Would it work? She dropped to her knees and shoved the microphone as far up into the vent as possible. She could hear their voices.
What dialogue had she missed? It was too late to worry. At least they were back in business as long as one particular thing didn’t happen. Please don’t turn on the dryer.
*
“This is silly.” Laney was trying to prolong the conversation, hoping Sandrine figured out what had just happened. “Why would you take me out here?”
“In case someone came to the door. I don’t want to be interrupted.”
Theresa’s excuse was bullshit, Laney thought. She probably believed there was a bug somewhere in the house and had found a place where no one would think to place one. Theresa was extremely smart, and Laney teetered on the verge of giving in to the fear that she was in way over her head. Keep angry, just keep angry.
“Look, I’ve already put myself in a really bad position, so don’t play around with me anymore.”
“I’m not trying to, darling.”
“So why all this clandestine shit?” Laney waved her arm around the garage, knowing she’d stalled just about long enough.
“Maybe I’ve seen too many movies.”
“What does that mean?”
“Clandestine maneuvers, making deals that could benefit us both.” Theresa smiled. “It’s a Hollywood tradition.”
“Speaking of making deals, like I said, I want the tape back.”
“So let’s talk. You know I’d like to give it back, but for now I can’t.”
“Why would you keep the tape to use against me when you know I had no knowledge of your plans?”
“It was just a bit of insurance.”
“Insurance for what?”
“That we could not only have some fun together, but do a little business as well.”
“But you turned the camera on deliberately. I had no idea.”
Theresa chuckled. “No, you didn’t. You’re too innocent, Laney. I can’t believe you were born and raised in Beverly Hills, the daughter of a bank president, no less, and remained so naïve.”
“Well, I’m not so naïve now. Let’s just face the facts that you wanted to launder money in my bank without my knowledge.”
“Yes.” She sounded bored. “And?”
“You stole that tape to make it look like I was involved.”
Theresa didn’t respond.
“Why would you do that? Weren’t we friends?”
“Of course we are, Laney. But you never would have gone along until you realized that we weren’t really harming anyone in the process.”
“You’re endangering my reputation. I could lose my bank.”
“You won’t. Just cooperate and everything will be fine.”
“It feels like blackmail, Theresa. After the time we’ve spent together, this really hurts.” Would she buy that?
“I knew you wouldn’t let us keep those accounts open, so until I could convince you that everything was okay, I needed to make sure I could hold your attention.”
“Well, you’ve got it now.”
“Please don’t be angry, Laney. It’s not as bad as you think. As long as your offer still stands to tell the police you’ve checked us out and your employee jumped the gun in reporting the accounts, we should all be fine.”
Laney pretended to ponder this. “So you’re offering that we become business partners, so to speak.”
“Yes, I am.”
“If I agree to this, you have to let me in on everything.”
“Of course.”
“Okay.” Laney took a deep breath, since she was about to go off script. “Tell me what happened to Candace.”
*
No! Sandrine almost yelled out loud. They already had enough evidence to exonerate Laney. So what the fuck was she doing now? She wasn’t supposed to go any further. And now she was pushing Theresa for more. The hair stood up on the nape of her neck, and she recognized forewarning.
She steadied the microphone so it wouldn’t fall out of the dryer vent, pulled her cell phone from its cradle, and moved away from the garage wall. She’d be away from the earphones for a less than a minute but prayed nothing would happen in that scant but dangerous time.
*
“Candace?” Theresa’s brow furrowed.
“She was unhappy about the group. She told me so the night she died.”
“The police are trying to find out, Laney.”
“Why did she want out of the group? And why was she going to the police?”
“She told you that?”
“Yes, she did.” She hadn’t, but Laney needed to push her.
“Look, I’m as upset as you are about her death—”
“Theresa, cut the bullshit. She knew something and was about to go to the police. If I’m going to partner with you on this, I need to know what I’m getting into.”
Theresa’s eyes glazed over and the side of her mouth twitched. “You’re not getting into anything more than we talked about.”
“Is it about the heroin?”
Theresa almost evaded a facial reaction, but Laney saw that the shock had registered.
“The heroin?”
“Kay told me about it all. That’s how you’re making so much money.” Now she had to convince Theresa it was just business talk. “I don’t care what you do to make money. But you need to keep the heroin sales as far away from my bank as you can. Are you going directly from the drug sales to the art gallery? There’d better be other steps in between to clean the money.”
Theresa stared at her for what seemed like five minutes. Light-headed, Laney knew she had stepped in way too deep. But she couldn’t go back now. Her ears pounded and she was afraid she might faint. She was too nervous to wait out the silence. “I hope you’re being smart about the money trail. You can’t just go from street sales through the gallery and into the bank. Tell me you’re not being that stupid, because I won’t be a part of such an obtuse, rudimentary plan.”
Theresa’s eyes tensed into slits as if she was debating her next words. “It seems you’ve done your homework.”
“Homework? Banking is my life. I’ve seen this before and I probably know more about money laundering than you’ll ever understand. Please don’t insult me.”
Going on the offensive seemed to work.
“I’m not, Laney. Everything is set up very well. All you need to worry about is the end result.”
“If I can easily trace the money trail, so can a lot of other people.”
“But no one has.”
“Candace did. That’s why she was about to go to the police.”
“Candace didn’t know about the laundering.”
“Then why was she going to go to the police?”
“She knew about the heroin.”
“And that got her killed?”
“I can’t control the front end.”
“So, you’re saying that Jimmy Pick killed her?”
Theresa laughed. “I don’t know who killed her, Laney. But since you seem to know all the players involved, why don’t you ask them?”
“Because I’m asking you.” Laney’s anger started to come from a genuine place now. The woman standing in front of her obviously didn’t care who died. Laney’s voice rose. “Because Candace is dead and it’s all a little too fucking close to my bank.”
“Take it easy, Laney.”
“Take it easy? Candace was murdered because she knew about the front end of this plan. And you invited me to a party that took place in the house of another dead woman. And a member of our group. Did Bridget know about the heroin as well?”
Theresa held up a hand. “Look, things happen, Laney. But all of this won’t affect you. As far as anyone’s concerned, all you do is run a bank.”
“But heroin, Theresa. Jesus. Do you really need the money from the heroin sales to help enlarge the bankroll you’re keeping from your husband?”
Theresa’s laughter sounded maniacal as it echoed against th
e hard surfaces in the garage. “Need the money? We don’t need the money. We do it because we can. We can get away with things no one else can. Remember? We’re fucking the system. No one suspects us and we can do any fucking thing we want. Plus, what else do you do in your life that’s this exciting?”
Laney reeled from Theresa’s sudden admission that the story about keeping bank accounts secret from their husbands and boyfriends was bogus. This group of elitist women believed they were so superior that they could get away with anything just to satisfy the monotony of their rich lives and entertain themselves at the cost of others. Laney felt the sour tang of disgust rise in her throat.
Theresa leaned close to her. “You keep the police away from our accounts and everything will be okay.”
“Why am I not convinced? Either you aren’t in control of the front-end heroin operation or you are but you don’t want to truly partner with me and would rather keep me in the dark. Either scenario is too much of a risk for me.”
“You’ll get the tape back. Then there’ll be no risk to you as long as you act ignorant.”
Once more, she avoided giving Laney a direct answer.
“I’m not dim-witted enough to believe that you’ll give me the tape back until you’re done using my bank and have moved on.”
Theresa crossed her arms. “Okay. What do you want?”
So far, her coolness had gotten her a lot of information. She prayed that Sandrine was somewhere getting all of this. But if not, Laney would nonetheless be able to serve as a witness. She crossed her arms, mimicking Theresa, and went for it all.
“I want to know everyone involved in this little plan of yours.”
“You don’t need to know it all.”
“Then maybe you don’t need my bank.”
“Laney, don’t ruin this. You’ll still be able to party with us and have the kind of fun you’ve been enjoying. How many people get to go the places we go and do the things we do? You’re in with the most privileged and influential group around. Take advantage of that and let me take care of the rest.”
“I don’t know,” Laney said. “This is all too dicey. You’re going to have to do better than that or I’ll have to reconsider.”
A startling flash in Theresa’s expression revealed either fury or hostility. Before Laney could react, Theresa grabbed Laney’s shirt in her fist and shoved her up against the garage wall. A metal shovel that had been hanging nearby fell, hitting the floor with a loud clatter. Laney’s back hit something hard and she winced.
“I’ve had enough of your little power play, Laney.” Theresa had turned vile so unexpectedly that Laney sucked in a stunned breath. She was yelling now, and the fist that forcefully grasped her shirt pushed painfully into her chest. “You think you have some bargaining power here? All of the control is in my court, you stupid little bitch. As long as I hold the tape, you’re in this scheme right along with me.”
Theresa was so close to her now that she could smell sweat mixing with perfume. The spicy fragrance that had seemed so refreshing when they’d first met now smelled putrid. Laney felt beads of sweat form on her forehead. Theresa was fuming and Laney knew she had pushed her too far. But she was also livid and no longer cared that Theresa was threatening her. The only thing to do now was push her even further.
“I’m out of the group, Theresa. You’re on your own. I don’t give a shit about the tape anymore. Use it, for all I care, because you can’t do anything to me. And your power plays are getting really fucking boring. Did Bridget get bored with you, too? Did her bank also realize that your operation was mediocre, at best? You think you’re such a big player, but your grand scheme is laughable. Go find another bank to fuck with.”
Something jabbed Laney’s ribs. Theresa had thrust a handgun against her. With every few syllables Theresa spoke, she jammed the gun into Laney’s ribs for emphasis. “I’m not fucking around with your little games anymore. Don’t try to challenge me or you’ll end up eating my gun like Bridget and Candace did. There, you wanted to be a partner? Now you’re part of this. Both of those idiots tried to go to the police, so they were the laughable ones.”
She stepped back, pushing hard off Laney’s breasts as she did so.
*
Sandrine jumped as soon as she heard a crash. She reached up to remove her earphone so she could detach from the parabolic contraption and get to Laney, but something told her to stay put and listen. Laney hadn’t said “stop right now,” the code phrase for Sandrine to come and help, so she hung back. She could be there in seconds if she needed to. And as she listened to the ensuing conversation, Laney’s surprising mettle amazed her. She had pushed Theresa too far and the next few sentences sealed Theresa’s fate. But now, Theresa was threatening her.
Was Theresa going to beat her up? Did she have a gun?
That was enough, Sandrine decided. She put the equipment down, with its microphone still shoved into the vent, and raced around to the front of the house.
*
Theresa and Laney faced off in silence, and Laney tried to fight back the terror she felt creeping onto her face. She hadn’t refused to use the code phrase. In her anger, she had actually forgotten to.
Neither said anything as they both remained frozen with only their breathing showing any movement between them.
The doorbell rang and Theresa turned her head toward the sound. “They’ll go away.”
It rang again. A muffled voice said, “Laney?”
Laney almost called out loud to Sandrine. She wanted to run to her or yell for help, but she was locked in a treacherous standoff. All Theresa would have to do was squeeze her finger less than an inch to pull the trigger. But knowing someone was at the door, Laney gambled that she wouldn’t. She pushed past Theresa. “It’s time for you to go.” Sweat was now rolling down her face as she found the courage to walk out of the garage. With every step that carried her closer to Sandrine, she cringed in anticipation of a gunshot that would rip through her brain. Instead, Theresa followed her to the front door.
Laney swung the door open, and Sandrine stood there, smiling. “Come on, we’re late for the lunch. And you know how Karen hates it when we’re late.” She looked past Laney and said, “Oh! Hi, Mrs. Aguilar. Sorry to disturb.”
Theresa had lost her sinister expression. “Actually, I was just leaving.” She hugged Laney and said close to her ear, “If this bitch police woman is your new girlfriend, you’re more stupid than I thought. And I suggest you don’t make any more stupid fucking moves.”
When Theresa moved away from Laney, Sandrine stepped in, blocking her path. “I think you should go with us.” Sandrine’s eyes never left Theresa’s as she added, “Laney, go get your purse. Now.”
Confused, but comprehending the seriousness in Sandrine’s expression, Laney backed away from the door about fifteen paces. She was now in the living room but could see the concentration on Sandrine’s face.
“Thank you, really, Detective,” Theresa said. “But I have to go.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” She looked Sandrine up and down as if she were contemplating a future conquest. “Perhaps we could get together some other time.”
As Theresa began to step around her, Sandrine wrenched her arm backward, throwing her off balance. Theresa tried to jerk her arm away. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Sandrine grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her roughly to the ground. Theresa landed on her side and Sandrine pushed her onto her face and dropped a knee forcefully into Theresa’s back, saying, “Oh, I think we should get together a lot sooner than that.”
The whoop whoop of a police siren screeched suddenly, and Laney looked up to see Detective MacRae jumping out of a squad car and running down the front walk.
“She’s got a gun,” Laney yelled as MacRae ran toward the door.
MacRae pounced on Theresa and held her arms while Sandrine finished handcuffing her. They searched Theresa rather roughly until Sandrine located and secured
the handgun in her pocket.
As both detectives began to stand up, Sandrine pushed off Theresa’s back. Theresa grunted loudly, yelling, “Goddamn bitch! What the fuck is this?”
Sandrine stood over the prone woman. “You are being arrested for money laundering, blackmail, assault with a handgun, and for the murders of Bridget Marina and Candace Dooring.” She then knelt down next to Theresa’s head. “And for messing with my girlfriend, you fucking slime ball.”
MacRae made a radio call. “We need a squad car with a female officer to take a suspect in.”
“I can finish this, Bruce,” Sandrine said.
“You’re off the case, remember?” He smiled and nodded toward Laney. “Just get her down to the station to make her statement.”
Sandrine stood up and looked at Laney. She stepped over Theresa and reached for her, taking her hand.
“And Girard,” MacRae said, “Remember what I said about the mental edition of the good-cop handbook?”
Sandrine nodded.
“Now’s the time to tear out that page and burn it.”
Laney didn’t know what they meant but she knew it had something to do with her. She watched as MacRae reached down and lifted Theresa to her feet. Her face was red, her hair badly disheveled, and her eyes bulged, making her look deranged. She suddenly screamed at Laney. “You fuckin’ set me up!”
Sandrine’s hand felt warm and secure in hers. Whatever happened now, at least Theresa’s arrogant scheme had been blown to smithereens. Laney shrugged. “It’s a Hollywood tradition.”
*
Once backup had taken Theresa away, Laney took Sandrine inside, and when she closed the door, Sandrine erupted.
“What do you think you were doing? She was threatening you. She could have hurt you.”
Laney had been so angry she hadn’t even considered that Theresa had used the gun before and could have easily used it just then. Her legs began to shake and she felt faint as she grasped the reality of what could have happened. “I need to sit down.”
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