Swept Up (Maid in LA Mystery #4)

by Jacobs, Holly

  He laughed at that.

  “Mellie was awful,” I said. “She used you. But it had nothing to do with you…it was her.”

  I live in a town where beauty counts. But maybe my family had prepared me for it. With them, brains and a degree counted. Somewhere along the line I’d realized I’d never be the most beautiful, and I’d never be the smartest. I was me. And ninety-nine percent of the time, I was totally okay with that.

  “So, that’s it?” I asked him after I’d sat back down. “There’s nothing else you’re not telling me?”

  “Nothing.”

  “And what you told me from the party?”

  He held up his right hand. ‘The God’s honest truth. I got drunk, but the reason was that Mellie had showed up. She looked through me, as if I were invisible. Then she threw herself at Jonas. And for one moment, as she wrapped herself around him, she did look at me. It was a this-is-the-kind-of-man-I-belong-with sort of look. So I started drinking.”

  “And you heard someone fight?”

  “I was only half awake and drunk. I thought it was Lady Gaga and Pink—that it was just a dream. But I’ve been thinking about it since. I think there’s a chance that Pink was Mellie. I had a dream afterward and Mellie was singing to me while hanging on ribbons, like Pink did for that one award show? I think it got all mixed up in my head. Anyway, I don’t doubt she made a play for someone else. Mellie was a woman who couldn’t be without a man for long. And she preferred men who could further her career.”

  “Jonas can further her career?”

  “He is an established actor,” Dick said. “Not the kind of guy who normally does made-for-TV movies. If she was paired with him it would definitely increase her exposure.”

  That’s why Shia wanted him as well. I felt sorry for Jonas.

  “If she was fighting with someone it was probably Shia,.” Dick said, as if he’d read my mind. “Shia was Jonas’s date. Did she say anything about fighting with Mellie?”

  “No,” I said.

  “It might be nothing,” Dick said. “Sometimes people don’t tell you things that they feel will paint them in a bad light.”

  “Sometimes people are stupid and don’t realize that in a true friend’s eyes, the light’s never bad.” I reached across the Formica table and put my hand on his. “Dick, if you showed up in the middle of the night and told me there was a dead body in your trunk, I wouldn’t ask questions. I’d just go get the shovel.”

  He laughed at that, then ever-the-writer said, “I’m going to incorporate that into Cereal Killers.”

  I laughed, too, and we started tossing around ideas for his new project.

  But even as we did, I was thinking about Mellie, Shia, and Jonas.

  I needed to go talk to Shia again.

  I was tempted to stop on my way home. Shia lived in the neighborhood. But I felt as if I’d already violated Cal’s trust enough, so I went home.

  He wasn’t there.

  But he’d left a note on the counter. “Went home to get a few things. If I don’t beat you back, I should be there shortly. Love you.”

  I smiled. I don’t think the boys ever left me notes anymore. They just texted me. And that’s how I’d have left Cal a note as well, with a text.

  But there was something more personal about a note scratched on the back of a deposit slip. I traced his last two words and sat down on the couch to wait for him.

  When he came home, I’d tell him everything about my conversation with Dick.

  And then we’d both go see Shia. I didn’t think there was any way that Shia could have strangled Mellie.

  But what about her father? I moved both their photos to the center of the white-board and then moved Jonas and Mellie’s, too.

  Shia was Jonas’s date to the Morties. He was an established actor who lent her an air of legitimacy as she tried to escape her reality star roots. She was sweeter than Mellie, but she was willing to use people to get where she wanted to go.

  Mellie would have wanted Jonas for much the same reason. She’d been in the business for years, but hadn’t really advanced beyond supporting roles. It wasn’t really her talent holding her back but her personality.

  Jonas had nothing to gain from either woman. But a star always had something to lose. What if Mellie knew something about him and was blackmailing him? Could he be threatened enough to kill her?

  And finally, Shia’s father. He admittedly gave her everything she was wanted. What if Shia wanted Jonas and Mellie was in the way?

  I called Cal. “Hey,” he said when he picked up.

  I could tell from the background noise he had me on the car’s speaker.

  “I’m home. Are you on your way?”

  “I want to stop at the station on my way back, if you don’t mind.”

  “No. I have something I need to tell you.”

  “About Mellie?”

  “Yes. I think the pieces are starting to make sense. At least enough sense to warrant us going back to talk to a few people.”

  “Like?” he asked.

  “Shia and her dad.”

  “What led you to that?”

  “I’ll walk you through it when you get home. I’ll just sit here and mull a bit longer while I wait for you.”

  “Okay,” he said. “I’ll give your Detective Charlie a call and see if he wants to stop in, too.”

  “That’s a good idea. Have you called him Charlie to his face? I’m not sure he’s fond of it.”

  “He’s not,” Cal said.

  “Which means you’re going to call him that all the time?”

  He laughed. “Probably. It has a better ring to it than Randolph.”

  “Hey, when this is over, I want a do-over.” I hadn’t known I was going to say the words until I did.

  “A do-over of what?” Cal asked.

  I started to tell him, but I decided I’d surprise him. I’d think of something totally romantic and re-proposal.

  “I’ll tell you later.”

  “If we want to do-over what we did last night, I’m in.”

  I laughed. “You definitely were,” and I hung up before he could make some other sexually charged retort.

  I didn’t want to be hot and bothered. I wanted to figure this out. So, I went back to staring at the white-board.

  I looked at all the pictures. Given that Mellie was strangled, I was pretty sure most of the women were in the clear.

  I didn’t think any of the men in my family had a motive. Even if Mellie had hit on them, they’d have brushed her aside. Macs were loyal to a fault.

  My eyes kept darting to Jonas, Shia, and her father.

  I think it was Jonas. Yeah, it was a gut feeling. And while I know that’s not enough to base an investigation on for a real cop, I wasn’t a real cop, so I could keep him in mind, but look beyond him.

  I didn’t think Shia could manage it.

  But what about her dad? He was big. He worked as a security specialist. And he’d even admitted to giving her everything she wanted.

  I pulled out my laptop and Googled him. Dubrinski Security was the first link that popped up. I opened it. There was no picture, which I guess made sense if you did security. You wouldn’t want your picture out and about. But his bio was there.

  The doorbell rang as I clicked the link. Reluctantly, I left my laptop and opened the door…to find Shia’s father glaring at me.

  “Mr. Dubrinski,” I started, but I didn’t get any further. He pushed past me and stalked into my house.

  “Sir, what are you doing?” I asked.

  “Where’s your white-board. Don’t deny you have one,” he warned, “because you do. Everyone in the world knows you do now.”

  He walked into the living room and stared at the two boards.

  Then he walked over to the laptop, swished across the mouse pad and woke it up. There was his firm’s information.

  He looked from the computer to the white-board, then back again before turning around and looking at me. “So you know
.”

  “I don’t know anything.” Now, a smart person might try to deny it, but having seen his picture in the center of the white-board and then my computer, I didn’t think all the denials in the world would do any good. I took a deep breath, weighed my next words, and finally said, “I don’t know, but we suspect. Unfortunately, suspecting and proving are two very different things.”

  I put my hand in my back pocket and clicked the phone button, then Cal’s speed dial. At least I hoped it was Cal’s speed dial. If it wasn’t, I was hoping whoever it was I did call would realize what was going on and call Cal or the cops…someone.

  “We?” he asked, catching my deliberate word choice.

  “Do you really think my fiancé—a cop—would let me investigate another murder on my own? We’re working together on this one. He came to your house with me because he’s not letting me out of his sight.”

  I immediately saw the flaw in that argument.

  “Yeah, so where is he?”

  “He’s on his way. He went to get Detective Randolph and then we were coming to see you, so thank you, Mr. Dubrinski. You saved us a trip.”

  “You’re lying,” he said and took an ominous step in my direction.

  Everything in me wanted to take a step back and maintain some distance between us, but I held my ground. I might have taken Mr. Banning’s killer on my own, but Mr. Dubrinski was a brick house. I might get in one lucky kick to his nether region, but I suspect I’d only get one chance and it wouldn’t stop him for long.

  I prayed that Cal was hearing this, that I dialed right, that he was coming with Detective Charlie and saving the day.

  “Why couldn’t you just leave it alone?” he asked.

  I’d already proved I could rescue myself if needs be, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think I could always rescue myself—that I’d never need assistance. And I knew this was one of those times I needed all the help I could get.

  My best bet was to keep Mr. Dubrinski talking as long as possible.

  “I didn’t want to investigate this at all, but everyone I loved was at that party. How could I not step in? I know you love Shia. I could see that at the house. So I know you understand.”

  “It’s always been her and me,” he said softly, “ever since her mother ran out. Do you know how hard it is on a kid to lose a parent?”

  “No. My husband and I divorced, but he was always there for the boys. Still, I do know what it’s like to feel like a single parent. As if whatever you do can never be enough to make up for the fact they didn’t get to grow up in an all-American, two-parent household.”

  “Sheila was so beautiful,” he said. “So talented. She deserved everything she wanted.”

  “And you loved her so much you tried to help her.” I nodded and gave him what I hoped was an understanding look.

  “I put the addition on the garage so she could have her own space while she was breaking into the business. Then she got cast in LA Shore. They made her look like.…” He let the sentence die.

  He didn’t need to finish. I knew exactly what LA Shore made her look like. She’d hopped from man to man, from bed to bed in the show.

  I couldn’t imagine how hard that had to have been for her father to watch.

  “After it was over, she had offers. But not for the kind of shows a father wants his daughter to do. I was working for Benet Margin and convinced him to take a look at Sheila. He did and she was in Casting Callers, determined to use it to springboard to real acting gigs.”

  “Did she know that you asked Mr. Margin to look at her?” I asked.

  Mr. Dubrinski gave me an are-you-crazy sort of look. I wanted to say, no, I’m not crazy, you are, but thought it was best to keep that particular opinion to myself.

  “I’ve helped her wherever, whenever I can, but I’ve never told her about any of it,” he said.

  “You’re a good father.”

  “But I didn’t mean for this to happen.” He gestured to the white-board.

  I didn’t want to ask what had happened. If he confessed, then he might think it would be best if I was out of the picture.

  But now that he had started, he didn’t need any prompting.

  He said, “I went to your party to have a drink with Sheila. To tell her how proud I was that she’d done such a good job with Tiny. She should have won a Mortie, you know? But even without that, for a first legit acting job, she’d done a great job. And then I saw that guy Sheila liked talking to that Mellie woman. Sheila said Mellie had been hitting on Jonas since she’d crashed your party. He was Sheila’s date, you know. I work with Hollywood types all the time. So I figured that since Mellie had crashed, I’d do you a favor and ask her to leave. I saw her heading upstairs, and I followed.”

  I wanted to beg him not to say more, but I was pretty sure that Cal and Charlie wanted to hear the rest, so I didn’t stay anything. I didn’t try to stop him.

  “I followed her into a bedroom. No one wants you here, it’s time to go,” I said.

  She looked at me and sneered. “Quincy sent the hired help to throw me out? Or was it Peri? Either way, I’m not leaving.”

  “No one sent me,” I told her. “You’re not important enough for anyone to worry about. But you’re making a fool of yourself. It would be best if you left, and better yet, if you stopped throwing yourself at every man in the place. No one wants you. Everyone was relieved you were cast as a one-movie character. When Dusted gets picked up, the cast will be back without you.”

  “I’m sure that didn’t go over well.”

  “It didn’t. Mellie screeched and launched herself at me. I grabbed her when she came in reach and threw her on the bed.”

  “And then?”

  “She hit her head on the headboard and for a moment, I thought that had knocked some sense into her, but she got back up and came at me again, so I tossed her back on the bed, harder this time. She hit the wall, then the headboard that time. And she started to scream. I told her to shut up, but she wound up to scream again and… I just wanted her to be quiet and listen to reason. There was no reason for her to be at the party, trying to steal Sheila’s guy. I told her to stop fighting, to stay still and be quiet. But she hit me, and clawed at me. And then she didn’t any more.”

  He shuddered. “It was an accident. Self-defense. I never meant for her to die. I tried giving her mouth to mouth, but it didn’t help.”

  Yeah, I wasn’t a doctor, but I was pretty sure there wasn’t any coming back from a crushed throat.

  “I’m sure the DA will understand when you tell him, Mr. Dubrinski,” I said softly.

  His expression had me wishing I’d stayed silent.

  “Tell him?” he asked.

  In for a penny, in for a pound. “When you confess. The cops and the district attorney will definitely understand. I mean, Cal met Mellie. He knows what she was like. That she was attacking you. You were just defending yourself.”

  He shook his head. “They’ll never buy it.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  “This is Hollywood,” he said. “The truth doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is the story. And the story plays out much better if I’m a crazy father who is intent on giving his daughter everything, even if it means killing her competition. Hell, I’m sure they’ll spin it so that Mellie and Sheila were up for the same part and I took out my daughter’s competition.”

  He took another step toward me.

  I still held my ground. If I ran, he might try and catch me, and by try I mean there was no way Mr. Buff-and-Strong-Like-an-Ox wouldn’t catch me and toss me around like a rag doll, too.

  “This is a mess,” he said. He stopped, not coming any closer. He looked as if he was running through his options.

  I only saw two for him. Kill me and shut me up or confess.

  I knew which option I was hoping for.

  “It is a mess,” I said. “But you know what we have to do. Why don’t you call Cal on your phone—I’ll give you his number. Tell him
you’re turning yourself in. If you do that, you control the story. You’re right, this is Hollywood and it’s all about the story. But the real story is compelling, too. Mellie was awful. Everyone hated her. She wasn’t up for the same role as Shia, because anyone who met them would always rather work with Shia than Mellie. You were being thoughtful, trying to make sure an uninvited guest left a party. That’s your job. You’ve done the same thing for a client countless times. You couldn’t have known that Mellie would fly into a rage and attack you. You were defending yourself and things…got out of hand.”

  By out of hand, I meant his hands wrapped around her neck and squeezed until she was dead.

  I continued, “It wasn’t intentional or premeditated. I’m sure the DA will give you some kind of deal. Because if he had to put you on trial, all of Mellie’s hatefulness would come out. If they call me to the stand, I’ll tell them that I didn’t like her. She was a mean woman. She even made a play for my fiancé.”

  He pulled out his phone. “Give me his number.”

  He sank to the couch as if he didn’t have the energy left to even stand. I sat in the chair across the room from him because while I didn’t think he was going to do me in, I wasn’t dumb enough to take any chances.

  Well, any more chances.

  He dialed. “Detective Parker. This is Miller Dubrinski—Shelia, Shia’s father. I’m at Quincy’s house and I’d like to confess to murdering Mellie Anderson. Could you bring the detective in charge of the case and meet me here?”

  He nodded. “She’s fine.” He paused. “Okay.” He clicked off the phone. “They’ll be here in a minute.”

  I nodded.

  He stared at the white-board a moment, then said, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “Uh, thank you.”

  He nodded. “I want to ask you something and I don’t have any right to ask you. But no matter what, I’m doing time for this. I’ll set up everything so Sheila can live in the house and be taken care of. But I won’t be able to watch out for her. Like I said, I don’t have any right to ask, but you’re a single mom. You get it.”

  I didn’t need him to go on. “I’ll watch out for her.”