Dusted to Death

by Barbara Colley

  Benny lowered his gaze to the sweating glass in front of him. “Angel’s been arrested for murdering Nick Franklin.”

  Charlotte nodded. “That’s what I heard.”

  At that, Benny glanced up. “It’s on the news already?”

  Charlotte shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Not yet. One of my clients knew that I was working on the set, and she called me early this morning.” Charlotte shrugged at Benny’s puzzled look. “Don’t ask. All I know is that she’s well connected in the city—she knows just about everyone.” Boy, was that an understatement! “And she has very reliable sources.”

  “So, what did this client of yours tell you?”

  While Benny listened thoughtfully, Charlotte summed up her conversation with Bitsy. When she’d finished, Benny nodded. “Yeah, that’s about right. But one thing your friend either didn’t mention or didn’t know was that in addition to Angel’s fingerprints being the only ones on the letter opener, Nick’s blood was also found on a pair of her jeans. Even worse, Angel doesn’t have an alibi for the time frame in which Nick was murdered. She was tired that evening and had me drop her off at the hotel. On top of that, now she’s been denied bail. The prosecutor claims that because she’s a celebrity, she’s a slight risk. Not only that, but it looks like her manager, Simon Clark, as well as the studio, has abandoned her.”

  Charlotte frowned. “I find that hard to believe, especially considering what a big star she is.”

  “Yeah, well, Simon Clark is the type who only looks out for number one. As for the studio, if you can believe it, there’s actually a morals clause in her contract that makes it easy for them to ditch her. Never mind that she’s innocent.”

  When Charlotte raised a speculative eyebrow, he gave a slight shake of his head. “She’s innocent,” he repeated. “I’ve known Angel for a long time now, and I swear to you, there’s no way she could kill anyone. She can be a real pain, and yeah, she’s a bit of a prima donna, but it’s all mostly an act. No matter what they say, she’s no killer.”

  For several seconds Benny stared at Charlotte as if willing her to believe him; then with a sigh, he picked up the glass of tea and drank almost half of it before he finally set it back down. “You still make the best iced tea I’ve ever tasted.”

  “Thanks, but you didn’t come by to just drink my tea.”

  Benny sighed again. “No, ma’am. You’re right. I came by to ask for your help.”

  “My help?” she sputtered.

  He nodded decisively. “I trust you and don’t know where else to turn. Angel’s hired some high-priced attorney from Hollywood, but I don’t trust him.”

  Charlotte frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  “I overheard one of the detectives talking about how you’ve solved several murder cases, and I’m hoping that you can either help me prove Angel’s innocence or at least point me to a good private investigator we can trust.”

  For several long moments Charlotte was speechless. Since Gavin Brown was the only detective at the murder scene that she knew, that’s who Benny had to be talking about. Go figure. Out of everyone she’d met at the NOPD, Detective Gavin Brown was the last person that she’d ever expect to hand her a compliment, especially considering that he always acted like such a jerk around her.

  Taking a deep breath, she said, “Benny, I’m sure that Angel’s attorney probably has his own investigator.”

  “Yeah, well, like I said, I don’t trust him, but I trust you. So, do you think you can help me?”

  Could she? Did she even want to? “I—I don’t know what to say,” she responded honestly.

  While it was true that she had solved several murder cases in the past, she hadn’t realized that the police thought of her as anything but a pest or an aggravation at best.

  When Benny’s face fell with disappointment, Charlotte hurriedly added, “I do admit that when I heard that Angel had been arrested, my gut reaction was the same as yours. I just don’t see her as a killer—more like a spoiled brat. Sorry. I know she’s your friend, but that’s how she comes across.” When Benny just shrugged she continued. “Do you think it’s possible that she’s been set up? I mean, like, could the studio have wanted an excuse to break the contract and—no!” She shook her head. “Forget that. They could always write off the movie as a loss on their income taxes, or I suppose they could hire another actress since they had just started shooting.” She shook her head again. She was rambling. “Wrong track. But how about this? Is there anyone else you can think of who would resort to murder to get her out of the movie? Maybe another starlet? Or perhaps someone out to make some headlines, like that sleazy reporter Bruce King?”

  “Yeah, sure, I guess anything’s possible. There are lots of people out there who are jealous of Angel’s success. But there are also plenty of people who would like to see Nick out of her life permanently too.”

  Well aware that she was fast approaching the point of no return, Charlotte mentally chewed on Benny’s answer for a moment while she took a sip of her coffee. If Angel was innocent, then it was obvious that someone meant for her to take the fall for Nick’s murder. Just thinking about an innocent person, any innocent person, being set up for a murder and the real killer getting off scot-free was enough to make her blood boil. Of course just thinking about any human being murdering another human being made her angry too.

  At best she figured she had two choices: she could either just say no to Benny, or she could help Benny and Angel as best she could.

  Mind your own business. Just say no.

  Yes, you can say no, but remember, everything happens for a reason.

  Charlotte lowered her gaze to stare at the wisp of steam rising from her coffee cup, but the silent warring voices in her head couldn’t be ignored. There had been other times that she’d been faced with the same dilemma. One time in particular stood out from the rest. After much agonizing about getting involved and after continuously asking herself, “why me?” she had finally concluded, “why not me?”

  Raising her gaze, she looked straight into Benny’s hopeful eyes and said, “Look, I’m not promising anything, but I’ll do what I can.”

  The grateful look of relief on his face gave her pause. “Just so you know,” she warned, “I’m not a professional by any stretch of the imagination. But I do have my resources, and, like I said, I’ll do what I can.”

  Benny grinned from ear to ear. “Thanks, Ms. LaRue. Thanks a lot. And just so you know, I’m not expecting miracles, but I do want to know the truth.”

  Charlotte hesitated, but then said, “Even if it turns out that Angel is guilty?”

  “She’s not,” he quickly retorted. “But other than my gut feelings, I have no proof. I just know she’s not guilty.”

  “Well, in that case, pour yourself another glass of tea while I get a pen and pad to jot down some notes.”

  At her desk, Charlotte eyed the financial ledger. Too bad, she thought. It would just have to wait. Grabbing up a tablet and a pen, she returned to the kitchen.

  Back in the kitchen, she poured herself a fresh cup of coffee. Once they were both seated at the table again, she tapped her pen against the pad of paper and said, “Okay, now I need you to tell me anything that you think could be relevant, no matter how small. Why don’t we start with Angel and Nick’s relationship? How long have they been together and just what is their relationship?”

  Benny leaned forward, wrapped both hands around his glass, and rested his forearms on the table. “To tell you the truth, I’m not sure what their relationship is, but I’m pretty sure it’s not romantic. It’s almost like he’s holding something over her head. In fact, I’ve often wondered if Nick could be blackmailing Angel.”

  A soft gasp escaped Charlotte. “Blackmailing?”

  “I should explain,” Benny said. “You see, right after Angel made it big, Nick suddenly showed up on her doorstep out of nowhere one day. Even though she introduced him as an old friend from her hometown, she didn’t seem
exactly overjoyed to see him. In fact, she seemed almost—” He shrugged. “Almost scared or nervous or something.” He shrugged again. “But what’s even more weird is that even though she didn’t much like him just showing up, she let him move in and stay.”

  “But what could he have on her to blackmail her?”

  “I always figured it had something to do with when they were kids. Once, I even asked Angel about it, but she just shook her head and said for me to leave it alone.”

  “Do the police know this?”

  “Not unless Angel said something to them, and since that would be even more motive for her to have murdered him, I don’t think she would say anything. She’s not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she’s not stupid either.”

  “Okay, good. So, tell me what you know about Nick. Like, who, besides Angel, might want him gone for good?”

  “That’s easy. I guess I’d put Simon Clark at the top of the list. Like I said earlier, Simon looks out for Numero Uno. I kinda got the feeling that he viewed Nick as a threat to his business relationship with Angel. They were always at odds over Angel’s career.”

  Charlotte nodded, remembering the confrontation that she’d witnessed in Bitsy’s kitchen between the two men.

  “Yeah, good old Simon wanted Angel to continue in the PG-rated movies she’d been making, but Nick kept bringing her scripts for other, racier movies.”

  Suddenly, Charlotte frowned. “But why would Simon go to the trouble of killing Nick, and setting Angel up for the fall, then dropping her when she got in trouble? Wouldn’t that be like killing the goose that laid the golden egg? Why wouldn’t he simply ditch her to begin with?”

  Benny shrugged. “Who knows? Probably because he’s such a sleazebag.”

  Deciding that Simon as a suspect just didn’t make sense for now, Charlotte said, “Okay, so who else would want Nick dead?”

  “I don’t know that it means anything, but for a while there was this man who was stalking her. There are all kinds of crazed fans in this business. Anyway, right before we came to New Orleans this man and Nick had a really nasty altercation one evening at a restaurant. Nick had him thrown out of the restaurant, and convinced Angel to get a restraining order against him. I thought it was over, but now I suspect the guy followed us here. There have been a couple of times that I thought I saw him hanging around out on the street.”

  Charlotte nodded as she jotted down what Benny had said. She didn’t mention it out loud, but again, why kill Nick, then frame Angel for the murder? “Anyone else?”

  Benny suddenly took a deep breath and let out a sigh. “There’s me.”

  Chapter 7

  “You?” Charlotte stared at Benny.

  Benny lowered his gaze and stared at the glass in front of him. “Yeah, me. Heather and I were seeing each other for a while. Then Nick stepped in. I really cared about her—still do. I tried to warn her that Nick was no good, that he just used people, but it took him smacking her around to make her finally realize that he was bad news.”

  Charlotte tensed. “So Nick was not only two-timing Angel, but he was the one who gave Heather that black eye. What a jerk!”

  “Yeah, he was.” Benny raised his gaze to stare at Charlotte, and there was a lethal calmness in his eyes. At that moment, she could believe that he was capable of murder.

  “When I saw that shiner he gave her,” he continued, “I wanted to kill him. If I could have gotten my hands on him at the time, I would have. But I didn’t. Someone else beat me to it.”

  Though Charlotte believed Benny was capable of killing Nick, she also believed that he didn’t do it. But even if he had killed Nick, he’d have no reason whatsoever to frame Angel for the murder. Still, his admission brought up another point to ponder. “I hate to point this out, but what you just told me also gives Heather motive as well.”

  Benny stiffened and his eyes lit up with fire. “Heather didn’t do it,” he snapped. “Don’t even go there. Besides, she broke up with Nick the day before he was killed.”

  Charlotte sighed, then reached out and gently patted Benny’s balled fist. “Just calm down,” she soothed. “No one, least of all me, is accusing Heather of anything.”

  After a tense moment, Benny finally relented. “Sorry,” he whispered. “It’s just that—” His voice trailed away and he gave a one-shouldered shrug.

  “It’s just that you’re in love with her.”

  “Heather is a nice woman who wouldn’t hurt a flea.”

  For whatever reason, it was clear that he didn’t intend to answer her question, so she figured it was time to change the subject. “So—back to suspects. Anyone else?”

  “Just a couple more that I can think of right now. I know that Nick had some gambling debts, but that was back in California, and then there’s Bruce King. Nick and King had a run-in day before yesterday.”

  Charlotte nodded as she jotted down the information. When she’d finished she stared out of the window for a thoughtful moment, then turned back to Benny. “What about Angel’s bodyguard, Toby Russell? Angel and Nick were having a knock-down, drag-out fight Tuesday morning until Toby stepped in and forcibly escorted Nick off the premises.”

  Benny shook his head. “Naw, Toby was just doing his job. Or following Angel’s orders,” he added. “Believe it or not, he’s a pretty okay guy.”

  Charlotte suddenly laughed, but then sobered quickly. “I know it’s no laughing matter, but it seems to me that just about everybody that Nick came in contact with had a motive to kill him.”

  Benny chuckled. “Yeah, it does, doesn’t it?”

  “Only problem,” she pointed out quickly, “what would any of these people on this list gain by framing Angel?”

  For an answer, Benny simply shook his head. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’ve thought about it and thought about it, but come up with a big fat blank.”

  Charlotte drummed her fingers against the tabletop as she mentally sorted through the suspects. “As I see it, the only person who could possibly want Nick dead and want to frame Angel would be that reporter, Bruce King. He’d be getting a double whammy of a story.” She shook her head. “But even that theory has flaws.”

  With a puzzled frown, Charlotte glanced down at the notes she’d made. The word blackmail kept jumping out at her, and after a moment, she underlined it. “I know you’ve already said that you didn’t know,” she said, still staring at the notes she’d made, “but your blackmail theory bothers me. We need to find out if Nick was blackmailing Angel and why. I can’t help but think that something like that could be the root cause for Nick’s murder.”

  Charlotte lifted her head to stare at Benny. “What if I simply asked Angel?” As soon as the words left her mouth, another thought suddenly struck her. She narrowed her eyes. “Angel does know that you intended to come to me for help, doesn’t she?”

  “Yes, ma’am, she knows.”

  She nodded. “Good, because I could get into a lot of trouble for sticking my nose into her business without her blessings, so to speak.”

  Benny smiled. “No problem. I assure you, I discussed talking to you with her. As for outright asking her about the blackmail business, you can try, but I doubt she’ll tell you any more than she told me.”

  “Probably not, but there’s only one way to find out, which presents a problem. They won’t let just anybody visit prisoners, especially a prisoner who’s being held for murder.”

  “Yeah, that’s a problem.” He paused; then, after a moment he said, “What if you went in with her lawyer? He could say that you were his assistant or something.”

  Charlotte nodded. “But would he do it?”

  “If Angel told him to do it, he would. Let me see what I can do, and I’ll get back to you.”

  “Ah, Benny, there’s just one more thing that’s bothering me.”

  “Just one?”

  When he chuckled, Charlotte smiled. “Yeah, well, several, if you want to get technical. But the one I’m talking abou
t is the letter opener. I can understand how easy it would be for blood to be on a pair of Angel’s jeans. The jeans could have been left in her dressing room. But if our theory is right, and Angel was set up, how did the killer stab Nick without smearing Angel’s fingerprints on the letter opener? Surely, even if he used gloves, some of the fingerprints would have been smeared. Then again, if Angel did stab him, her fingerprints could be smeared anyway.”

  Benny thought a minute, then shrugged. “You got me on that one. Maybe some of them were smeared, but you’ll have to ask your detective friend about that. I wouldn’t hold my breath, though, if I were you. The police think they already have the killer in custody, so they’re not going to be inclined to poke holes in their case.”

  Especially not on the word of a mere maid, Charlotte thought. Besides, just the thought of having to ask Detective Gavin Brown anything gave her the heebie-jeebies.

  He did warn you about the news media, and he paid you a compliment about solving a couple of past murders.

  Yeah, but like Benny had said, he probably wouldn’t appreciate someone poking holes in his investigation. But there was one person she could ask. If anyone could find out, Judith could. But would her niece do it? was the big question.

  After Benny made sure she had his cell phone number and he left, Charlotte put in a call to Judith.

  After several rings, Judith answered, “Monroe.”

  “Hey, hon, this is Aunt Charlotte.”

  “Hey, yourself, Auntie. What’s happening?”

  “I know you’re probably working, so I’ll keep this as brief as possible. I need a favor.”

  There was an ever so slight hesitation; then Judith said, “What kind of favor?”

  This time Charlotte hesitated. In the past Judith hadn’t approved or condoned Charlotte’s interference in a murder investigation; in fact, just the opposite. So, how to approach her this time was the big question.

  Just say it and be done with it. All she can say is no.