“Yep,” she said when she picked up the handset. “Okay. Well, sure. Give me a minute and then send her back.” She hung up the phone.
“You gotta skedaddle. I have work to do,” she said to me.
She stood and let me lead the way out of her office. As we entered the hallway, I saw a familiar figure enter from the other end. Linea walked toward us, her steps quick and sure, the look on her face beyond exasperated.
There wasn’t time to elbow Jodie before Linea was upon us.
“Jodie,” Linea said. “Clare, it’s good you’re here too. You can help me explain all this to Jodie.”
“Sure,” I said, having no idea what was on her mind.
Jodie looked back and forth between Linea and me. She sighed.
“All right. Let’s go to an interview room. Clare, you can stay until I tell you to leave.”
We followed Jodie into the interview room I was becoming very familiar with.
Linea didn’t wear a ski coat, but something closer to a peacoat, navy blue and worn slightly at the elbows. Her rosy cheeks didn’t do much to alleviate the stress showing with the frown of her mouth.
Jodie closed the door to the interview room after Linea and I sat.
“What’s going on, Linea?” Jodie said after she sat down too and placed a notebook on the table in front of her. We’d automatically taken the seats that seemed most appropriate: Linea and I on one side and Jodie on the other side in the position of power.
“That man, Howard something-or-other, will not leave us alone,” she said. “He keeps knocking on our door and asking to come in. He wants to film the inside of our house, Jodie! I don’t understand why he won’t take no for an answer.”
“How many times has he asked to come in?” Jodie asked.
“Does it matter?” Linea said.
“Legally, not really. I’m just trying to get a feel for this,” Jodie said.
“Well, three, I guess. The last one just about half an hour ago and I came right in to see you.”
“Why didn’t you call?”
“I worry the police won’t take our complaints seriously. I wanted to talk to you and I wanted to do it in person.”
“We would take anyone’s complaints seriously, but I understand your concern. All right, Linea, tell me what he said.”
“He said they’re working on something that is mostly fiction, but based on my family. He heard about us from some big-time director who has a house in Star City, and was told we’re so normal.” She paused, either to catch her breath or calm down. “He said they’d like to get some of the details as close to real as possible. I told him we weren’t interested in being a part of his project and that he needs to go away. The first two times Duke told him nicely. This time I wasn’t so nice.”
“I see. How many times, this time, did you tell him to go away? Did he try to force his way in? Did he put his foot in the doorway or anything?”
She shook her head. “He wasn’t forceful, but I had to tell him no a few times. He . . . worries me, though.”
Jodie cocked her head. “Does he worry you or just bother you?”
“He worries me,” she said. “Since that woman who came out with him the first time was murdered. I’m worried. I know you arrested the killer, but still.”
“Cassie Bane came to your house with Howie?” Jodie said.
Surely Jodie found this as interesting as I did, but she kept her demeanor stoic, as her eyes focused in a curious slant. I sat up straighter and leaned a little closer to Linea.
“Yes, I think she was going to be a part of the project too. I think she was going to portray Duke’s second wife. She was more forceful than Howie, but his persistence is still bothersome.”
“Who was going to portray you?” I said before I could stop myself. I looked at Jodie apologetically, but her focus was still on Linea.
“Someone named Adele something, but I didn’t know who she was,” Linea said, her surprise at my curiosity obvious.
So, Howie, Adele, Cassie, and Nell were all involved. I remembered the film crew as I looked at Jodie again, but she still seemed to have forgotten that I was in the room. The actors and Howie were, as I’d sensed, a group together, perhaps because of the project.
Jodie said, “Linea, do you know of any other actors or actresses who were involved in the project?”
“Sure. Nell Sterling—I know exactly who she is—is going to portray Patrice, Duke’s first wife.”
Jodie nodded once. “All right. I will talk to Howie and tell him to back off, but I’d really like to know if there’s anything else you could tell me about the project.”
Linea nodded and sat up straighter.
“I guess I don’t know much. Duke told me that Howard and Cassie Bane stopped by the first time and he told them that we wouldn’t be interested in helping them with the project. He must have told them no because he knows how our type of lifestyle can be put in such a bad light. He wouldn’t want any part of it.”
“Okay,” Jodie said with a prompting tone.
“I don’t think I know any more than that,” Linea said.
“I saw Howie and Nell Sterling on the corner of their property the other day when I was up there,” I added. “They had a small camera crew and they were filming.”
“Directly on the property or next to it?” Jodie asked.
I looked at Linea. “Does your property line extend over to the side street?”
“Yes.”
“On the property, then.”
“Trespassing,” Jodie said.
“You can arrest him for that?” Linea asked.
“I could, but I’ll probably just threaten him with the arrest if that’s okay with you. Despite the murder that has occurred, I don’t think Howie has any intent to harm you. I think he’s just an annoying human being whose life is all Hollywood. I’ll be annoying to him and see if that gets him to stop.”
“Okay. Thanks,” Linea said doubtfully.
“You’re welcome.” Jodie blinked and she seemed to fall out of cop mode. The features on her face softened and she smiled slightly. “It’s good to see you’re happy.”
“I am. Thanks.”
“Don’t know how you changed from crazy party girl to what you’ve become, but each to his or her own, I say.”
Linea laughed, and the stress in the room that I hadn’t realized was so palpable dissipated a little bit. “Oh, I’m sure you’ve wondered, but, yes, it’s a life I enjoy. And, no, I don’t want even a little part of any attempt to portray it in a movie or series or whatever.”
“I don’t blame you. You never know what those movie folks will do to make money.”
“It was great to see you the other day, Clare. Good to see you too, Jodie. I don’t harbor any illusions that we’ll hang out and be best buddies, but I wouldn’t mind meeting for dinner sometime down the road.”
“Sounds good to me,” Jodie said.
“Me too,” I said.
“Thanks for coming in. I’ll take care of Howie,” Jodie said before she flipped the notebook closed and stood.
“Clare, could I give you a ride back to your store? I’d like to take a look at those typewriters and talk to you about them,” Linea said.
“Meet you there. I’ve got my car.”
“All right.”
Jodie walked us out, but waited for me inside the doorway as Linea pulled out of the parking lot first. I rolled down my window and stopped in front of the door when I noticed her. A snowflake landed on my nose, but I didn’t notice any others coming down. I looked up at the unexpected thick clouds coming in. It was either the beginning of a big storm or just a few passing flurries.
“What’s up?” I asked as she pushed open the station’s door again and leaned out toward me.
“Stay away from those Hollywood people, C
lare. I don’t know what’s up, but there’s something more than Matt Bane just killing his sister. In fact, I’m finally beginning to believe he might not be the killer. They’re a group that seems to be together too much. It sits like a bad piece of sushi with me.”
“Okay.” The visual made my stomach turn, but I was glad she sensed what I had.
“I mean it. Just stay away. I’m going to go track down Howie now and give him a piece or two of my perturbed mind. Just keep a distance.”
“I will.”
“Good deal. Now go talk to our polygamist friend about some typewriters. I bet no one in the history of the universe has ever said anything like that before.”
I smiled and waved as I pulled out of the parking lot. I didn’t have any desire to talk to the Hollywood people, but I wondered what in the heck was bothering Jodie so much. Were her cop bells ringing without any real provocation or had she and Creighton actually turned up more than she was telling me?
I was sure I’d find out. Eventually.
25
Linea waited for me outside the shop. A west wind had picked up and the temperature might have fallen twenty degrees since I’d first gone to talk to Jodie. There was no sign of the sunny blue sky I’d been under earlier. Another day of Utah weather.
“You could have gone in,” I said to her as I turned my head against the wind.
Linea nodded and smiled weakly. “I don’t want to bother Chester.”
I opened the door and led us inside.
“Bother Chester?” I said after the door closed behind us, and wiped some hair away from my face.
Baskerville peered down from his high ledge and meowed cheerfully at our visitor. I wondered where our surly cat had gone.
“Hey, you.” Linea smiled up at the cat. “Cute cat.”
Baskerville circled twice, and then wound himself in a small, tight ball.
“Yeah, and surprisingly friendly lately,” I said.
I looked toward the back of the shop. Toby and Marion were both behind the counter watching something on her computer screen. In tandem they looked up, smiled, and waved.
“Adal said he’d come back when you called him,” Marion said. “He’s a nice man. I’m going to like having him here.”
“Thanks for letting me know.” I turned to Linea as I loosened my coat collar. “Why would you bother Chester?”
“I’m not sure he approves of my lifestyle choices.”
I smiled. “Chester’s not judgmental. He’s seen everything.”
“I know, but lots of people from my past life prefer the party girl over the polygamist girl.”
I laughed, though I wondered if she’d meant to be funny. “No worries.”
As we approached the counter, I sent a furrowed brow toward Marion, but she didn’t see me. She and Toby were totally taken with whatever they were looking at, making me think that any customer who might have come in would have felt as second fiddle as I currently did.
“Marion, could you turn that down, please?” I said.
“Oh, sure,” she said with a weak smile.
“Toby,” I said.
“Hi, Clare.” He stood and smiled. “Sorry we’re being too loud.”
I glanced quickly at the computer screen, but it was difficult to distinguish what I saw other than a group of people outside what I thought was the festival’s main theater. Before I could ask what they were doing, another thought occurred to me.
“Toby, could you stick around a little bit? I’d like to talk to you in a few minutes.”
“Sure,” he said.
He probably hadn’t planned on leaving Marion’s side any time soon, but I’d stopped him just in case.
I led Linea back to the workshop, to a low shelf where we’d placed the Selectrics.
“Coffee?” I said.
She smiled sheepishly. “No thanks.”
“Oh. You know, I have lived in Utah all my life and I still forget that a large segment of the population doesn’t drink coffee.”
She laughed. “I understand. It’s one of the things I miss.”
I nodded and then turned toward the Selectrics. “Here they are. Do you really want them?”
“You don’t sound like you’re working hard to sell them.”
“It’s not that. They’re great typewriters, but they’re old and not many people would enjoy using them anymore.”
“We have a lot of kids at our house. They look sturdy. Kids and sturdy make a good combination.”
“True.”
“And we only have one computer. There’s no way the kids will get to work on it. We’ll have to get another one if any of them leave our homeschooling situation and attend something more traditional, and typing is always a good skill to have.”
“Well, this might work well, then,” I said, realizing she was saying the things I should have been.
It seemed that Zeb Conner had been onto something. It would never have occurred to me on my own to talk to Linea or her family about them, but now the idea made perfect sense.
We completed the transaction and I recruited Toby and Marion to help transport the typewriters to Linea’s car. I caught the moment that Toby got a good look at Linea before he flustered.
“You’re . . . ,” he began, but then stopped abruptly as his cheeks reddened.
“Toby,” I said. “This is Linea Christiansen. She’s a friend. Linea, Toby Lavery.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said as they shook hands. He couldn’t rein in his curious stare.
“Yes, I’m one of the sister-wives,” she said.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve been hearing so much about your family and the movie that is being produced. I’m sure the real story isn’t as interesting as the gossip is making it out to be.”
Linea shrugged. “I don’t know. I suppose it depends upon your definition of interesting. For the most part, we’re about cleaning up after a bunch of kids, but we do a number of things differently than what would be considered mainstream.”
“I’ve heard some bad stories about polygamy, but none associated with your family,” Toby said.
I blinked. I couldn’t decide if he’d suddenly forgotten his manners or if he was fishing for a story. Either way, it was an interesting technique that I wouldn’t have thought he had the maturity to pull off.
When he continued on, his motive became ultraclear. “I have a blog. I’d love to share the real story, the boring one, the one about cleaning up after a bunch of kids.”
“I don’t think so, but thanks for asking,” Linea said with a wink in my direction.
After she drove away from the shop, down Bygone to Main Street, I put my hand on Toby’s arm.
“Toby,” I said.
“I know. You think I was too pushy,” he said.
“Oh. None of my business, but I have a question. Let’s go inside.”
We reentered the store, this time without Baskerville bothering to glance in our direction.
“Do you know who all the actresses are who are set to play the wives in the series?” I asked. It had occurred to me that he might know.
“Sure. Nell Starling, Adele White, but the last one was up for grabs.”
“Was the woman who was killed a possibility? Cassie Bane?”
“Oh, that rumor?” he said.
I nodded like I knew what he was talking about. I thought her going out to the Christiansen house with Howie made it more than a rumor.
“No, she wanted the role, but that would have been totally weird,” he continued.
I looked at Marion, who seemed as perplexed as I felt. “Why?” I asked.
“Matt Bane was slated to play Duke. It would have been weird to have his real-life sister be one of his wives.”
I felt my stomach drop. Did Jodie know that Matt was set to play Duke? We
’d been talking about the sister-wives. Duke’s character hadn’t even come up until now. Did it matter?
“Yeah, that would have been even stranger than the whole multiple-wives thing,” I said. “So the rumor was that she got the part?”
“No, the rumor was that Cassie was still trying to get the part, that some guy who works with Matt, Howard something-or-other, was still working to get her aboard.”
“Why?”
Toby shrugged. “I have no real idea.”
I fell into thought as the actors and their respective roles in the real-life drama and the Hollywooded-up drama lined up in my mind. How did all these people in the circle around Matt Bane become involved in the same project? The information that Toby gave me didn’t shed much light on any valuable conclusion, but I suddenly realized that the common denominator wasn’t Matt Bane as much as it was Howie. Did he work with or for everyone?
I also realized that everyone in the small circle—Nell, Adele, Howie, and maybe Matt too—might have had a reason to want Cassie dead.
Of course I knew that getting any sort of role in television or film was a difficult task, but could it be worth murder?
Maybe.
“Who else was up for the part?”
“Don’t know. No one that I heard of. There’s still some time before the movie—though they might make it a series—goes into full production.”
Howie and Nell had been taking advantage of their time in Star City for the festival to film the epilogue. They could have come back later, but I guess Nell might have a point—they were there, so why not?
Maybe, though, the better question was “why?”
I looked up at Toby and Marion, who were both looking at me with patient but expectant eyes.
“Will you watch the store? I need to call Jodie.”
“Sure,” Marion said.
I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket as I set off for the workshop, but was halted again as I glanced over at Marion’s computer screen. The image on the screen was no longer the theater, but somewhere else in Star City, in front of a bar. And there were people walking by.
“What’s that?” I said as I turned. “On the computer.”
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