Hollywood Games: A Hollywood Alphabet Series Thriller Page 24

  “Really?” Harvey said. He turned to me. “Maybe I could go take a look.”

  Mo then came over and said, “That Powers woman is making the rounds. Baby sis and me are gonna corner her and get the low down on what she knows ‘bout the low life.”

  “What exactly is going on here?” Powers’ assistant said, her gaze sweeping over my friends and then resting on me again.

  “What’s going on here,” Mo said, taking a step closer to Wendell. “is an official undercover investigation. You need to back off and let us do our jobs.”

  “What kind of investigation?” she demanded. “I need to report what’s happening to Gloria.”

  I said to my friends, “This is Gloria Powers’ assistant.” I then took out my police ID and showed it to Wendell. “We need to talk to your boss privately.”

  “I don’t understand. What’s this about?”

  “She can’t tell you lady,” Natalie said, “‘cause it’s none of your business.”

  I said to Wendell. “This is official police business and a private matter. I just need a few minutes alone with your boss.”

  After Wendell huffed out her disapproval and scampered off to find her boss I said to my friends, “You both need to stay out of this. Harvey and I will talk to Gloria Powers privately.”

  Mo shrugged her big shoulders, ran a hand through her blonde wig. “Suit yourselves.” She turned to Natalie. “Let’s go check out the nosh. I’m famished and need to wolf down some appetizers so I can knock off a few pounds.”

  After they left, Wendell arrived with Gloria Powers. The realtor had on a little black dress, little being the operative word. I noticed Harvey’s eyes lingering on her “assets” as she demanded to know why we were there.

  “We just have a couple of questions,” I said. “It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.”

  “I spent twenty-five grand on this open house. I won’t have you crashing it and ruining everything.”

  Once again, Gloria Powers had pushed all the wrong buttons with me. “Fine. We can take this down to the station. I’ll have your assistant make the announcement that you have to leave with the police.”

  Powers stared daggers at me before saying, “Very well. There’s a private office upstairs. Let me make some arrangements and I’ll meet you there.”

  Twenty minutes later Powers stomped into the office, closed the door, and said to Harvey and me, “You showing up at a private party that I’ve arranged is an outrage. I’ll be sure to let your superiors know what you’re doing.”

  I glanced at Harvey, back at her. “What we’re doing is our jobs. We know that you had affairs with both Jiggy Biggs and his brother Bobby and kept that fact from us.”

  “What? This is complete nonsense. I won’t sit here and listen to your lies.”

  “Kristi Steiner told us about you and Jiggy,” Harvey said. “As for Bobby, it’s all on videotape. We have copies of everything.”

  Powers huffed out a long breath. She took a moment, pacing around the oak paneled office. “Okay, we had sex, but it meant nothing.”

  “You were being blackmailed, weren’t you?” I asked.

  She nodded, released another breath. When she spoke, some of her earlier bluster was gone. “I received some emails telling me that if I didn’t pay up, the videos would be sent to everyone I knew. I didn’t have any choice but to pay.”

  “How did you deliver the money?”

  “I left it in different locations, wherever I was told.”

  “How much did they get—the blackmailers?” Harvey asked.

  Powers shrugged. “I think it was close to forty grand.” She turned to me. “Do you have any idea who is behind it?”

  “She’s in jail, facing several charges, including murder.”

  “She?”

  I nodded. “Her husband worked as a security guard. She had him plant cameras wherever he worked but she ran the blackmail scheme.”

  Powers took another walk about the room. After a moment I asked, “Why Jiggy and Bobby? What did you see in them?”

  Powers stopped and turned back to me. “Jiggy was famous and powerful in his own way. It might not come as a surprise to you that I’m attracted to rich, powerful men.” She paused, a thin smile finding her lips. “As for Bobby…it was…” She shrugged. “I guess you could just call it a pity fuck.”

  My brows knitted. I glanced over at Harvey who met my eyes but kept quiet.

  “Promise me one thing,” Powers said.

  I looked back at her. “What’s that?”

  “Parker Rose, this is his house. We’re engaged and I wouldn’t want…” She sighed, shook her head. “If he knew about what happened it would be the end of our relationship.”

  “We’ll see what we can do,” I said, before going back to the issue at hand. “Jiggy and Bobby. Do you have any idea who wanted them dead?”

  She shook her head. “I really don’t know. What happened doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  “Did you know anything about Jiggy dealing drugs to a guy named Rafi Wayland?” Harvey asked.

  Another head shake. “I heard about Wayland and the shootout. Did it have something to do with drugs?”

  “Possibly.”

  She shrugged. “All I know is that if Jiggy was involved in a gang and dealing drugs he wasn’t very good at it. He was always broke from gambling.”

  ***

  “Gloria Powers is a piece of work,” Harvey said after we left the open house and I drove him home. As I turned into his neighborhood, Olive backfired a couple of times before the engine leveled out. “I think I’m the only guy in Hollywood she wasn’t screwing.”

  I glanced over at him. “You sound like you’re jealous.”

  “No. That’s not what I meant.” He cleared his throat. “I’m just saying that she wasn’t very selective.”

  “That’s an understatement.”

  “I’m not sure where this leaves us.”

  I pulled up in front of his house, a small Spanish stucco cottage in North Hollywood. “It leaves us with two unsolved murders.” He opened the door as I added, “Get some sleep. See you tomorrow.”

  After leaving Harvey’s house and heading for home in the Hollywood Hills I glanced into Olive’s rearview mirror a couple of times. I had the impression that the same pair of headlights I’d seen a few minutes earlier was still behind me. I decided to circle the block. I turned, seeing that the car was still following.

  The thought that I’d had a moment earlier now mushroomed into my consciousness. Buck’s ex-wife—could she be following me? I didn’t want to believe it, but at the same time I knew it was possible.

  I decided to slow down and pull over to the curb. I removed the service weapon from my purse and held my breath as the car approached, at the same time wishing I had Bernie with me.

  The vehicle slowed down as it came closer but then suddenly sped up. I watched as it roared past me, turned, and disappear around the corner. I breathed and put my gun away. I wasn’t sure now if I’d been imagining things or someone really had been following me.

  I got home about the same time as Natalie and Mo. After parking, they came over to me. Natalie pointed to the grounds of the estate. “I showed your copper buddies where I found Bridget’s necklace. They dug up the whole area but didn’t find anything, so far.”

  “Nice,” I said, seeing there was a backhoe and several mounds of dirt.

  “I gotta feeling they’re gonna strike pay dirt tomorrow,” Mo said. “Bridget’s down there somewhere. It’s just a matter of digging her up.”

  We were headed for the door when my phone rang. I saw that the call was from Lindsay.

  My sister’s voice was frantic. “I’m on that ride along with one of the officers from the station, Kate. We’re on Hollywood Boulevard and there’s been a shooting. One of the officers said it looks like a gang war.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

  By the time I got to Hollywood Boulevard the shooting had stopped, but t
he area was cordoned off with crime scene tape. The shooting had occurred where Highland meets the boulevard, less than a block from the Dolby Theater. There was a lowered Chevrolet up against one of the buildings a few yards from the Egyptian Theater, and several markers in the roadway. I found my sister on the sidewalk and asked her if she was okay.

  “It happened so fast it was almost over before I realized what was happening,” Lindsay said. “A car came through the intersection and opened fire on the people in the wrecked car. From what I know a couple of people were killed.”

  After I was sure Lindsay was alright I walked over and talked to Gary Clausen, one of the on scene detectives.

  “Several shots were fired before the other car sped away,” Clausen said. “Two vics in the Chevy, Roland Yates and a kid named Jessie Qualls. They’re both Blood Nation.”

  “JQ,” I said, in a state of shock. “Pearl Kramer and I talked to him earlier today.”

  “Can I ask what about?”

  “The Jiggy Biggs murder. He said something about watching our backs because of what’s happening with Rafi Wayland.”

  “Probably good advice,” Clausen said. “Too bad he didn’t listen to it. According to what we’ve pieced together so far, the shooters were part of the UG.”

  I’d heard the reference to the gang before but not in Hollywood. “The Under Ground?” I asked. “Aren’t they an east coast gang?”

  “Rumor has it they’re moving into this area. There’s been some talk of conflict between them and Blood Nation.”

  ***

  Bernie and I arrived at Hollywood Station early the next morning. After last night’s shooting, the department’s tactical alert status had been continued in anticipation of a gang war. Edna had all parties gather in the conference room, along with Carl Hammer.

  “I thought the chief had bigger fish for you to fry,” I said, taking a seat at the table across from the little detective.

  Hammer tugged on the sleeves of his designer jacket. “No bigger fish than right here, right now. East is surprised Wayland’s troops haven’t already responded after last night’s shooting.”

  “I talked to the assigned detectives last night. They think the shooters were UG. I know they’re big on the east coast, but it’s the first I’ve heard of them operating in this area.”

  Hammer shrugged. “Since Wayland and Blood Nation are in trouble, maybe they’re stepping in, trying to fill the void. I’ve heard some of our other local gangs are also trying to extend their reach. There’s blood in the water.”

  Bernie went over and sniffed Lieutenant Edna when he came into the room. I called out to him and gave him the hand signal to settle.

  “Listen up,” Edna began, eyeballing Gooch and Glade, who stopped some banter they were engaged in with Harvey. “After last night’s shooting, the department is redistributing patrol units from other jurisdictions to bolster the street presence in areas covered by our division.” His gaze swept over the room. “Some of you might even find yourselves back working patrol if things get bad.”

  “Say it ain’t so,” Gooch said, turning to Glade. “I’ve done my time in a zebra.”

  “It could be back to the zoo for you, bro,” his partner said.

  “Enough,” Edna bellowed. He turned to Pearl and me. “I understand you two met with JQ yesterday before he was shot.”

  “We didn’t get a lot,” Pearl said. “But, if you believe what he said, Wayland was in conflict with somebody and was set up to take the fall for the heroin distribution. He also mentioned that Wayland’s against drugs because his brother died from an overdose. JQ was low level, so he couldn’t give us names or specifics, but said that Biggs’ murder could be part of the set up.”

  I finished my Starbucks latte, set the cup aside. “We also asked him about the possibility of there being street violence and he said something about watching our backs.”

  Edna snorted, “Too late for him. What did Powers have to say last night?”

  I looked at Harvey, a signal for him to answer, since he still needed to work on rebuilding his credibility with the lieutenant. “She started out with a pretty bad attitude, but eventually mellowed out when we told her we knew she had an affair with Jiggy and we had a video of her with his brother, Bobby. She said the affairs were just sex and meant nothing. She admitted being blackmailed and paying close to forty grand to Vivian Bundt to keep the sex tape out of circulation.”

  Edna looked at me for confirmation. “Powers is engaged to Parker Rose, the guy who owns the house she had listed. She’s pretty paranoid about him finding out about the affairs and the sex tape.”

  “If Parker knew what lady lust was up to, he’d pack up his love sausage and hit the road,” Gooch said.

  “Enough,” Edna barked, loud enough to make Bernie lift his head. He said to me, “Anything else?”

  “Just that Powers said she didn’t know anything about Biggs dealing drugs. She said he was always broke behind his gambling habit.”

  “And you got nowhere with Steiner,” Edna said, looking for confirmation of what we’d apprised him of earlier.

  “He admitted the affair with Biggs’ wife Leila and the gambling. He also called his wife a slut and said he knew she was having an affair with Biggs. It’s clear there was no love lost between him and Biggs, but there’s nothing much else we have to go on.”

  “So, what else?” Edna asked, looking around the room.

  When no one spoke up Edna fixed his eyes on Hammer who hadn’t said a word. The detective finally said, “I think I need to go back to the brass and tell them what JQ and Powers said. I’m not sure it will make a difference, but they need to know about it just the same.”

  Edna nodded. “This case is giving me a giant ulcer.”

  I took a deep breath and decided to give voice to what I’d been thinking about for the past couple of days. “I’ve got another idea, maybe a way we can get Wayland’s side of the story and at least delay the street violence.”

  “Maybe Kate wants to go undercover as a gang member,” Gooch suggested.

  Eric Glade made a gang sign and in a hip hop rap voice said, “I vote we call her Crazy Daisy.”

  “Can it,” Edna said. He turned to me, “Let’s hear it.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I want to contact the reporter I gave the interview to a few days ago, see if she can contact Wayland.”

  “You must be crazy,” Edna bellowed. “And the Beast would go nuts if you get within a mile of her.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Hammer chimed in.

  “Just hear me out.” Edna dragged a hand through the gray straw on his head, breathed heavily, and nodded. “Basheeba was on the street in front of my house the other day when the news was breaking about Bridget Welch. She said something to me about maybe being able to get ahold of Wayland, set up an interview.”

  Edna shook his head. “You couldn’t interview him without having to arrest him.”

  “What if the interview was done remotely, maybe through Skype? It would give us a chance to talk to Wayland, hear his side of the story, and maybe avert the violence.”

  Pearl took up the cause. “What Kate’s proposing makes a lot of sense. We get to hear Blood Nation’s side of the story and maybe deescalate things, if only temporarily.”

  Edna looked at Hammer. “What do you think?”

  The little detective shrugged. “I can talk to the chief but no guarantees.”

  Edna regarded me for a moment, then looked back at Hammer. “Let’s see what the brass thinks.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

  As it turned out, the LAPD brass approved the interview Basheeba had proposed on the condition that Carl Hammer be present. I met with the reporter after work on the rear patio of the Magnolia, a cozy restaurant and bar on Sunset. After Bernie settled in, Basheeba and I ordered drinks and I explained the conditions of the interview.

  “In addition to Detective Hammer, I’d also like Pearl Kramer to be present. He�
�s a semi-retired African-American detective. I have a feeling that Rafi Wayland might relate better to him than a couple of white cops.”

  “I think that makes a lot of sense.” The reporter paused, sipped her martini, and then said, “I also have a few conditions that Mr. Wayland has stipulated.”

  “So you have been able to get in touch with him?”

  “Not me personally, but my source has spoken to him. Wayland’s interested in clearing up a few things, providing the interview happens on his own terms.”

  “Of course.” I set down my wineglass, hoping that what she had to say wouldn’t be too extreme.

  “Wayland’s obviously paranoid about the authorities trying to get a fix on his location, so the interview will be done remotely using encrypted video conferencing at a location that won’t be disclosed until the last minute with no advanced notice.”

  “Understood.”

  The reporter went on, “I also have a requirement.” I raised my brows and waited. “I want full access to your investigation. That means both the drug charges that Wayland’s facing, as well as the investigation into the murders of Jiggy Biggs and Bobby Webster.”

  “Full access, as in?”

  “I want to be updated, apprised of what’s going on every step of the way. Obviously, I won’t print anything without your department’s approval. Once some arrests are made I want to be the first to provide the public with all the inside details.”

  “That covers a lot of ground.”

  “It’s non-negotiable.”

  I nodded, finished my wine. “The FBI has taken over the drug case, so I’m not sure how cooperative they’ll be. I’ll talk to my superiors and be in touch.”

  ***

  Bernie and I got home after eight. I saw there were temporary lights set up about a hundred yards from the house where the SID technicians were still working. I walked over to an area where my roommates were gathered with Claude and Dr. Lester, several yards from the excavation work.

  “They found a body,” Natalie said, clapping her hands together in excitement with Sonny at her side. “The investigators aren’t talking, but we think it’s Bridget.”