“Mayor Duffy's grandfather,” Flint said.
“Yes,” Lila said, almost floating around the piano room. “The political face of Los Angeles changed from that day forward. Los Angeles became owned by the studios. Canyon View Studios may not appear very grand, but rest assured, hidden on the back lots lie some very powerful truths.”
“Keep going,” Flint said.
“Detective, after the death of my daughter, I knew it was time to return and punish Patrick. I sent him the photos of the murder. Needless to say, Patrick was very displeased but caved into my demands. I also sent Mayor Duffy the photos and began to, shall I say, place him into position. I also informed Mayor Duffy that I had hidden information, stored away in my memory, that I would reveal to the courts if he did not do as I asked of him.”
“Where do you come in?” Tori asked Richard.
“Out of panic, my brother threatened me. He told me to make myself known to Lila and talk her out of destroying him or he would kill her.”
“Oh, what a lovely day,” Lila exclaimed, floating to Richard and gently taking his hand into her own. “Together at last, after so many lonely years, I have my darling Richard back.”
“So you two devised a plan?” Flint asked.
“Oh yes, indeed,” Lila said with a smile. “Old Patrick had to die, you see. But not before his death could help us destroy Mayor Duffy. However, I did not expect my vicious little granddaughter to become, as we say, a thorn in my side. It was at that time I hired a woman who looked, acted, and even, dare I say, thought like me.”
“A very clever actress,” Richard added.
“And,” Lila continued, “it wasn't long before Patrick decided to use Jennifer to destroy the mayor. Patrick's plan was to destroy us all, really... except me. He wanted me alive.”
“This guy sounds awful,” Tori said, shaking her head.
Flint shook his head. “Okay, Lila, so Patrick used Jennifer to get at the mayor. So what?”
“The mayor has a weakness for pretty faces,” Lila said. “Jennifer's task was to convince the mayor into helping her kill me. I hid in this mansion and listened to them talk when they thought I was passed out in bed. She wrapped the Mayor around her little finger as easy as a child wraps gum around his finger. But then, something began to go wrong.”
“What?”
“My actress,” Lila explained. “She didn't go as I requested. When the mayor showed up here alone, she tried to kill him. Why? Oh, who really knows? Olivia was brilliant but so very ill. She loved me dearly, and I believe she tried to kill the mayor in order to protect me. But the Mayor arrived with a needle full of sedatives, and the rest, my dear, is history.”
“No, it isn't,” Flint said. “A woman was murdered. What happened after this Olivia woman was killed?”
“Patrick shows up,” Lila told Flint in a simple voice. “Patrick begins to argue with the mayor, and the two of them agree to make the murder appear to be accidental. Jennifer is contacted and ordered to call Cody... oh, poor dear Cody, forced to act in the criminal mind once more... and tell him to arrive the following morning instead of at his arranged time.”
“But Mayor Duffy doesn't trust Patrick, right?” Flint asked.
“He hated Patrick,” Lila confessed. “He and Jennifer created a plan to blame the murder of Olivia on him. That, my dear Detective, is where you came into the scene. However, Jennifer got, as they say, cold feet and went to Patrick. Patrick was very displeased and, well, my dear Detective, made a few calls that forced the mayor into a corner. You were his only way out.”
“Before you go any further, what is Jennifer's intention?” Flint asked.
“My death.” Lila sighed heavily and patted Richard's hand. “She truly believes that I am dead. She wants my wealth. But rest assured, my lawyer knows that I am very much alive. No one is touching my money.”
“I could arrest him for concealing the truth,” Flint told Lila, but then backed down. “What's done is done. I'd be wasting my time and tax payers’ money. Keep going, Lila.”
“Jennifer got caught in a web,” Lila said, then smiled at Tori. “Oh, how I love your dress, dear.”
“Really?” Tori said with a smile. “Wow, thank you. It's the latest fashion in Paris. I’m a big fan of yours, Mrs. Crastdale, but please keep going with your tale.”
“Wait,” Flint said.
He quickly scanned the new information that paced around his troubled mind. He glanced at Richard. The man seemed calm and collected, but a drop of sweat slowly eased down from his right temple. Ah! Flint grinned. “Richard, where is Jennifer Reed?” he asked.
“How should I know?” Richard answered. His voice was stern but it cracked.
“Why did you kill Patrick?” Flint asked, stepping closer to Richard in order to make the old man feel uncomfortable.
Richard looked nervously at Lila. Lila smiled. “My dear Richard killed Patrick because Patrick was going to kill Jennifer. The girl is my blood, after all. Hateful, bitter, deadly, yes, but she still has my blood running through her veins. Patrick's death was a bit premature for my taste, but one does what one has to do to protect family.”
“Where is Jennifer?” Flint demanded, focusing on Lila. “Lila, tell me. I can help her if she lets me. It's the mayor I'm after.”
“Oh?” Lila asked, disbelieving. “We have confessed to murdering a man and you only are interested in arresting the mayor? Come now, Detective.”
“Look,” Flint said, growing impatient. “Your wealth is going to get Richard the best legal defense money can buy. I'm not stupid, lady. I'm not going to waste my time attacking a man who is about ready to kick the can. I'm sure you two will eventually vanish and end up in Europe somewhere. The courts won't bother much, either. Why chase down an old woman and old man?”
Lila smiled happily. “You do understand me well, don't you, Detective? I am impressed. Richard and I have already spoken to our attorney. In time, we will make the matter public. As for now, we have some unfinished business to tend to. We wish to see the mayor dead.”
“How?” Flint asked curiously.
“You wish to know where Jennifer is, don't you?” Lila asked.
“There's a lot I want to know, but yeah, knowing where Jennifer is at will help,” Flint admitted. “I also want to know where Cody is at, but there's no chance in…” Flint stopped talking.
A shadowy figure stepped up behind Tori, holding a gun.
“Hello, Cody,” Flint said. “Arnold, don’t move.”
“Hey, I'm sorry,” Cody apologized, holding a Glock 19 to Tori’s head. “I had no choice. After I got shot at yesterday, I ran here. I didn't think anyone would be here, but the old lady and old man, they were here. They promised to help me if I did what they asked. Please, drop your guns, okay?”
“You’re making a bad choice, Cody,” Flint said in a warning tone.
“Man, yesterday I almost got filled with holes. I gotta look out for myself,” Cody yelled at Flint. “This old lady is gonna get me off to some nice sunny part of the word, in style.”
“After you kill two cops, first, right?” Flint said. “Tori, drop your gun.”
“Nope,” Tori said. Turning around, she faced Cody. “Shoot me if you want to, buddy, but I’m sick and tired of being bossed around.”
“Listen, lady, I mean business,” Cody threatened, raising the gun in his hand higher into the air. “Don't make me shoot you.”
“So shoot away,” Tori said, staring deep into Cody's scared eyes. “If you kill me, buddy, I'll get a hero’s funeral and you'll have to live as coward and criminal the rest of your life. And let me tell you, cop killers don't get far, don't really matter where they run to.”
“Kill her!” Lila ordered Cody, changing her voice from a pleasant old lady into a lethal scorpion.
“What?” Cody asked, shaking his head. “Hey, the deal was just to tie them up in the wine cellar where Jennifer is at.”
Flint threw his eyes at Lila. The old lady's face
became a sour grape. “Shut up!” she ordered Cody. “Kill them and do it now or I will see to it that you rot in prison for the rest of your life. I have the wealth to hire men to track you down no matter where you run to.”
“Go ahead and pull the trigger,” Tori told Cody, folding her arms. “When I was a little girl I heard my grandfather tell my brother that he would rather live one day with courage than live as a coward the rest of his life. I was seven years old and eavesdropping, which was wrong, but my brother was always hogging my grandfather and I was jealous so I eavesdropped and--”
“I think he gets it,” Flint said.
“Look,” Tori said to Cody, “You don't seem like a bad kid to me. A little misguided, but not bad. Hey, we all go through some bad stuff, homeboy--”
“Stop calling him homeboy!” Flint snapped at Tori.
Tori shrugged her shoulders. “Just trying to keep up with the street talk,” she said.
Flint rolled his eyes. “Cody, please, shoot me first.”
“Not funny,” Tori said. “You know, it's not easy being your partner, Flint. It wouldn't hurt for you to show me some respect sometimes. I mean, what's with you? I'm just trying to do my job your jerk and all you do is give me a hard--” Tori abruptly stopped talking, and with a move that even impressed Flint, she brought her right hand down and forward in perfect karate chop, and struck Cody's right hand. Taken by surprise, Cody watched as the Glock was knocked from his hand.
Before he could react, Tori brought her right knee up and forward, striking Cody in his private section. Cody crumpled down to the ground in a miserable moan. “Sorry, buddy,” Tori said picking up the Glock, “but this girl takes self-defense classes.”
“Not bad,” Flint said, taking out his gun. “Not bad at all, Arnold.”
Lila and Richard grabbed each others’ hands. “I will contact my attorney at once,” she said. “We will be out of your jail within the hour.”
“Oh, the games we play,” Flint said and patted his pocket. With a grin on his face, he pulled a small, black, recorder from the front right pocket of his jeans. “The courts like confessions, you know. Really helps them to throw concrete convictions are criminals.”
Richard squeezed Lila's hand. “It will be all right, dear.”
Flint tossed the tape recorder down onto the floor. “What are you doing?” Tori asked.
“I want Mayor Duffy,” Flint told Lila and Richard. “So here is how we're gonna finish this game. You two are going to get lost and stay lost. I have no interest in you.”
“But he killed Patrick Wilson!” Tori objected, covering Cody. “Flint, you're breaking the law.”
“Whose law?” Flint asked. “Arnold, with the wealth this woman has, even with the evidence I have against her, it's no good. She'll make bail and then they'll vanish. They'll never see one second behind bars, Arnold. That's the truth of it.”
“You're a very smart man,” Lila said.
“Shut up,” Flint growled at her, “and listen to me. You're going to make a phone call before I let you two leave. You're going to call the mayor and tell him that you have me tied up in the basement, got it? And then take a hike. Arnold, you're going to stay out of sight with Cody.”
“What about Jennifer?” Lila asked.
“If you want her, she's yours. I'll send her packing after I deal with the mayor,” Flint promised. “Your money will do the same for her that it'll do for you. I'd be wasting my time if I tried to send her to prison. But let me make one thing very clear when I say take a hike, I mean it. Understand?”
“Clearly,” Richard spoke before Lila could answer Flint. “I think the detective's offer is very generous, Lila.”
“I want Jennifer,” Lila demanded, raising a bony finger at Flint. “Family is family, detective.”
“You'll have her,” Flint assured Lila, “when I'm good and ready to give her up. If you cross me, I'll run her across the press so fast the whole world will know who she is. I'll also contact the foreign media and run her name through every paper possible. If Jennifer wants a chance at returning to Europe in peace, then you better play nice.”
“We will,” Richard promised Flint. “Lila, dear, considering the circumstances, and the mere fact that Cody is now disabled and can testify against the both of us, we must do as the detective asks.”
“I want Jennifer,” Lila told Flint, staring him in the eyes. “I will have her, are we clear?”
“Go call the mayor and take a hike,” Flint replied.
“I can't believe you!” Tori yelled at Flint. “You can't--”
Flint quickly gave Tori a look that told her to shut up and play along. “Arnold, I know the system. Now get Cody out of sight. Take him upstairs to the master bedroom and lock him in the closet.”
“Come on,” Tori ordered Cody.
“I'm... coming,” Cody groaned, holding his midsection. “Man, you almost crippled me...”
“Move,” Tori said, watching Flint walk Lila and Richard out of the piano room. As soon as Flint was out of sight she paused. “Listen,” she told Cody, “I know you're a good kid... a little confused, but a good kid. I want to help you, but first, I need you to do me a favor.”
“A favor?” Cody asked. “Lady, are you crazy? All I want is to get out of here.”
“And go where?” Tori asked. “You gotta stop running, Cody. You made some pretty bad choices, but who doesn't? I made them with men, boy, I have. This one time I dated this guy who claimed he was from France but turned out to be from Iowa... boy, was I ever stupid.”
“What's the favor?”
“Here, take this.” To Cody's shock, Tori handed him back the Glock. “I need you to help me cover Flint. I'm not a good shot yet. Sad but true. The mayor is most likely going to show up with some extra guns, you know. I know you know how to handle a piece... I mean, a gun.”
“Yeah, I do,” Cody said, staring down at the Glock in his hand. “Are you crazy? I could kill you right now.”
“Nah,” Tori said, and patted Cody on his shoulder. “You're a good kid, I can tell. Now be a really good kid and do what I say. I need some back up here, okay?”
“Where are you going to be?” Cody asked.
“We'll be in the wine cellar.” She grabbed him by the arm.
Cody drew in a deep breath and allowed Tori to pull him away. For once in his life, maybe, just maybe, he might be able to do something heroic, regardless of the cost. Working for the good guys sure was a lot better than working for the bad guys.
“Mayor Duffy?” Lila spoke into a white antique phone hanging beside a stainless steel refrigerator sitting in a large, expensive, kitchen. “This is Lila Crastdale. I'm not dead.”
Flint motioned for Richard to sit down at a hardwood table resting under a soft oval window pulling in warm California sunlight into the kitchen. “Not a word,” he warned Richard, and eased his way over to Lila.
“Lila?” Flint heard Mayor Duffy ask in a confused voice. “But you... I...”
“You killed a woman I hired to play my role,” Lila said. “I want you at my mansion immediately, Mayor Duffy. I have managed to take Detective Flint hostage. He is in my wine cellar. I wish for you to dispose of him. I also have Jennifer.”
“I see,” Mayor Duffy said. At his office desk, he nodded at two men dressed in black sitting on a gray couch. “Why should I trust you? You wanted me dead.”
“I want your bloodline dead,” Lila confessed. “But I have nothing against your personally. My duty is to correct the past.”
“I see,” Mayor Duffy said again, “but...”
“I am an old woman,” Lila explained, creating a false script in her mind with the skill of a brilliant writer, “and I am tired. The detective has threatened to arrest me. I cannot allow this. He came here looking for Cody.”
“I see,” Mayor Duffy said in a very pleased voice. “I was under the impression he was hiding Cody.”
“He's a liar. I have Cody,” Lila said, staring into Flint's face. “K
ill him and Cody is yours.”
“I want Jennifer.”
“Deal,” Lila replied, in a voice that even convinced Flint. “When will you arrive?”
“Within the hour,” Mayor Duffy promised. “Will you be at home?”
“I will not.”
“Did you kill Wilson?” Mayor Duffy asked, “or was it Jennifer? Not that I mind him being dead. His death is very welcomed.”
“I killed him,” Lila lied. “It was time for that man to die. I could not wait any longer, with the detective closing in.”
“Flint is a bumbling idiot. I was planning on… ending him tonight at Jennifer's home. However, you have saved me the trouble of having to wait,” Mayor Duffy said.
“I was going to use Patrick to destroy you,” Lila hissed. “I despise you. Your grandfather was a murderer. Your day will come.”
Mayor Duffy laughed. “My grandfather lives on in me, old woman. We are the power elite. We own Hollywood. Your worthless attempts to bring my grandfather down failed. Here I stand. But don't worry old woman. I'll let you live. You are of no use to me.”
“We'll see. For now, dispose of the detective. We'll continue our game later,” Lila said, and slammed the phone down. “Detective,” she said in a disgusted voice, “I have photos of that awful man killing Olivia. I wish for you to have them.”
“Later,” Flint said, snatching a pair of handcuffs from under the back side of his shirt. “Over here,” he told Richard.
“What is this?” Lila demanded.
Flint quickly handcuffed Richard's left wrist to Lila's right wrist. “I know your wealth is going to allow you to escape justice, but I have to try.”
“You mean you lied to me just to…?” Lila began, then trailed off. “Well played, Detective. I made a very important phone call for you under a false pretense.”
“You play the cards you get,” Flint said, and motioned Richard toward the pantry. “You can scream for help when Duffy arrives, but he'll just kill you. I'm guessing he isn't going to show up alone. Your best chance to stay alive is to be very, very quiet.”
Detective Flint Box Set: A Detective Story Box Set Books 1-3 Page 12
