Dead Ringers

by Camilla Chafer

  "Actually, no. No leads. I'm just visiting my friend, Daisy," I said, pointing to her building. "She's hosting a get-together for a few friends."

  "Nice!"

  "Do you live nearby?" I asked.

  "No, I live in Santa Monica, not too far from you. I'm gift shopping for a friend's birthday and," he winced, "kind of struggling. There are some nice boutiques around here but what do you get someone who doesn't need anything?"

  "Socks? A cactus? A cool book?"

  "Damn, you're good at this. I think you solved my problem."

  "You're welcome."

  "Actually I'm glad we ran into each other. I asked around a little about that guy, Ryan Ellison, from last night. Did I remember his name right?"

  "That's him."

  "Great. I thought it was but then I thought maybe it was Bryan or Ellis. Anyway, what I meant to tell you was this: he has a reputation for not being such a nice guy."

  "Really?" I wasn't surprised. "What did you hear?"

  "Apparently, he treats women poorly. That is on the surface, he's all about the extravagant gestures when he wants something but he's really only after the one thing." Hayden winced.

  "I get what you're saying."

  "And he can become aggressive if the object of his attention isn't interested. He's harassed a few women on set. I heard he can get a little rough. I know he's connected to your prostitution story and it might be big, but I've been thinking, and I'm a little worried. Do you feel safe contacting him?"

  This was exactly the information I was looking for and more than ever, I knew I had to meet with Ryan and get a better read on him. "I have to but I'll make sure it's a public place," I told him. "I won't put myself in any danger."

  "I wondered if I should go with you? I can wait outside if you prefer."

  "That's really kind of you, but I'll be fine. It would be great to talk to your contacts though. Do you think they would talk to me?"

  "I'm not sure. They kind of clammed up. They need to work, Shayne, and rumor has it that's how this guy keeps them quiet. He's probably run some women out of town before now."

  "Strange as it sounds, that's actually useful to me. I'm getting a good idea about his character. If your friends do want to talk, please assure them I'll handle it sensitively. Any information I can get on him will help."

  "I will do that. Hey, I meant to ask you at work if you still wanted me to take your photo for your byline. I've been thinking about what shots would work. We can do the typical journalist headshot with your body half-turned away while you look directly at the camera or we can do something more stylish."

  "It's really nice of you to offer…" I hesitated, wondering why I wasn't more excited about a professional photographer offering to shoot me until I realized it was because I had such a hard week. My leads were slow moving but informative and I knew I had much more to find out. I wasted a couple hours for no reason at Ryan Ellison's place and my boyfriend was ignoring me. Perhaps a fun photo shoot and some great new shots were exactly what I needed.

  "It'll be fun," Hayden cajoled. "You already bought me a thank you sandwich, remember? "

  "I'm in," I decided. "You're right. My photos are long overdue for renewal. Thanks, Hayden. I appreciate your offer."

  "You can thank me when you see the photos. One more thing before I go buy socks, a cactus and a cool book, I'm sorry last night didn't work out too well. I know you were disappointed and I'm sorry about letting you down."

  "No, don't be! Hayden, I would never have gotten in there without you! I managed to get some information although not as much as I wanted and I didn't blow my cover."

  "At least that photo of us online didn't look terrible," he laughed.

  I frowned. "What photo?"

  "The one of us running down the driveway. Apparently, we're a hot couple because I grabbed your hand to keep you upright in those heels. Someone recognized us both and sent it in with a bunch of other shots of the party."

  I exhaled, horror spreading across my face. "You have got to be kidding me!"

  Hayden shook his head. He tapped his phone and pulled up the photo on the website. There we were, bursting from the house, looking slightly alarmed but laughing, hand-in-hand. My face was turned slightly away, appearing to gaze at Hayden, but it wouldn’t be hard to recognize me from it. The caption read "Rising photography star Hayden Roth and celebrity journalist Shayne Winter head home after a fun night partying!"

  "How did this happen?" I groaned. It didn't look like I was investigating. It looked like I was on a date. Mike would tease me relentlessly. And Ben? What would Ben think? Would he use this photo to dump me? Would he use it as an excuse to run to Gabi and seek solace from her?

  Hayden shrugged. "Who knows? It looks like a cellphone photo to me. One of the guests must have snapped it."

  "But everyone will know I'm a journalist!"

  "I think that woman chasing you probably told everyone already, but a lot of people won't put your name with your face. Look at it this way, this photo just raises your profile. You're a celebrity journalist with an 'in' now to the rich and famous. I bet you have editors from all over calling you for stories. Maybe even TV crews!"

  My phone buzzed and for a moment, I wondered if he could be right. If he were, could I ever shake the celebrity journalist mantle and regain my serious reporter status? It wasn't an editor, but Daisy telling me everyone else was here and I should hurry up. "I have to go," I told Hayden, "but it was great running into you. See you tomorrow?

  "Absolutely. And don't worry about that photo, Shayne. It'll be forgotten in a hot minute. I promise."

  "I hope so," I sighed with a shake of my head.

  Hayden took off across the street again and I made my way to Daisy's building further down the block, away from the shops and cafés. As I reached her building, I had the strangest feeling I was being watched, but when I turned around, I couldn't see anyone. Last night's candid photo must have set me on edge. Shrugging it off, I pushed open the doors and stepped inside.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ashleigh, Jenna and I lounged on the long sofa in front of the windows while Daisy set a huge bowl of popcorn and a jug clinking with ice cubes and dark pink liquid on the table. "Maybe we should have met in the evening. I could have made cocktails instead of fruit punch," she said as she poured glasses, handing them to us. "But I was so excited to get a whole day off at home, I wanted to make the most of it."

  "How's your schedule?" asked Jenna.

  "Crazy. We had to do a bunch of re-shoots so all I do is read scripts, act, come home, eat and sleep. Then it's the same thing all over again." Daisy tossed her thick hair and took a glass for herself.

  "This smells divine," said Ashleigh, sniffing before sipping. For once, she wasn't in smart clothes with a gun and badge at her waist. Today she wore a long dress with tiny printed flowers and tan boots and her hair was free and wavy. She looked far more relaxed than I felt. What did she know that I didn't?

  "One of us has apparently been partying hard and needs to take it easy," said Jenna with a pointed look at me.

  I sighed. "You saw the photo."

  Jenna nodded. "I happened to notice your handsome friend too."

  "What did I miss?" asked Daisy. "I know you went to a party last night."

  "This," said Jenna, passing her phone to Daisy. Daisy passed it to Ashleigh and she raised her eyebrows.

  "Great. Now everyone's seen it!" I complained.

  "Does that mean things are over with Ben?" asked Jenna. "I'm not crowing, Shayne. I'm worried about you. What's going on?"

  I shrugged and threw my hands in the air. "Ben doesn't even return my text messages so I don't bother to send them. He doesn't call. It's like I don't exist."

  "Is the ex-girlfriend still hanging around?" asked Daisy.

  "I have no idea."

  "But this all started when she turned up?" she pressed.

  "Pretty much." I sipped my drink and licked my lips. It tasted fruity and deli
cious. Yummy!

  "I bet he calls you when he sees that photo," said Ashleigh. "Your legs look amazing and you look like you're on the verge of running away with that guy. Who is he?"

  "Hayden, the Chronicle's temporary photographer. He knew the hosts and invited me and you should have seen the house."

  "I think I've been there," said Daisy. "The house looks familiar. I think they throw a lot of parties."

  "Daisy would know," said Jenna. "She's invited to everything."

  "And too busy to go to anything," laughed Daisy.

  I slumped further on the couch and sipped Daisy's punch. "Do you think Ben's going to see it?"

  "I saw it," said Jenna.

  "I saw it this morning," said Ashleigh.

  "Me three," said Daisy. "But only two minutes ago so maybe that doesn't count."

  "Apparently, that makes me the last person in LA to see it."

  "What were you doing there anyway? Was it a date?" asked Ashleigh.

  "No. I was investigating the story I'm looking into. I thought I had a lead on a guy who might be involved in the disappearances but although I briefly met him, I couldn't get close," I admitted. "I was spotted by a sleazy talent agent I interviewed and we hightailed it out of there."

  "The disappearances of the women you think look like me?" asked Daisy.

  "I said that?"

  She nodded. "You had a few drinks by the pool. Do you still think that?"

  I considered it. The women were all similar and even Annette's friend, Mara, noticed the similarities between Sammy and Daisy. If they were all taken by the same person, that person definitely had a type. "Yes. I'm sorry, I know it's weird to think they look like you but they do," I told her.

  "You don't need to worry, Daisy," said Ashleigh. She held her glass out for a refill and Daisy obliged. "It's not about someone getting creepy toward you. We made an arrest."

  I sat upright. "What? When?"

  "Yesterday. I was going to call you when my captain insisted I go home for some rest, but it was late and I knew I'd see you today. So I went home, had a really long, overdue sleep-in and took it easy."

  "But I've been running around the city chasing leads!" I didn't add I went to Pacific Palisades and Beverly Hills in pursuit of leads because neither of those locations would incite sympathy.

  Ashleigh winced. "Sorry, if I'd known you thought you had a solid lead, I would have told you."

  "Tell us about the arrest? Did the person do it?" asked Jenna.

  "And did you find the missing woman?" asked Daisy. She pulled a velvet pouf towards the sofa and sat, waiting expectantly.

  Ashleigh set down her glass and we all leaned in, eager for the latest news. Especially me. Apparently, I missed a lot while driving around Beverly Hills on my pointless mission. "No, we haven't found any of the other girls but we're working on it. We found a connection between the first missing woman and the woman we found in the canyon. They both went on a date with the same guy a few weeks before their disappearances. He's got priors for domestic violence and we discovered he's behind an incel blog. He made a nuisance of himself at a lot of sets with multiple complaints so I'm sure we'll find a connection to the others soon. Plus, we have cell tower records that put him in the area of the bar the night the most recent woman disappeared. Thanks to Shayne, we have officers combing through the bar's security cameras from that night."

  "Well done, Shayne!" said Daisy.

  "What's an incel?" asked Jenna.

  "Involuntary celibates," I explained. "They're men who blame women for everything that's wrong in their pathetic lives, such as not wanting to date or have sex with them, instead of actually trying to make themselves decent human beings that women might be attracted to."

  "Exactly," agreed Ashleigh. "This guy ranted online about how nice guys finish last…"

  "No nice guy needs to tell everyone he's a nice guy," snorted Jenna.

  "I agree. This one picks apart his dates, ranting about how they're lucky to get a date with a nice guy like him but they're all the same. Stuck up, golddiggers, bitches, you can imagine the rest of his complaints."

  "And Danika Jones and April Beam both went on dates with him?" I asked, perplexed at the idea.

  "He's a nice looking guy," said Ashleigh. "He's a runner on TV commercials amongst other things so he's around attractive women all day long. Somehow, he convinced both of them to go on a date with him."

  "Have you tracked down every other woman he's been on a date with?" I asked with a sudden feeling of alarm.

  "Not yet but we're working on it. If anymore went missing since they met him, we'll know soon."

  "What about Anna? And Bonnie? And Sammy?" I asked.

  Ashleigh pursed her lips. "Like I said, we haven't found a direct link between him and them yet but because he works in the same field, there's a good chance he met them through a friend or perhaps a popular drinking spot or even on set. We have a lot of his life to comb through but given his history, I feel confident we'll find something soon."

  "How long has Sammy been missing?" asked Jenna.

  "A couple of weeks," I said. "Her time is running out."

  "Not necessarily," replied Ashleigh. "I can't go into the particulars of the case but we know he keeps his victims alive for several weeks after the abduction. If the pattern follows, Sammy is still alive. As soon as we break him, we'll find her. Martinez is going at him hard."

  "You teamed up?" I asked, recalling that Detective Martinez hadn't dismissed my concerns. I was glad he was being proactive with Ashleigh once they had leads to follow.

  "It seemed the sensible thing to do, given the particulars of the case."

  "I hope you do find her soon," said Daisy. "I can't imagine how much that poor girl is suffering."

  "How do you know he'll follow the same pattern?" asked Jenna.

  "We can't be sure since we only discovered two victims but a lot of serial killers follow a pattern that works for them, and from the injuries sustained, we can see the similarities and the escalation."

  "Escalation?" I asked, picking up on the final, terrifying word.

  "I can't say anything more," started Ashleigh. "I think I've already said too much."

  "And I don't want to hear what horrible thing happened to any of them," said Jenna, getting to her feet. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be in the kitchen."

  "I'll be with her. I don't need to know what that twisted creep is doing to them either," added Daisy. "I'm going to make another jug of punch and think nice thoughts."

  We watched them head off out of earshot. "I'll just find out the details from someone else," I told Ashleigh. "You might as well make sure I have the right information and save me some time."

  "You cannot report this and you can't quote me," she warned. "If this guy is our serial killer, we can't run the risk of prejudicing a jury pool before it even gets to trial."

  "Understood."

  "And you understand I'm only telling you because I want you to know how serious this is."

  "I do."

  "I'm still not all over the theory that these women were picked as substitutes for Daisy but there is a definite pattern of physical similarities and escalation of violence between the two victims we have. Once Martinez and I compared reports and spoke to the ME, we were sure the murders of April and Bonita were committed by the same person. First, the perp used a knife with a sharp blade to inflict minor wounds and cuts, and later, a larger knife for the stabbing. Thanks to a quirk on the blade, both match up. Finally, the victims were strangled. Strangulation was cause of death but they almost certainly would have died of the stab wounds too."

  I closed my eyes, appalled at the viciousness.

  "It gets worse," continued Ashleigh. "There were forty percent more wounds inflicted on April than Bonita. I spoke with our profiler and he said that indicated the killer is becoming more practiced. The first body showed a more frenzied attack but the second more control with increased aggression. Despite a confidence in the last kil
ling, the nature of the stab wounds suggests frustration. Perhaps these women weren't the true target but a substitution for someone else. The killer's true obsession."

  "And you're telling me you still don't think Daisy is the real target?" I asked, glancing towards the kitchen where Daisy was.

  "I can't find any links from our perp to Daisy. He never mentioned her name on his blog, no one close to him recalls ever hearing her name, and he doesn't watch her show or have any pictures of her."

  "That doesn't mean he's not thinking about her. Maybe he's covering his tracks."

  "I can't read minds unfortunately. You know as well as I do a judge is going to want to see facts and the current facts are, Daisy is not a target. Plus, I don't think we should scare her," Ashleigh added.

  "Are you two done?" called Daisy from the kitchen.

  "Almost," I replied. Turning back to Ashleigh, I asked, "So if he has Sammy stashed somewhere, it's going to be even worse for her?" My stomach rolled at the dreadful thought. Then I wondered what would happen to her if he clammed up and they couldn't find her. Whichever way I looked, her prognosis was bleak.

  "Right now, our goal is to break him so we find her."

  "What if it isn't him?" I asked. "What if you have the wrong guy?"

  "There were enough indications for us to arrest him. We'll tear his life apart to find her. Hopefully, she's still alive."

  "Why aren't you there? Interrogating him with Martinez?"

  "I want to be but my captain made me take the day off to get some rest because I put in too much overtime. Martinez is an excellent detective and he and my colleagues are handling it. They'll notify me if anything significant arises and I need to go in. Strictly off the record, the guy has some links to a property that we're looking into. It might be where he stashed the women."

  "Don't you want to be there if they do find them?"

  "First, we have to find the exact addresses. The minute we do, I'm there. I'm sorry if you felt your time was wasted looking into that other guy," added Ashleigh. "I know you have good instincts and if you think he's a creep, he probably is. Just not our creep this time."