Hollywood Quest_A Hollywood Alphabet Series Thriller Read online

  “Not gonna happen,” the man, who called himself Vader, told us. The name fit. He was wearing dark clothing and had a voice reminiscent of James Earl Jones. After some more pleas by Olivia to cooperate, his companions began shouting their support for Vader, along with some other names that expressed their extreme displeasure with our lieutenant, and law enforcement in general.

  Olivia stood her ground. “You watch football, Mr. Vader?”

  “Yeah. What you care?”

  “I would venture to guess there’s a few flat screens, some nice electronic equipment in your building. We can either walk in, look around, and leave your property untouched, or...” she shrugged. “All I’m saying is that it might be a long night with no TV, meth, weed, or smack. It’s your choice, but, if I were you, I’d save myself a shitload of trouble. Give us ten minutes, and we’ll be in and out.”

  Vader took a moment, going over and talking to his associates. He then came back to the gate where Olivia and the rest of us waited. “What you really want here?”

  “Just to have a chat with a woman named Stacy Reese. Once that’s done, we’ll leave quietly.”

  After some more negotiations, Vader relented. He told his compadres to move back, and the gate swung open.

  “Where is she?” Olivia asked, standing less than a foot from the big man.

  “Second floor, down the hall. We call it ‘the hole’.”

  The hole wasn’t really a hole, but it was a dark and dreary section of the building that was apparently off limits to the other residents. We made entry to the apartment with a couple officers in SWAT gear. Olivia found Reese Stacy in the rear of the apartment, soaking in a bathtub with a washcloth on her head.

  “What the hell you doing here?” Reese demanded, sitting up after the door crashed open. She was a big woman, about forty, with a scar on her cheek.

  “We want the girls, the ones on your circuit,” Olivia said.

  “I don’t got no girls.” Reese’s eyes went to Bernie, who was standing in the doorway with me. She shrank back. “Get him the hell outta here.”

  “Tell us where the girls are.”

  “I just told you, I don’t know what you’re talking ‘bout.”

  Olivia met my eyes and nodded. I brought Bernie closer to the tub, where Reese was now up against the wall. My big dog began growling.

  “Last chance,” Olivia said, raising her voice.

  “Okay...I’ll tell you what you want.” Reese locked her dark eyes on Bernie. “Just get him the hell out of here.”

  We gave Reese five minutes to put some clothes on, then took her into the living room. I had Leo take Bernie into the hallway as Olivia pulled a chair over from the kitchen. She sat directly in front of Reese. “Okay, let’s hear it.”

  Our suspect dragged a hand through her wet hair and lowered her voice. “I got no choice.”

  Olivia’s brow tightened. “What do you mean?”

  The response was even softer. “I got to work the girls. They got Donna.”

  “Who?”

  “My sister.”

  “She’s being used for sex? Held hostage?”

  Reese nodded. There were tears in her eyes.

  “Who is holding her?”

  There was a sigh, then, “I’m as good as dead if I tell you. So is my sister.”

  “We’ll protect you.”

  She blew out a breath. “Right.”

  Olivia softened her tone. “You don’t have a choice. Tell us who is holding your sister and where we can find them.”

  Stacy Reese’s voice was watery, full of emotion. “The guy has a place over in the valley. He’s the one running the girls.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Jessie Martin.”

  FORTY-FOUR

  “Let’s go,” the man, who went by the name Don, said, opening the bedroom door.

  He was a big man, probably as old as her father, Valerie thought. He was angry most of the time. She and the other girls knew there was no choice but to do as they were told.

  The apartment where Don had brought them was dirty and smelled bad. Valerie had no idea where it was located. After they were brought here, they’d been given food and water and allowed to use the bathroom, but no one had talked to them or explained what was happening.

  Valerie hadn’t seen the man who had taken her from the park since he’d given her to Don. She knew they were working together and thought maybe he would come back for her. She dreaded the prospect of that. While Don was mean and angry, the other man was violent and unpredictable.

  Don took them into the living room, where he put handcuffs on them, chaining them all together. Before moving to the door, he levelled his dark eyes on each of them. “We’re taking a little trip. It will take us about an hour to get where we’re going. Do not call out to anyone or attempt to escape. If you do, you will regret it.”

  A couple girls started whimpering, saying they wanted their parents, including Mary, someone who Valerie had grown close to.

  “Silence,” Don said, coming over to them. “One more word and I will hurt you so bad even your parents won’t recognize you.”

  Valerie went over to Mary and the other girls, trying to comfort them. “Ssh,” she said. “Let’s do as we’re told. It will be okay.”

  Mary met her eyes, then wiped her tears, regaining some control.

  They were jostled and tossed when the van pulled out of the parking lot. There were no windows, so Valerie had no idea where they were going. After a while, the van started going faster, and she thought they might be on a freeway.

  Mary inched closer to Valerie as they travelled. Her voice wavered when she spoke, and Valerie knew she was about to lose control again. “Where do you think he’s taking us?”

  “Probably to another apartment,” Valerie said. “We have to be brave.”

  “I’m really scared. One of the other girls said she thinks they’re going to sell us.”

  Valerie knew that was likely, but didn’t want to say anything to upset her further. “Let’s just focus on staying together and get through this.”

  Mary nodded and slumped down against her, tears streaming from her eyes. Valerie pretended not to notice, fearing that if she said something, Mary would break down again.

  After what seemed like a long time, the van finally slowed, and Valerie sensed they had left the freeway. They were again jostled as the van lurched ahead and turned several times. A long time later the van finally stopped. The girls around her were all on alert when the door rumbled open.

  Valerie saw it was dark here, and there was a moon overhead. In the distance, there were some trees and hills.

  “Stay together and follow me,” Don said, motioning them forward with his flashlight when they were all on their feet. “We don’t have far to go.”

  As their captor began leading them through the darkness, fear enveloped Valerie. Was he going to take them into the field and shoot them? She had a moment of panic and thought about running, but she was chained to the other girls and knew that was impossible.

  After moving through a brushy field and down a ravine, Don stopped. Valerie saw him using his flashlight to illuminate the ground. He then moved something heavy, maybe some kind of covering. When he was finished, he walked over to them.

  “There’s a ladder,” he said, motioning to the underground opening with his flashlight. “It leads to a place where you’ll be safe until I come back for you.”

  One by one their handcuffs were released and they were ordered down the ladder. When it was Valerie’s turn, she panicked again.

  “Please don’t do this,” she pleaded. “I don’t like cramped places.”

  Don brought his hand down, slapping her hard across the face. “Get down the ladder. Now!”

  Valerie did as she was told, even as blood gushed from her nose. When she had moved down the ladder, she looked up, seeing the heavy metal plate close above her, blocking out what little light there was.

  “No, please
!” she screamed. The other girls also called up to him, even as Valerie knew it was useless.

  She fell back against what she realized was some kind of steel container. The realization hit her that they had been buried somewhere underground. She had a thought that she might never see the light of day again.

  FORTY-FIVE

  We detained Stacy Reese and had her transported to Hollywood Station before going to Jessie Martin’s place in the San Fernando Valley. It turned out to be a small studio apartment that was empty. It was evening by the time we got back to the station and further questioned Reese.

  Leo and I were in the room as Olivia took the lead, asking her about Martin’s connections to Darrell Osgood. “We know that Osgood and Martin go back several years. Was Osgood running girls to Martin?”

  Reese sniffed, wiped her nose. “Don’t know. If he was, he’s probably small time. Martin has his own recruiters, but sometimes takes stragglers.”

  “Stragglers.”

  “Girls picked up by other guys. That’s how he got me and Donna.” Reese sighed, taking a moment to compose herself. “Me and Donna were scooped up in a park last year. We worked the circuit together, but Martin said I wasn’t pulling my weight. He said I was too big and ugly for the johns. He told me the only way I could earn my keep and keep Donna alive was if I worked the roundups.”

  “You went out looking for girls,” Olivia said, unable to keep the disgust out of her voice.

  Reese’s voice kicked up a notch. “I didn’t have a choice. Martin would have killed both me and Donna if I didn’t.”

  “Where is your sister now?”

  She shrugged. “Not sure. Last time I talked to her she said she was working a hotel in Vegas, but Martin moves the girls around all the time.”

  Olivia glanced at Leo and me. I nodded, a silent signal that I thought Reese was being straight with us.

  “What about a girl named Valerie Weber?” Olivia asked, leaning in closer to Reese.

  Reese’s features twisted up and she took a moment to answer. “You mean the mayor’s kid?”

  Olivia nodded.

  “Don’t know anything about her.”

  Reese had kept her eyes lowered, her gaze only halfway coming up to Olivia. It was a tell.

  The lie wasn’t lost on my new boss. Her voice was so loud it startled even me. “You’re lying! Tell me about Valerie Weber.”

  Reese insisted she was telling the truth, but Olivia didn’t let up, going at her over and over. Our suspect finally broke down, admitting that she’d heard about Weber. “All I know is one of Martin’s guys said Osgood contacted him about the girl and was trying to negotiate.”

  “Does Martin have her?”

  “Not sure. From what I heard, Osgood thought he had a big prize and wanted top dollar.”

  ***

  We spent another hour with Reese, but got nothing more. Olivia made the decision to book her for sex trafficking, but we knew we didn’t have enough to make anything stick unless we could find victims willing to testify against her and Jessie Martin.

  I was walking to my car with Bernie when Mel waved to me. She walked over in an obvious state of despair. Her voice was subdued. “I’m having a couple of drinks with Cynthia at Toto’s if you’d like to join us. Some things have been happening that I need to talk about.”

  I started to ask her what she meant, but thought better of it. Her emotions were barely under control and I didn’t want to push her over the edge. “I could use a drink. I’ll meet you there.”

  Toto’s was a small club named for the dog in the movie The Wizard of Oz. I saw there were several movie posters from the film on the wall as I took a seat across from Mel and Cynthia, while Bernie settled at my feet. We all ordered Martinis before Mel told us what was going on.

  “I came home last night after having dinner with my sister. Somebody had been in my apartment.”

  “Was something taken?” I asked.

  She shook her head, at the same time tearing up. “Something was left in my bedroom.” She took her phone out of her purse and showed us the photograph of a knife. It was about ten inches long, lying on her bed. It was covered with blood.

  “Did you report this to the police?” Cynthia asked.

  Mel nodded. “They took a report, dusted it for prints. It was clean, of course.”

  “Do you think Dunbar is behind this?”

  “I have no doubt, but I can’t prove it.” Her tears came harder. Her voice was choked with anguish as she said, “I’m not going to testify. I can’t.”

  We took several minutes, trying to console her and telling her we understood her decision. I was disappointed, but if I was in the same situation, I wasn’t sure what I would so.

  When Mel finally regained some control, I asked her about the other women Dunbar had sexually assaulted. “Do you know if any of them have been threatened?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not sure, but the DA said something about them recanting their earlier claims of harassment. I wouldn’t be surprised if the case against the bastard goes away.”

  Cynthia was quiet for a long moment as she absorbed what Mel had said. When she finally spoke, I heard the resolve in her voice. “The criminal case against Dunbar might go away, but the truth won’t. I’m going to make sure the public knows every sordid detail about what he’s done. His reputation and life as he knows it will be over—forever.”

  FORTY-SIX

  Bernie and I got home a little after nine. The power to the mobile home park was out, and I found my friends next door, sitting on their porch. I went over, saw that they had lit some candles and were having cocktails. I asked them what was going on.

  “‘Fraid the Twerk Two caused some kinda short circuit when Tex and Howie were doin’ one of their experiments,” Natalie explained.

  I took a seat across from them, while Bernie went over to Natalie for some attention. “What kind of experiment?”

  “Tex came up with somethin’ he called a ‘brain helmet’ that Howie was wearin’,” Mo said. “He ran a cord from the helmet to the Twerk, then plugged the contraption into an electric socket. Tex thought it would set up some kinda energy field and stop Howie from havin’ multiple personalities, but all hell broke loose.”

  “Is Howie okay?”

  Natalie answered. “He is if you like Harrison Ford.”

  “What?”

  “When he took off that crazy helmet, Howie insisted he was a younger version of the actor,” Mo said. “He went to find himself one of them Indiana Jones hats.” Mo fixed one eye on me in that way she had. “You look like you mighta spent the day wearing one of Tex’s brain helmets yourself. You okay?”

  I exhaled. “It’s just been a long day.”

  “Any word on the mayor’s daughter?” Natalie asked.

  “I’m afraid not.”

  We had ended our day with no leads on the whereabouts of Darrell Osgood or Jessie Martin, not knowing if Valerie Weber had already been sold into the sex trade. The mayor’s wife had suffered an emotional breakdown and had been hospitalized. Meanwhile, the kidnapping was the lead story on all the news outlets.

  “I think you still got some time,” Mo said.

  My thoughts surfaced. “What do you mean?”

  “Word on the street is there’s some negotiating going on. It could be the buyer for the girl got cold feet.”

  “Because she’s the mayor’s daughter?”

  Mo nodded, while Natalie said, “The girl’s a hot potato.” She held up an icy pitcher of cocktails. “You wanna Sweet Dream? Guaranteed to put you down for the count.”

  I yawned. “I’ll pass. I’m almost down for the count already.”

  “I’ll have me another,” Mo said. “I need to drown my sorrows.”

  While Natalie poured her drink, she said to me, “Mo’s still doin’ the backstroke in the gutter, ‘cause of Larry.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said to Mo.

  She sighed, then sipped her drink. When she finished drainin
g it, she set the glass down and said, “I’m ‘fraid I’m gonna end up being one of them spinsters. I might even put on a bunch of weight and end up a big old dump job.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Natalie said to her. “You just gotta get back into the game.” Her eyes brightened. “I just had me a bulb pop. Why don’t I set up a three-way?”

  “I can’t even manage a two-way.”

  “No, I mean a three-way date, me and Tex, Harrison and Calista, and you and Cleo.”

  I laughed. “I’m sure Calista Flockhart would be thrilled to go out with Howie posing as her husband.”

  “And Cleo?” Mo said. “With a name like that, he sounds like he might look like some kinda basset hound.”

  “He’s that plumber I mentioned,” Natalie said. “I heard he’s single and lookin’ to lay some pipe, if you get me drift.”

  Mo sighed. “All right. Go ahead and set it up. It ain’t like I got me a lot of options.”

  “Cheer up, Mo. If Kate, and even Jessica, can get a guy, there’s hope for everyone.”

  “Don’t tell me that Jessica and Boris are hooking up,” I said, pushing down my irritation over her mentioning me in the same sentence with Jessica as being hopeless.

  “According to Nana, they’re hot ‘n’ heavy,” Mo said.

  “It must be like a werewolf and one of them kimono dragons doin’ the dirty deed,” Natalie said. “Lots of gruntin’ and tail waggin’.”

  “I’m doing a virtual gag just thinkin’ ‘bout them two together,” Mo said, then made a grunting sound. “Speaking of Nana,” she said to me. “Don’t forget that dinner she’s set up. It’s gonna be Saturday night.”

  I frowned. “That’s a problem. Ross is coming to Hollywood and wants to take me to dinner.”

  “Why don’t you bring him along?” Natalie suggested.

  “I’m not sure he’s ready for Nana.”

  Mo and Natalie exchanged glances. Mo said, “Maybe what Kate’s really worried ‘bout is Ross meeting us.”