She nodded glumly. “I know,” she said softly. “I just can’t figure out why anyone would hate me enough to want to kill me.”
“Trust me, I’ve seen a lot,” Bill said. “Men have shot their wives for changing the TV station in the middle of a football game.”
“I don’t think that’s what we’re looking at here, Bill,” Serena said.
“People kill for revenge. And then there’s money. Greed. Jealousy.” He was quiet for a minute. “You know, Serena, it is looking bad for your brother-in-law.”
“You’re full of it!” she said angrily. “My brother-in-law is a decent—”
“There were those who would have sworn that Ted Bundy was one of the nicest young gentlemen they had ever met.”
“You have nothing on Jeff,” she said. “Nothing solid.”
He didn’t reply to that. He looked at her with a concerned smile. “You know, you have to eat. Want some pizza before I bring you home?”
“Sure.”
They stopped for pizza at a chain near Serena’s house. Bill offered to take a bite of Serena’s first, and she smiled, shaking her head, telling him she really didn’t think that anyone had managed to get to a pizza house they hadn’t known they were going to.
As they ate, Bill said, “Serena, we will solve this. It may take time, but we will find this person.”
She gave him a grim smile. “No leads, no clues. It’s frightening.”
He shook his head and admitted, “I’m sorry to say there are cases that are never solved. But this won’t be one of them. There are clues—we just haven’t worked them out yet. You know, I did think that Lieutenant Olsen was being overly cautious at first, but now … well, it’s obvious that you’re in danger. I wish …”
“What?”
“Well, I wish now that we had moved faster. That we had found that note you saw burned in Jane’s dressing room. It might have been the clue we really needed. I know that it didn’t strike me as terribly important at first, but … you’re sure you didn’t read it, any part of it, that you’ve no idea what became of it?”
“Bill, I just stopped by her dressing room. I’m not even sure it was a note. If so, it was only the remnants of a note. Whatever it said must have made Jane mad. She tried to burn it; it just didn’t burn.”
“This has got to be one of the strangest cases I’ve ever had. And I’ve had strange cases in Hollywood.”
“Like what?”
“All right, let me think … there was the actor who murdered a set designer for creating a scene all in wicker. And the woman who killed a costume designer because she freaked when she saw that her entire wardrobe for a movie was in pink. There was the director who killed three women because he liked the way they looked at his house and he wanted to keep their bodies sitting properly in the chairs at one time.”
“Okay, those are pretty weird. But you found the culprit right away. Murder with a spotlight. Who would think?”
“We can’t think. We have to keep working,” he said. “Come on. I guess I’d better get you home.”
“Hey, thanks for doing this.”
“My pleasure. It’s fun to be with you, even for pizza.”
“Thanks.”
A few minutes later they came to her house. Bill followed her to the door, waited while she opened it, and stood patiently while she keyed in the alarm. Then, as Liam did, he went through the house.
He returned to the living room. “Lock me out—”
“And key in the alarm again. I know. Thanks, Bill.”
“You’re sure you’re going to be okay?” He touched her cheek. “Silly question. I guess you’re back with Liam now.”
“We’re not exactly back,” she murmured. “But it is great not to be alone right now.”
“So he is … staying with you.”
She felt her cheeks burn. The first time she’d had coffee with Bill, she’d barely refrained from crying on his shoulder. He was good to be with—a friend. Rock-steady, reassuring, strong, and brave. She had known that he’d wanted to take the relationship farther, and it was one of the reasons she had cut it off so quickly. The way he touched her cheek and looked into her eyes now, she knew that he was really concerned for her; he cared for her.
“Hey,” she said, taking his hand from her cheek and squeezing it warmly with her own, “he’s definitely a great bodyguard. And yes, whatever comes in the future—assuming I have a future—I’m grateful not to be alone now.”
“Serena, you will have a future. Passionate, dramatic—you’ve only just begun. We’ll see to it!”
Passionate and dramatic himself, he held her by the shoulders and kissed her on the forehead. “Lock up—”
“Immediately. I know.”
Liam arrived at Jeff and Melinda’s house at about eight-thirty. As he stood on the front porch he could hear sounds from inside. A fight. The two were arguing.
He rang the bell and waited. A moment later Melinda opened the door. “Liam,” she said, without pleasure.
“May I come in?”
“Are you going to get a warrant if I don’t let you in?”
“I’m not a cop anymore, Melinda.”
“That’s right. You’re a private investigator. Well, we’ve answered enough questions, I think. And since you’re not a cop—”
“Let him in, Melinda,” Jeff said.
Melinda pursed her lips. She and Serena looked very much alike; Liam even recognized the expression. She was a very attractive woman, but signs of the stress she was feeling were evident in the gaunt look of her features.
She backed away from the door.
“Come in, Liam,” Jeff said. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, I’m fine, thanks.”
“Have a seat.”
Liam took a chair in the living room. Jeff sat across from him. Melinda stood behind her husband’s chair.
“I didn’t send the candy,” Jeff said flatly. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? I have nothing against my sister-in-law. Hell, I’ve known Serena since she was a kid. Melinda and I went to her every silly high school and college play. My kids are in a great college because of her help. I don’t know what else to say. I have no reason on earth to want to harm Serena.”
“Does my sister know you’re here?” Melinda demanded sharply.
“No. No, she doesn’t know I’m here.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be guarding her? Isn’t that your job? If you’re not a cop anymore, you’re not supposed to be harassing us.”
“Melinda, I’m not harassing you. I came here to find out what is going on between the two of you. And to ask you if you know any reason someone on that set may have killed Jane—and if anyone there has access to your credit cards.”
Jeff inhaled on a deep breath. “Jane was a bitch. She came on set yelling at everyone,” he said. “This wasn’t right, that wasn’t right. There was this party when we all met her … and she was charming. Then she changed. Once she’d finished negotiating, she had something to say to everyone. She really thought that she ruled the world. So … who can say who hated her the most? She got a little power, or so she thought, and went mad. And as to my credit card …” He hesitated, looking at Melinda. Then he shrugged. “We use credit cards all the time.”
“We’re careless,” Melinda said.
“And broke, too often,” Jeff said. He lifted a hand. ‘There you have it. My sister-in-law bails us out of trouble with embarrassing frequency. Why on earth would I want anything to happen to her?”
“Why are you two always arguing?”
Jeff opened his mouth.
Liam was very sure Melinda pinched him on the back of the neck.
“We’re married,” he said dryly. “What more do you want?”
The truth, Liam thought. He decided not to push it for the moment. He needed to talk to Jeff alone. That was something he’d have to arrange, making sure Melinda wasn’t with him.
“Well, thanks for seeing me,”
Liam said.
Melinda didn’t answer. She stared at him, her face set in stone.
He had risen; Jeff did the same. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
When they reached it, Jeff told him, “It seems really strange to me that Allona ate those chocolates and was just fine. Almost as if she knew which ones to eat and which ones not to eat. That is, if the arsenic was really in the chocolates.”
“Very strange—or incredibly lucky. Apparently, according to the lab tests, only one of the chocolates had poison in it.”
“Are you planning on talking to Allona, too?”
“I’m planning on talking to everyone,” Liam told him pleasantly.
“Well, you’ll have to talk to me here. I’m not going on that set anymore. Everything in that place winds up being blamed on me.”
Liam looked at him. “You were on the set the day the chocolates arrived.”
“Of course I was. Serena had a scene coming up in which she gets caught in a booby-trapped sarcophagus. It’s my job—was my job—to see that it was all done right.”
“It’s not a real sarcophagus?” Liam queried.
Jeff gave him the look a real academic could give when the lesser world didn’t seem to understand something that everyone should know. “Of course not. Such a piece would be prohibitively expensive, if it was even possible to obtain. We bought it at an auction—it had belonged to a magician. Good piece, though. Great hieroglyphics. Very real looking, and I had them add more.”
“No one has suggested that you leave the show.”
“No, they just think that I’m guilty of murder. And I’ve been warned that I could be arrested at any time.”
“Someone did kill Jane Dunne. Maybe by accident, in an attempt to get to Serena.”
“Well, Jane was pretty well hated all around.”
“The chocolates came after she died,” Liam reminded him.
Jeff looked a little pale at that. “I’ve said it a million times. I’d never hurt Serena.”
“I believe you.”
“Do you?”
“Yeah, I do,” Liam said, and added bluntly, “But you’re covering something up.”
“I’ve got to go back in. Melinda is jumpy and bitter these days.”
“Sure. Although it might be better if you just tell me what’s going on.”
Jeff looked at him blandly. “We’re married. We fight.”
“Yeah. Sure. And the fighting has nothing to do with Jane Dunne. Good night.”
“Liam, I …” Jeff looked over his shoulder, back toward the house. “Liam, you know, you don’t always have a good comprehension of women. I’ve got to get back in.”
“Good night.” He turned toward his car.
“Hey, wait,” Jeff said. Liam paused. “Keep her safe, huh? I mean it. I love my sister-in-law. So does Melinda.
And we both like you, too. It’s just … Melinda is a little weird right now.” “I understand.”
Liam had planned on heading straight to an office just off Sunset Boulevard, but before he could reach his destination, he slowed his car as he passed a trendy cafe on the boulevard, not far from the House of Blues. At an outside table for four, he saw Allona Sainge sitting with Doug Henson and Jay Braden. Seeing a parking spot, he slipped into it.
As he walked down the street, Allona hailed him. “Hey, Liam!”
She seemed genuinely pleased to see him. Doug greeted him warmly as well. Jay Braden offered a semi-smile, moving the free chair out so that he could take a seat.
“You’ve left my baby all alone?” Doug asked.
“Locked in at home.”
“Safe and sound?” Allona asked wryly.
“Bill Hutchens took her home,” he said, assuring himself that they were all left aware that she was protected by a police detective. He smiled at the group. He needed to talk to them all one by one, get them to say things they might not say in front of one another. But sometimes, he had learned, it was just as interesting to see what people did say in front of one another.
Jay Braden leaned forward. “So what the hell is going on here, Liam? Whatever it is, it’s going to wreck all our lives.” His behavior was more subdued than Liam had seen lately. “You must have some kind of an idea,” he said. He was not as hostile as he had been at the hospital, but he was still agitated.
“As of yet, we don’t have much,” Liam said, watching Jay. He wondered if the man didn’t look just a little relieved when he heard that.
“Something will break,” Liam continued. “Something usually does.”
“That’s not true at all,” Allona argued. “Police files are filled with unsolved cases.”
“True.”
“Way back to Jack the Ripper,” Doug said.
“Well, if they’d had today’s science when Jack the Ripper was busy, the case wouldn’t have been unsolved—they would have prints, blood, DNA. They could have, at the very least, disproved a lot of theories,” Liam said. He sat back, observing them all. “Where’s Jinx? Isn’t she usually out with you all?”
Allona looked surprised. “Not usually,” she said.
“Jay plays big brother a lot,” Doug said easily. “But he has an image, a career to maintain. We can’t let it appear that he’s getting too serious.”
Jay lifted his hands. “She’s like this sweet, scared little rabbit. And she’s a pretty girl. I’d just like to see her have a life.”
Liam nodded, then smiled across the table at Allona. “So what are you up to, outside of work? Any new organizations, save-the-harried-writer societies, or anything of that sort?”
Allona stiffened, her eyes narrowing. “You’ve been going through our records, haven’t you, Mr. Murphy?”
“What we do know is that someone on the set is guilty of tampering with lighting, equipment, and chocolates. Therefore, everyone on the set has to be considered a suspect.”
Allona had built a wall around herself. Her body language shrieked smoldering anger.
“Hey,” Doug said, “poisoning … isn’t that typically a woman’s tool?”
“Yes, actually, poisoning is frequently a woman’s method of dispatching her enemies. Definitely a thought-out and premeditated act.”
Allona’s expression was so icy it appeared that she might crack if touched. She leaned forward, her voice full of venom. “Yes, Mr. Murphy, I’ve been arrested in protests. Because I always speak my mind, and I speak the truth. But don’t forget, I had to have my stomach pumped. For nothing, as it turns out.”
He leaned forward as well, challenging her. “But you ate the candy while you were with Serena. Maybe trying to get her to eat along with you. And if you had poisoned only the one candy, you would have known which one it was, right?”
She had been holding a swizzle stick. It suddenly cracked in her hand.
“Serena is as much a part of my livelihood as that of anyone else. I also like her; she’s a friend. Why would I want to get rid of her?”
Liam shrugged. “Good point. I haven’t a motive for you.”
“Well, great,” Doug said. “It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t like Serena. Except for maybe …”
As his voice trailed off, they all stared at him. “Who?” Allona demanded sharply.
He shrugged unhappily. “Kyle Amesbury.” He hesitated, then continued, since everyone was staring at him. “I think that … well, other people kind of play a game. They may think he’s an asshole … or come to realize he’s an asshole … but they still play the game. They talk to him at parties, they invite him places, they go to his house. Serena manages to evade him all the time.”
“I thought he was a friend of yours,” Liam said.
“He’s a damned scary friend,” Doug said simply.
“In what way?”
“Oh, nothing illegal. I don’t think so, anyway. He wants people to stay all the time. Sleep at his place. Bring friends.”
Yes, stay at my place, I’ll make you a star! Liam thought.
“Kyle w
asn’t on the set at the time of any of the incidents,” Liam pointed out.
“Maybe he’s working in collusion with someone else,” Allona said, and staring hard at Liam she added, “And it isn’t me!”
“Today’s science … lot of good it’s doing,” Jay said with disgust. “They’ve taken fingerprints, they’ve talked to us all—you’ve gone through police records, and all the king’s men—Olsen’s men, that is—can’t seem to find a damned thing. Our jobs and our lives are all going down the tubes.”
“If it weren’t for the candy …” Allona began, then looked at them all. “Well, the killer should have been after Jane. That made sense. She was wicked. And the guys … she tried to seduce everyone.”
“She didn’t try to seduce me,” Doug said.
Allona stared at him, then shook her head.
“Jay, was she like that?” Liam asked.
“Yeah. Yeah, she was,” Jay agreed. “Where is the waiter? It’s chilly tonight. I think I’ll have coffee instead of beer. Hey, yeah, you want something, Liam?”
“Sure, I’ll take a beer.”
“And I’ll take another,” Allona said. “It’s not that chilly. And life is going to hell in a bucket. I’ll definitely have another beer. Doug, what about you?”
“I got to go,” said Doug.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Plans this evening,” he said with a wave of his hand.
“You’re going out with Amesbury again?” Allona asked.
“No. He’s gotten a little too … strange.”
“He’s a sick-o,” Allona said.
“Are you going to his party Thursday night?” Doug asked.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Allona assured him. She made a face. “Joe seems to think we should be sociable—until this is all over.”
“You going to let Serena go?” Jay asked Liam, watching him sharply.
“I’m not her parent. I can’t tell her what she can and can’t do,” he replied.
They were all silent for a minute, as if they didn’t believe him.
“If she wants to go, we’ll go,” he said.
“He throws an interesting party,” Allona murmured. “Filled with interesting people.”
The drinks had arrived. Jay asked for the check. Liam thanked him for the beer. “Hey, are you guys a duo again?”
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