During each episode Tyler remained perched on the tall chair reserved for a producer or director. From his vantage point his hand never stopped sketching on a large pad of paper balanced across his knees. Page after page he filled with one child then another, another, and another. Page after page he sketched at times with a broad smile, other with a critical eye, his head stationary, eyes glancing up and down through his black-rimmed glasses.
Star caught him one time so intent he reminded her of a self-portrait by Norman Rockwell on the cover of the now defunct Saturday Evening Post she found in her grandmother’s garage years ago.
From time to time Tyler exchanged his large pad of paper for a smaller one sketching a portrait of a little chef using a charcoal pencil. At the end of the class Star give each chef a white baker hat and he presented the moms with a cartoon of her child cooking one of the recipes. They were thrilled, throwing off the exhaustion of the day, and when Tyler signed the portrait the mom’s vowed to frame the artwork. At the end of a very long day they left with their treasures—a portrait and foam containers of food their child cooked and thanking Star for an experience their child would never forget.
Star hugged CeeCee thanking her for her help. CeeCee said Stuart would be in touch updating her as her producer-husband tackled the Baker Girl marketing. Tyler lifted Jenny Sue in his arms as CeeCee picked up the blanket and pillow. He carried the tired young chef to CeeCee’s car, setting her on the back seat. Jenny Sue smiled at him then curled up with her pillow.
Tyler returned to the studio kitchen to find Detective Drake checking all the cabinets in the make-believe kitchen. Paul had gone and Star was putting leftover food in boxes to take home. The rental company swooped in and out with their items used during the day.
The studio was deserted except for Drake and Tyler and Star who now perched on the director chair too exhausted to follow Drake around.
The detective opened a cabinet near the large stainless steel refrigerator. He saw something that grabbed his attention. Getting down on his hands and knees he pulled on a pair of latex gloves from his back pocket and reached into the cabinet.
Star’s view was blocked by the detective’s body. She could not see what he carefully removed from the cabinet.
Chapter 32
A MALAISE MYSTICALLY drifted throughout the house mixing with the aroma of brewing coffee. Barefoot, tank tops and shorts, Star and Tyler sat at the kitchen island waiting for the babble of the coffeepot to cease.
For months they had been going full throttle—he in Hollywood on an animation project, she in Daytona Beach starting her bakery. It had been two days since the kids’ marathon cooking class. Now, with a day to enjoy the perpetual sunshine in California, their breakneck speed stalled.
Dazed, Tyler padded to the coffeemaker and poured two mugs of coffee.
With a sigh of contentment, Star raised her mug. “Cheers, Mr. Jackman.”
“And cheers to you, Miss Bloom. When did you say Detective Drake was dropping by?”
Star stretched. “An hour. He sounded weird. Whispery like. I really should tackle—”
The doorbell rang.
Eyebrows shot up. Eyes looked down. They were not dressed for company.
Tyler glanced at his watch. “Drake?”
“I’ll go see,” she said with a conspiratorial smile. Looking through the peephole, her smile broadened. “Detective, come in. We didn’t expect—”
“Toxicology report came in.” Drake brushed past Star bumping into Tyler who hopped into the hallway pulling on his sneakers. Star stifled a chuckle. Tyler always amused her, his gangly frame, arms and legs shooting out in different directions. The black-rimmed glasses somehow staying perched on the end of his nose under a lock of brown hair covering one eye. The lock of unruly hair never covered both eyes and rarely the same eye.
“Good, good, you’re both here,” the detective muttered.
“Coffee, Detective?” Star asked with a wide-eyed glance at Tyler. Why wouldn’t they both be here? She told Drake as much when he called.
“Not at the moment. The coffee. When I checked the studio kitchen I found something.”
“Ah, I saw you pull on your gloves. You took something out of the cabinet but I didn’t see what. Something of interest?” Star said.
“Yes. Very interesting. The poison that killed Mr. Roth. The report verified it. Miss Bloom, do you know how it made its way to your kitchen?” The detective’s eyes locked on Star’s eyes daring them not to look away.
Star tore her eyes from Drake, focusing on Tyler as a shiver ran up her arm. The air of calm had been dispelled to one charged with dread. She turned back to Drake. “I have no idea, Detective. I flew into LA from Daytona Beach the morning of the Burnett barbecue. I baked some cupcakes here at the house and then Tyler and I went to the barbecue.”
“Umm. Flew in that morning, you say?” The detective paced to the living room, fingers laced behind him, head bent, eyes on the floor as he traveled back to the kitchen. “Did you know you were going to a barbecue at Burnett Media?” His eyes, mere slits, again locked on her eyes.
“Tyler told me after he picked me up at the airport. Surely, Detective, you don’t think I—”
“Umm, does seem unlikely…still you are on my person-of-interest list. Mr. Jackman, I take it you’re new to the Hollywood scene?”
“I’ve been working on a project, an animated film for the past six months. Finished up, then picked up another project which ended last Friday.”
“Where was that, here in Hollywood?”
“No. Twentynine Palms,” Tyler said.
“Ah, Twentynine Palms. Desert. Hot. So, Miss Bloom, you baked cupcakes for the…the…what was it for Mr. Jackman?”
“Several things, I believe, but mainly a Fourth of July celebration. Also it was the kickoff of Roth starting production on Star’s reality TV show. That’s where Miss Bloom comes in. All that was left of the production was filming of her commentary and splicing the pieces together. Miss Bloom was in the show as a contestant. She won the competition so she was the natural choice to play hostess and it didn’t hurt that the camera loved her when she auditioned for the part. Being a holiday, the barbecue seemed like a good opportunity for everyone to gather from Burnett’s various productions. Burnett’s assistant suggested everyone bring cupcakes as Burnett Media was furnishing the hot dogs, burgers, salads, and drinks. I don’t remember what all was on the menu.”
“Ah, so you’ve been here, in Hollywood, before, Miss Bloom?”
“Yes. A couple of days for a screen test at Mr. Roth’s invitation, Detective.”
“So the barbecue was very much about a celebration of the Fourth and the start of the Baker Girl production, and then I presume cupcakes? Did anyone else bring cupcakes, Miss Bloom?”
“As I said, Detective, Burnett’s assistant suggested everyone bring cupcakes,” Tyler said.
“You understand, I really only had met Mr. Roth once before I came to Hollywood. So I can’t give you the names of the people who brought cupcakes. I did see Suzie Savage, Mr. Burnett’s girl Friday, bring at least a dozen. Red velvet with sugar glaze as I recall,” Star said.
“Umm, Girl Friday…
“There were more. We arrived a little late so I didn’t see who came with cupcakes but the table was covered with them,” Tyler said.
Drake pulled out a small tablet. “You say, besides yourself, Miss Bloom, that Miss Savage brought cupcakes and she’s Burnett’s Girl Friday, plus other people?”
“Maybe Suzie has a sign-up sheet, Detective,” Tyler said.
“Right, right. Mr. Jackman, I presume you were in the house when Miss Bloom whipped up the batter?”
“Yes, I was. I even frosted some. Star, you must bake some of your special cupcakes for the detective.”
“Good idea,” Star said.
“I think I’ll pass, Mr. Jackman. That wraps up my questions…for now. I’d appreciate your keeping our little meeting private at least for the
time being. You know how rumors spread in this town.”
The detective shuffled to the front door then turned around. “If either of you plan to leave town, please let me know…in case I have more questions,” Drake said as another car pulled into the driveway.
CeeCee parked and almost tumbled out of the car.
Peering at her from the front steps Drake said in a hushed voice, “That woman was in the studio the day I found the poison. Did she bring cupcakes to the barbecue?”
“No, Detective. CeeCee Washington wasn’t at the barbecue,” Tyler said.
“Umm,” The detective nodded to CeeCee, got into his car parked at the curb and drove away.
Shading her eyes against the brilliant sun, CeeCee watched the car disappear then turned to Star and Tyler. Swaying, she grabbed the car’s door handle leaning against it for support, then attempted to take a step.
Star and Tyler rushed to her side as she appeared to stumble. Star put her arms around her friend to steady her.
“What’s the matter, CeeCee? Are you going to be sick?”
“I just came from the hospital. Jenny Sue was admitted. The tumor…it returned. I left…I had to leave…my mother died there. Star…my little girl…”
CeeCee fell to her knees convulsing with dry-heaves.
“Tyler, let’s help her in the house—”
“No, no, no. Take me back to the hospital. Please Star… I had to find you…come with me… I’m so scared. I couldn’t let Stuart down, couldn’t let him see me…hospitals…I panicked.”
Chapter 33
WHITE CLOUDS TINGED with gray grew darker. The soft breeze off the ocean turned to strong gusts, at times shooting bits of sand into sunbathers’ eyes as they scurried to find shelter from the pending storm.
At the hospital Stuart sat waiting for word from the doctor. CeeCee had shouted to him over her shoulder as she ran that she had to find Star. Something about Jenny Sue had absorbed strength from Star, at first a total stranger, a stranger she quickly bonded with.
Tyler knew the hospital. It was decided that he would drive the van and Star would drive CeeCee’s car following close behind. Star helped CeeCee into the passenger seat of the car and ran to the driver’s side.
The hospital was less than thirty minutes away. CeeCee sat quietly gripping the sides of the seat her eyes giving way to streams of tears. “I can’t walk in like this,” she mumbled. “I have to be strong for Jenny Sue, for Stuart.”
“There’s a pack of tissues in my tote at your feet. Can you reach them?” Star said glancing at her.
“Yes. I see them.” Her hands shaking CeeCee struggled to open the pack. Pulling a tissue out she blew her nose. With two more tissues she blotted her tears.
“Take deep breaths, CeeCee. Count to four, exhale slowly and take another breath. A trick my gran taught me when I was overwhelmed, couldn’t imagine how I was going to live. Count out loud.
“1, 2, 3, 4,” CeeCee said softly, the numbers catching in her throat.
“That’s it. When we get to the hospital Tyler’s going to pull into the emergency entrance. He’ll get someone to take you to Stuart. We’ll join you as soon as we park the cars.”
“She was doing so well,” CeeCee whispered, wiping her eyes with another tissue. “We thought she was done with the chemo, but the doctor…he saw the tumor this morning…it came back. He told Stuart and I out in the hall. Not Jenny Sue…until…we said he could go ahead with an emergency operation. Then we told Jenny Sue. Our little girl looked up at us, such a little figure in the bed, and she said…she said, ‘don’t be sad mommy. When we go home I’ll make you and daddy a tie-dye cupcake with pink and blue frosting…your favorite.’ Can you believe it? So brave. Then she closed her eyes. They wheeled her into the operating room. Thank you, Star. I’m feeling…more in control.”
“CeeCee, do you have medication, you know, for panic attacks?”
“At home. I never dreamed…the tests would...”
“As soon as we get to the hospital we’ll ask the doctor to help you. The surgery…for the tumor, did the doctor say how long—”
“No. Maybe to Stuart. I left. I had to get out of the hospital. I had to find you. You’re a strong woman, Star. I needed your strength. I’m so sorry…I didn’t mean to burden you…but…”
- - -
In the dimmed light of the ICU, Stuart and CeeCee looked down at their daughter. She seemed so little with the bandage encasing her head…such a small girl, such a big fight. Stuart turned, pulled a chair up to the bed for his wife and another for himself. Sitting, head bent cupped with his hands, he stared at the floor.
“Stuart, I’m sorry…can you forgive me?”
“I understand, sweetheart. This hospital, Jenny Sue…”
The doctor stepped into the ICU to check on his young patient. “Jenny Sue is in an induced coma to give her brain a chance to heal, let the swelling go down. A nurse will be with her, watching as the swelling recedes—hours or a day. We don’t know for sure how long it will take. Then we’ll slowly bring her out of the coma.”
“But you do expect her to wake up?” Stuart asked the doctor.
The doctor nodded and then smiled. “I just got the pathologist’s report. It’s very good news. The tumor was benign. I removed the tumor and some of the healthy tissue around it, on the edge of the brain. Benign tumors can grow quickly however they don’t usually come back if the surgeon got it all. I believe I got it all. We’ll monitor Jenny Sue with scans of the area.”
“This is such good news,” Stuart said. “I guess we were expecting the worse. When can we take our daughter home?”
“Three or four days. She’ll feel tired for several weeks then I think she’ll be back to playing with her favorite doll. I think she told me her name is Peggy Jean.”
Star and Tyler looked from one to the other as the Washingtons asked the doctor questions. CeeCee seemed to be all right. The doctor had ordered something be given to her for anxiety and it was working. But the best news was that the tumor was benign, he removed it all, and she was going to be okay.
“Can my husband and I stay with her, by her bed?” CeeCee said.
“Yes. I’ll arrange for cots to be set up in her room,” he said and then left them alone with their daughter, their two friends, and the nurse.
- - -
Tyler grasped Star’s hand as they walked out of the hospital. Opening the van door he helped her up then rounded to the other side and slid behind the wheel. The sun had set. Flood lights snapped on illuminating the parking lot. Tyler glanced at Star. A tear was rolling down her cheek. He reached across for her hand raising it to his lips.
“Ty, do you like kids?”
“Love kids. You?”
“I do.”
They sat in silence staring out the windshield. Questions, answers hanging in the air.
“Do you want kids?” Star asked.
“Yes, a girl. A clone of her mother—pretty blonde hair, blue eyes, and a heart of gold.”
Star wiped another tear away and turned to face him. Her lips curving up in a half smile.
“I’d like a little boy just like you, adorable with a lock of hair that falls over his eyes. A boy that is amused by what he sees, and brings a smile to all who are lucky enough to see the world through his eyes.”
Tyler held her hand to his heart.
“But Ty, what if our child gets sick…like Jenny Sue?”
Tyler laid his arm around her shoulders. “Babe, I don’t think about what ifs. As I see it, we take what life gives us—the good and the bad. We’ll deal with it. We move forward but not here, not in Hollywood.”
“Ty, I can’t leave…Jenny Sue…I can’t. Not yet, not until she’s home and is back playing…like the doctor said.”
“Okay. But our children will be strong knowing we are there for them…always, wherever we are.”
Nodding, Star turned, looked out the side window at a mother cat lying on a strip of grass. A kitten wanted to play,
jumping on all fours around her. She put her paws around her kitten’s head, giving its ears a loving scrub.
Chapter 34
DETECTIVE DRAKE WAS OUT of sorts. He wasn’t getting anywhere on the case and the missus scheduled a painter at their bungalow resulting in two lost days. With a sigh he parked his vintage pink Beetle coupe in the Burnett Media lot. He shuffled some papers and got out.
He looked around.
Three entrances. No sign, offices this way.
A man with a briefcase swinging from a shoulder strap hustled up the steps to the first entrance several yards away. Drake followed.
The hall, brightly lit with fluorescents overhead, had doors on either side. Burnett Media was painted on the third door left hand side.
Opening the door, Drake stepped into a modern office—file cabinets, red oriental rug and a blonde sitting behind the desk. She was on the phone while twisting a curl over her ear with the other hand. Seeing her visitor, she abruptly ended the call.
“Detective Drake?”
Drake nodded.
“Suzie Savage at your service. Your right on time, sir,” she said standing pulling her tight dress in place as she rounded the desk with her hand extended. “Nice to meet you. Mr. Burnett is ready to see you.”
“Right, right, and then you and I can talk?”
“Oh yes. Come with me.”
Suzie knocked softly on the door then pushed it open. “Mr. Burnett, Detective Drake is here to see you.”
“Drake?”
“Yes, you know, he made an appointment—about Mr. Roth’s untimely death.”
Burnett sighed. “Oh, yes. Come in Detective, have a seat. Miss Savage, let me know when Harry arrives.” Harry was Burnett’s code word—in ten minutes get this guy out of here.
“I won’t be long, Mr. Burnett. How long have you known Mr. Roth? What was his job at Burnett Media?”
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