Текст книги "Crime after Crime"

Автор книги: Tara W. Kent

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Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 8 страниц)

Chapter Seven

              “You know, Detective, I was kidding when I told those girls they could get me into the back seat.”  Alex looked around the rear interior of Kim’s Impala.  “Why do you have a back seat, anyway?  There’s really no point in driving a low-rider with four doors.”

              “Thanks for the input, Kane.”

              Kim slammed the back door of her car with Alex inside.  First Maria, now him—what was it that everyone seemed to have against four-door cars?  Alex was still laughing at his own joke, looking to Officer Phillips in the seat next to him for approval.

              As Jacob sat down rigidly in the passenger seat, Alex rapped on the glass.

              “Hey, quit playing favorites with your partner!  I called shotgun!”

              Kim groaned in irritation as she walked around the front of the car to the other side.  Taking the driver’s seat, she turned to Jacob.  “You ready?”

              Jacob took a deep breath.  “No.  But there’s no sense in waiting; I’ll never be ready.”

              Alex leaned forward, in between the front seats.

              “All right, Detective, from here you’ll want to take FDR Drive up to 1st Avenue.  It should take about ten minutes, around ninety with traffic.”

              She fought the urge to smile at this joke, but lost.  Alex wasted no time in noticing.

              “Well look at that.  You can smile.  I was worried you had one of those can’t-smile-for-the-life-of-me disorders.”  He looked at Jacob.  “Know what I’m talking about, Monk?”

              Jacob didn’t respond to the reference, already engaged in answering the question.

              “You mean Möbius syndrome.  A partial facial paralysis.  It also inhibits the patient’s ability to frown.  So given Detective Daniels’ interactions with you, I believe she most likely doesn’t have it.  However, given my lack of a medical degree, Doctor Langley would be a better source to ask.”

              “She doesn’t have it,” said Phillips, looking at his phone.  “It says here that they can’t move their eyes from side to side.  No way she’d be able to roll her eyes so much.”

              Alex snickered as he looked into the rearview mirror and caught her eyes rolling once again.  He decided not to say anything about it; he’d had his laugh.  He redirected the attention to Jacob.

              “Ready for what?”

              Jacob turned, surprised.  “What?”

              “Exactly.  ‘What?’  She asked if you were ready for something.  Ready for what?”

              “Oh, that,” said Jacob.  “Nothing, really.  I have a mild social phobia, comorbid with avoidance and suicide ideation.”

              “Wow,” said Alex.  “I have no idea what that means, and somehow every part of it still sounded terrible.”

              “You get used to it,” Jacob responded blandly.

              Alex felt his eyebrows raise of their own accord.  “What is suicide ideation?”

              “In layman’s terms, I’d never do it, but I find it comforting to know that it’s always an option.”

              Alex nodded.  “Hmm.”  Maybe I should give him Allen’s number.

              They rode in silence for a few seconds.  Normally Jacob was the one to break these silences, but Kim felt the need to get another jab in on Alex for making her partner feel exposed.

              “Rumor has it you’re pretty messed up yourself, Kane.  I’m surprised you aren’t talking about it.  That’s half of your job, right?  One set of cameras stops rolling and you gallop off to another set for some interview?”

              “Well,” Alex smiled, “I’ve been pretty good about keeping this particular scoop out of the press.  But since you asked, I can be a little bit…I like to call it ‘self-reliant.’”

              Kim laughed.  “Is that what it’s called?  I thought you were just an ass.”

              “If you want to use the medical term, then yes.  At least, I’m assuming that’s the medical term.  It’s what my psychiatrist says all the time.  Heck, I’m surprised he hasn’t posted it online for Craig here to find.”

              Phillips looked up.  “That’s it!”

              Kim eyed him in the rearview mirror.  “What’s that?”

              Typing frantically on his smart phone, Phillips spoke quickly, almost like Jacob on one of his rants.

              “I’ve been searching for Winters on several personal listings, basic internet equivalents to the local phonebook.  But even after Mr. Kane told us in the briefing room that she was an aspiring actress, it didn’t occur to me that I should refine my search on that basis.”  Phillips landed on a page and started scrolling madly, looking for the information he needed.  “See, even the most unheard-of talent doesn’t escape the entertainment industry without some sort of gossip.  Part of the trade-off when trying to get famous is that potential fans immediately start looking for dirt on you.  The internet being what it is, the actor’s family usually sacrifices some privacy, too, whether they like it or not.”

              Alex nodded.  “He’s right.  It’s like when I did my first show, Municipal Airport Diaries.  A lot of people said that my character, Jack Missouri, was actually based on my father’s—”

              “Can it!”  Kim turned around, snapping her fingers at Alex.

              Alex threw his hands up to indicate defeat.  He quickly fell back into his natural posture as he looked through the windshield.

              “Hey, we’re coming up on 49th Street.  You want to turn here.  We aren’t far now.”

              Kim made a weird motion with her head as she faced her eyes back toward the road; she was trying to roll her eyes without actually moving them.

              “Continue, Phillips.”

              “No problem,” he said.  He meant it.  He was a big fan of Alex, and didn’t mind the interruptions.  “Anyway,” he continued, “it appears that Virginia Winters was one of the unfortunate masses whose attempts at fame brought shame to her loved ones.  Check out what someone posted just two days before the murder.”

              He passed the phone to Alex, who read aloud.

              Posted by DatsWutSheSed69:  “Virgin” Winters iz a biger ‘ho den her sistr.  I new her n her bitch uv a sister Marry since grammer skool, and dey ain’t nobuddy.  I no 4rm experience dat Gin n her big sis don’t cost notin’ 2 get on da cam, and I ken b more den willing 2 show proof 2 ne1 who wanna 2 pay me 4 it.

              “Wow, this guy had problems.  And kind of ironic for him to call it ‘grammar school.’  He didn’t even spell it right.”  Alex handed the phone back to Phillips.

              “As fascinating as that was,” said Kim, “I don’t feel like I learned much.  Other than that men are disgusting, which I already knew.”

              “Thanks.”  Alex and Jacob spoke in unison.  Jacob sounded sarcastic and somewhat irritated.  Alex actually appeared to be expressing genuine gratitude at the insult.

              “Though to be fair, Detective Daniels, we can glean some insight from the foregoing information.”  The other three grew curious as to what Jacob could have possibly gotten from the post.  “The flippant reference to Ms. Winters as ‘Virgin’ rather than her given name of Virginia implies that the author of the post did not, as implied, have sex with her.  And whether or not the poster did in fact know her in grade school is irrelevant; given the date of the post, he was probably turned down more recently.”

              Kim nodded.  “Why would he bring up her sister?”

              Jacob’s eyes darted as if he were scanning his own brain for ideas.

              “Maybe our Ms. Winters wasn’t the first one who turned him down.”

              Jacob started a bit in his seat.  He hadn’t expected Alex of all people to have such an insight.  He turned and looked over his chair.

              “How do you suppose?”

              “Honestly?”  Alex chuckled, amused at his own veracity.  “Because if a girl turned me down, and she had a younger sister…I’d do the same thing.”

              Jacob bobbed his head, accepting what Alex said without judgment.  The same couldn’t be said of Kim, who bit her tongue as she tightly gripped the steering wheel.

              “We can easily find out,” said Phillips.  “I’ve got a search hit on the sister.  Mary-Jane Winters.  Lives in Chelsea.  Profile pictures from a couple of social networks look close enough to our victim, so I’m thinking she’s our girl.”

              “Gin and Mary-Jane,” grinned Alex.  “Intoxicating.”

              “Good work, Phillips,” said Kim.  “Looks like we have our next stop after we leave the studio.  Just one problem I hadn’t really thought of before.  How much do we really expect people to talk with a well-known actor in the room?”

              “Who, me?” Alex asked playfully.  “People love talking to me.”

              “That’s cute, Kane.  But the whole reason we’re going here in the first place is because the victim was turned down for a spot on your show just two weeks before her death.  I’ll submit you might have some sway on your own set, but the sister of a woman your show turned away?  Call me crazy, but she might be somewhat bitter.”

              “Don’t worry about it,” said Alex.  “She wasn’t turned down maliciously or anything like that.  She was just going to play an unnamed character in one scene.  See, there was going to be a story arc where my character, Gareth Evans, is found making love to some random girl at a benefit for his wife’s museum.  Of course, it isn’t really Gareth, it’s my evil twin—Jareth.  But the scene was written out before she could even audition.  No one told her, so she showed up anyway.  That’s the only reason I remembered seeing her.  If they’d told her the audition was cancelled, she wouldn’t have shown up, and I probably never would have made the connection.”

              “Still,” said Kim.  “Your star status might be a problem later on.”

              “I’ve got some ideas on that,” said Alex.  “We can talk more about it once we get into the studio.”

              He looked out the window as The Slab—the massive Art Deco skyscraper which housed the shooting sets for Time After Time as well as several other shows—towered above them.

              “Pull over, Detective.  We’re here.”

              Kim didn’t see any available parking, and she wasn’t about to circle the block for an hour; she pulled over onto the sidewalk.  Shifting into park, she started to remove her seatbelt before turning around.

              “Kane, you said you had a suspect.  If Winters wasn’t turned down out of malice, than who from the show could have possibly had anything against her?”

              “To be fair, I didn’t say there was no malice toward her at all.  There was one person who didn’t want her on the set to begin with,” said Alex.  “One person who didn’t trust her.  Even better, someone who fits all that stuff that Jake here was saying earlier about our killer’s compulsive personality.  All of it except for the part where you thought it would be a man.”

              “Interesting,” said Jacob.  “Who’s this female you have in mind?”

              “The most controlling person I know,” said Alex.  “My ex-wife.”

Chapter Eight

              “I swear to God, Kane.  I swear to God.”

              Kim huffed and puffed her way down the hallway to the elevator.  Alex had no trouble getting them in, managing to avoid any explanation regarding their purpose there.  He pressed the elevator button for the 14th floor once the others had filed in.

              “If we’re even going to entertain this idea, I want to know you aren’t wasting our time.  So just answer me one question.”  Kim grabbed Alex by the shoulder.  “Are we just here so you can screw with your ex-wife?”

              “Oh, most definitely.”  Alex smiled as the doors slid closed with a ding.

              Once they reached their destination, the doors opened to a sea of surprised faces.  They hadn’t expected to see Alex again, especially not with his classic grin still intact.  Alex led the team out of the elevator and toward a desk, where one of the studio assistants stood at her computer.  She seemed distracted by something on the screen, and she quickly minimized several windows when she saw Alex approach.

              “Welcome back, Mr. Kane,” she said with a smile.  “What brings you back so soon?”

              “We do,” said Kim as she and Jacob flashed their badges.  “We need to have a chat with Charlene Stryker-Kane.”

              The assistant gave Kim an overly sympathetic look.  It was clearly disingenuous.

              “Oh, I’m sorry.  I hate to be a pooper, but Ms. Stryker is shooting right now.  Can it wait?”

              Kim scoffed.  “Are you serious?  Do we look like it can wait?”

              Alex put his elbow on the desk, edging Kim away.

              “Look, Gwen, we’re really sorry to intrude on a shooting day, but my friends here are in a bit of a pickle.  Big case, jobs on the line.  You know how it goes.”

              “Actually, sir, I don’t,” said Gwen.  She flipped her auburn hair back, revealing her neck.  She knew from experience it was a weak point for Alex.

              Unfortunately for her, Alex was steelier than usual.  There was something about Kim that made him feel a need to prove himself, and he was determined to get the team onto the set.

              “Oh, you will, Gwen,” said Alex.

              He leaned over the desk and pulled a jump drive from the computer.

              “I’m not sure Mr. Hindenburg would appreciate you pirating his own studio’s shows from his own studio’s computer.  That is what you were doing when we walked up, wasn’t it?”

              Gwen looked panicked, and a little pissed off.

              “One second,” she said.  She picked up her phone and dialed an extension to another assistant.  “Hey, Jerome?  When is Time After Time supposed to take a break from shooting?  We need Ms. Stryker to the front, if you don’t mind.”

              She paused, listening.

              “All right, thank you.”  She turned her attention back to Alex and the detectives.  “You can have a seat in the meeting room across the hall.  It’ll be about ten or twenty minutes.”

              Alex smiled sweetly.  “Thanks, babe.”  He handed back her jump drive.  “You might want to keep this on the DL from now on.  We wouldn’t want to see that pretty face get the boot, now would we?”

              She smiled back.  “Don’t worry about me, I’ve got money to fall back on.  Or did you not hear about the pool?”

              Daggers in Alex’s heart, he frowned and turned away.  He was starting to wonder if anyone besides Fox’s puppet Megan had actually bet on him keeping his job.  He had no emotional attachment to Gwen, but he’d known her long enough during his shooting days at The Slab to anticipate some level of respect.  After all, hadn’t he carried that show?

              “Well, you heard her,” he said to Kim.  “Meeting room’s right there.”

              He pointed to a room across from the desk.  They could see a long table with several rolling armchairs behind the floor-to-ceiling glass.  Kim gave it one glance before scanning the rest of the wide hallway.

              “Of course I heard her, Kane,” she said.  “But hearing and listening are two very different things.  I’d like to have a look around.”

              Alex shrugged.  “Suits me fine.  Gives us time to chat up Andie and Tina.  They can help us with that little problem you brought up in the car.”

              As he led them farther down the hall, Alex noticed Gwen give Phillips a familiar nod, which he returned with a wink.  Still sore from his interaction with her, he didn’t feel up to addressing the matter.  It didn’t matter anyway, as Jacob soon interrupted his thoughts.

              “How did you know she was pirating episodes from the studio?”

              Alex gave a weak smile, wincing on the inside.  He was afraid to answer honestly in front of Kim.

              “I, uh…know her.”

              “Of course you do, I deduced as much when you referred to her by name.  But my question was how—”

              “They’ve had coitus, Detective Newport,” Kim cut in.  “Odds are he’s seen her computer at home, though from his persona I’d wager they were watching a lot more than soap operas.  She’s pretty young for you, Kane.  If I were a guy, I might actually give you props.”

              “Speaking of props,” Alex changed the subject,  “props and costumes are in the big room to the left here.  This is where we need to be right now.”

              He hadn’t really needed to explain their whereabouts.  The large open space to their left revealed a room crammed full of items for the studio’s various productions.  The vast majority of them were uninteresting to everyone but Alex.  Far from the array of exotic artifacts they might have imagined, the space mostly housed everyday odds and ends.  Shelves full of clocks, kitchenware, and other sundry bits and pieces stood across from rack after rack of ordinary clothing, much of which was made to look like designer wear without the labels.  WAD Studios wasn’t exactly known for cowboy shows and space adventures.

              Digging through the racks was costume designer Tina Briley, one of the few women on Alex’s show with whom he was able to maintain a decent platonic relationship, due in part to her being ten years his senior.  She smiled brightly when she saw him and stretched out her arms.  He approached and embraced her tightly.

              “I thought you’d quit on us, doll-face.”

              Alex laughed.  “I have.  I’m sure this won’t surprise you, but I’m here because I need a favor.”

              “You’re right,” she said as she let go of him.  “That doesn’t surprise me.  What can I do for you?”

              Kim stepped forward and cleared her throat.  She wasn’t too keen on letting Alex take the lead, even if they were in his stomping grounds.

              “Apologies,” said Alex.  “Tina Briley, this is Detective Daniels, Detective Newport, and Officer Phillips.  They’re assisting me on a case.”

              “Of course they are,” Tina laughed.  She could see the irritation on Kim’s face.  “I hope our boy here hasn’t been giving you too much trouble.”

              Kim had to bite her lip.  As much as she wasn’t overjoyed to work with Alex, she wasn’t going to embarrass him in front of this woman who clearly held his friendship in high esteem.

              “Not at all, Miss…?”

              “Briley,” Tina said, extending her hand.  Kim shook it dutifully, followed by Phillips.  Jacob just stared.  Tina smiled at him, not offended in the least.

              “This one’s cute,” she said.  “I like a man who’s all business.”

              “Thank you, ma’am,” said Jacob.  “I assure you, if I were capable of blushing, I would be doing it this very second.  But since you prefer to be all business, we should explain that the favor Mr. Kane needs done is actually for us.”

              She nodded.  “I figured as much.  Kid may have star power, but I don’t usually see a guy gettin’ followed around by three cops and assume that he’s the one in charge.”

              “Miss Briley,” said Kim, “his star power is the very nature of our problem.  We need Kane to appear unrecognizable to the average television viewer.  He told us he had friends here who could help with that.  I’m assuming you’re one of them?”

              “I suppose,” said Tina.  “But you probably want Andie more than you want me.  She’s at lunch right now, but she usually gets back for touch-ups in between scenes.  I can set you up with her number if you want.  It’s—”

              “Got it,” said Phillips.  Tina looked at him in amazement.  He held up his phone.  “Only one Andie listed in the make-up department for the show.  Piece of cake.”

              Tina surveyed the motley crew in front of her.

              “Hot damn, Alex.  You’ve gotten yourself into something here, haven’t you?”

              Alex smiled.  “Just studying for a part.  We have to catch Charlene as soon as she gets off set, but maybe I can call you later for lunch?”

              Tina furrowed her brow.  “Charlene?  Now why on God’s green earth would you want to talk to her?  If I’ve ever met a more unpleasant, more dastardly, more downright bitchy woman in my life….”

              As Tina trailed off, they heard a commotion coming from the hallway.

              “I don’t care what that little slut wrote, it’s my scene and we’ll do it my way.  You’ve already lost one star this month.  If you want to lose two, be my guest!”  Charlene’s voice was unmistakable.

              “Miss Stryker!” Kim called.

              Charlene turned from the hallway.  Only a presence such as hers could manage to fill the wide doors of the prop room as she walked through, followed by her producer David and mousy head writer, Stella.

              “Who are you people?  What do you want?  And why, I’m just dying to know, is my ex-husband here?”

              Kim and Jacob flashed their badges as Kim spoke.

              “Miss Stryker, we’re from the NYPD.  We’d like to ask you a few questions regarding the death of Virginia Winters.”

              The actress stopped dead in her tracks before regaining her poise.

              “Virginia Winters – dead? Well, that’s a new one. The girl couldn’t get a whit of publicity in real life. Maybe in death she’ll be a star, if she’s lucky!”

              “Ladies and gentlemen, my former wife!” announced Alex dryly. “Gracious, as always.”

              Kim frowned. “Miss Stryker, it doesn’t sound like you’re a fan of Victoria.”

              Charlene rolled her bright blue eyes. Kim silently vowed to cut the gesture out of her repertoire. The last thing she wanted was to be at all like this vapid diva.

              “No one was a fan of Victoria Winters. She couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors, as well. She was a cheap thing, would throw herself at any man with a pulse. But what do I care? She was never going to become a star like me.”

              “What’s your definition of cheap?” Alex butted in. “I’m just dying to know.”

              “She’s referring to a woman of low moral character, specifically one who has sex with a variety of unsavory men,” put in Jacob.

              “Thank you, Jacob,” said Kim shortly. “So why do you care, Miss Stryker? It sounds like a waste of energy to be concerned about a young actress you barely knew.”

              “You’re right.” Charlene perched on a chair and folded her long, tanned legs. “I don’t care.”

              “Spoken completely in character. Bravo,” said Alex, clapping slowly.

              “Enough,” Kim put in. She drew a deep breath. What had Alex seen in this creature? That he’d married such a woman spoke volumes about his character.

              “Miss Stryker, where were you two nights ago between midnight and 2 a.m.?”

              “At home with my David, of course,” she purred, looking lovingly at the handsome man shadowing her. Alex instantly shot a look of death in his direction. David flinched and looked away.

              “Can anyone confirm this?” Kim asked.

              The pair looked at each other for a moment. “My ex-wife,” David said slowly. “She called around that time. Charlene answered the phone.”

              “She’ll be happy to confirm my presence,” the blonde put in, her aqua eyes gleaming evilly.

              “Why would she be happy?” Jacob asked, puzzled.

              “Enough.” Kim gathered the scraps of her patience and motioned for them to leave. “We’ll get in touch. In the meantime, I suggest you stay in New York, Miss Stryker.”

              Charlene pouted, her pink lips puffing coquettishly. “I’m happy to oblige, Detective. After all, I have a full filming schedule.” She shot a look at Alex. “Remember what that was like, darling?”

              “My three Emmys won’t stop reminding me,” he snapped back. “If only you had the pleasure.”

              Charlene, who had never even been nominated for an Emmy, blushed darkly. “I think it’s time for my scene, Detective. Excuse me.”

              “Gladly.” Kim left as quickly as she could. She was mad at herself for wasting precious time over a marital dispute when she could have been hunting down a killer. She needed to convince Captain Woodside to cut Alex loose, or she’d never solve a single case again.