. Her body is cut and bruised and her head still hurts from when she fell.

  “I’m thirsty,” Sissy says. “Do you think we’ll find water soon?”

  Grace is also thirsty. It brings back memories of when she was first taken and didn’t have water. “I don’t know. Let’s just keep moving and hope for the best.”

  They find it difficult to move through the thick brush. An hour later Grace realizes they haven’t gotten very far. After another mile, she decides they need to risk moving closer to the road so they can move faster. She knows time is of the essence if there’s any hope of saving the other girls.

  A few minutes after moving over to the road they hear the whine of motorcycles coming up behind them. This time Grace hears two engines and knows it’s both Priest and Lamech.

  “Back into the woods, now,” Grace says to Sissy, taking her by the hand.

  “I don’t think…”

  “NOW.” She pulls Sissy behind her. “They’re coming.”

  The girls scamper into the woods but the brush is heavy, making it difficult to move. The engines are louder now. Grace knows they have only seconds to find a hiding place. She sees there’s an outcropping of rocks pushing up through the heavy brush. They go over to the rocks and Grace decides the space between the brush and rocks is only big enough for one of them to hide.

  “Get down and stay behind the rocks,” Grace says. After Sissy hides, she finds some dried brush and covers over the hiding place. “Stay here and don’t say a word until I come back for you.”

  “What about you?”

  “I’ll find a place.”

  Grace turns away, hearing the sound of the engines slowing down. She scrambles deeper into the woods but soon realizes there’s no place to hide. The brush is less thick here, making it impossible to find cover.

  Panic overwhelms her and she sprints through the clearing. Behind her she can hear that the engines have stopped now. She knows the men will be here any second. She takes a breath, trying to clear her mind.

  Grace glances up, seeing the tree. She knows it’s something called an Ironwood. They grow everywhere on the island. The foliage is thick and green. She thinks if she gets high enough maybe she can conceal herself in the branches.

  The men are coming closer as she makes her way up into the tree. She’s at least thirty feet off the ground when she hears Priest calling out.

  “Give yourselves up now and all will be forgiven.”

  Grace prays that Sissy will remain silent. A moment later she hears Lamech’s voice. “We have food and water at the house. The other girls are waiting for you.”

  It’s a lie. Grace wonders if the others are already dead.

  “I’m here.”

  Grace’s heart sinks as she hears Sissy’s voice. She watches as the terrified girl comes out of her hiding place and walks over to the men.

  Priest and Lamech come over to her, grabbing her by the arm. “Where is Grace?” Priest demands.

  “I don’t know. She ran.”

  “You’re lying,” Lamech says. He slaps her hard in the face, demands to know Grace’s whereabouts again.

  “I don’t know.” Sissy is crying, becoming hysterical as the men’s fists rain down on her. She slumps to the ground, begging for them to stop.

  From her perch, Graces sees Priest coming over to the clearing where she was a few moments earlier. He raises his voice. “Sissy and the other girls will all die unless you come out now. You will be responsible for their deaths.”

  Tears flow down Grace’s cheeks. She knows what he’s saying is the truth but she also knows they will die anyway. Giving herself up will only mean certain death for both her and Sissy.

  The demands for her to surrender continue for several minutes. Lamech walks over to the tree, looking up into the branches. Grace’s heart hammers like thunder in her chest. Even though she’s high up in the tree where the leaves are thick, she’s uncertain if the men can see her from the ground.

  Lamech finally moves off. He walks over to Priest and says something that Grace can’t hear. The two men then drag Sissy over to the road with them. She’s still crying, begging them for water. When they reach the road, Grace sees Lamech is yelling at her. His fists pummel her until her body slackens and Grace thinks she’s unconscious.
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  Priest holds onto the girl as he gets on his motorcycle and they all leave.

  Grace wastes no time coming down from the tree. She knows time is running out. If Sissy has any chance of staying alive it’s up to her to find help.

  She cautiously makes her way over to the road again, looking in both directions before moving out. She tries to run but manages to only get a few yards down the road when her muscles begin to ache. She’s forced to slow her pace but keeps moving. Water. If she only had water it would make all the difference.

  The sun is high in the sky when she hears the sound. At first she thinks it could be the motorcycle engines again but this sound is lower and farther away. Then she sees the truck. It’s coming down the road in the same direction she’s walking.

  Grace hesitates but then decides she has no choice but to try and get help. She moves over to the center of the road, where she frantically waves her arms. The truck slows down and then stops in the middle of the road. The sun is shining off the windshield and she can’t see the driver. She runs over to the truck at the same time the door opens.

  “Please help me…” Her voice falls into silence as she recognizes the young man who gets out of the truck and smiles at her.

  “Hello Grace,” Joey says. “Let me give you a ride back to the house.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

  While Buck drove us to Carly Lucia’s condo I Googled the name Lamech. “It’s taken from the Bible. Lamech was said to be a sixth generation descendant of Cain.” I turned to Buck. “According to what it says here he was the first man ever mentioned in the Bible to have multiple wives.”

  “That would seem to fit with what we know.”

  “Lamech takes the girls as wives with Caldwell or Priest performing the marriage ceremony,” I said. “But it still doesn’t explain why he kills them.”

  Buck glanced at me. “Quinton said Carly told him it has something to do with Armageddon, Maybe they think the zombie apocalypse is coming.”