Bentley looked at me. “Has it occurred to anyone that Kenny might have been killed by the same ghost that hurt Clarissa?”
I scrunched up my face. “Ghosts don’t usually have that kind of power,” I said. “Do they?”
Rosy had suggested that they might. In fact, she’d talked about it as though she’d seen it happen before. Or at least, heard about it. But Bentley didn’t seem to agree.
He was quiet for another minute before answering. “No, you’re right,” he said. “But we learn something new every day, don’t we?” He looked uncomfortable. “Look, I’ve known spirits who could shove things so that they hurt people. Like stacks of boxes or piles of lumber, or rocks.”
“Rocks?”
“Like in the mountains.”
“Oh.” I didn’t think that applied here. “But not a knife in the chest.”
“No.”
“So we’re pretty much back to a real human.”
“Seems like.”
“Okay. I’ll throw out a few first impressions and you can tell me if they have legs or not.”
He nodded. “Go.”
“Well, I have to tell you, Kenny was on a roll last night. He pretty much insulted everyone in the place.”
“Not unusual for Kenny.”
“Oh that’s right. You knew him.”
He nodded.
“Did Derek hate him in those days?”
He shook his head. “Not that I remember. They were doing collaborative work on scripts and starting to have some success. They seemed pretty happy with each other at the time.”
“Not so much anymore,” I told him. “I overheard a couple of bruising arguments and last night Derek told me they were no longer friends. Then he said he was going home to plan a murder.”
“He said that?”
“He did.”
“That’s rather a card against him, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes. But then there’s Gordon.”
“Rennie’s little brother?”
“Yeah. Kenny had worked with him last year and was quite insulting as to his abilities. Gordon attacked him at one point, and would have hurt him badly if others hadn’t been there to stop the fight. But Gordon calmed down and tried again. He waited around into the night to try to get on Kenny’s good side, only to be ignored and insulted. When he finally gave up and left, he disappeared. No one knows where he went. Puts him in a bad light, I would say.”
“You don’t know where he is right now?”
“No one seems to know.”
“Hmm.”
“And then there’s Rennie. Why was she there in the middle of the night? She claims she was looking for her brother, but what if she was looking for revenge from Kenny for how he’s made her brother feel.”
Bentley nodded. “That’s a possibility.”
“There’s a beautiful woman named Clarissa Woo. You must have noticed her at your meeting last night.”
“I did indeed.”
“She’s supposed to be some sort of spiritual consultant to the thing they’re shooting, but from all hints and such, I assume she was originally there as Kenny’s love interest. Unfortunately, that seems to have gone sour, and I’m not sure why she was still there.”
“She is beautiful. Maybe they kept her around like you would keep an old master painting, just for the joy of looking at so much beauty.”
“Maybe.” I scrunched up my nose and gritted my teeth at that one. “Oh, I forgot about the neighbor who hates everyone involved for bringing noise and cars on his street. He is always hanging around walking his dog and glaring into the house.”
“Weak.”
I had to agree. “Yes, but I didn’t want to leave out anyone. Speaking of which, there’s an assistant grip named Lilah. Tattoos all over her arms.”
“That seems to be popular these days.”
“Sure, and I’m not implying any value judgment on that. Just identifying her. She was kind of moping around and getting dissed by everyone, but especially by Kenny. This morning, she was taking a shower. Very early. Maybe to wash off the blood?”
“Maybe. Check the bathroom towels.”
“Okay, that’s about it.” I took a deep breath. “How about your client? Phyllis Sands. When did she get to town anyway?”
“She said she’d just arrived. Drove all night from L.A.”
“Well, if we’re going to look at this from the perspective of motive, I think she’s got a pretty strong one. Don’t you?”
“Hatred?” He laughed shortly. “Maybe so. But killing the person you’re hoping to guilt into paying you back old debts isn’t very effective. I wouldn’t put her on the first tier of suspects.”
“Maybe you’re right.” I glanced at him. “But you do know that human feelings of love or hate, passion or a sense of having been wronged can be stronger than just about anything else—even greed. Sometimes the emotions just take over and people do things that actually go against their own best interest. Happens all the time.”
And I knew this…how? I was the one who couldn’t remember where she came from. Still, I did know these things. Maybe it was something innate, some basic knowledge you’re born with. Or maybe my short time in this town had already taught me that much. Who knew?
“Okay, say that Phyllis came in last night and saw Kenny and told him she wanted her money and he laughed in her face and she stuck a knife in his chest. Plausible?”
Bentley shook his head. “Not very.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
For some reason, I was seeing my grandmother’s face again. I sighed. I was going to have to go out there and see her, wasn’t I? And was I going to be brave enough to ask her what she was doing at the Haunted House last night? If I couldn’t summon that courage, there was no point in going.
Chapter 10
I gathered up Toto and headed on down toward the Sheriff’s Station where I was going to meet Clarissa. It was a beautiful day.
A nice day for a murder.
That phrase ran through my mind and I winced. I didn’t imagine Kenny thought it was so nice. For just a moment I let myself think about him and his tragic end. I supposed the sheriffs would contact his family and loved ones. If there were any. It was just so intensely sad.
I was early. There was no Clarissa in sight as I approached the stone bench. But just as I reached it, Derek came out of the Sheriff’s Station.
“Hey,” he said as he slouched toward the bench and made a gesture inviting me to join him. We both sat and I looked at him. Gone was the cocky smart aleck I’d met the day before. His eyes seemed large and sad and his mouth looked soft in a sort of bewildered way.
“I just got through the Sheriff’s third degree treatment, klieg lights and everything.” He shoved his hand into his shirt pocket, then drew it back empty and cursed. “Sometimes I wish I hadn’t stopped smoking cigarettes. It’s times like these you realize what you do that for.”
I felt a tug of sympathy for him, despite everything. There was something likeable about the guy. I really hoped he didn’t turn out to be the murderer. “At least you didn’t get arrested,” I noted.
He looked up at me earnestly. “I didn’t do it,” he said. “You realize that, don’t you?”
I didn’t respond to that. “Do you know who did?” I asked instead.
He shrugged. “It could have been any of a thousand people,” he muttered. “Kenny made enemies wherever he went.”
“Even with you.”
He looked at me in horror. “Why do you say that? Did I say something last night that…?”
“No, relax. You grumped about how he used to be your friend but owed you money or something. I just took it as normal partnership complaints.”
“Oh.” He ran his hand through his rich dark hair. “Mad as I’ve been with him lately, I wouldn’t have wished this on him. He was…he was pretty much my best friend.”
I nodded. There was no point in reminding him of mean things he’d said about Kenny. Or
of pointing out how he was probably going to benefit from Kenny’s death, both financially and career-wise. At least I assumed he’d probably get at least some of the money he thought he was owed once the courts figured things out.
“What are your plans?” I asked him. “About the show, I mean.”
“The show?” He looked up at me and shrugged. “The show will go on, of course. The show is always the most important thing. And now I’ll be able to steer us in directions I wanted to go in the first place.” The realization of what he was implying came over him and he looked startled. “I mean, Kenny and I agreed on most things, of course, and I’ll stay true to his vision. At least as far as that is possible.”
I hid a smile. “It’s so sad.”
“Oh yeah.” He swore softly, shaking his head. “I’m going to have to face his mother.”
“And explain?”
He nodded. We sat silently for a moment. We both seemed to be contemplating the enormity of Kenny’s murder.
“Where…where did you two meet, anyway?” I asked, realizing this was a chance to do a little sleuthing and I ought to take advantage of it.
“Kenny was going to USC film school. I couldn’t get in, but after I gave up on acting, I was taking film production classes at the Junior College and I met one of his roommates and got invited to start sleeping on their couch.”
“You didn’t have your own place?”
“Well, I did, but then I didn’t anymore. You know what I mean. A fellow falls on hard times and needs a helping hand.”
“So Kenny gave you a helping hand.”
He considered that for a moment, then shook his head. “No, Kenny didn’t have anything to do with it. A guy named Stu Kantos was the one who let me in. And once in, I stuck like a burr.”
I half laughed. “I didn’t realize you were such a moocher.”
“Oh, I can mooch with the best of them. But Kenny and I started doing some things together and found out our styles clicked. We actually started making money and getting some recognition. It was great for awhile. We were headed for the big time.”
“What happened?”
“The usual. Talent, hard work and luck all play a part in how successful you are in show biz. It’s hard to get those stars aligned. When you do, it’s magic. But most of the time, it’s depressing and soul crushing.”
“Ouch.”
He nodded. “What can I say? I love it. And I hate it. And I seem to be caught in its fatal web. So I might as well deal with it and try to make a living along with all the other saps who are out there chasing the impossible dream.”
“Do you know Phyllis?” It was an abrupt change of subject, but I thought he might have an opinion on Kenny’s ex-wife. I needed all the opinions I could get.
He did a double take. “How do you know about Phyllis?”
“I met her today. She’s here to…as she puts it…hold off the vultures. She wants her cut.”
He swore again, this time with anger. “She would. That woman….” He grimaced and stopped himself from saying anymore—though it was obvious he could have under other circumstances.
He moved restlessly. “I guess I should get going.”
Looking at him, I couldn’t help but once again wonder if he’d had anything to do with the murder. If he had a love/hate relationship with the film world, he had the same with his partner. Did he have enough hate in him to do something about it? Or…. had he been drunk enough last night to take advantage of an opportunity when it presented itself?
I felt just a little sick.
“Are you going to be staying at the house on Pepper Lane that Rennie secured for the crew?”
“I guess I have to.” He sighed, then hauled himself up and started toward the park, looking the very picture of depression. “Bye. See you at the memorial service.” He started off, hands in his pockets, head hanging low.
A voice in half-whisper came from behind me.
“What do you want to bet he’s trying to figure out ways to shoot an episode of the show at the memorial service and claim Kenny was killed by a ghost.” Deputy Sheriff Tommy Decker stood there, sipping the long straw from what looked like a milk shake. “Up the ante for the viewers.” He grinned at me, then quickly wiped the smile off his face and frowned instead, moving his gaze away from me in a shifty motion.
“I’m not talking to you. We’ve all been given strict instructions not to pass on any information to you. You’re name is mud for the foreseeable future.” He glanced at me sideways. “Unless we find out who did it sooner than that, of course.”
Fury began to build in my chest. Why was I always the bad guy? “Whose orders are these?” As if I couldn’t guess.
“Oh, you know. They came down in a memo. I don’t remember exactly who signed it.”
I calmed myself quickly. It wasn’t time for emotional reactions. It was time to be wily and smart. “Never mind all that,” I said airily. “I’m not about to go snooping around in this atmosphere. All I want to know is information that is available to everyone. For instance, what does forensics say at this point? Any new data on the facts of the case?”
Tommy frowned and thought hard. “Oh hey. There is one thing I suppose you ought to know.”
I pretended to be studying my manicure and gave a little yawn. “Really? What’s that?”
He looked around furtively and leaned close again. “The stabbing wasn’t the cause of death.”
What? That sent a shock wave through me, but I couldn’t let it show. “No kidding?” I said casually, staring off into the tops of the trees. “So what was it?”
“Death might have been accidental. Looks like he fell down the stairs.”
I turned to look at him. That seemed kind of screwy. “So he fell down the stairs and then someone just passing by stopped to stick a knife in his chest?”
He shrugged. “Could be. Only they also think it is possible he was pushed down the stairs.”
“Ah. So whoever pushed him might have followed him down to finish the job.”
Tommy nodded. “Sounds reasonable to me,” he said, then slurped through his straw very loudly.
It didn’t though. It was nuts. But forensics usually knew what they were talking about.
Still, did this change anything as far as suspects went? Maybe, just a bit. Ghosts such as Hector were known to have caused things like falling downstairs. They had all sorts of ways to do that.
“Any other memos about me being passed around?” I asked, still trying to be casual.
He was looking shifty again. He sidled up closer and began to whisper for real. “Okay Haley. Just because you’re my friend, I’ll tell you the rest. We’ve been warned not to allow you to use magic. He said if any of us sees you doing anything that can be interpreted as magic, we are to arrest you straight-away and get you into a cell. For the forseeable future, of course. Not forever.”
I bit back my candid reaction. “And who is ‘he’?”
“Uh…I don’t know.”
I whirled around and glared at him. “Yes you do. It’s Shane, isn’t it?”
He shook his head a little wildly. “Uh uh…well, Sheriff Hayes is at a business meeting in Frisco, so Shane is in charge so….”
“Right.”
Get me into a cell! Where was Bentley when I needed a good lawyer? I was going to sue them all!
I looked at the Sheriff Station, fuming. I was persona non grata, was I? Fine. I didn’t need them. I didn’t need Shane. I could do this on my own. And I would have told Tommy so as he strolled off toward the station—a message to Shane—but Clarissa appeared on the sidewalk and my attention changed focus.
“There you are,” she said, as though she’d been looking for me.
I was tempted to point out that I was the one who had arrived on time, not she—but I bit my tongue and smiled in greeting instead.
“Come on.” She grabbed my arm before I could get a word out. “Let’s go over to the coffee shop. I’m about to expire from caffein
e withdrawal.”
Grounds for Taste was just a few doors down. We headed that way and I tied Toto outside. He immediately dropped down for a snooze, so I knew he’d be okay. Clarissa and I went inside and Tammy, the barista greeted us as we walked in.
“Hey Haley,” she said with a flourish of her wiping cloth. “Good to see you. It’s been awhile.”
“Hi Tammy. Did you get your Vespa yet?”
“It’s supposed to be delivered next week. I can hardly wait.” She laughed. “I’m looking forward to buzzing past your bakery shop daily. Just wait!”
I introduced Clarissa and ordered a café au lait with mocha and a nice fat slice of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Clarissa ordered a coffee, black.
“Don’t you at least want something to eat?” I asked her as we slid into a comfy booth, out of view of prying eyes, at the back of the shop.
“Not at all. Coffee is my major food group. I should get it in drip jars and stick a needle in my arm.”
I cringed a little at her colorful description. “Well, tell me. How did the search for the ghosts go? Did you find them?”
Clarissa gave a deep, deep sigh. “Yes, I did. They weren’t really gone, you know. They were hiding in that basement room just off the kitchen. I don’t know what they were thinking.”
I just murmured. From what I knew of ghosts, they didn’t think a whole lot anyway. Mostly, they reacted and tried to scare you.
“So they’re all back where they belong?”
Clarissa gave a sound much like a small guffaw. “Not hardly. The biggest, baddest, scariest one of all is missing. He’s the one we have to find.”
“We?” I asked before I could stop myself.
She gave me a cold stare. “We. You and me.”
“Why not Rosy the Ghost Keeper?”
She flipped her hand out dismissively. “She’s all very well for simple tasks and ordinary ghosts, but this one is a monster. We’ll have to do it.” She stared at me. “Tell me Haley dear, just how sensitive are you to the presence of apparitions?”
I licked my dry lips. “Well, I’m sort of new to this stuff. I’ve only been here a few weeks, actually. And I have seen a couple of ghosts, just here and there, you know…but that’s about all.”
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