Not Suspicious in Hollywood: Not in Hollywood Book 5

by Leonie Gant

  “I don’t think so. I put in a great deal of effort to put this little scene together. I really don’t want anyone walking in here until I’ve finished it.”

  I stood up slowly, struggling to comprehend what was actually happening here.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, hearing the fear in my voice.

  “I need you to help me finalize this case,” Fletchall said with a small smile on his face.

  “We need to get an ambulance for Vale.”

  “He’s fine,” Fletchall said dismissively. “He’ll wake up in a few hours with absolutely no memory of what happened here. Rohypnol is a very useful drug sometimes.”

  “You gave him Rohypnol?” I gasped.

  Fletchall chuckled. “You know all those warnings we give people about not accepting drinks from strangers. Seems people forget it when a cop offers them an open bottle of water during an interrogation.”

  I had a sinking feeling in my stomach when I remembered my pathetic gratitude for a coffee the day of my own interview.

  “I thought Vale was still supposed to be in custody,” I said slowly, hoping to distract him from the undeniable fact that we were alone, he was holding a gun on me and he had roofied the prime suspect in a murder case.

  “Technically he was released from custody after his interview,” Fletchall said. “He had a little trouble leaving the station as the drug hit his system a bit quicker than I was planning, so I helped him out. I know where all the cameras in the precinct are so I was able to bring him here without anyone being any the wiser. Getting in here was even easier. I have to say that the security on this property is really not what I would have expected.”

  “You came in through the back gate, didn’t you?” I murmured, remembering Griffin telling me how easy it was to enter the premises. I suddenly felt sick as things started falling into place.

  Fletchall nodded.

  “It wasn’t the first time you came in here, was it?” I asked.

  “You know, people talk about you around the precinct. You have quite the reputation. Most of it is that you fall into these cases out of dumb luck. I think it may be a bit more than that.”

  “How did you find it the first time?” I asked, hoping that my fears weren’t about to be realized.

  “Why, I followed Jolena through it,” he said.

  In that moment I looked into his eyes and saw a hint of something that I had missed previously. It wasn’t any comfort to me that it seemed everybody else had missed it too.

  “It was you who killed Jolena, wasn’t it?”

  “Smart, I can see why Griffin is so taken with you. Took you a while to put it together though.”

  He was right. I wished I’d put it together an hour ago when I was safely in the arms of my boyfriend who carried a gun and had the will to use it to protect me.

  “Griffin is right behind me, you know,” I said, trying to bluff my way to safety.

  Fletchall chuckled. “Nice try, Trudie. Griffin isn’t anywhere near here. The message I sent to him took care of that.”

  “But it was Ramos…” my voice trailed off as I remembered that the last time I saw Ramos she had been looking for her missing phone.

  “You girls weren’t really paying that much attention to your surroundings last night, were you? You probably should be more alert when you’re out in public. All manner of things can happen when you’re not paying attention. For example, a phone can go missing and be used the next morning to distract the one person I don’t want to be involved in this scenario.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “Do you know what it’s like to truly love someone and know that they will never love you back?”

  I shook my head.

  “The day Liza Ramos walked into the precinct I knew that I was never going to love another woman. She didn’t even look in my direction. The only time she would speak to me was when I did something or said something to annoy her so we ended up with this strange, combative relationship. It wasn’t what I wanted but as long as I could be around her I was satisfied. I tried to get involved with other women but they could never compare to her.”

  I waited as he seemed lost in his memories, my eyes casting around as I desperately tried to work out what my options were.

  “I’ve been following Liza’s partners around for months. All I’ve been doing is making sure they were good enough for her.”

  Fletchall looked at me expectantly as if hoping that I would recognize the sacrifices he had been making for the love of his life. He was definitely looking in the wrong direction. I was firmly of the opinion that if someone didn’t love you, then it wasn’t worth fighting for them. Life was too short to hold out for the impossible.

  “I knew about the incident with Jolena, here with Ash. She had the woman that I loved and she was throwing it away. She was going to break Liza’s heart and I couldn’t allow that to happen. It made me sick the way she was acting at the barbecue, as if the two of them had this wonderful relationship. I knew Jolena would cheat on Liza again at the first chance she had. I was right, wasn’t I?” he said triumphantly. “She came here that night, looking to meet up with Ash again.”

  I didn’t move or say a word. There was no way that I wanted to aggravate what was already a seriously messed up situation.

  “I followed Jolena here and saw her sneak in through the gate in the back wall. I knew she was going to meet up with Ash again. I couldn’t allow that to happen. I couldn’t let her keep making a fool out of Liza. Not when I had the power to prevent it.”

  Fletchall looked out over the lake. “You should have seen her face when she saw me.” He chuckled. “She tried to bluff her way out of it at first. She thought I was an idiot who couldn’t possibly know what she had been doing. I knew though and I had to stop her. She wasn’t good enough for Liza and she was never going to be.”

  Fletchall took in a deep breath. “Maybe I shouldn’t have done it.”

  That surprised me. A moment of sanity from the man who was clearly not operating on all cylinders. Maybe I could work with that.

  He shook his head. “But it’s done now and I need to make sure they never work out that it was me that did it. That’s why I need your help.”

  Obviously, if he was thinking I would be helping him, the moment of sanity was well and truly over.

  “How do you want me to help?” I asked quietly, hoping to delay him. It wouldn’t take Griffin long to work out that something wasn’t right. All I had to do was keep him talking long enough for that to happen. Maybe I would be able to talk Fletchall out of making a huge mistake. That was Plan A. Rescue by Griffin was Plan B. At least my brain had unfrozen enough to start making plans.

  “I had originally intended for Ash to take the fall for Jolena’s death but he was just too obvious.”

  That was true. Ash had been my number one pick and I’m pretty sure he had been on top of everyone’s list. Some people just live a life that screams that, yes, they could be a potential murderer. Ash fitted into that thinking very nicely.

  “That’s the trick when trying to find someone to take the fall for a crime. Most people who try to frame somebody leave too much evidence, like they are trying to create a huge neon sign telling the police to look here. Too much evidence is just as much of a problem as too little evidence. It just doesn’t feel right. But then I found out how Vale had been Jolena’s boyfriend in high school. That was an obscure enough connection that it seemed much more believable as a killer. Especially as Ash so obviously didn’t seem to care one way or the other about Jolena. Jealousy is always a prime motivator. I just needed to make sure Pickett found Jolena’s necklace in Vale’s room as a trophy. His fight with Ash over you was like a gift. Everything he did just seemed to point towards him.”

  That was all very interesting but I still didn’t know why I was standing next to the lake in the early morning with a psychopathic stalker and an unconscious drummer.

  “Why am I here?” I asked in a subdue
d voice.

  Fletchall grimaced. “See, the thing is that even though we have circumstantial evidence against Vale, it really isn’t enough for a conviction. Maybe if he was poor and only had access to a really bad lawyer, then maybe, we could get a conviction. But he isn’t. He has the money and the means to get this case tossed out of court in a heartbeat. What we need to really make this case stick is if we had a second murder case against him. One which even the best of defense lawyers wouldn’t be able to dispute.”

  My stomach dropped as I had a very bad feeling where this was going.

  Fletchall’s expression was almost sympathetic. “I’m sorry, Trudie. I really am. If there was a way for me to do this without you being involved I would have taken it. But Vale has taken a liking to you. This wouldn’t work with anyone else. You are the perfect victim for him. He’s got feelings for you but you’re involved with Griffin. You reject him and he can’t handle it. Everyone knows about the fight earlier. This won’t come as a true surprise when looking at it in that context. And once we have your death to link it too, the police won’t look anywhere else for Jolena’s killer. Especially as I will be leading up the investigation. Don’t worry, Trudie. Justice will be done and your murder will be solved.”

  “Your partner may not look at it that way,” I said desperately. “You are not taking into account that he’s going to look into this further.”

  “Pickett is useless,” Fletchall snorted derisively. “He couldn’t find a murderer in a prison yard.”

  I really hoped that wasn’t true because at this moment I was thinking that Pickett being on the case was my best chance at justice.

  “Griffin won’t let this go,” I warned. “If anything happens to me, he will not leave any stone unturned to make sure that the real murderer is caught. You will never be able to rest. You will never be safe.”

  “Normally I would agree with you. But I have a feeling that losing you will put Griffin off his game for a very long time. He already has reason to suspect Vale. Anger and grief will take care of the rest.”

  Fletchall holstered his weapon and I had a sudden burst of hope.

  “I’m truly sorry, Trudie,” he said regretfully and that small flame of hope died.

  In a blinding flash of insight I knew what he was going to do. He couldn’t afford to shoot me. Despite the fact we were right at the back of the property, too far for people at the front of the property to hear my scream, a gunshot would alert security. Whatever way Fletchall was planning to stage this scene was going to take time, time he wouldn’t have if security came running. Also, a bullet could be linked back to him. That didn’t fit in with his master plan. No, Detective Marty Fletchall was going to strangle me to death, just like he did Jolena. He was then going to toss my lifeless body into the lake. I could see the whole thing running through my head like a macabre thriller movie.

  Looks like I was going to go with Plan C, as in fighting with everything I had. I had no illusions about my chances of fighting Fletchall off. He was a big man and looked like he had gone a few rounds with criminals of every persuasion. I was a personal assistant who preferred my violence in an action film, on a movie screen. I couldn’t watch a lot of the newer television shows because I found them too violent and gory. But I had a choice to make. If he did manage to kill me than I wanted so much DNA under my fingernails that they would come looking for him the second they managed to analyze it. I also had a bit more faith in Pickett than Fletchall obviously had.

  Fletchall took a step towards me and I took a step back. The fact that I had obviously made the decision to fight him didn’t seem to be relaying to the rest of my body. My fight or flight response had obviously come down firmly in the flight camp. I didn’t think that was going to help me either. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a blur of gray and white. I froze on the spot and my mouth dropped open when I saw Fletchall get knocked off his feet by the same goat that I had been roundly cursing for the past several days. Fletchall fell into the lake and Buddy bleated at him triumphantly.

  “You stupid son of a…” Fletchall growled as he pulled his gun.

  “I really wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said Detective Pickett as he walked out into the open with his gun pointed directly at the soaked detective.

  I really hoped that this meant that I was safe, although considering how my morning had been going, I wasn’t confident of it.

  “Are you okay, Miss Eyre?”

  “I don’t know yet,” I said. “Am I okay?”

  Pickett threw a glance in my direction. “As long as you didn’t have anything to do with the murder of Jolena Aaron, you are completely safe from me.”

  I was grateful for the reassurance.

  “Toss the gun, Fletchall,” Pickett returned his attention to the real threat of the day.

  Fletchall looked down at the gun in his hand. I held my breath.

  “Don’t be more of an idiot than you already have been.”

  I could see that negotiating was not part of Pickett’s skill set.

  Fletchall cursed again and threw the gun to the side. At some point, someone was going to need to go swimming to get that gun back, as well as my purse.

  “Now walk out of the water with your hands up. Do not make any sudden moves or I will shoot you.”

  I believed every word that he said. I stepped back to get as far away from Fletchall as I possibly could and bumped into Buddy. He bleated at me indignantly and for the first time I didn’t mind. I knelt down and put my arms around his neck.

  “Thank you,” I murmured.

  “You know I actually had a part in saving you,” Pickett said as he put handcuffs on Fletchall.

  “Not until after Buddy saved me,” I said as I was stroking Buddy’s head.

  “How’s the drummer?” Pickett asked as he pushed Fletchall to sit on the ground with his hands behind his back.

  I reached over and put my hand on Vale’s chest. His heart was beating strongly.

  “How long does it take Rohypnol to wear off?” I asked.

  “Usually a few hours. I’ll get an ambulance.”

  Pickett pulled out a phone and, while keeping an eye on Fletchall, started making calls. When he finished he looked over at me.

  “Seriously, are you okay? Did he hurt you in any way?”

  I shook my head. “I’ll be having nightmares for a very long time but he didn’t technically hurt me. Not that I’m not completely grateful, because I am, but what are you doing here?”

  “I’m Internal Affairs. I’ve been investigating Detective Fletchall here.”

  I didn’t know who was more surprised to hear that, me or Fletchall.”

  “You knew he was a killer?” I asked incredulously.

  “No,” Pickett admitted. “We’ve been investigating him for some inconsistencies in cases throughout his career. His old partner on the Vice squad got pulled in for illegal behavior and he’s been implicating Fletchall in some of his less than savory activities. I was sent in undercover to see what I could find out.”

  “So you had no idea he was a killer?”

  Pickett shook his head. “No, but the thought that a corrupt cop took that final step to the dark side isn’t really a big jump. His behavior during this investigation has been a bit off and even a moron like me was able to pick up on it.”

  He had obviously been around long enough to hear Fletchall’s assessment of his detective abilities, which brought me to the next question. “How long have you been here?”

  “I saw him assisting Vale out of the station and decided to follow.”

  “So you’ve been here the entire time. You knew that he was going to kill me and you let this situation keep going. Do you know how scared I was? Why didn’t you arrest him earlier?”

  Pickett indicated the body camera on his jacket. “I needed him to implicate himself. The evidence against him for Jolena’s murder is pretty much non-existent. Without that confession to you, I had nothing. The more he talked, the tighter the
case became. Do you really want him walking around the streets again?”

  I had to admit I didn’t. That still didn’t stop me from disliking Detective Pickett a great deal.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I raised my head as I heard sirens blaring in the distance. An ambulance and police cars were heading our way. I looked down at Buddy and I didn’t know whether it was the life and death situation we had found ourselves in but we had bonded. It was through that bond I could tell he had had enough and wanted to go somewhere safe.

  “Can I put Buddy back in his pen?” I asked. “I think all these people are going to freak him out.”

  Pickett looked surprised. “You’ve been held by a murderer, threatened with a horrifying death, one of your clients is currently unconscious on the ground and you are worried about the psychological trauma that a goat is going through?”

  “That goat saved my life while you hid behind a tree with an ulterior motive. Frankly, until ten minutes ago I hated this goat, but now, I like him more than I like you.”

  Pickett shrugged. “Take the goat to his pen but you need to come right back here because you and I are going to be having a talk down at the station.”

  Of course we were, because everything in my life ended up with me sitting in an interrogation room.

  After I’d finished making Buddy as comfortable as a hero could be, I returned to the lake to find that Vale had found his way to consciousness and was lying on a gurney about to be loaded into an ambulance. He stopped the paramedics and waved me over. As I reached him, he gripped my hand.

  “The cop told me what happened. Are you okay?”

  I nodded. “How about you?”

  Vale gave me a crooked smile. “As well as I can be considering I had my drink spiked by the cop who was trying to frame me for murder.”

  “Yeah, it’s been quite the morning,” I said.

  Vale squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry I’ve made your life uncomfortable. I knew you had a boyfriend but I kind of liked you. I’m so used to getting what I wanted these days that I figured I could have you too. I shouldn’t have done that. If I had just left you alone you would never have been pulled into this mess.”