Shooting Star

by Bradley Wright

  “We have to find out what happened to Victoria Marshall,” Cassie said.

  “We’re on the same page. Whoever took her is responsible for all of this.”

  Cassie turned into a gas station and put the car in park. She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly to calm herself.

  “But we’ve got nothing.”

  Lawson turned toward her. “Maybe not. We’ve got you.”

  Cassie didn’t get it.

  “Whoever took you more than likely took Victoria too, right?”

  Cassie thought about it. “Maybe. But why would they try to take me and Lexi? That makes no sense.”

  “To get to me.” Lawson rolled down the window to get some fresh air. “Whoever took Victoria obviously thinks I still work for her. So they think I am looking for her. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me.”

  “It doesn’t at all to me. The police know she’s missing. So that means whoever took her knows the police are looking for her. What are they going to do, kidnap everyone’s family in the police department too, so they don’t come looking for Victoria? Something isn’t adding up. It has to be Sloan.”

  “Clint said it wasn’t.” Lawson didn’t sound convinced.

  “And you believe him?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Sloan is the only thing that makes sense,” she continued. “He would be afraid that you, or whoever he thinks you work for, would go to the police and tell them about the meeting. How he tried to strong-arm Victoria. Linking him to the kidnapping, right?”

  Lawson thought about it. There were so many variables. One thing that was sticking in his craw was the fact that the only person who really benefited from Cassie and Lexi being kidnapped would be Clint Hues.

  “Clint wanted us to help take down Sloan, right?” Lawson asked.

  “Right.”

  “Well, I agree with him, and you, that it would have been stupid for Sloan to kidnap Victoria. The police would easily connect the dots to him after the meeting at the bar. But I don’t necessarily buy the fact that Sloan would think kidnapping Lexi would make me persuade Victoria to do anything. Why would he believe I could have any influence over her? I don’t even know her.”

  “And besides,” Cassie said, following her own line of thought, “the timing of whoever tried to take us last night doesn’t match up at all.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “It’s common knowledge now that Victoria has gone missing. What good would it do Sloan to take Lexi to try to make you persuade Victoria to sign over the movie rights? If Sloan really didn’t take Victoria himself, that means she is still missing, making it impossible for you to be able to talk to her. Therefore you wouldn’t be able to persuade Victoria to do anything, giving Sloan no reason to kidnap Lexi.”

  Cassie was right.

  Lawson said, “Either Clint was wrong about Sloan kidnapping Victoria, or he lied about Sloan wanting to kidnap Lexi so he could make me want to go after Sloan, to use me to help him get what he wants.”

  Cassie agreed with a nod. “But how do we find out which is true?”

  “Like I said earlier, we have you. Take us back to where you escaped from, and we’ll find who took you. That will be all the answer we need.”

  20

  Cassie and Lawson doubled back to the office building Cassie escaped from earlier. It wasn’t far, just a couple miles down Hollywood Boulevard. The sun was inching up the sky toward late morning. Lawson was a sweaty mess, in the same black button-up shirt and black chinos he’d been in for two days. When he went to wipe the sweat from his brow, the smell of Taylor’s perfume on his arm still lingered.

  “It’s just up here on the right,” Cassie said. “What’s the play?”

  “We’ll take it slow. How did you leave the guy who was holding you here?”

  “I handcuffed him to the handle on a safe in the office.”

  “Let’s just pull into the parking lot if there is one, wait for a minute to see if we get lucky.”

  Cassie did as he suggested. The parking lot was off to the right of the small office building. She pulled into a space in the back. It wasn’t Sloan’s office, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t one of his employees’ offices. Cassie backed in so they had a view of the entrance. No one would be able to go in or out without them seeing. Lawson laid his pistol on the dashboard. A quick grab if necessary.

  “C-note says it’s Sloan or one of his guys,” Cassie said.

  “I’m not in the mood for games,” Lawson said. Never taking his eyes off the entrance.

  “How’d we end up here?”

  “We drove from Santa Monica Boulevard.”

  “Okay, smart-ass. You know what I mean.”

  Cassie was doing that thing where she nervously filled the void. One of her oldest habits. Lawson did know what she meant, but he really had no answer. It was astonishing they were in such a predicament.

  “I guess I took the wrong job,” Lawson finally answered.

  “What the hell could be so important about a movie that all of this is necessary? I mean, the way things are going down, you would think it’s a twenty-million-dollar cocaine deal you interrupted.”

  “I suppose if it’s a movie that would be a box office hit, the stakes are much higher than twenty million, aren’t they?”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Cassie sighed as she opened her window further. The small breeze through the car felt fantastic. “Some of those big films do over half a billion when it’s all said and done. Maybe we are looking at this from all the wrong angles.”

  That got Lawson’s attention. For the first time since they parked, he looked over at Cassie. “How do you mean?”

  “Well . . .” Cassie took a moment to organize her thoughts. Lawson thought she was her most likable when her wheels were spinning. A smart woman is always more attractive. Even if that woman is like your sister. “If we both believe all of this is because of a movie, shouldn’t we be talking to someone who works for Victoria? I mean, we do have an ace in the hole here. Taylor freakin’ Lockhart is with your daughter. Couldn’t she get just about anyone to open up about a project?”

  That hadn’t occurred to Lawson. But he didn’t see how it could help now. “Aren’t we past that, though? We don’t really have time to organize a setup where Taylor goes out to investigate. This thing is coming down on us right now.”

  “Yeah,” Cassie said, “but it’s Taylor Lockhart, Lawson. A phone call from her would get the right employee, or agent, frothing at the mouth . . . Call her.”

  “We’re kind of in the middle of something here.”

  “Just call her. Check on Lexi, ask Taylor how we can get more info on this coveted movie. Tell her you think the same people might be involved in shooting her. Whatever it takes.”

  Lawson hadn’t thought about Taylor’s situation in a while. It really was another reason he trusted her. All that she had going on, and she was putting it on the back burner while Lawson cleared up his own mess. Did she have a choice? Maybe not. But Lawson would think that someone like Taylor, a full-blown movie star, would be a lot more selfish about a situation. Then the thought occurred to him that she never once offered to pay him for his help. He wouldn’t have taken it if she had, but why hadn’t she? People with money always try to solve problems by throwing money at things. For a fleeting moment, a very peculiar feeling moved through him. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but it was there. Either way, he had to focus on the situation at hand, and if she could help, he needed to try. He pulled up Taylor’s number, pressed the call button, and put it on speakerphone so Cassie could hear. He hated it, but when she answered, her voice made him long to see her.

  “Lawson, is everything all right?” Taylor answered.

  “I found Cassie. We’re okay. You all safe? Lexi doing okay?”

  “We’re at the Malibu Beach Inn. Lexi is on the balcony watching the waves roll in, having a room service cheeseburger and fries. I’m having a bourbon fr
om the minibar. Trying to calm my nerves.”

  “Good. I need your help.”

  “Anything.”

  “What do you know about Victoria Marshall?”

  There was a longer pause than Lawson would have liked.

  “Um, uh, why? Why do you ask?”

  Taylor sounded like the question rattled her. Lawson felt a slow drip of worry leak into his mind. “What’s wrong, Taylor?”

  “No, nothing. Just wasn’t expecting a question about her. I’ve worked with her a couple times. What do you want to know? Is she in trouble?”

  “Not sure.” Lawson played it close to the vest. “But there is a man involved in this that we think might be trying to hurt her.”

  “Victoria? Why?”

  “We think it’s over a movie.”

  Another lengthy pause. Lawson could hear waves crashing in the background, and a breeze blowing against the mike periodically interrupted the silence between them.

  “Taylor?”

  “Yeah, sorry. I think I know what movie you’re talking about. And I think I know the man you’re talking about too.”

  Cassie and Lawson looked from the phone at each other in shock. Lawson said, “What? How?”

  “It’s kind of big news here in Hollywood. Well, it was about six months ago anyway.”

  Cassie spoke up. “Can you elaborate?”

  “Yeah, sure. All I know about it is that Carl Goldberg died in the middle of a deal. And the question of who held the movie rights became a big lawsuit here last year when one of Victoria’s partners died too.”

  “Carl Goldberg?” Lawson said.

  “Yeah, sorry. Forgot you’re not much of a film buff. The last few movies he wrote were massive hits, so that’s why it’s such a big deal who gets the rights.”

  Cassie and Lawson nodded, as that answered why Sloan wanted it so bad.

  “Okay, and who was the lawsuit with?”

  Cassie jumped in. “Let me guess, Martin Sloan Junior.”

  “Yeah, that’s right. They were both going to work on it together because for some reason Carl was adamant about working with Sloan. I don’t know the reason, but speculation around town was that Sloan and his partner forced Carl to work with them. That’s the only reason he would be adamant about working with Sloan. Some mafia-style stuff. Stuff that sounded more like a movie than the movies themselves. Anyway, Carl’s only stipulation was that Victoria Marshall was involved too. That way he at least had someone he’d worked with before to share his vision on the movie.”

  Lawson followed. “So when Carl died, there was a fight for who got the movie.”

  “Right,” Taylor said. “And when Sloan’s guy died, he lost the majority and that’s when the fight for the movie between Sloan and Victoria started. It’s still being litigated as we speak. You think Victoria is okay?”

  Lawson ignored her question. “Any idea who this third partner was? Sloan’s guy who died?”

  “Yeah, some real dirtbag from Las Vegas. Let me think, what was his name?”

  Lawson could feel the blood drain from his face. His stomach knotted up and he began to sweat. When Taylor said “dirtbag from Las Vegas,” the conversation with Victoria at Lexi’s audition flashed in his mind and nearly made him sick. He knew the name Taylor was about to say before she said it.

  “Umm, something De Luca maybe?”

  Lawson could feel Cassie’s eyes on him. Nero De Luca was the reason Lawson’s wife was dead. And Lawson was the reason Nero De Luca was dead. But before Lawson could put words together, before he could start to entertain the ideas of how this could relate back to him, a car pulled into the parking lot and drew away Lawson and Cassie’s attention. It was a black Dodge Challenger.

  Lawson looked over at Cassie. “Clint Hues.”

  21

  Before Cassie could stop Lawson, he was already out of the car and halfway to the Dodge Challenger, which Clint had barely had time to park.

  “Lawson!” Cassie shouted.

  But it was too late. When Taylor said the name De Luca, a host of horrible memories flooded his system. The death of his wife, the ten-year prison sentence, the ten years of Lexi’s life that he missed, all of it put Lawson back in the headspace of a year ago when he was running down Nero De Luca. However, since Nero De Luca was dead, Lawson’s only potential target for channeling that anger was just now stepping out of his car, and somewhere in the back of Lawson’s mind, he knew he was going to kill him.

  Clint emerged from his car, a worried look on his face. “You okay, big guy? You don’t look so good.”

  “I’ll show you what happens when you try to kidnap my daughter.”

  Clint’s worried look turned to shock. So much so that his genuine surprise kept Lawson from punching him. Instead of doing massive damage, Lawson grabbed Clint by the lapels of his leather jacket. He lifted Clint up and slammed him down on the top of the hood.

  “What are you talking about?” Clint shouted. He twisted his head trying to look at Cassie. “You’d better call off your dog or I’m going to kill him.”

  Lawson held him there.

  Cassie spoke for Lawson. “This your office?”

  “Yeah, why?” Clint’s voice was strained. Lawson had continued to tighten his grip.

  “Wrong answer.” Lawson pulled Clint off the car and threw him a few feet away. Clint hit the blacktop hard but rolled up to his feet. He pulled a gun and pointed it at Lawson. Lawson reached for his, but in his rage he’d left it sitting on the dashboard.

  “This how you want to play it?” Clint said.

  Lawson could see in Clint’s eyes that he was through getting manhandled by him. As easy as it was for Lawson to push Clint around, he knew that Clint was not an easy man. He knew that if push came to shove, Clint would pull that trigger and use his years of resources to cover it all up and walk away a free man. Lawson had to switch off his primal instincts and start tapping into some rational thinking.

  Cassie started to back away from the scene. Lawson knew it was to get his gun from the dashboard, and so did the woman who was with Clint. She pulled a pistol of her own and trained it on Cassie.

  “That’s far enough,” she said to her. Lawson didn’t remember ever hearing the woman’s name.

  Cassie held out her hands. Then she switched on her rational brain and did the talking for Lawson. “Listen, I was just kidnapped. You’re telling me you all had nothing to do with that?”

  Lawson watched Clint’s reaction closely. He genuinely looked surprised.

  “Kidnapped? You?” Clint said to Cassie.

  Cassie nodded.

  “Why would you think I would’ve had something to do with that?”

  “Because they took me here, and held me here. The moron I was able to escape from is still handcuffed to your safe in your office. That might be why we think you’re involved.”

  “There’s a man handcuffed to my safe? In my office? Right now?”

  “Yeah.” Cassie gestured toward the car she’d taken when she escaped. “And that’s his car.”

  “I don’t know that car.” Clint started walking toward his building. “I’ve been set up. Someone is trying to make it look like I did this. I just proposed yesterday that we work together. Why would I kidnap you today?”

  Lawson looked dead into Clint’s eyes as Clint walked by. “Because you want it to look like Sloan is doing this so we will help you take him down.”

  Clint stopped and got in Lawson’s face. He had to look up a bit to meet his eyes. “You know what, I’ve seriously had about enough of you. I don’t know who you think you are, but you aren’t going to stand there and accuse me and not pay for it.”

  “Yet here I stand,” Lawson said with his jaws set and his fists clinched.

  The woman with Clint stepped in between them. “Are you guys for real? Good God, you are the most cliché men I’ve ever seen. ‘Hey, I can beat you up.’ ‘No, I can beat you up.’ You might as well square up and have a pissing contest.” She put he
r hands on both of their chests and pushed them apart. “We are wasting time fighting with each other. Let’s get in here and see who this is. Then let’s use all that macho bullshit to go get who is really responsible for all of this.”

  “I already know who is responsible,” Clint said. “Sloan. Going after anyone else is a waste of time.”

  Cassie had gone back to the car to get Lawson’s gun, and as she walked by the three of them toward the entrance to the office, she said, “Okay, well, let’s just go find out then.”

  22

  The four of them stood staring at the handcuffs dangling from the handle of the safe in Clint’s office.

  “Well”—Clint stood from his bent position where he was checking out the handcuffs—“whoever it was, we’ll never know now.”

  Silence fell over the room. Nobody knew what the next move was, because nobody fully trusted each other. While everyone was focused on the man no longer handcuffed to the safe, Lawson couldn’t stop thinking about the connection between Nero De Luca and Martin Sloan Jr. It made complete sense that they would be connected. A lot of crime families from different territories scratched each other’s back from time to time. Lawson figured De Luca’s and Sloan’s fathers probably worked together first, back in the heyday of organized crime. The other question burning all through Lawson was, is this connection why Cassie and Lexi were kidnapped? Could it be that it was no longer about the movie or the meeting Lawson interrupted at the bar? When Sloan looked into who Lawson Raines was, and found out, was all of this now about what happened to his old friend Nero De Luca?

  “Clint,” Cassie said, “is there somewhere Lawson and I can talk in private?”

  “Jenny’s office is right next door.”

  Cassie tugged on Lawson’s arm, and it broke his trance. He followed her into Jenny’s office and shut the door behind him.

  “I see those wheels turning, Lawson. You’re thinking about Sloan and De Luca, aren’t you?”