Hollywood Taken Read online

  A deep depression settled over her. She hadn’t seen a soul since she had been taken and wondered if she’d been left here to die. Her food was almost gone and thoughts of dying alone in this room, and never seeing Jack or their children again consumed her.

  Faith lay back on her bed. Why had this happened? That single question obsessed her. Why would someone do this to her? No matter how many scenarios she ran through her mind, it all came back to only one possibility.

  Maybe it was because of the affair.

  THIRTY-TWO

  The next morning, I took a long, hot shower, trying to clear my head, both because I’d drank too much last night and we had to deal with the Mattie situation. We’d managed to get Natalie’s aunt back to her room, but, she’d been talking crazy, insisting there were ghosts nearby. To make matters worse, the hotel management had insisted that she leave the next day. I told my friends that I would try to get off work early, so we could all move into the cottage at Dave Turner’s winery.

  After dressing, I took a couple of minutes, calling Olivia and asking how things were going with the case I’d left behind.

  “Van Ness says that since Jason Murray was good for Anna’s murder and was responsible for Zoe’s suicide, we’re moving on. He’s not interested in any follow-up.”

  “What about the other girls, the possible Russian connection?”

  “Loose ends, that will probably remain loose.”

  “That’s ridiculous. There has to be other victims out there. We can’t just walk away from this.”

  “I agree, and I have no intention of walking. I’m going to keep the case on the back burner, work it as time permits.”

  “Did you ever get a hold of Anna’s placement worker at APN?”

  “Yeah, her name is Chloe Foster, but she wasn’t much help. She claimed she had no idea Anna was in the country illegally and said her paperwork must have been forged.”

  “Don’t they do a background check as part of the placement process?”

  “They claimed they do, but, if you ask me, it was pretty superficial. Foster said that she and Anna talked from time to time, but she had no idea she was being manipulated into sex.”

  “What about Homeland Security? Did we ever contact them about Anna’s visa?”

  “Yes. They said the visa appeared legal at the time she entered the country, but everything expired shortly after she got here. That’s the reason she had to get a driver’s license as an undocumented person.”

  Grant’s expertise in software came to mind. I mentioned what he’d told me, adding, “I wonder if the department would let him take a closer look at Anna’s phone.”

  “I doubt it, since he’s not been cleared by the department.” We went on for a moment, Olivia again telling me that she wouldn’t give up on the case, before asking me about Grant. “So, how did your date go?”

  “It was nice. Grant’s a little nerdy, but that’s okay. We’re planning to have dinner whenever I get back, or maybe I should say, if I ever get back.” I gave her some details about my case. “Our victim’s been gone a week and we have no suspects.”

  “I hope something breaks soon, because we need you back here. Have you heard anything about Harlee?”

  I told her what Robin had found out. “I’m going to call Joe this morning and let him know that she’s in the area.”

  After telling Olivia that I would stay in touch, I ended the call. I then called Joe and left a message for him to call me. I made one more call, this one to Robin.

  “How’s my dog?” I asked.

  “He’s good, but seems a little lost. I think he misses you and the job. How are things going up there?”

  I mentioned my case, trying to sound uplifting about coming home soon, then asked him about Daniel.

  “He was staying at the Mission Motel in Glendale, but left the day before Harlee showed up.”

  “And they’re sure it was her?”

  I showed the clerk a photo I had of her from a news clipping. He had no doubt. He also said something about Daniel being nervous, like he knew someone was after him.”

  I sighed. “That means, if he’s not already dead, she’s closing in on him. I left a message for Joe about what’s going on.”

  “I can go back there and snoop around some more.”

  “No. I want you to promise me you’ll stay away. If Harlee is in the city, I don’t want you in harm’s way.”

  After telling me he wanted to help, Robin gave in and promised that he would stay out of things.

  I was leaving for the station, when I saw Natalie and Mo were having breakfast in the hotel’s dining room. I went over and asked them about Mattie. Natalie was an attractive woman, but she and Mo both looked like they’d missed a week’s worth of their beauty sleep.

  “Me auntie’s a nutter,” Natalie said. “If she keeps this up, I’m gonna send her back to bloody Birmingham.”

  “I’ll help you pack up her stuff,” Mo said, yawning.

  I thought about Mattie, being nude and looking like an alien. “May the force be with you. I’ll see you both tonight.”

  After arriving at the police station, Wade and I met with Lieutenant Sutton to update him on yesterday’s activities. I then told the lieutenant, “I want to interview Darren Larsen, Faith’s college boyfriend.”

  “We’ve already talked to him by phone,” Wade said. My new partner had a small cut on his chin, probably from shaving. I had the impression he was annoyed with my suggestion as he went on. “He’s a busy guy in the real estate world and claims he moved on years ago and has no interest in our victim. There’s also nothing to indicate he’s been in this area.”

  “That might be,” I said, “but I want to hear it from him face to face, even if we have to go to San Francisco to talk to him.”

  “It’s a rabbit trail.”

  “A what?”

  “A trail we’ve already gone down, a waste of time.”

  I looked at Sutton, not trying to conceal my irritation with his detective. “It’s not like we have much else to do on.”

  “Make it happen,” the lieutenant said to his detective.

  I went on. “There’s also Faith’s best friend, Joan Clausen. I read the reports and know that the investigators talked to her a couple times, but I’d like to hear what she has to say for myself.”

  Wade tugged at his collar and exhaled. “She’s probably not going to be happy about seeing us again, but we can go by the bed and breakfast she runs.”

  My eyes narrowed on him. “Why would Faith’s best friend not be happy about wanting to talk to us, maybe help find her?”

  Sutton answered. “I think you could call Clausen a former best friend of our victim. She and Faith had some kind of falling out a few months back. She’s been...” He looked at Wade, “...difficult?”

  Wade nodded, looking at me. “I can think of a more descriptive adjective, but I won’t say it out loud. She’s made it clear she doesn’t want to be involved.”

  “Why don’t I go by her place on my own this morning?”

  His brow tightened. “You think I can’t handle her?”

  “No. I just think that sometimes a woman will say things to another woman they wouldn’t say to a man.”

  “Go ahead,” Lieutenant Sutton said. “It’s probably worth another shot.” He looked at Wade. “You and I can go by and have a chat with Mr. Knight.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  “He’s that reporter that’s in town doing a story on our case. One of our patrol units said that he and Jack Winslow almost came to blows last night.”

  ***

  The Harvest Moon Bed and Breakfast was located on the Napa River, about three miles from my hotel. It was a charming little place, complete with gingerbread trim and a front porch that covered the length of the two-store Victorian home.

  I found Joan Clausen at the reception desk when I entered. I showed her my credentials and said, “I’d like to talk about Faith Winslow if you’ve got a couple minut
es.”

  Clausen was around forty, blonde and on the heavy side, with lots of shadow and eyeliner. “Why is LAPD interested in Faith?”

  “I’m just here temporarily, helping out with the investigation.”

  Her thin painted brows went up and down as she huffed out a breath. “The detectives already talk to me. I have nothing more to say.” She began thumbing through a magazine she had on the counter.

  I waited, not saying anything, until she looked up again. “We’re going to talk. We can either do it here or at the police station.”

  Her voice pitched higher, then lowered when she realized there were guest in the nearby dining room. “Are you threatening me?”

  “I’m just stating a fact. I need you to cooperate and I doubt that you’d want your guests seeing uniformed officers showing up here.”

  She tossed the magazine on the table behind her. “Let’s go outside.”

  We took seats on a patio, in the shade of a massive oak tree where Clausen’s unhappiness with my visit resurfaced.

  “Faith and I haven’t spoken in months.” She folded her arms, her dark eyes fixing on me. “I have no idea what happened to her.”

  “I understand you were best friends at one time. Did you two have some sort of falling out?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I had nothing to do with her disappearance.”

  “I didn’t say that you did. I’m just trying to get a better picture of Faith’s life.”

  Clausen picked up a salt shaker that was on the table, not looking at me. “Faith is a beautiful woman and...” She put the shaker down. “...she was very well aware of that fact.”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  “I was involved with someone. A man named Walter Donnelly. After he met Faith, he made a play for her and left me. I can’t say for sure, but I think they might have become involved.”

  “Was Faith the type to cheat on her husband?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know for a fact that she ever did, but she loved to flirt and...” She exhaled. “Like I said, she was beautiful and used that to her advantage.”

  “I’ve known other women like that,” I said, trying to find some common ground. “How did you two originally meet?”

  “She worked in Jack’s restaurant when it opened, greeting people and showing them to their tables. I went there with some friends for dinner one night and we sort of hit things off.”

  “What about Jack? He’s a very handsome man. Were there ever any rumors that he strayed from his marriage?”

  She laughed. “You’ve got to get out more, or maybe find better sources. Jack was always on the prowl, looking for other women.”

  “Really? He cheated on Faith?”

  “She thought so, but could never prove it.”

  “Did she ever mention anyone’s name who she thought he might have been seeing?”

  She shook her head. “Not that I remembered.” Her gaze moved off then came back to me. “There was a Claudette somebody...I think she was a lawyer.”

  “Here in Napa?”

  She nodded. I went on for a few minutes, probing for the names of other women Jack Winslow might have been seeing, but not getting anything back.

  As our conversation was ending, I said, “I’m just asking for your best guess. What do you think might have happened to Faith?”

  She took some time, before answering. “I think maybe somebody payed her back?”

  “Are you talking about her husband?”

  “Maybe. I can’t say for sure. I do know that Faith said Jack had a temper and she never wanted to cross him.”

  THIRTY-THREE

  After leaving Faith Winslow’s former best friend, I got a call from Joe Dawson.

  “Hey there, sorry I missed you,” Joe said. “I was in the air and just landed in LA. How about dinner tonight?”

  “Unless you want to drive about three hundred miles, that’s not going to be possible.” I walked along the river and told him about my reassignment. “It’s basically Bronson wanting me out of the way while you deal with Ryland. It looks like I’ll be here in Napa for a couple weeks, unless something breaks sooner on the case I’m working here.”

  “Greer told me there might be a problem with your new chief. Sorry you’re on the bench.”

  “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, given our history.” I walked over to a footbridge that crossed the river. “I also wanted to let you know that Robin did a little investigative work yesterday, trying to find out what happened to my brother Daniel. He found out he was staying at the Mission Motel in Glendale several days ago and a woman matching Harlee Ryland’s description was making inquiries about him before he left.”

  I heard Joe sigh. “That confirms that girl is already here. I’ll let Greer and the rest of the taskforce know.”

  “If you find out anything about Daniel, give me a call, even if it’s bad news.”

  “Will do.”

  I was about to end the call when Joe went on.

  “I want you to know that Eva and I really are history. I think our getting together was a mistake.”

  I tried to choose my words carefully. “As you know, Eva and I talked about what happened. I’m okay with everything.”

  “And us?”

  “We’ve already covered that ground.” I changed the subject, asking about Pearl. “Is there anything new?”

  “Our people checked with the locals and the hospitals in the area. There’s been no sign of him.”

  “Meaning, he might have drowned.”

  “I won’t deny it’s a possibility, but let’s not give up hope.”

  I ended the call, telling him to stay in touch, at the same time worrying that I’d never see Pearl again. Pearl was one of the best people I’d ever known, and the thought of losing him forever was heart-breaking.

  After taking a walk across the bridge to process what Joe had said and clear my thoughts, I got back to the station just before noon. I then met with Wade in the back office that we shared and told him what Joan Clausen had said.

  “The way Clausen made it sound, neither Faith nor her husband were faithful to one another. She thinks Faith drove her boyfriend away from her a couple years ago and they may have become involved. She also heard rumors that Jack was seeing a lawyer, somebody named Claudette, a few months back.”

  “Claudette,” Wade said, rubbing his chin where he’d cut himself shaving. “That has to be Claudette Maxwell. She’s a local defense lawyer.”

  “We’ll need to put her on our list to check out.”

  “What about this guy Faith supposedly stole away from Clausen?”

  “She said his name is Walter Donnelly. She didn’t give me anything more to go on.”

  “We’ll run him through the system, see what turns up.”

  “How did things go with the reporter?”

  “Not very well. Knight said he’s going to exercise his first amendments right to cover our case and Jack Winslow better stay out of his way. He also mentioned that he’d heard you were working here and wanted to know why.”

  “How did he know about me?”

  “I have no idea, but he seemed real interested in talking to you.”

  I folded my arms, shaking my head. “That’s not going to happen.” I was annoyed that a member of the press knew I’d been reassigned. “What about Faith’s old boyfriend, Darren Larsen? Did you get a hold of him?”

  “I talked to him about an hour ago. He basically said he’s too busy to meet with us.”

  “Not good enough. Do you know what real estate company he works for?”

  “Collingsworth Properties. They deal in estates and a lot of upscale real estate. He said something about holding a broker’s open house tomorrow in the Marina District.”

  I smiled. “Let’s plan on heading to Frisco in the morning. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wanted a little place by the ocean.”

  ***

  I left the station early so that I could move into Dave
Turner’s guest cottage with my friends. I found Natalie, Mo, and Aunt Mattie in the parking lot when I arrived at my hotel to pack up my belongings.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, coming over to them.

  “We were told we had to leave or they were gonna call the cops on us,” Mo said, looking at Mattie. Natalie’s aunt wasn’t wearing her alien anti-snore suit and was fully clothed, wearing her standard Queen of England attire.

  “I consider it a matter of elder discrimination,” Mattie said in her best upper crust English accent. “I may be forced to file a lawsuit.”

  Natalie looked at her aunt. “Yeah, it makes no sense they would want somebody wanderin’ ‘round their hotel wearing a mask and a birthday suit to leave.” She sighed and looked at me. “Can we go to the winery? Maybe they got one of them wine fridges there and I can forget me troubles.”

  After getting my belongings and checking out of the hotel, my friends followed me out of the city to Sierra Vineyards. I saw no sign of Dave Turner or his dog as we parked in front of our temporary new home.

  “This place is the bomb,” Natalie said, coming over with Mo and Mattie as I unlocked the front door. “And, we get the run of the whole vineyard?”

  “Yes, but let’s try and keep a low profile,” I said, thinking about Mattie. “The owner has been very generous and I don’t want us to create any problems.”

  After settling in and unpacking, Natalie’s aunt wasted no time creating problems. Natalie had found a small wine cellar in the cottage, and we were all sharing a bottle of Syrah on the patio when her aunt came out of the house.

  “They’re here,” Mattie said dramatically, looking out across the rolling hills.

  “Who’s here?” Natalie asked.

  “Reginald, Darsha, and the baby?”

  “She startin’ to talk crazy again,” Mo said, shaking her head that tonight was adorned with a green wig.

  “Who is she talking about?” I asked Natalie.

  She shrugged as Mattie went on. “They’re buried out there and need my help.” She left us and began walking through the vineyard.