Hollywood Notorious: A Hollywood Alphabet Thriller Series (A Hollywood Alphabet Series Thriller Book 14)

by M. Z. Kelly

He pulled out the keys to his car and said, “Let’s go have a chat with Rosie.”

  ***

  Joe got permission for us to follow up on what we learned, leaving the other taskforce members in Blackwater to finish processing the scene. After landing in Van Nuys, Joe and I drove to Rose Castillo’s house in Westwood, and speculated on what had happened.

  “Maybe Amelia Walsh was a student back in 2008,” I suggested. “She was trying to follow in her mother’s footsteps and interviewed Quinton Macy, possibly as part of a research paper or for one of her mother’s books.”

  “You saw the girl’s picture in Rosie’s office.” His pale eyes found me. “Does she…

  I nodded. “She was the same physical type—long dark hair and blue eyes.”

  “Damn. Macy must have told Brown about her. It could be that Brown ran her off the road and then took her like all the other victims.”

  We were quiet for a moment as we continued to mentally sift through what we now knew. I finally said, “I don’t want to believe Rose Castillo is involved, but it all fits.”

  He looked at me and nodded. “If it was my child, all I know is that I would make it my life’s mission to see to it that her killers no longer walked on this earth.”

  A few minutes later, we pulled over down the street from an older sprawling ranch style home. I said, “Let’s go see what she has to say.”

  We tried the doorbell a couple of times without getting a response. It was dark now and there were no lights on in the house. I was about to ask Joe what we should do when I saw that he had his gun out. He used it to break the glass in a window pane at the side of the door. A couple of minutes later, he had the door unlocked.

  We went inside, where we called out a couple of times, announcing ourselves, but getting no response.

  “Let’s stay alert,” Joe whispered. “Rosie’s an expert marksman. I don’t want to believe she’d shoot me, but stranger things have happened.”

  We spent a few minutes, going through the living room, kitchen, and an adjacent family room, not finding anyone. We then went down a hallway that we realized opened up to a separate wing of the house. Joe then found a light switch, illuminating a large study area. It took us only a few seconds after we saw the photographs and newspaper headlines covering the office walls to know that we’d gotten everything wrong.

  “She was working with Macy and Brown all along,” Joe said, the shock and dismay registering in his voice.

  “And more…” I pushed down the bile rising in my throat, not wanting to believe what I was seeing. “The shelves. They’re covered with trophies she’s taken from victims.”

  I went over to the display case, seeing there were body parts in glass jars, strands of hair, along with photographs of dozens of victims as they’d been in life.

  “She had to be the dominant…manipulating Macy and…”

  A shot rang out. We scrambled for cover, at the same time hearing Rose Castillo calling out to us from somewhere in the adjacent room beyond the study. “You finally figured it out.”

  “Give it up, Rosie,” Joe called out through an open door. “It’s over.”

  She laughed. “You’re wrong, Joe. It’s never going to be over. As long as there are men and women willing to kill, I’ll be there pulling the strings behind the scenes.”

  “What about Amelia?” I said, at the same time I motioned to Joe to begin moving away from me, hoping we would get through the open door and get a better angle on her. “Macy and Brown killed your only daughter.”

  There was more laughter. “My daughter was a whore who got what she had coming to her.”

  “Tell us what happened,” I said, disgusted by what she’d said, but at the same time trying to buy us some time.

  “She found out about my hobby. She went to Joshua and then Quinton, and threatened to expose everything. Amelia eventually became one of their victims. She got exactly what she deserved.”

  I was horrified, realizing that she’d arranged the murder of her own child. I then saw Joe motioning to me that he was going to move through the door into the next room.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked, trying to distract her as Joe moved through the door.

  “I’ve already told you.”

  I then heard Joe calling out to her. “Last chance, Rosie. Give it up.”

  Several shots rang out. I wasn’t sure if they were coming from Joe or Castillo. I then scrambled through the opening into the next room and saw there was blood everywhere. Joe hit a light switch and I saw that Rosalind Castillo was lying on the floor, bleeding from a chest wound.

  Joe went over and kicked the gun out of her hand. He then bent down to her, a single word escaping his lips. “Why?”

  Blood trickled from her mouth as she managed to say, “It’s my art…I am…one of a kind...the real artist.” She drew in a ragged breath. “No one will ever…match my skills or my passion.”

  Joe shook his head. “You’re wrong, Rosie. You’re nothing but a stone cold killer. Rot in hell.”

  SIXTY-FIVE

  “Looking back now, it stands to reason that Castillo was the one pressuring Martin Javier behind the scenes, trying to get him to help Macy escape from Berkshire,” Joe said as we left Westwood for Hollywood later that night. “And when he didn’t cave into her demands, she and Brown probably strung him up.”

  “I checked with the hospital,” I said. “She apparently had a lot of influence with Dr. Marlow because of her forensic work. He was a big fan of hers and she had access to the hospital without going through the usual visitation channels. She suggested to Marlow that Dr. Ellen Moore would make a good replacement for Dr. Javier.”

  “I heard the other guard that was supposed to go with Brown to take Macy to Halgen ended up dead.”

  I confirmed what he’d said. “His body was found in a field near his home. He’d been shot in the head.”

  We were both quiet for a moment before Joe went on. “I guess we now know why Rosie was such a good profiler. She had all the inside information.”

  I agreed with him, adding, “I don’t think I’ll ever understand the things people do.”

  “Take it from an expert, Buttercup. The human race is nuts. Some of us just hide it better than others.”

  I smiled, my thoughts then drifting to Corinne Williams and what she’d said about becoming real. “I can’t believe that.”

  Now he smiled. “You’re an eternal optimist, Buttercup.”

  As we got on the freeway, I told Joe about my talk with Corinne Williams. He knew all about my earlier conversations that I believed I’d had with my deceased father.

  “I know it probably sounds crazy,” I said, after filling him in on everything. “But it was like what she had to say was coming directly from my father.”

  Joe shrugged. “Stranger things have happened. I remember having a long talk with my mother after she died.”

  “Really?”

  He nodded. “She said I was a big idiot who would never amount to much.”

  I laughed. “I think she was at least half right.”

  He agreed with me, then said, “What do you think it means—the message?”

  “I think it had something to do with me needing to be patient and understanding, and to wait until the universe is ready for me to receive the gift behind my father’s death. I also think, through her actions, Corinne showed us that love can prevail in the darkest of circumstances.”

  “There’s that optimism again.” He glanced at me. “That’s what I like about you.”

  I smiled and met his pale eyes. “I think maybe we even one another out pretty well.”

  He agreed with me, then changed the subject. “You given any more thought to talking to your lieutenant about the photograph you found in Winslow’s house?”

  I considered his question for a long moment. I’d put off talking to Oz, maybe because, in some ways, I was afraid of what he might say. I knew it was time for me to face those fears. “I think it’s time
to clear the air. And, I think I’m in a better place to do that now than I was before.”

  “What about your partner?”

  I sighed, knowing that Leo was both hurt by what I’d said and he was doubting whether he’d done the right thing by keeping things from me. “We’ll have a chat, move past what happened. He’s a good person.”

  We chatted about my partner for a couple of minutes longer before my sister came to mind. “I’ve given a lot of thought to what you said about Lindsay possibly going underground to work against the Swarm. I think you could be right about your suspicions.”

  He regarded me for a long moment. “Good, because there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you about before I take it up the chain to Greer.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “That guy that I mentioned, the one who’s started to talk about the Swarm. I’ve been thinking about using him to try to infiltrate the group.”

  “Do you think he would do it?”

  He shrugged. “Not sure…and the other thing is…” He took a breath. “You know that with any CI, there’s only so far they can be trusted. There would be a certain amount of risk to your sister.”

  I lowered my eyes, taking in the gravity of the situation. If my sister was cooperative, there was a chance we could use what she knew to take down the killing machine known as the Swarm. There was also a chance that the confidential informant could turn on Lindsay, resulting in her certain death.

  Joe must have seen my indecision. “You don’t have to decide tonight. It’s just that…”

  I cut him off. “There’s no one that I trust more than you, Joe. If you think the odds are in our favor and we can take down the Swarm, I’m all in.”

  He fixed his eyes on mine for a long moment. “I’ll call Greer in the morning.”

  SIXTY-SIX

  I called Noah when I got home and learned that Bernie was resting comfortably. I promised to stop by the hospital in the morning and went straight to bed. I slept like a dead woman, not waking up until I heard someone pounding on my door the next morning.

  I stumbled out of bed and found Natalie, Mo, and Hermes Krump on my porch. “What gives?” I mumbled.

  Mo looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Our eviction hearing on the Judge Rita show is this morning. We gotta be there in an hour.”

  “I’ve got our lawyer primed and ready,” Natalie added.

  I saw that Krump was swaying back and forth. He smelled like a combination of mouthwash and cheap aftershave.

  “He’s drunk,” I said.

  “Objection,” our attorney said. “The witness is full of hearsay, or maybe just bullshit.” He burst out laughing.

  I looked at my friends. “He can’t go to court like this.”

  They barged their way inside, before Mo pushed me toward the bedroom. “Get dressed. We got us a little fine tuning to get our attorney ready.”

  Their fine tuning involved having Krump drink coffee, while Natalie read some inspirational quotes to him that she’d download from the Internet. Forty minutes later, we’d all made our way to the studio where Judge Rita’s show was filmed. We were met outside the courtroom by Lulu Beak, the show’s producer, who told us how the filming would proceed.

  “The courtroom is already filled with most of the residents from the Starlight Mobile Home Park,” Lulu said. “I’m afraid they aren’t going to be in your favor.”

  “That’s no surprise,” Mo said. She looked at me. “We got us a cop on our side and she’s dealt with lots of hostile witnesses before.”

  “And, we got us the world’s greatest attorney,” Natalie said. “This here is Hermes Krump.”

  Our attorney looked pale, like he might faint. “Is there a restroom nearby?” he asked Lulu.

  “Yes. Down the hall.” She checked her watch. “But we start filming in ten minutes. You’d better hurry.”

  “We spent the next ten minutes in what can only be described as pretrial hell. Our lawyer spent the time throwing up, wetting his pants, and telling us that he had chest pains. “I think I’m having a heart attack. Somebody call 911.”

  Natalie shook her head in disgust. “I don’t think Izzy’s hypnosis worked on him.”

  Mo agreed, reminding me of what the cartoon character Lucy might say to Charlie Brown. “He’s the world’s biggest idiot. We’re doomed.”

  A man came into the restroom. He saw what was happening, turned around, and left. After he was gone, I said to my friends, “You two go block the door.” I glanced at our lawyer. “Let me talk to him alone.”

  When they were gone, I grabbed Krump by his tie and pushed him up against the wall. After yesterday’s events I was in no mood to mince words. “You need to get a grip.”

  “I can’t…I’m a loser, and...”

  “STOP.” I’d screamed it loud enough that Mo poked her head back inside the restroom and asked if everything was okay. I nodded and turned back to Krump, taking on the persona of a high school football coach. “You listen to me. No one has it easy in this life. Each of us has to go to battle for anything that matters. We do it minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. Some of us fight with our hands, some with our hearts, and others with our words. And do you know why we fight?” Krump lowered his eyes and shook his head. “We do it because it’s the difference between being a whining, simpering coward, or living a life that fucking matters. Now, you have a decision to make. What will it be? What kind of life will you choose?”

  Krump’s big head slowly came up. He looked at me and farted.

  I don’t know if it was my inspirational speech, the alcohol, or the fact that Mo threatened to sit on Hermes Krump until he was nothing but a big grease spot on the sidewalk, but our attorney managed to pull himself together and walk into the courtroom.

  As I took a seat at the front of the courtroom with Mo and Natalie, I saw that the room was indeed packed with the Starlight residents, and Maude Finch sitting right behind us. The president of the residents’ council leaned forward and said to us, “I hope you have your belongings packed because I expect you will be out by tomorrow morning.”

  Natalie looked back at her and said, “The only thing that’s packed are those bags under your eyes.”

  Mo added her thoughts. “Hope you got the Neptune Society on speed dial. You look like you could drop dead at any moment.”

  “All rise,” the bailiff announced as Judge Rita entered the courtroom. The judge was a heavyset black woman who looked to be about forty. She had a take-charge attitude that told me she wouldn’t stand for any nonsense in her courtroom. I knew that meant we were in big trouble.

  The proceedings began with Mean Gene laying out their case, explaining how Natalie had violated the Starlight Code of Ethics by, what he termed, exposing her assets to the world. His argument went on for several minutes. By the time he was finished, he’d made it sound like Natalie, Mo, and I were nudists at best, and prostitutes, at worst.

  “Okay, I think we all got the picture,” Judge Rita said to Mean Gene, with a scowl. She looked at our attorney. “What do you have to say about all this…” She looked at her paperwork and chuckled. “Mr. Klump.”

  “It’s…my name is Krump…Your Honor,” our lawyer stammered.

  Laughter erupted in the gallery. I heard someone use the word buffoon.

  “Whatever,” the judge growled, pounding her gavel down to restore order. She looked at Krump. “Let’s hear it.”

  “I’m…I think…” Krump turned red and seemed unable to continue, like someone had hit an off switch and he’d lost power.

  “Speak up,” Judge Rita demanded.

  “It’s just that I…I don’t believe…what the opposing counsel said is tt…true.”

  Mean Gene stood and objected. “He’s calling me a liar.”

  Judge Rita looked at the attorney. “Silence.” She turned back to Krump, “Go on.”

  Our attorney stood up and made his way to the front of the courtroom. I said a silent prayer that he wouldn’t f
art, throw up, or faint.

  “Let’s get to the heart of this matter,” Krump said, with surprising confidence. “My clients, have followed the terms of their lease to the letter of the law. What has been described as acts of carnal exposure and prurient exploitation are, in fact, the actions of someone who innocently chose to sunbathe by the Starlight swimming pool. This case is really about discrimination.”

  A collective gasp came from the gallery and Judge Rita pounded her gavel on her bench again. Her brows came together like a couple of angry spiders as she stared down at Krump. “You’d better explain what you mean by that, counselor. We don’t take that term lightly in this courtroom.”

  Krump gave a little bow toward the judge, now apparently brimming with confidence. “What I mean is that this is a case of reverse age discrimination rather than any code of ethics violation. My clients are several decades younger than the average age of the other residents of their mobile home park. That is the de facto basis of the action that has been brought against them. I hereby make a motion that this matter be summarily dismissed.”

  My mouth fell open in disbelief as I looked at my friends, amazed by our attorney’s performance.

  “Bravo!” Natalie yelled.

  “Case closed,” Mo added.

  Krump came over and did a fist bump with me as shouting erupted from the gallery. Mean Gene stood up and claimed our attorney was trying to incite public hysteria and was pandering to the TV audience.

  After restoring order, Judge Rita’s gavel came down several times and she announced her verdict. “The defendants have demonstrated they have followed the terms of their lease. There is no basis to the claim they violated the Starlight Code of Ethics. This action is dismissed.”

  We were in the hallway, making our way past a throng of unhappy Starlight residents, when a reporter for the TV show called our attorney over for an interview. Krump was surprisingly candid and confident as he answered questions. The reporter then asked him about his future plans.

  Krump smiled and looked into the TV camera. “I’ll continue to practice law until my appointment to the Supreme Court eventually comes through.”