by Jenna Baker
*****
By the time the rehearsal was over, it was nearly five o’clock. The wedding was to begin at six. The crew and the cops still hadn’t arrived, and I was feeling a little panicked. I placed a call to Mac. “Where the hell are you guys?”
“There’s a pile-up on the 405 and we’ve been sitting in it for the last hour. Can’t get in or out. The cops are ahead of us and stuck in the same mess,” Mac explained.
“Tell them to put on their siren or something,” I said.
“They’re not in a squad car, Sharpe. Foxy’s up there trying to talk to them, but he doesn’t seem to be getting too far.”
“Oh man – they’re fighting, bro!” Manny said in the background.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
“Foxy just threw his hat on the floor and now he’s yelling at the patrol. And now the patrol is yelling back at him – they’re like an inch from each other’s faces. Now Reid is running over there,” Mac explained.
As I listened to the narrative, I began pacing back and forth in the lobby of the hotel. “Oh, for God’s sake, just get here okay? I can’t keep my eye on Rose because I have to do this wedding thing and I’m worried she’s gonna flee.” I hung up my phone and turned around to see Lenny staring at me.
“Who’s gonna flee?” Lenny asked.
“Oh, Lenny - perfect! I have a witness in my hotel room upstairs. She’s waiting for the cops to get here so she can tell them what she knows.”
“Cops and crew, right?” Lenny asked.
“Yes, of course. Listen, can you go up there and watch her until they arrive? I have to get into my dress plus I’m in the wedding party.”
“I’ll do you one better – how about she’s my date for the wedding?”
“I don’t know, she’s already gotten into a fight with my mother today and I don’t want her upsetting the other guests.”
“Sharpe, this story is huge and it sounds like you might be about to break this case. I’m making yours the premiere episode – we have to get this right!” Lenny said excitedly.
“She doesn’t have anything to wear. The dress she’s in now will piss everyone off.”
“Too casual?” Lenny asked.
“Too slutty,” I explained.
Lenny’s eyes widened. He was a weasel through and through, and he started rubbing his palms together excitedly. “Take me to meet her.”
I led Lenny to my room. He was a sleazy guy, and I felt uncomfortable even sharing an elevator with him.
I knocked on the door and then swiped my key card in the lock. I opened the door slowly and gasped when I walked inside. Rose was laying on the bed, spread-eagle and naked, taking a nap. Luckily she was on her stomach or Lenny’s tongue would have hit the ground.
“Ay, caramba!” Lenny blurted out.
Rose lifted up her head up and looked around.
“Rose, I didn’t know you’d be naked! I’m here with my boss,” I said.
Rose craned her head around to see us. She looked Lenny up and down. “Who’s got you all stiff over there, compadre – me or her?”
Lenny and I both looked down to see that his little head was standing at full attention.
“Uggh, gross!” I winced.
Lenny turned brick red, but Rose was enjoying herself. She slowly turned over to reveal the other side of her body. Her breasts were so perfect I thought they must have been fake, but I knew they weren’t. I quickly turned away – I felt like I was watching a porn show with my boss, and the thought was making me sick.
“Get dressed, Rose, come on!”
“Sure you two don’t want to come in here with me and have some fun?”
“Hummina-hummina!” Lenny purred.
I knew Rose was trying to mess with both of us, and I did not appreciate it at all. I felt the anger rising in my body and I lashed out at her. “No one is interested in your STD-riddled body, Rose! Now, get dressed!” I grabbed her dress off the chair it was resting on and threw it at her.
“Spoilsport,” Rose said as she pulled the dress over her head.
I smoothed out my hair and tried to calm down. “Rose, this is my boss Lenny. He would like to invite you to be his date at the wedding tonight.”
“I bet he would. I ain’t no escort, Lenny.”
“It’s for your protection. Detective Reid recommended it, actually. Lenny is trained in martial arts,” I lied.
“Right, yes I am. It’s very nice to meet you…Rose, was it?” Lenny said, extending a hand.
Rose took his hand reluctantly.
“There’s a boutique downstairs where Lenny’s going to buy you a dress,” I explained.
“I hope you have a high limit on that thing. Okay, let’s go,” Rose said, standing.
I was relieved to see that Lenny’s erection had gone down. Sharing the elevator with him was skeevy enough without worrying about bumping into anything.
We headed to the boutique downstairs. I walked up to a saleswoman to explain the situation while Rose browsed and Lenny drooled.
“The gentleman over there will be paying for that woman’s dress. We need something appropriate for a wedding. The dress she’s wearing now already got her into one fight, so nothing too low-cut, okay? She’s also not wearing any underwear, so maybe something with some built-in support.”
The saleswoman was in her fifties, and the way she smiled knowingly, I imagined this request was pretty common.
I left Lenny and Rose in the store and ran to the bridal suite. “Where have you been?” my mother said when I walked in the door.
I was running out of excuses, and I needed a good one. “Sorry, I had to…I had diarrhea.” My sister was being zipped into her gown and looked over at me disgustedly. The bridesmaids turned too. I knew I had just embarrassed myself, but I also knew I couldn’t let my mother know I was dealing with a nude witness who was potentially being stalked by a killer.
The wedding planner was in the room and instantly took to her headset. “I need some antacids in here STAT.” Everything was STAT with this woman and I had no idea who she was talking to on that headset.
“Your dress is over here,” she continued. “If you need to go to the bathroom, let me know, and I can have someone help you hold the dress. I wouldn’t want it to get dirty.”
“You want me to ask someone to hold my dress in the bathroom when I’m having diarrhea? That ain’t happening, lady.”
“No, it isn’t – not once I load you up with pills. Why don’t you get dressed, Victoria, the wedding starts in thirty minutes.”
The truth, of course, was that my stomach was fine, but I feared once this woman was done with me I wouldn’t poop for a week. I grabbed my dress off the hanger and walked into the changing room.
I pulled on my Spanx first, then stepped into the dress and pulled it up over my shoulders. It had a sweetheart neckline, and despite the light color, the cut of the dress worked well with my figure. I didn’t know if it was going to zip up, and I felt a twinge of dread as I reached for the zipper. I tried to pull it up but couldn’t work the angle, so I had to call my mother in.
“This better fit, Victoria,” she said as she reached for the zipper.
“Thanks for your support, Ma.” I felt the zipper tightening around my waist and shoulder blades, but my mother managed to get it all the way to the top.
“Oh, thank heavens,” she said.
“Does it fit?” Ginny called from the other room.
“Yes, Ginny, it fits,” I called out, annoyed. I looked in the mirror. Despite my recent weight gain, the dress actually managed to make me look quite slender. I pulled on my matching green heels and stepped out of the room.
Ginny of course looked gorgeous, and although my mother had seen her in her dress just moments before, she burst into tears. “My baby is getting married. Oh, I can’t take it!”
“You look beautiful, Gin,” I told her.
She smiled. “So do you. I’m glad it fits.”
“It’s the Sp
anx. So, are you nervous?”
“I’m okay. Mom’s guru helped me meditate earlier so I’m much more centered now.”
“Oh, okay, good,” I said, trying to take her words seriously.
An attendant walked into the room carrying champagne, and I grabbed a glass and took a nice sip. This was a party, and I should be enjoying myself. Lenny was overseeing my biggest worry, and suddenly I was feeling much more relaxed.
I snacked on the appetizers and sipped the champagne, and before I knew it the wedding planner was corralling us and leading us outside and down the aisle. I couldn’t believe that the guys hadn’t arrived yet, but then again, I had gotten stuck in LA traffic where I had sat stagnant for over four hours twice before. Besides, as long as the killers didn’t know where Rose was, I figured we were okay for a while.
I walked down the aisle with Bob’s brother Roger. He was tall and doofy-looking, much like Bob. The wedding planner had asked us to lock arms, but I had trouble wrapping my arm around his. My bouquet was in both hands but lifted at a very awkward angle as I struggled to meet his height. We walked down the aisle slowly and carefully. I had been in my shoes for less than an hour, and I already hated them. I scanned the crowd looking for Reid or Mac or a crazed killer, but I didn’t see any of them.
I joined the bridesmaids at the front of the altar and turned as the music changed and my sister came walking down the aisle. We weren’t Jewish, but she had chosen to walk with both my parents down the aisle. Plus my mother had bankrolled almost the entire thing and she would be damned if she wasn’t going to walk down that aisle. There was the collective noise of “oohs” and “aahs” as the trio walked down the seemingly endless aisle. My mother looked amazing, and I wondered whether the audience was marveling at how good my sister looked or how amazing my mother did.
Typically at a wedding the bride is the last to walk down the aisle, but that was not the case here. Guru Motgi Sanjeev was the last to take the walk. He was an old Indian man with long gray hair and a white dress on. He was very much a celebrity, and the crowd was totally in awe of him. It was almost as if Jesus Christ himself had just walked down the aisle. One woman fainted and another burst into tears. Motgi acted as if their behaviors were a normal occurrence and just kept walking until he reached the altar. He stopped to kiss my mother and then stood before Ginny and Bob.
“Hee-ohh!!” Motgi called out, then ran in circles around Ginny and Bob doing what he called a purity dance. “I am restoring these two precious souls to their virgin states. These two have shared their bodies with each other and many, many other people during their lives. Whether it was with girlfriends or boyfriends or just people they went home with on a lonely night, their bodies have had their share of debauchery. Tonight they will come together as if they had never met before – complete strangers with only a sense of love and passion to join them together. We do this to remind couples of how precious a gift intimacy is and to encourage them never to take it for granted.”
I looked over at Bob and saw that he was blushing bright red. I actually felt bad for him. I mean, my sister was wearing a white dress, their parents were present, they were doing everything they could to portray the illusion that tonight would be their first sexual encounter ever, and Guru Motgi was totally blowing their cover. Plus this business about their past sexual escapades – I mean, was it really necessary?
“So often you hear that sex dies when a couple gets married,” Motgi continued. In the audience several couples looked at each other knowingly. “I teach that sex is a gift that should be shared daily – hourly if possible.”
Bob was now smiling, but Ginny didn’t look too happy about this part of the speech. She looked over at my mother, but my mother was fully entranced by the Guru’s words.
“I see in this couple so much love and so much caring. I see in this couple babies and birthdays and lots of laughter. We must remember that life should be lived wholly and fully and with passion.”
Motgi placed his hands together and began rubbing them very rigorously. He lifted them high over his head and chanted “Moom. Moom.” Suddenly, he separated his hands and slapped Bob hard across the face. Bob was so surprised that he lost his balance and fell off the altar. As he plummeted, he grabbed a piece of the canopy and took that down with him. The entire thing collapsed on top of Ginny.
Everyone gasped. We had rehearsed, but I didn’t remember this part. It must have been some New Age technique. The wedding planner went running for the altar, but before she could help, Guru Motgi pulled the canopy off Ginny and threw it behind him. “May you never forget this day!” he called out.
The planner helped Bob to his feet. He was still in shock, and I could see the anger inside him building. He jumped up on the stage and charged towards Guru Motgi. “You got a problem, pal?”
Motgi pulled back a hand and slapped Bob across the face again. “Be cleansed.” He pulled the other hand back and slapped Ginny. Ginny looked horrified, and I could tell she was close to tears. I looked at my mother, who didn’t seem to know what to do. There was no way this was planned.
“Are you crazy?” Bob yelled out to the Guru, then gave Motgi a forceful push and sent him flying off the stage.
There was complete silence in the audience except for the sound of several people clapping their hands to their mouths in shock. How could Bob hit Guru Motgi? If Jesus wants to slap you, you turn the other cheek, right? As far as the audience was concerned, Motgi was Jesus, and Bob was an asshole. Bob looked lost as he surveyed the audience.
“Are you insane?” Ginny cried out to Bob. Her cheek was red from the slap, and her anger was turning her neck and arms red too.
Suddenly Motgi jumped up from the back of the stage. “I have ignited your fire – your passion!” he proclaimed to Ginny and Bob. He grabbed each of their hands and joined them together. “May your marriage be filled with the fire and spark you have shown me today.” He lifted their hands into the air, facing the crowd. “YOU…ARE…MARRIED!” he proclaimed. “KISS!”
With that, he pushed Ginny and Bob together and they reluctantly kissed. I really wished Reid had been here to see what was surely the strangest wedding ceremony of all time. The audience didn’t know how to react at first, but then my mother stood up and started clapping, and they joined in.
Ginny and Bob pulled apart from their kiss, both laughing hysterically. If you want New Age, then this is what you get. I made a mental note not to let my mother select the minister for my wedding. Motgi blew kisses to his fans and then walked down the aisle while a few more people fainted and fell at his feet. Next Ginny and Bob walked down, followed by myself and Roger and then the rest of the wedding party. I had to admit I was entertained by the whole thing – you have got to love Hollywood sometimes.
Inside, the planner lined us up and said the emcee would be announcing us. My mother had gotten Bob’s favorite band, Star Count, to perform and we could hear them playing on the other side of the wall. I had to admit I was impressed - these guys were famous. Everyone was laughing and joking about the ceremony, and Ginny was on cloud nine. “I just know we are going to be together forever. The way Bob protected me up there – that was exactly what Guru Motgi wanted. He’s a genius.”
Guru Motgi walked into our holding area and up to my mother. She placed her hands on his cheeks and kissed him on the lips. “You never disappoint.”
Motgi kissed her back, then turned to Ginny. “You have a strong foundation in place – call me if you need guidance anytime.”
“Wow, do you mean that?” Ginny asked excitedly.
Guru Motgi gave a weak smile and spoke to her in a low tone. “No, not really.”
“Oh,” Ginny said, realizing her mistake. “Well, it doesn’t matter, you have touched our lives in a way we could have never expected. We cannot thank you enough.”
“Ignite your passion and think of me every time you enter the bedroom – that is how you can thank me,” Motgi said.
I raised an eyebrow
at Bob. He cracked a smile but contained his laughter. He didn’t want another smack – from Motgi or Ginny.
Moments later, Motgi was gone, and the party was on. On the other side of the wall, we could hear the Master of Ceremonies announcing people, and the wedding planner opened the door and shuffled us through in pairs of two. I always hated the part where you had to come out dancing and pretending you actually liked the person you were dancing with, but the champagne and the events of the evening had loosened me up a bit.
“And ladies and gentleman, let’s give it up for your maid of honor, Victoria, and your best man, Roger,” the emcee announced, and we came dancing out. We stood in the middle of the dance floor and clapped as the emcee announced Ginny and Bob. The couple came out of the doorway and the crowd roared with excitement. We all stood in a row – women on one side and men on the other – and let Ginny and Bob go through the “tunnel of love.” After the song ended, we thankfully were able to return to our seats, and I was able to rest my feet for a bit.
The band played a slow song, and Ginny and Bob took their first dance.
I scanned the room until I saw Rose and Lenny sitting together at a table. She still dripped of sex, but her dress was a bit more tasteful at least. It was navy blue and had spaghetti straps and a covered bust line. The emcee invited all the couples in the room to dance, and I could see Lenny trying to get Rose on the floor. She glared at him and returned to sipping a martini. I knew the action Lenny saw in my hotel room was all he was going to get.
I felt my mother standing behind me and I turned.
“Where is your date, honey?” she asked.
“Oh, he’s stuck in traffic on the 405.”
My mother shook her head. “That traffic is just terrible.”
Ginny had told me that she wanted to get all the traditional stuff out of the way up front. She wanted to do the first dance, dance with our dad, and throw the bouquet all within the first thirty minutes. She felt that once these obligatory events had occurred, the crowd would be able to kick back and relax a little more. So, before I knew it, she was dancing with my dad while my mother was standing off on the sidelines crying at the loss of her baby girl. The crowd was touched by her tears, but I knew it was partly for show. She was a successful actress, and you had to know that many of her so-called emotions were put on. Whether she would admit it or not, she and my father were thrilled that Ginny had found someone who would take her off their hands. As my dad danced in circles around the room with Ginny, I caught his eye and he gave me a wink. Ginny wasn’t the only daddy’s girl in the room.
“Ladies and gentlemen, from what I hear, Guru Motgi already filled you in on the juicy details of Bob and Ginny’s sex life. So I am sure you won’t mind seeing a little bit more of it while Bob removes Ginny’s garter, right?” the emcee asked.
The crowd cheered, and Ginny moved to a chair in the center of the room. This was an element of weddings that I had always hated. Bob walked out to the center of the dance floor and dropped to his knees for some pushups first. Ginny and the crowd roared with laughter. Then Bob put his head under Ginny’s dress and retrieved the garter with his teeth. Ginny laughed hysterically and I chuckled too, wondering if Bob would shed a tear after this intimate act.
“All right, I need the single ladies in the house to gather on the dance floor,” the emcee announced. “All the single ladies to the floor, please.”
I reluctantly stood and made my way to the center of the floor. As I walked, I looked over at Rose’s table and saw that she was still in place.
Ginny stood in the center of the floor holding her bouquet and turned her back to us. “Ready?” Ginny asked.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see that Rose was standing up. Lenny looked to be pleading with her, but she didn’t want to stay seated. I wondered if she was getting cold feet.
“One,” Ginny began.
Rose was now walking across the dance floor.
“Two.”
Rose brushed past me as she headed for the exit door.
“Rose, where are you going?” I asked her.
“Three!” Ginny called out and threw the bouquet up in the air.
From out of nowhere, I saw Reid jump into the air and lunge towards Rose. She was halfway across the dance floor, and he grabbed her around the waist and took her down. There was a scream as six women trying to catch the bouquet toppled over on top of them. Ginny turned around smiling, but her expression dropped when she saw there was a man lying in the middle of the floor with several of her closest friends lying on top of him.
The girls slowly peeled themselves off him and stood up. The bouquet was lying on the floor. One of the women picked it up and handed it to Reid.
“You really worked for this. I hope you find him out there, honey.”
Reid looked mortified, and Rose was wailing. “Get off me! Get off me, you moron!”
I had a huge grin on my face as I approached. “Detective Reid, nice of you to join us.”
Reid’s face was flushed, and he looked very silly holding my sister’s bouquet. Rose pushed him off her and stood up. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she asked, red-faced.
I looked over at the emcee and motioned that he should start some music. The band’s frontman had taken a break to grab a beer, but he quickly jumped up to the stage and started singing. Luckily the crowd started breaking up and moving to the music as the band played.
Reid took Rose by the wrist and led her off the dance floor. I followed them. “I need your testimony, Rose. I couldn’t let you just take off like that,” Reid said.
“I was going to the bathroom!” Rose said. She scanned the room for Lenny, who was running over. “There you are, Lenny. Kung fu this dude’s ass.”
Reid looked Lenny up and down and smiled. “I don’t think so.”
“What the hell is going on here? Who are you?” Lenny asked Reid. “I’ll kung fu your ass, she’s right.”
“Lenny, this is Detective Reid,” I explained. “You can keep your moves locked up, okay?”
Lenny visibly relaxed. Of course, he had no moves, but the idiot seemed to think he still had a chance at scoring with Rose, so he was displaying a lot of bravado.
“I have a room here,” I told Reid. “She can use the bathroom up there.”
When I turned I noticed that Foxy was standing behind me. He had a huge grin on his face, and for once, he wasn’t laughing at me. Foxy lifted his hands and started clapping for Reid. “Way to go, dude.”
“Shut up, jackass,” Reid said and brushed past him with Rose in tow. Mac and Manny weren’t far behind, carrying a bell cart filled with equipment. I knew I needed permission from the hotel to shoot in my guest room, but I also knew that what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.
We all walked to the elevator banks, and Rose, Reid, Foxy, Mac, Manny, myself and even Lenny all squeezed into one of the cars with all our equipment. We rode up in silence, all staring at the numbers above the doors as we rose to floors three, four, and finally five. The doors opened and we spilled out. I directed everyone to my room and unlocked the door. This interview was vital to the story and I couldn’t miss it, but I also knew I couldn’t be away from the wedding for too long or someone would notice.
Rose was pacing the room and feeling anxious about the interview, especially given the number of people in the room. I met up with her by the window and spoke softly to her.
“Are you all right? Do you want me to ask some of these people to leave?”
“I’m fine,” Rose said, trying to be tough. “I just need something to take the edge off.”
I figured she was talking about drugs or a drink, but I didn’t have either. The hotel had removed the mini fridge from the guest rooms because they said the cost of restocking outweighed the profits they made from the sale of the items inside. I scanned the room and focused my eyes on Manny. “Maybe use him to relax,” I said, pointing.
Rose followed my finger to Manny and smiled
. “Yeah, he was pretty good. Why not?” She walked across the room, hips wagging, hand tossing her hair over her shoulder and all the men in the room suddenly turned. Manny froze when he saw she was walking towards him. “I need you,” she said and placed her hand between his legs.
“Whoa, chica!” Manny said and covered her hand with his, holding it in place. With his free hand he opened the bathroom door and led her in. The door slammed behind them and in a moment the room was filled with moaning sounds.
“Shit!” Lenny spat. “Why didn’t you point her towards me, Sharpe? Damn it!”
“Oh, sorry.” The moaning was getting louder and it was becoming a little uncomfortable to listen to. As the only female in the room, I felt this was a good time to make my exit. I didn’t want anyone getting any ideas – well, maybe one of them.
“Mac, I’m going back down to the party before my mother notices. When you guys are set up, can you send me a text and I’ll come back up? I don’t want to miss this.”
“You got it, babe,” Mac said. “By the way, you look very pretty in that dress.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Mac.” I handed Mac a spare room key and headed back downstairs.
I knew I shouldn’t drink on the job, but that hadn’t stopped me before, so I headed towards the bar. Champagne wasn’t really my thing, so I reverted to my old standby – chardonnay. I walked my drink back to my table and sat down. My mother and father were out on the dance floor boogie-ing with the best of them, and my sister and Bob were making their way around the room, thanking everyone and collecting large envelopes.
I scanned the room and thought that I caught a glimpse of Dirk Jacobson, but I figured the wine was probably just playing tricks with my mind. I mingled with some cousins I hadn’t seen in a while and enjoyed compliments about how beautiful I looked, how great my makeup was, and so on. I wasn’t the belle of the ball, but I was still feeling pretty good about everything. I had pictured an evening of Lenny badgering me for story updates, but instead, I had managed to bring the story to him. I was sure once he got past his lust for Rose, he would take notice of what a great producer I was.
Thirty minutes later, the cell phone in my clutch buzzed, and I saw a text from Mac that they were ready for me. The party was scheduled until one in the morning, so I knew it wouldn’t be too big of a deal if I ducked out for a half an hour. I made sure my mother wasn’t looking and then snuck out of the ballroom.
I walked into the room to find Rose seated in an interview chair with Reid and Foxy across from her. Mac had set up both the Betacam and the little PD-150 so that he could capture both angles of the interview. Lenny was running around the room making small adjustments here and there, and Manny looked like he had just been through a wind tunnel. His hair, which was normally slicked back, was tangled every which way, and his shirt had a large rip around the neck. Rose, on the other hand, looked perfectly composed – a dose of Manny was all that she needed to calm her nerves.
Lenny came running at me when I walked in the room and whispered in my ear. “Rose said you told her you would blur her face, is that true?”
I didn’t like him so close to me, and I backed away as I answered. “No, I said we might, depending on the testimony she provides.”
“All right, well, we’re shooting her full face for now – you have a release from her, right?” he whispered.
I nodded, recalling the fifty dollars I had bribed her with on the night that we told her Chaser was dead. That seemed so long ago, and it amazed me to think that she had known who the killer was all this time.
I walked over to Reid and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me and smiled. “Some traffic, huh? I heard you got in a fight with a cop?” I said.
“I didn’t get in a fight – Foxy did,” Reid corrected.
“A-hole punched me right in the gut. At least he spared my face,” Foxy said. “He warned me that he was gonna take a shot so I told him I was a TV star and to go low.”
“He told you he was going to hit you and you let him?” I asked.
Foxy shrugged. “Yeah.”
“You’re lucky he stopped at your stomach, he could have gone lower,” I said.
“Nah. Then I’d have to sic Sherry on him and that would mean a whole world of hurt.”
“I believe you.” I turned to Reid. “Are you guys all set for this?”
“We’re waiting on you, honey,” Reid said.
“Well, I’ve been waiting on you all day. Now try to speak clearly and talk in narratives so I can cut this puppy together. And try to act like you respect me, okay? My boss is watching.”
“You got it, boss,” Foxy said, saluting me.
I gave him a wink then sat down next to Lenny. “Okay, Mac, let’s go.”
“Speed,” Mac called out.
“Speed,” Manny seconded.
I looked at Reid and nodded that he should start. “Rosario Ortez, do you understand that this interview is being recorded and that it may be used as testimony in a court of law?”
Rose looked a little nervous. “But you guys aren’t gonna show this until they get the guys, right?”
“Right,” I said from off camera.
“Yes, I understand.” Rose said.
“We understand that you have some information to offer us in connection with the murders of John Walters, a.k.a. Chaser, and Jason Loudermilk, a.k.a. Kitt. Is that correct?”
I had a big smile on my face. Reid was doing great – his mother would be kicking herself for not making him pursue acting.
“Yeah, I do. Stop being so official and shit,” Rose said. “You’re freaking me out.”
“Just tell us what you know,” Foxy said.
“I know you guys think I killed Chaser and Kitt, but I didn’t.”
“Okay, then who did?” Reid asked.
Rose sat there silent for a moment, thinking.
“Are you trying to think of an answer now?” Reid demanded. “Are you just making this shit up?”
“No!” Rose said.
“Then who did it, Rose? It’s not that hard of a question – you either know or you don’t – now, which is it?”
I looked at Lenny and mouthed the words Bad Cop. Lenny smiled. He was really getting into the story and knew this was going to make the show a hit. I knew it too.
“Look, I’m scared, okay? They’re coming for me next.”
“Okay, let’s start from the beginning,” Foxy said. “What can you tell us about the border transports?”
“I set them up,” Rose said, sounded almost ashamed. “When I was a kid in Mexico, my cousins used to race cars on drag strips. They would brag that they could outrun the Federales and jump the border. I’d always dreamed of coming to America, and when I was twenty-four, I finally got the chance. I’d been speaking with someone in LA and he agreed to pick me up stateside for a fee of three hundred bucks. It seemed so simple. Once I got here I started hanging out at the tracks. It was what I knew and I loved the rush. I thought if I could connect with some gringos that knew how to handle a car maybe I could bring some more of my family over.”
“When did you meet Kitt and Chaser?” Reid asked.
“I met Chaser first. I have a sexual addiction so we were banging pretty quickly. I screwed around on him, because I had to, but he knew I loved him too. It was maybe three months in when I brought up the idea of helping some of my relatives get across the border. I was very close with my cousins, the drag racers, and I thought they would get along with Chaser so I had him bring them over first. Chaser was taking a risk so I made them pay him five hundred dollars each and he gave me fifty percent of the cut.”
“So did your cousins start transporting people across the border too?” Reid asked.
“A little bit at first, but then they started getting into trouble with the law. They were running drugs and me and Chaser didn’t want to be a part of that shit. He was clean and so was I. I lost touch with my cousins after a while, but Chaser continued to help me bring my famil
y across the border. Before long, word was getting out and more and more people were willing to pay Chaser up to a thousand dollars each in exchange for their freedom from Mexico. He was doing four or five runs a week and giving me half the cut. I was banking sometimes ten thousand dollars a week, but the border cops were catching on fast.
“Chaser introduced me to Kitt a little while later,” Rose continued. “I didn’t know if I could trust him, so I took my time before I let him in on the operation. Chaser needed help and Kitt was his best friend, so eventually we brought him in. Kitt was fast, really fast, but he was a risk taker too and spent a lot of time messing with the border cops. He drew a lot of attention to himself and to our operation. We only gave Kitt thirty percent of the money and me and Chaser split the rest, so Kitt started smuggling drugs into the states for extra cash. I was the only one who had contact with the people we were moving, but word managed to get around that if you brought a bag of coke with you, Kitt would make it worth your while. My parents were ashamed that this was happening and that it was something I was involved in.”
“So what went wrong?” Reid asked.
“Border patrol was all over us and it was getting harder and harder to get in and out unnoticed. I got a call from my contact in Tijuana about a pick-up and Chaser and I made the arrangements. Sometimes I would ride with Chaser, but on that night I didn’t because he was picking up three men and there was no room for me in the car. The guys he picked up were loaded with drugs because they thought Kitt was picking them up and they figured they could give him drugs instead of money for the safe passage. Chaser told them he wouldn’t take them with the drugs because it was too much of a risk. He was trying to get them out of the car because they couldn’t pay anyway, but then those border cops showed up and Chaser had to take off. He had a lot of weight in the car and was skidding out of control so he panicked and threw the guys out of the car. He was too close to getting caught and he didn’t want to get nailed for the drug charges – those are way more severe than moving people across the border.”
“What happened to the guys he threw out of the car?” Reid asked.
“Border cops got one of them and he died,” Rose said solemnly.
There was a moment of silence in the room. I thought back to the men Reid and I had encountered and somehow knew they were responsible for this. It made me feel sick.
“I got word from my contact that the victim’s family was very upset and had plans to come after Chaser. Chaser didn’t kill that man, but the family blamed him for throwing him out of the car. Then I got a call from my cousins – the ones I lost contact with – and they asked me who was driving the car that killed Luis – that was his name. I told them it didn’t happen like that, the border patrol were the ones who killed him, but they wouldn’t listen. They demanded a name but I said I wouldn’t tell. I loved Chaser and I was scared for his life.”
“Why didn’t you go to the police?” Foxy asked.
Rose gave him a knowing stare. “Don’t be stupid, cop. What we were doing was against the law – I would go to jail. I probably still will after all this is over. But I’d rather be in jail than dead.”
“So how did they find Chaser?” Reid continued.
“I got a call about a pick-up. It was a trap but I didn’t know it. Chaser was pretty shaken up about what happened but they were offering big money. We figured we could make one more score and then leave town together. Nobody showed when we went to make the pick-up but they must have followed us or something because they killed Chaser that night.”
“Who did?” Reid asked.
“My cousins – Miguel and Diego.”
“What are their last names?” Foxy asked pulling out his notepad.
“Ortez – same as me,” Rose answered.
“And they are currently residing in the US?” Foxy asked.
“Yes, in Los Angeles.”
“How do you know it was them? Were you there – did you see them hit Chaser with the car?”
Rose dropped her head down. “No, but I know it was them because they called me after to tell me what they had done.”
“That explains why you weren’t surprised when we showed up at your door – you already knew,” Foxy said.
“Right. I didn’t want you to know Chaser and I were close because I thought you would find out about the border thing. I guess you did anyway.”
“What did they say to you on the phone?” Reid asked.
“They said it was an eye for an eye. Chaser killed their friend so now they killed him. I was upset and I didn’t want them to think they had the upper hand, so I told them that they screwed up and killed the wrong driver. Immediately after I said it I realized how stupid it was to say but it was too late. They hung up on me and I had no way to contact them to let them know that Chaser was the one. I fled to the race track that night to warn Kitt.”
Everything she was saying fit with the sequence of events we had witnessed so I suspected she was telling the truth. I almost felt sorry for her – she let her anger get the better of her, and Kitt died because of a lie she told. I knew he wasn’t a good guy, but I also knew he didn’t deserve to die.
“I was hysterical and Kitt told me I was overreacting. I didn’t want to tell him what I said to Miguel, but I did warn him that he might be their next target. Kitt was a risk-taker anyway and he got a high out of knowing he was being chased. I don’t think he ever really believed that what I was warning him about was real.”
“So they hit Kitt next,” Reid said.
“Yes,” Rose said looking down again. “I tried to contact them, I tried to call my contact at home and find out how to get in touch with them to set the record straight, but I couldn’t. I finally got a tip that Diego was working as a cab driver in LA, but I didn’t know which company he worked for. I started calling all the companies asking if they had a Diego Ortez working there and I tracked him down to the Indigo Cab Company in Sun Valley. Diego wasn’t working that night so I scheduled with the dispatcher for Diego to pick me up at the mall the next day. I didn’t give my real name, and I said that Diego had picked me up once before and I had liked him, so I wanted the same guy. Kitt was killed that night.” Rose looked at the floor and shook her head. She began to cry. “I tried to save him, but I was too late.”
I knew at this point that Rose was toast. Any promises I had made her were going to have to go out the window. I didn’t know all the legal terms, but I knew that she was an accessory to Kitt’s murder. She falsely fingered him as the killer and got him killed in the process.
“How did they find Kitt?” Reid asked.
“I told Kitt that I thought we should cool it with the pick-ups but he didn’t want to. He and I were going at it in the car after the princess left,” she said pointing at me, “and he swiped my cell phone. He must have gotten my contact out of there and called him to schedule more pick-ups. I guess one of them was a plant.”
“What made you worry they were going to come after you next?” Reid asked.
“They called me again after they hit Kitt. I was scared and told them that I had made a mistake and that Chaser was the driver all along. They became very angry and told me that they needed to close the loop. They said I knew too much and had made them shed blood for no reason. My cousins are religious men. They were okay with the eye-for-an-eye murder of Chaser, but they grew very angry when they learned Kitt died because of my lie. So I went into hiding. I didn’t know where to go so I broke into the princess’s apartment and she brought me here.”
I was getting tired of Rose referring to me as the “princess,” but she was upset, and I didn’t think this was the best time to argue with her. Rose broke down and started crying quite hard. Foxy put an arm around her to comfort her. I glanced over at Mac, who had a panicked look on his face. I caught his attention and mimed the question “What’s wrong?” to him.
Mac pointed at the camera and indicated that he was running out of tape. He reached down to the floor and picked up a
spare tape. I could hear that the tape was coming to an end and, I knew this was terrible timing. Rose was having a full-blown meltdown and we were going to lose it. Mac had beads of sweat forming on his forehead, and I knew he needed my help.
I stood up suddenly and called out, “Okay, freeze!” Everyone turned to me while Mac took the cue to quickly swap out the tape. “We’re just holding for a tape change, thank you for your patience.”
“Speed!” Mac called out.
“And action!” I said. I got quite a few strange looks, but we got the job done and managed not to miss anything. Rose cried a little more then sat up in her chair.
“Do you have anything else you think we need to know before we go after these guys?” Reid asked.
“No. What’s going to happen to me?” Rose asked.
Reid looked at her apologetically. “We have to book you. I don’t know if they will press charges, but we have to bring you into the station. You’ll be safe there, Rose – Miguel and Diego will not be able to get to you.”
Rose nodded. Foxy looked at me, then stood up and pulled out some handcuffs. I could have kissed him. I knew this was all for show, and I loved him for it. Rose stood up and Foxy cuffed her hands behind her back.
“I’ll take you down to the station,” Foxy told her and led her off camera.
When the two of them were completely out of the shot I called out, “And cut!”
“Whoa! That was amazing!” Lenny said jumping to his feet.
I high-fived with Mac. “That was awesome!” He agreed.
“Foxy, you are a natural!” I said.
“Yeah, it felt good, felt right to cuff her.” Foxy said to me.
Everyone was excited and congratulating each other, but Rose wasn’t feeling quite as chipper. She sat down in the corner of the room, hands cuffed behind her back, crying.
I walked over to her and knelt down. “Rose, I’m sorry. We got a little carried away there – we were just excited that we cracked the case. I know that Kitt was a special guy, and I’m sure Chaser was too, so I’m sorry that you lost them.”
Rose looked up at me slowly, her mascara streaking down her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead shot a glob of spit right in my face.
“Fuck you!” she spat. “Don’t try to pretend you understand my problems, puta!”
I was shocked and disgusted at the same time. I was limited in Spanish but I knew she was calling me a whore just the same. “You’re calling me a whore?! Are you kidding?”
I was not a violent person, but there was just something about this chick that got me really heated. Luckily, Reid swopped in and grabbed my waist before I could knock her teeth in. He pulled me away from Rose and out into the hallway.
I was angry, but I got over it quickly as I wiped off my face and tried to look pretty for Reid. “Sorry about that. I just got overexcited. I got my story, you know.”
“Let’s not get too cocky until we nab these guys, okay? The case isn’t solved yet.”
“Yeah, yeah. Lenny said it’s going to be the kick-off episode. You should be pumped, Reid – you’re going to be famous.”
“Ah yes, my life’s dream fulfilled. Listen, we’re gonna go book Rose, and then we’ll track down the bad guys. I know you have to get back to the wedding, so we can handle it from here with Mac and Manny.”
“I don’t care about being there when you book Rose, but I’ll be damned if I miss you arresting the killers.” I looked at my watch. “The wedding still has several hours to go. How long do you think it will take to book Rose?”
Reid shrugged. “It could take a couple hours. We have to get all the way across town and there’s a lot of paperwork involved.”
“Great. So have Foxy take the crew with Rose and you can stay here with me and enjoy the wedding. I mean, you’re all dressed up, right?”
“Actually, I planned to go to the station and call that cab company to track down our murderers,” Reid said.
“Yes, I know, but you need a break. Besides, Dirk Jacobson is downstairs – could be fun.”
Reid looked like he was actually considering it, but then he shook his head. “Sharpe, I would like to, but I can’t. It’s irresponsible. I’m supposed to keep the streets safe, and they’re not while Rose’s cousins are running around.”
“Okay, look, the truth is I told my mother that you were my date and she was so happy. I haven’t had a boyfriend in a while and so I kind of exaggerated things a bit. I’m sorry, I know it was stupid, but sometimes things just come out of my mouth.”
“Yes, I’ve learned that about you.”
“I know you’re not going to say yes, but that’s exactly why you should.”
Reid looked down at me with his big brown eyes and smiled. “Okay, Sharpe, let’s do this.” He held up his arm and I took it in mine. I couldn’t believe that he had said yes, and I was pretty excited about it.
Foxy opened the door and stepped outside. “The crew is breaking down – what’s the plan?”
I grabbed Foxy and kissed him full on the lips. “You were brilliant in there!”
Foxy blushed and straightened his collar. “Ah, shucks.”
I pointed my finger at him. “If you tell Sherry I kissed you, you’re a dead man. Thanks for making me look good in front of Lenny.”
“I’m gonna stick around here with Sharpe while you book Rose, okay? Call me when you’re ready to go after the Ortez brothers.”
Foxy looked at Reid, then me, then Reid again. “Uh-huh. Yeah, I get it. No problem.”
I shoved Foxy in the arm. “Tell the crew to go down with you to the station, all right?” I turned to Reid. “Come on, let’s get going before Rose comes out here and decks me.”
Reid and I strolled towards the elevator in our evening wear, looking quite dignified.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Foxy called after us.
Chapter 14.
