“Yeah, I wondered about that myself,” Mom said. “Boaz once told me that back when the band was riding high, they were all into booze and drugs. He went cold turkey on both after his pal died. I think it was that Kurt fellow.”
“Besides money, there are a lot of other reasons to kill someone, Mom.” I shifted the AC vent on my side to blow at my warm face. “From the way she was killed, it feels personal, so it could be Oxman on a revenge bender.”
“How about that Titan guy? If he lost a lot of business because she came back, he might be pretty angry.”
“I talked to him yesterday,” I told her, “before you discovered the murder. I called to ask him if he knew where Shankleman might be.”
Mom turned in her seat, waiting for more. “And?”
“And he didn’t seem all that upset about losing them as clients. In fact, he pretty much said Fox could have Acid Storm.”
“Did you believe him?”
“I’m not sure.” I shrugged. “It might be interesting, though, to talk to him in person.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?”
I glanced at the clock on the dashboard. We’d already been gone well over an hour, but it was likely Lorraine was out cold. I had no idea when Clark was landing, but if he got to the house before we got back, he and Lorraine could have a father-daughter chat. Plus Clark had a key to our place.
“Look at those printouts, Mom. I don’t think Titan’s office is that far from here. I remember the address as being in Santa Ana, and we’re right on the border of that city now.
Mom pulled the pages out of her purse, which I now considered a dangerous weapons vault, and looked through them until she came to the one about Titan’s company. “You’re right, it is Santa Ana.” She read off the address and I plugged it into the GPS. After the nasty woman inside the gizmo recalculated, it popped up that we were just three miles from Titan Entertainment.
“We’re pretty close,” I reported. “We can be there in a jiffy.”
Before I could restart the car, my cell phone rang. It was in its hand-free holder on the dash, and both Mom and I could see the caller was Greg. “Hi, honey,” I said, pushing the answer button that put it automatically on speaker. “I’m in the car with Mom.”
“Good,” he replied. “That saves me a call. This is for both of you.”
“Now, Greg,” Mom started, leaning toward the phone, “don’t go getting your boxers in a bunch over what’s happened. Clark’s on his way here to help so you can stay on your trip.”
“That’s why I’m calling, Grace. There’s been a change of plans. Clark’s not coming. There’s been an accident.”
In tandem, Mom and I gasped and locked eyes, our mouths open slightly in fear of what was to come. “An accident?” I squeaked out.
“Clark slipped on a curb at the airport,” Greg explained. “He’s okay, but it looks like his ankle might be broken.”
“Are you with him?” Mom asked, worry dripping from her words like melted wax.
“Yeah,” Greg answered. “He called me after he was taken to the ER. Boomer brought me down and will take us back to Clark’s when they’re done.” He sighed. “You know ERs, it could take hours, but even if Clark’s ankle is just sprained, he’s in no shape to travel.”
“I’m glad you’re with him, Greg,” I said with relief.
“Not for long, Odelia. As soon as we get Clark settled and some help, I’m coming home. I can’t have you running around on this thing involving Lorraine without me or Clark there. Who knows what trouble you’ll get into.” He paused. “In fact, Grace, Clark thought maybe you and Lorraine should fly out here. He could use your help for a few days.”
“Help, my old ass,” Mom sneered. “He just wants to keep me away from finding out what’s happened to Boaz.”
“Honestly, Mom,” I said, thinking about Oxman’s slashed tires, “I think that’s an outstanding idea. You and Lorraine can fly to Arizona to help Clark. If the police need you, they can call or you can fly back super fast. Since they didn’t charge you, it should be okay with the police.”
“It is,” Greg added. “Clark called Andrea Fehring just now about it, and she said it would be okay for Lorraine and Grace to come here, as long as they were reachable. Meanwhile, I’ll fly home and help you, Odelia.”
Help or hinder, I thought, unsure of his plan.
“No, Greg,” I said, putting some oomph into my words. “You’ve been looking forward to this get-together in Colorado with your friends. You are not missing it. I’ll be fine here.” What I wanted to add was that with Mom not pushing me, I’d probably just sit back and let the police handle everything, but I knew I’d never get Mom out of town if I said that.
As usual, Mom read my mind. “I’m not going anywhere,” she complained. “Lorraine can take care of her father. I’m staying right here. If I don’t, nothing will get done.” Mom didn’t waste any time on maternal instincts, if she had any.
“Have you talked to Lorraine yet?” I asked Greg.
“Clark tried calling her, but she’s not picking up,” he told us.
“She was in the tub when we left the house,” I told him. “She was dead tired. I’ll bet after her bath she turned her phone off to get some sleep.” I started the engine. “We’re heading home now.” As soon as I said the words, Mom shot me a dirty look. “We’ll tell her, and we’ll get her on a plane to Phoenix.”
“But what if she’d rather stay here?” Mom asked.
“You’re not helping, Grace,” Greg said, his voice laced with frustration. “If you won’t come to Arizona, then at least get your granddaughter on that plane. Otherwise, I’ll come out there and do it myself.”
I love it when my husband goes all gangsta on my mother. He’s about the only one she’ll let get away with it.
After a pause, Mom agreed to help. “Okay, we’ll get her on the plane. What time is the flight?”
“I don’t know yet,” Greg said. “But get home and get her packed. I’ll text you as soon as I know the flight information.”
“Easy peasy,” I said. “She hasn’t had time to unpack.”
twelve
“What about going to see that Titan guy?” Mom asked as soon as I ended the call with Greg. She’d pulled her iPad out of her vault of a purse and was poking her index fingers at the screen. My mother may be in her seventies, but she’s pretty tech savvy and seldom goes anywhere without her tablet—and, it seems, her switchblade.
“We can always come back after we put Lorraine on the plane,” I offered, feeling as disappointed as she sounded. I was really primed to pay a visit to Titan West, and I didn’t want to say goodbye so soon to Lorraine.
“We need to strike now, Odelia, while the iron’s hot. By the time we get there, that place will be closed for the day, even if Lorraine is on the first plane out.” Mom’s fingers kept working, jabbing at the screen.
“What in the world are you doing?” I asked her.
“Looking up flights to Phoenix,” she answered. “There’s one at four thirty and another around seven thirty. We can say she missed the earlier flight because we cut it too close and stick her on the later one. That will give us plenty of time to visit Titan before we get Lorraine.”
I glanced at the screen. “Those flights are out of Long Beach. What if they book something out of John Wayne?”
“I didn’t think of that.” Her fingers went back to work. “No problem,” she announced. “There are also two flights and at almost the same time. I doubt they’d make us drive all the way to LAX.” She turned and gave me a sly wink. “And if they book her out of John Wayne for four thirty, there’s even more of a chance that we could miss her plane, but we could make seven thirty at either airport.”
I had stopped being surprised at how calculating and devious my mother could be. These days, I was simply frightened. But I was also
pretty impressed most of the time. “I really don’t want to see Lorraine go,” I said as I put the car in gear and released the parking break. “And I do want to talk to Titan West, but I’m not going to lie to my husband.”
I thought I heard a low, grumbling wuss come from the passenger’s side, but when I shot Mom a sour look she was diligently punching her iPad.
“You can look at this two ways, Odelia,” Mom said, still not looking up. “Lorraine’s leaving can be considered collateral damage—a compromise we comply with so we can keep looking into this. Or we can ignore Greg and Clark completely and simply not put Lorraine on that plane.” She finally looked up. “Whether you lie to Greg about it or not is up to you.”
The car suddenly filled with a blast from the past as I recognized one of Acid Storm’s biggest hits: “The Sweetest Death.”
“Where did you find that?” I asked her.
“Pandora.” She adjusted the volume so we could talk. “So, what’s it to be? Are we sending Lorraine to Clark or keeping her here?”
“Don’t you think we should ask her?”
Mom hit buttons on the device, and the music was replaced with the sound of a phone ringing. When the call went to voicemail, I heard Lorraine’s voice telling the caller to leave a message. “Lorraine, it’s Grandma. Call me or Odelia as soon as you hear this.” As soon as she ended the call, Mom turned and stared at me. She was waiting for me to choose. Would I go on to Santa Ana or back to Seal Beach?
I spotted a favorite burger place on a corner of the parking lot. “It’s well past lunchtime,” I said, pointing at the fast food place. “I’m not sure we should face Titan with growling stomachs.”
She gave it less than ten seconds’ thought. “Good idea; I am rather peckish. But go through the drive-thru, and let’s eat in the parking lot. It’ll be faster. I’ll keep trying Lorraine.”
We devoured our food in fifteen minutes flat. I had a burger, and Mom had a grilled chicken sandwich. I’m not sure either of us chewed a single bite thoroughly as the food went down. We ate to a medley of Acid Storm’s hits. As I finished my last bite, my phone lit up with an incoming call from Greg. Mom shot me a look that said it was time for me to make a decision. As she turned off the music, the greasy burger turned in my stomach.
“Hi, honey,” I said into the phone that was still attached to the dashboard. “That was fast.”
“We’re putting Lorraine on an American Airlines flight that leaves Long Beach at four thirty,” he said without a proper greeting. “Make sure she gets on it.”
“Um…,” I stuttered.
“‘Um’ what?” he asked sharply, knowing that tiny word meant I was about to say something he might not like.
“We’ve checked flights on our end,” I said. “How about putting Lorraine on the one at seven thirty instead? I really don’t want her leaving so soon, and it’s going to be tough making that earlier flight.”
“Tough? It’s just after two. You have plenty of time to get her to Long Beach, especially if she doesn’t need to pack.” He paused. “Where in the hell are you, Odelia?”
“In Costa Mesa with Mom,” I told him truthfully. “We just finished lunch.”
“There’s still enough time for you to get home, throw Lorraine in the car, and head for the airport.”
“But Greg, can’t we at least have a few more hours with her?” I begged. Next to me, Mom’s phone rang. She stopped the call dead in its tracks and started texting something to someone. I switched my attention back to Greg. “Honey, have you even reached Lorraine yet?” As I asked the question, Mom showed me her phone screen. It had been Lorraine who’d called her and was now texting a reply. All I saw was a hell no!!! from Lorraine’s side.
“Clark just got off the phone with her. It’s all set,” Greg said.
In response to that, Mom was shaking her head. She leaned forward and whispered, her face turned away from my phone, “Lorraine doesn’t want to go.”
All set, my fat behind. “Tell Clark we’ll put Lorraine on the seven thirty flight,” I told my hubs with finality. “A few hours won’t hurt, and besides, you’re going to be tied up at the hospital most of that time. I know how ERs work. Has Clark even been seen yet?”
“Um…,” Greg began.
“I’m sorry, Greg, I didn’t hear you.”
“Um, no, he hasn’t,” Greg admitted.
“See?” I said, going in to close the deal. “So a seven thirty flight it is.”
After a long pause, Greg gave in. “Well, I can’t see the harm, Odelia. Go home and spend time with Lorraine. The ticket will be waiting for her at the airport. Boomer can probably pick her up when she lands. Give her his description.”
“Okay.” I gave Mom a thumbs up. She winked back at me.
“Nice going, Odelia,” Mom said when the call was finished. “And you didn’t even have to lie to the man.”
I took several deep breaths. Lying or not, Greg and I would be discussing this later; I was sure of it. My husband is not one of those overbearing types by a long shot. He’s wonderful and believes in equality in marriage, but he’s also very protective of me. He doesn’t mind the snooping if he’s with me, but he hates it when I go solo. Maybe I should have told him that Mom was armed with a deadly knife. Nah, that would just make things worse. He worries more about me when I’m snooping with Mom.
“So what’s up with Lorraine?” I asked as I started up the car. In response, Mom called Lorraine.
Lorraine was not a happy camper. “Look,” my niece began, “I’m really sorry Dad is hurt, but I will not be ordered onto a plane like he owns me.”
“Odelia bought you a stay of execution,” Mom told her. “She negotiated a seven thirty flight instead of the earlier one.”
“Hell no!” came a determined voice from the phone. A few hours of sleep had done wonders for Lorraine’s spunk. “I came here to get away and think. If I had wanted to mope around at one of my parents’ homes, I would have gone there, Grandma. I needed to go someplace where I could breathe. They would both ply me with happy-face pancakes while pumping me for information about my breakup with Elliot.”
“Your father may have broken his ankle,” I said. “Maybe he could use some help.”
“Oh, please!” Lorraine snapped. “I’ve seen that man not miss his weekly poker game after taking a bullet to the leg.”
I glanced over at Mom. “Lorraine’s right,” she confirmed. “The bullet tore through his thigh like one of those bulls in Spain. It was on a Tuesday, and he was playing poker with his buddies the next night.” She paused, then added, “And that was after he’d stopped drinking.”
“Don’t get me wrong, if it was a heart attack or something like that, then I’d be worried,” Lorraine clarified. “Very worried.”
“So, Lorraine,” I said into the phone, “what do you want to do?”
“I want to stay here and see what happens with that dead woman,” she told her grandmother and me. “I’ll bet that’s where you are right now, isn’t it? You’re investigating—without me. I found the body. Don’t you think I should be included?”
Geez. Was Lorraine really getting possessive about a corpse?
“She gets that pigheadedness from our side,” Mom said proudly, without any attempt to whisper. “Marie is more like her mother. God knows I love Marie, but she can be a real snooze.”
From the phone I heard laughter. I couldn’t argue. Although I’d never met Clark’s ex-wife, I’d met Marie a few times, and she was rather conservative and sedate. The phrase “stick up the butt” came to mind. It was her opinion that her grandmother belonged in a home with round-the-clock care and sedation. Some days I couldn’t argue with that.
I glanced again at the clock and did some math in my head. It wasn’t rush hour yet. If we went back to the house to pick up Lorraine before going to see Titan, we’d lose at least an hou
r. Or, we could go see Titan, then go back to the house. That seemed the most logical and wouldn’t get Lorraine very involved.
“Lorraine,” I said into the phone, “Grandma and I have an errand to run. We should be back at the house in about an hour or so. Get dressed and be ready. I’m thinking we should go back to Seaside to check on Art’s place, but we’ll swing by the house and pick you up first. How about that?”
“Why can’t I go with you on that errand?” Lorraine complained. “I’m already dressed.”
“Because we are across town right now and close to where we need to go,” I explained.
“I have an idea,” Mom said. “Lorraine, do you still have my car keys?”
“They’re here on the counter where I left them,” she answered.
“Then why don’t you come to us?” Mom told her. “It’s only about a thirty-minute drive, and we won’t have to circle back to get you. After we finish up, you and I can go to Seaside to check on Art, and Odelia can go home.”
I started up the car’s engine again and pulled out of the parking spot. “Hang tight, Lorraine, we’re on our way back to pick you up. Why don’t you grab some lunch while you wait? Grandma and I already had ours.”
Mom didn’t say a word until we were back on the freeway heading for my house. “Why didn’t you let Lorraine come to us?” she asked. “My car has a GPS. She would have found us.”
I shook my head and stared out the windshield at the traffic ahead of us, which was moving along nicely. “Because, Mom, the last thing I want is you and Lorraine running around getting into trouble on your own.” I glanced over at her. “Without your car, you can’t do that.”
“Humph,” she said, hugging her purse to her. “Can’t blame me for trying.”
thirteen
Titan Entertainment was housed in a two-story brick office building on 4th Street between Bush and Spurgeon, in the heart of a cute and historical business district. Most of the buildings on the street housed retail stores and small restaurants on the ground floor, with office suites above them. Most of the signage was in both English and Spanish. The first floor of Titan’s building housed a taquería. We found parking on the street several buildings down from our target.
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