“Why, is Eileen having an affair with Louis?” I asked pointedly.
Eileen frowned. “We hadn’t even been introduced to Louis.”
“Do you know of anyone who might have it out for your uncle?” I asked, but Ivy had slipped outside without me noticing.
“Kindly step outside,” Sheriff Peterson’s booming voice ordered.
He stood near the entrance, his legs planted shoulder width apart, appearing more formidable than ever. We quickly passed him and watched as the first-responders entered. Within a few moments of surveying the body they stopped their flurry of activity.
Walter Smitty, the coroner, pocketed his sandwich as he joined the sheriff. He licked the residue of Cheetos from the corner of his mouth.
He knelt to survey the body and then stood up. “Yup, he’s dead all right. We’ll need to transport the body to the morgue.”
“Tell them something they don’t know,” I said from the tent entrance.
“I’ll have to ask you to butt out, Agnes,” Peterson said. “And we won’t be moving the body until the state police crime lab arrives.”
“Why is it that Iosco County doesn’t have its own crime lab?”
“If you’d care to pay for one, just let me know, Agnes. Besides, the state police are equipped to handle the forensics end of things.”
“Oh, I know that. I was just talking out loud. Just in case you want to know, I didn’t find the body.”
“Yeah, so don’t go blaming us for finding all the bodies in town,” Eleanor said with a curt nod.
“I’d rather a body not be found in this county, especially with you ladies breathing down my neck.”
“The body was found by the victim’s assistant, Ivy Green,” Eleanor said.
“And the victim’s name is Louis. His last name wasn’t mentioned. He’s the director’s first assistant.”
Eleanor began, “The director’s name is —.”
“I know, I met her yesterday,” Peterson said.
Two troopers shouldered their way past us and I locked eyes with Trooper Bill Sales. He’s married to my granddaughter, Sophia. He was looking quite fit with his pressed uniform and game face on.
“What do we have here?” Bill asked.
“The body was found by the man’s assistant from what Agnes told me. She hasn’t supplied the location of the woman yet,” Peterson said.
“She was here a moment ago. I have no idea where she went.” I scanned the gathering crowd. “Did anyone see where Ivy went?”
“I haven’t seen her since she came out of the tent,” Eileen said. “She’s probably taking a moment to calm down.”
“She’s the victim’s niece, from what she told us,” Eleanor added. “Or claimed to be when I suggested she might be having an affair with the victim.”
“You didn’t ask, you assumed,” Hannah said. “I’m the actress playing Agnes Barton in the movie.”
“How unfortunate for you,” Peterson said.
“Nothing seems to be disturbed,” I said. “He might have died from natural causes.”
“Not too many natural causes bodies found here in town,” Eleanor said. “But there is always the first time.”
“Sales, I need a list of names of the people here on the set,” Peterson said.
“That’s already being done by Troopers Woodworth and Billybob,” Sales said. “Don’t laugh. Ladies. Billybob is really his last name.”
“I suppose we should find them then,” I said. “We won’t be allowed to do much more here now that the sheriff is here.”
“Are you aware of any witnesses?” Bill asked.
“Sheriff Peterson can tell you all about that. We better get out of his hair before he has us arrested.”
“You mean I could get away with that?” Peterson asked hopefully.
“Why are we leaving?” Eileen asked. “We don’t even know how Louis died.”
“We won’t until the preliminary report is done by the coroner, but we’ll have to find a way to sweet talk him into it. It’s against every rule in the book.”
“Whose book?” Hannah asked.
“I don’t know, some kind of book that tell the cops to keep us away from crime scenes.”
“But I thought you were capable investigators.”
“We are, but we have to find our way around the sheriff, unless he’s in a giving mood.”
“But that only happens if we have something to share as well,” Eleanor said. “You’ll see.”
“How will they see?” I asked Eleanor. “We only have room for two people on our team. Eileen and Hannah are acting in the movie.”
“Does that mean you’ll be busy all the time?” Eleanor asked.
“We won’t be busy all the time,” Eileen assured. “I expect we won’t be doing any shooting for the remainder of the day.”
“I suppose you’re right, but we’ll need to jot down all the names of the people who were here today and last night,” Eleanor said.
“But that might take a good part of the day,” Eileen complained.
“What else did you plan to do?” Hannah asked.
“Jotting down names, as Eleanor suggested.”
We walked to a canopy tent where a small crowd was being questioned by the troopers. “How are we going to find out their names if the troopers are allowing them to leave?” Eleanor sighed.
“That large woman is Heather James. She’s the caterer,” Eileen said. “Peter Bishop is the debonair man over there. He plays a millionaire in the movie.”
“I bet he’s the killer,” Hannah said.
“But why would Peter want to kill Louis? He’d need some kind of motive,” I said.
“You don’t understand. I meant in the movie,” Eileen clarified. “We don’t know who the killer is in the movie until the end.”
“Oh, so just like a real case,” Eleanor said. “That makes perfect sense.”
“Except that doesn’t help us right now,” I sighed.
“That buxom brunette is Cheryl Fox. She plays Peter Bishop’s mistress in the movie.”
“Is there anyone else here who isn’t in the movie?”
“Yasmine Quinn was here, but the cops must have allowed her to leave,” Hannah said. “She’s the hairdresser and makeup artist.”
“I’ll give you a list,” Eileen promised.
I looked to Sheriff Peterson, who motioned for Eleanor and I to join him.
“What’s up, sheriff?”
“I don’t want this to get out of hand, Agnes, so I need you ladies to rein in the Hollywood types.”
“And what makes you think that we can?”
“Because I have faith in you ladies.” Peterson grinned before he disappeared into the sea of cops.
“It’s like the sheriff doesn’t think anyone here is the killer,” Eleanor said.
“I think he’s a little overwhelmed. I can’t say I’d want to be in his shoes.”
“Which is why he’s lucky to have us around. Do you think we should stop our witnesses from leaving?”
“No. They won’t be going far. I think we need to head off the director before she finds out what’s going on.”
“And what makes you think we can even find her?”
“Leave it to me, Eleanor.”
Chapter Seven
I waltzed into the Tawas Bay Beach Club Hotel and stopped at the counter, where I coughed until Jenny turned around and greeted us. “Hello, ladies.” She smiled.
“How is it going for you today?” I asked. “You have stars in your eyes.”
“It’s kind of hard not to with so many Hollywood stars wandering around. My mom is going to faint when I tell her Peter Bishop is staying here. He’s in a soap opera that my mom lives for. She got a picture taken with him at Comic Con.”
“Aww, we only saw him briefly a while ago,” Eleanor said. “And age certainly hasn’t hurt him.”
Jenny’s mouth slacked open. “He’s only fifty-two.”
“It’s so nice to hear
someone your age calling fifty-two young.” Eleanor wiped invisible tears.
“He certainly is in the shape of a seventy-year-old,” I said with a laugh.
“You don’t want my mother to hear you say that.”
“And I’m certain your mother knows he’s not fifty-two.”
“So is this why you’re here?”
“No. We were wondering if the director was staying here. Her name is Amim Banks.”
Jenny sighed. “You know I can’t tell you her room number.”
“Ah-ha!” Eleanor exclaimed. “So she is staying here.”
Jenny’s hands slipped to her hips. “Oh, you ladies get me every time. Of course if you promise to introduce my mom to Peter Bishop I’ll tell you anything you want.”
“I thought you just said she met him at Comic Con.”
“So she paid for an autograph and photo op, big deal. She’s never really met him, had an actual conversation with him.”
“We’ll do what we can,” I said.
“Sorry, but that’s not good enough.”
“Agnes means we’ll make it happen, but you’ll have to give us some time.”
“Don’t wait too long. The movie crew won’t be here forever.”
“Then why don’t you give us the room number, please, Jenny.”
Jenny turned to her computer and tapped on the keyboard until she handed us a piece of paper that read “Room 2002.”
“We won’t forget this, Jenny,” I said before Eleanor and I hurried to the elevator.
“I hope you can get Peter to meet Jenny’s mother,” Eleanor said. “It probably wasn’t a good idea to promise her we could.”
I sighed. “That was you, not me.” Eleanor always put me in the middle of things. I hated to promise something I couldn’t deliver.
Eleanor didn’t have a smart comeback as the elevator doors opened, and we were soon strolling the hallway. I knocked lightly on the door of Room 2002, blocking Eleanor from pounding on the door as she had a wont to do.
A short blonde opened the door and asked, “Can I help you?”
“I told you we had the wrong room,” Eleanor said. “Agnes thought this was Amim Banks’s room.”
“Hello ladies,” Amim said as she opened the door further wrapped in a bathrobe. “The movie should be set up by now. I haven’t even made it into the shower yet.”
“I thought the director would be on the set before anyone else,” I said. “Of course it’s good that you haven’t been there yet. I have something very important to tell you and I’d rather not do it at the door.”
“Please come in. This is my assistant Brianne Reed.”
The young blonde smiled. “It’s nice to meet you ladies.”
“This is Agnes and Eleanor,” Amim said.
“But I thought you already had an assistant, Louis.”
“I do on set, but Brianne is an assistant on and off set. I don’t think Louis would care to rearrange my underwear drawer.”
“Well, he can’t now,” Eleanor said before quickly clapping a hand over her mouth.
“What Eleanor means is ... could you please sit down first? What I’m about to say won’t be easy to hear.”
Amim dropped to the bed with a bounce. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“I don’t either. Louis was found dead in one of the tents where the trailers are located at the point,” I said as gently as I could.
Amim didn’t say anything for a moment, but tears leaked down her face. “Wh-What did you say?”
“Eileen and Hannah brought us to their trailer when someone barged in and said she’d found a body. He was cold when we checked him.”
“It was too late to save him,” Eleanor added.
“Are you certain you’re talking about Louis Ray?” Brianne asked.
“I didn’t catch his last name, but unless Amim has two first assistants ... .”
“I can’t believe it,” Amim cried. “I’ve known Louis a long time, even before I began making indie films.”
“Can you tell me anything about him personally?” I asked.
“I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“What was Louis like?”
“He’s a good man and hasn’t left my side since I graduated college. He was a father figure to me in many ways.”
“Is he as nice to everyone else?” Eleanor asked.
“Yes. He doesn’t have a bad bone in his body. He’s always willing to lend a hand, even if people wonder about his sanity. Take when he hired Ivy Green, for instance. She just showed up at his door one day, and Louis didn’t have the heart to turn her away.”
“Ivy told us that she was Louis’s niece.”
“I’m perfectly aware of that, but I had her investigated. She’s not related to him. I can’t blame her for wanting to work for Louis. She’s never done anything unscrupulous, but ... .”
“You had reservations,” I interjected.
“Exactly.”
“Ivy was the one who found Louis’s body,” Eleanor said.
Amim inhaled sharply. “Oh no! I should have told Louis how I really felt about Ivy, but now it’s too late.”
“Besides finding out Ivy wasn’t related to Louis, did you find out anything else about her that might make her suspect?”
Amim’s eyes widened. “What’s going on here? Are you two looking into Louis’s death?”
“We sort of have to because we were on the set when it happened,” Eleanor said.
“Sheriff Peterson was called in to handle the investigation,” I added.
“I’ll pay the both of you to find out who did this to Louis. I can’t very well do it when I have a movie to make.”
“You mean you’re not canceling the movie?” Eleanor asked.
“I’ll have to give Roman a call, but we can’t simply shut down production. Too much money has been invested already.”
“I suppose you’re right, but won’t you at least have to take time to plan a funeral for Louis?”
“Take his body back to California?” Eleanor asked.
“He wanted to be cremated, and I can have that done right here in Tawas. I’ll plan a memorial service so everyone associated with the film will be able to attend.”
“What about his family?”
“I’m all he has,” she said. “I’ll scatter his ashes in Maui after the film wraps. He spent much of his childhood there. Until then, I’ll keep them with me.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” I said. “And I suppose the show must go on, but will you be able to do it?”
Brianne handed a tissue to Amim. “I don’t have a choice, but if you don’t mind I need time for myself right now.”
“One last question and we’re gone,” I said. “Are you positive Louis got along with the other people on the set?”
“He didn’t have much time to meet any of them. I hired a new crew for this movie.”
Eleanor said, “We’re sorry that we had to be the ones to bring you the bad news. I’m sure the sheriff will be here to talk to you soon.”
“Thank you, ladies, for being the first to tell us. I’d hate to hear about Louis from the cops first.”
Eleanor and I left and I made a turn for the restaurant, but didn’t see any members of the cast there. “I wonder where the cast members are hiding out.”
“They might still be in their trailers,” Eleanor suggested.
“We should have stayed behind with Eileen and Hannah instead of jetting off with their convertible.”
“Oh, but I really enjoyed the ride.”
I drove back to the point, and Eileen greeted us as we walked into her trailer. “We didn’t expect to see you ladies back so soon.”
“We expected you’d be busy investigating Louis’s murder,” Hannah said.
“Murder?” Eleanor asked. “Who says he was murdered?”
“I thought that was the presumption.”
“We have a tendency to think that way too, but experience has taught us
to be patient.”
“How patient should you be?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “But the body hasn’t even been removed yet.”
“Actually it has,” Hannah explained. “About five minutes ago, with a police escort. You have some good-looking cops in town.”
“I’ve never noticed I suppose. I’m a married woman,” I said.
“We’re married,” Eleanor added. “To men, not each other.” Eleanor laughed. “I’m married to Mr. Wilson, who refuses to be called by his first name. I barely can remember what it is.”
“My husband’s name is Andrew and he’s an attorney, not that it’s helped with the contract.”
“But the movie hasn’t been shot yet,” Hannah said. “There’s plenty of time.”
“You should know how it works, Hannah,” Eileen said. “Once the contract is signed the deal is done.”
“We were promised ... .”
“No sense in beating a dead horse,” Eleanor said. “Besides, we’ll be too busy to worry about it now. We’ll have to leave the movie making to the director.”
“I’m afraid we had to bargain with the girl who works the counter at the hotel to get Amim’s room number.”
“She didn’t even know about Louis’s death,” Eleanor said.
“Oh my, she must have taken it hard,” Eileen said.
“Why is that?” I asked.
“Because he’s Amim’s father.”
I moved closer. “What did you say?”
“Louis is Amim’s father.”
“Ivy told us she’s Louis’s niece, but according to Amin that’s not true.”
“Amim had Ivy checked out. Louis must have been an exceptional man, helping out poor Ivy,” Eleanor added.
“Ivy’s not a poor anything and now we know she might just be an opportunist. She didn’t even stick around to talk to the cops and she was the one who found his body!” Hannah exclaimed.
“Let’s wait a while before we come to that conclusion, but we’ll certainly keep an eye on her,” I said.
“She won’t talk to us because we all but accused the woman of having an affair with Louis and possibly murder,” Eleanor said.
“I believe you did that, but that’s the gist of it,” I said.
“We might be able to get farther with her,” Hannah suggested.
“But we’d want to be there,” I insisted.
Tawas Goes Hollywood Page 6