Helena Goes to Hollywood: A Helena Morris Mystery

by CC Dragon

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Gathered around my sister’s dining room table, I looked up at the massive chandelier as my toes dried. The San Bernardino Sisters were free and I was at a dead end. Todd and Ricky both insisted I sit out and wait for the LAPD to do its job. I hated waiting. We could be a bunch of sitting ducks here.

  Sonia surfed the web on her laptop while her feet soaked. “You took a picture with a Queen Bee at the funeral? Hel!”

  I rolled my eyes at her. “He promised not put up any pics of you or Danny if I did. It’s a picture, that’s all. He’d better be keeping that agreement.”

  “They had some pictures of the house where the murder happened but nothing of Danny or Sonia.” Emmy exfoliated Sonia’s feet and glanced at the screen. “You look great in the picture.”

  Like I cared but maybe there was something? “Can I see the pictures of Danny’s house?”

  Sonia seemed relieved to push the laptop away. She’d been clinging to Danny’s stuff and then wanting to put it out of her mind. Hopefully she was coming to grips with reality.

  I clicked on a few pictures, police milling about and the coroner’s truck. So far Keith had kept his word and I was rather surprised. One of the pictures was just the house, no sign of my car or any police. Maybe it was much later in the day? No, no police tape on the door. I clicked for a closer look.

  In the bottom left corner of the picture I saw an odd car and it snapped in my mind. I could be wrong but my gut said I’d cracked it. I looked for a date and time stamp on the edges. Nothing. Grabbing my sister’s cell I got a hold of Harriet’s cell number. She in turn gave me Keith’s number. As the phone rang, I drummed my newly polished nails on the table while Emmy waved at me with a grimace.

  I was in the zone and the world fell away. I had to get there, find some proof. Alibi to the contrary—I knew who the killer had to be.

  “Queen Bee Keith.”

  He actually answered his phone that way? “Hi Keith. It’s Helena Morris.”

  “Hel! Honey...when can we do lunch?” he asked.

  “As soon as Danny’s killer is behind bars, and you’re going to help me make that happen.”

  Sonia gave me a look and I waved her off.

  “I’m all yours. How can I help?” Keith sounded skeptical.

  “You’ve got a picture of the house up on your site. There’s a silver Lexus SUV in the foreground on one. The plate was cut off a bit.”

  “My picture sources are confidential. They don’t kill people and it ruins the story,” he said sarcastically.

  “I hope they don’t kill but I need to know if there’s a time and date stamp on that photo anywhere and the plate number.”

  Most people wouldn’t want that on their pictures but professionals used it to track their work. I imagined paparazzi might keep it on for their own defense proving when they took a picture.

  At least I hoped they were that smart. “Help me out, Keith.”

  “Take a chill pill and let me look.” He laughed. “Like that? We’re going to be doing a whole eighties theme next month. Everything eighties and I’ll even find your yearbook picture.”

  “My hair in high school was high and I loved orange neon. Can you check please?” I tried to be nice but I had a bad feeling about it all.

  I covered the mouthpiece. “Sonia, Myra and Norm take over Danny’s place tomorrow, right?”

  She nodded. “I called Myra and said they could go back tonight. Police cleared it. Faith left a message that she’d gotten her stuff out already and Jordan supervised the service. I couldn’t face getting his stuff. Just the furniture and appliances left. They’ll have to replace the floor.” She swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

  Emmy tried to sooth my sister but I simply didn’t have the luxury of helping just then. “Keith, help me out here.”

  “Got it. Seriously, do you know how many photos I have? I’m looking at the original. Enlarging and yes, it has a date stamp with time. Ten ten in the morning on the day of the murder. The plate says MrFix1. Sad. Does it help?”

  “Yes! Send the uncut photo to my phone, please. I have to get the plate run. Now tell me why a paparazzi would be taking pictures of my sister’s ex’s rented house before the murder?”

  “You’d been spotted there before. He was probably just making some rounds. Some paps take a shot and a lot of mine go out of the box on hunches. Not every shot is a moneymaker but if he’d found you there or the killer it’d be worth a mint.”

  I didn’t get it but I could accept it as routine in their business. “Okay, thanks.”

  “Sending. So I helped you crack a case?” he asked.

  “You and your magic website, I think so. Thank you.” I disconnected from him and opened the picture.

  I knew there would be more payback to give the queen but right now I had to check. The time stamp was clear and the uncropped picture had more of the car. I had a good idea who killed Danny.

  “I’ve got to go.” I shoved my feet into some flip-flops, got up and grabbed my purse. “I want to check out the house one last time.”

  “Why?” Sonia asked.

  “You’ll ruin your nails,” Emmy called.

  I shook my head. “Just a feeling. I want to make sure nothing was missed. Tell Emmy about your tattoo idea. Maybe she knows a good place to get one. We’ll go, soon.”

  I headed out the front door and turned the security system on behind me.

  I’d texted Ricky and he was running the plate as I arrived at Danny’s old rental. They’d cleaned out everything belonging to him. Sonia had sent his parents a package and let Faith have a few things.

  When I pulled up a block away and spotted that silver SUV I knew I had them. No proof yet beyond the circumstantial. I didn’t want to spook them so I parked my car a block back and walked. I took a photo with my cell of the car with the plate and sent it along with Keith’s picture to Ricky.

  Two seconds later my phone vibrated. “It’s Norm Andrews’ car. He owns the house. So what?” he asked.

  “He did it. I’ll explain later—just meet me at Danny’s house now.” I disconnected but kept my phone out. As I neared the house I thought about pulling my gun. Ricky was on his way. Maybe I could stall them. Was it just Norm or had he dragged Myra into it? The gun was my last resort.

  I’d learned what damage pictures could do so I had great evidence. I went around back and found the sliding door open. Quietly, I eased my hand with cell in and took a pic of Norm with his hand under the sink.

  I stepped in. “Eager to get back to work?”

  “What are you doing here? I’m just cleaning up.” His face went white.

  “Sure, because you’ll get this place rented again fast? You have to change the floor and Myra said the place wasn’t remodeled. You have a lot of work to do.” I tried not to look at the stain.

  The floor was old and some sort of tile that had soaked up the brownish red hue.

  “Sonia said you were all done here. What do you want?” Norm asked.

  “Pull out whatever is stuffed under the sink,” I instructed.

  “It’s nothing—I just wanted to check it. They had some plumbing issues and sinks get clogged easily.” Norm stepped closer to me.

  He lied well, but stepping toward me was a mistake. It showed he was more afraid of what I’d find in the sink than me. Something was in there.

  “The police are on their way,” I said.

  “Why? I own this home. I’m not trespassing, Danny was a good friend to Myra and me.” He wasn’t going to move or cooperate.

  I had nothing to tie him up with and I didn’t want to pull my gun until I had to. Norm was big. I could take him but he had tools. Backup would be good. Ricky needed to get here now!

  “I’m not worried about trespassing. It’s the whole murder thing I’ve got a problem with.”

  His face became hard and his eyes darted for the potential exits. Behind him there was nothing. “I didn’t murder anyone.” Norm took a ste
p closer.

  “Don’t run. The police will be here any second and we’ll just see what they find. Your dad was a contractor, right?”

  I’d had Todd run Myra to ground but she had a super background check. Nothing criminal or obvious but I did my homework back when she was just the agent. Checking out her husband hadn’t occurred to any of us. Now Myra was writing a book?

  Norm’s smile turned to a frown and his head tipped just a fraction of an inch toward the sink.

  “So? Plumbing isn’t a crime. You can’t hold me here, you’ve got nothing. It’s not like you’re even a cop,” he said.

  “I’ll do what I have to do. Why did you kill Danny? He wasn’t leaving Myra. He had some talent and he would get work.”

  “And I thought you were more interested in your sister’s stalker.” Norm leaned on the counter. “Why couldn’t you leave it alone? My wife had a great thing with that couple. Big money and Sonia had to go and ruin it. That was bad enough but Danny cheating made it worse. Myra gave so much.”

  The money. It really was all about money. “You stalked my sister too. You wanted her to what? Run back to Danny for safety? Try to get them together and Myra might get her super couple back? Greedy bastard.”

  I’d bet he stashed the knife in the plumbing. Maybe the disposal, maybe the sink pipes—people went with what they knew best. Those were places police weren’t going to take apart without clues and evidence leading them there. Most people wouldn’t go there first but he owned the house. Why not hide it under their nose; if it was found, blame the killer. If not, he could dispose of it once the heat was off. Norm had those skills even in the panic of hiding stuff.

  “Why kill Danny? Then there’s no way to recoup my wife’s losses.” He stretched back on the counter, proud of himself.

  “And you’ve had a week of trying to get to my sister until you finally realized I won’t go away. I’ll be her bodyguard twenty-four seven and keep the perimeter on her so tight you’ll never get a chance. So you’re making sure to get rid of the evidence now that the rumor of your wife’s book has gotten out.”

  “You ruined everything! I had to get rid of Danny or he’d drag Myra down. He wasn’t playing ball and getting good press. Being sympathetic. Myra tried so hard to remake his image and he just wanted to be a depressed loser.” Norm glared at me.

  He grabbed a wrench from behind him on the counter and lunged at me. I reached around the weapon and grabbed his wrist. The element of surprise worked; attackers expected people to move away, not come in closer. Twisting his arm, I ramped up the pressure on his thumb joint and he dropped the wrench.

  He grabbed for my throat with his other hand. I hooked his thumb and bent it back.

  Cursing, Norm went down on his knees.

  “Police! Let him go,” a gruff voiced shouted.

  I let go and stepped back and Norm lunged for the wrench. I heard a shot and looked behind me. Ricky’s bullet found a home in Norm’s calf.

  “That confession sounded good to me.” Ricky stepped in and grabbed the wrench away from Norm as he howled in pain.

  As Ricky tried to cuff him Norm fought. The murderer grabbed my leg and tried to punch my knee. I’d seen suspects wild from the pain of a gunshot before. This guy was high on adrenaline. Most focused on the area causing them pain and just wanted help, asking for drugs or a doctor. However, some grew more defiant and desperate to escape. I stepped out of range and resisted punching the guy.

  I heard the sirens approaching. Ricky had raced here on his own and saved my ass. I wasn’t going to get him in trouble. When Norm tried to punch my knee again I grabbed him by what was left of his hair and punched him square in the nose. I felt it break. “That’s for my sister.”

  I looked up at Ricky with a smile. He chuckled, “It was totally self-defense and kind of hot.”

  “Men.” I rolled my eyes at him.

  Two uniformed officers came in, guns drawn. They holstered their weapons as soon as they’d assessed the situation and helped Ricky cuff the suspect.

  “He put the stuff in the sink, pipes or disposal. His dad was a contractor and he did maintenance on the place. No one would look there.” I breathed my first clear breath since coming to L.A.

  Ricky got on his cell phone. “Get the evidence team and a plumber out here. I need someone who can pull apart pipes without destroying the scene now.”

  “He was reaching for stuff in there when I entered. I’ve got a picture. He might’ve loosened up the pipes.” I knew nothing about them but it was worth a look.

  Ricky gloved up and shined a flashlight underneath there. “Got a ring and a nasty piece of paper. We’ll wait for the plumber to dig farther. Looks like he just put these here.” He bagged both items.

  The ring was Danny’s wedding ring. A gold band with little four-leaf clovers etched in it. “That’ll have Sonia’s name in it. She looked all over for that ring.” I read the letter through the plastic.

  “Mind if the police have a look?” Ricky stepped behind me to read over my shoulder.

  “It’s from Danny to Faith and he was breaking up with her.” I didn’t believe it. He’d actually done it.

  “Bastard! It was too little too late,” Norm screamed.

  I used all my restraint to not kick him in the face.

  “Shut up,” I told him.

  The uniformed officer read Norm his rights and he nodded at him.

  I read on with the letter. “He was leaving Faith to try and get back with my sister.”

  “You said she wouldn’t take him.” Ricky nudged my shoulder.

  “It doesn’t sound like she had and Sonia didn’t know anything about this. He must have wanted to be free of Faith before he made another reconciliation attempt. Danny was so scared of being alone. He hated L.A. because he always felt alone here. He took the biggest risk for her.” Sonia would be touched and heartbroken.

  “The idiot. Danny had to move on. Quit looking like a wimpy loser pining for his ex. That Carmen slut was a mistake but it was done.” Norm shook his head.

  “So you stabbed him in the back like a coward. You hid the note and his ring so it wouldn‘t be found.” I really wanted to hit him again.

  “I tried to convince him to man up. Take some auditions Myra lined up. He started the fight.” Norm struggled. “He was going out the back door when I walked up. It was all your fault—you kept coming by and accusing him of stalking. He’d never stalk Sonia. She walked on freaking water to him. You’re really dumb if you think he’d hurt her.”

  I looked at Ricky with frustration. Either I was going to pound that ass into pulp or he’d cart him off.

  Ricky stepped in. “So you stabbed him and left him there?” he asked.

  His eyes went cold, inhuman, and evil. “My wife had done everything for them. They betrayed her. Sonia left and that was bad enough. Danny kept using Myra but never listening. The money was drying up.”

  “We’ve got motive and a confession.” I smiled at Ricky.

  “Why couldn’t you’ve stayed in Vegas? You ruined it all.” Norm spat at me.

  Luckily his aim wasn’t that great.

  Norm fought them as the two uniforms hauled him to his feet and carried him out to the squad.

  “He’s got a bullet in his leg. Get that dealt with but I’m coming along.” He turned to me. “Don’t worry, Hel, I won’t let him out of my sight. My partner is coming to wait on the plumber.”

  “I’m staying.”

  “Fine, there are four uniforms front and back guarding the scene. CSI is coming too. Don’t touch anything”

  I sat there for half an hour staring at the blood stain from Danny.

  “I’m sorry.” I’d said it ten times. If I hadn’t encouraged him to leave Faith and try again with Sonia he might at least be alive. If I’d have seen through Norm faster he might be alive. Myra would be investigated now too. What did she know?

  Danny had to have been calling me to tell me he was going to leave. Maybe ask if it was
okay to come by the set and ask Sonia to lunch. Something good would’ve happened—maybe.

  Being alone was hard for Danny but I never had a problem with it. I’d hid alone in my room a lot as a little kid. Alone was safe and alone I did well, so maybe I just didn’t understand the aversion other people had to that state. Every once in a great while it bothered me but that always went away. At that moment I shivered from the loneliness. The loss of Danny hit me.

  The other detective walked in with a spindly guy in coveralls. The name patch announced he was Skip. I did my best to snap out of the daze.

  “Kitchen sink?” the detective asked.

  I nodded. “We found these visible. He’d pulled them out. I’m hoping the knife is in there too.”

  “Okay, Skip, you know the drill. Glove up. It’s all evidence.” The detective stood next to me and examined the evidence.

  I just sat there on the kitchen table staring.

  “You saw the pictures?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Ricky forwarded it all to me from the hospital. The guy drives a Lexus. Owns a bunch of houses and is that greedy and crazy.”

  “Crazy is right,” I nodded. “He came at me with a wrench and tried to break my knee cap.”

  “You took him.”

  “Fear for your life will do that. No guilt and no worries.”

  I never really feared for my life from Norm. He might hurt me but never kill me. I was faster. He had a wrench but he wasn’t skilled enough to outmaneuver me. I had to get to my gun but I had it. I could’ve kicked the wrench from his hand. Norm proved too unpredictable and I could’ve ended up with a broken foot. Or gotten Ricky hurt. Or he might have had another weapon. Or he could’ve ditched the wrench and ran. None of those options were acceptable so I had played it safe.

  “I’m okay.”

  I shook off the lingering doubts and relished the fact that my sister and I were safe. Relief, true and full relief rushed through me.

  “Got something in the sink pipe.” Skip set it on a tarp he’d spread on the kitchen floor. “Knife.”

  “Blade looks right. He wiped it but we’ll get some blood residue. Anything else?” he asked.

  Skip nodded and pulled out a thin men’s shirt crusted with blood. “That’s it and I’ll check the disposal, but not much room to hide stuff. He probably wanted to destroy this stuff and never got the chance.”