Hollywood Lust Read online

  The body of the man we knew as Wade Dempsey, or Ice, had yet to be identified. The FBI forensic experts had been unable to identify him through fingerprint databases or using dental records. It was as though he’d suddenly appeared out of nowhere, created havoc in the world, and went to his death as an unknown soldier in the battle for evil.

  Bernie and I stopped by Hollywood Station the day after I got home, at Oz’s request. The lieutenant had granted my request for a week’s vacation. I’d decided that life was too short to keep putting things on hold and I planned to use the time to go away with Noah.

  When I walked into the lieutenant’s office, I was surprised to see Leo was sitting there. I said, “Don’t tell me there’s another cold case coming out of the refrigerator.”

  Leo’s smile was as bright as a candle. “As far as I’m concerned, the refrigerator door is closed for good.” He looked at Oz, lifting his silver brows.

  The lieutenant said to me, “Meet Dr. Kingsley, your new partner.”

  “If she’ll have me,” Leo said.

  My voice pitched high with excitement as I looked at both men. “Are you kidding me?”

  “No kidding,” Oz said. “Leo made the pitch, and the brass is all in. It seems that the doctor wants a little more excitement in his life before he hangs things up for good.”

  I looked at Leo. “This is the best news I’ve had in…” I smiled. “I can’t remember how long.”

  “Maybe you won’t be so sure in a few minutes,” Leo said.

  I regarded him and then turned to Oz. “Okay, what are you not telling me?”

  “Remember that little girl who called you about her parents?” I nodded. “She’s in one of the interview rooms. She wants to talk to you both about taking her parents’ case.”

  I groaned. “Hollywood Detective?”

  Oz shrugged. “It’s up to you and Leo. You take the case, you get the media coverage that comes with it. Otherwise…” His gaze drifted to a stack of files on his desk. “…I’m sure we can find something else to keep you both busy.”

  I shook my head, looked at Leo, and said, “Let’ go talk to…I think she said her name was Sam.”

  As we stood up, Oz said to me, “Before you go, remember that case you worked with that Landon guy a few months back?”

  The lieutenant was talking about a man who worked with the local celebrities, trying to fix their problems with the paparazzi and others. “Yes. Pearce Landon. What gives?”

  “Carl Hanson, the guy who was convicted of murdering his girlfriend was released from prison yesterday. He’s been granted a new trial and they expect he’ll eventually be acquitted.”

  Carl Hanson was a black man who had served twenty years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. His case had been a rush to judgment, partially to advance the career of someone in the DA’s office. “Score one for the good guys,” I said.

  We found Samantha Potter in one of the interview rooms usually reserved for suspects. She looked small and vulnerable in the big chair behind the desk. After introductions I said to her, “Let’s go back to Leo and my office. It’s easier to talk there.”

  As we walked, Sam told us she was nine years-old and attended Westfield Elementary School in Whittier, where she was living with her aunt and uncle. She was a beautiful little girl with brown hair and clear blue eyes. She had a natural curiosity about everything, asking us about the detectives and police equipment as we walked through the station.

  When we got to our workstation we took seats across from her, chatted for a few minutes about her interests, and then asked her what she wanted to tell us about her parents’ case.

  The ebullient little girl suddenly became serious. “They were murdered in January. I found them dead in their bedroom.” She brushed away a tear and then broke down crying.

  Over the next hour, after Sam had regained some control, Leo and I learned that Denise and Warren Potter had been found by their daughter when she got up one morning. Her parents had been bludgeoned to death in their Hollywood Hills home while she’d slept. There were no suspects and no one, except Sam, had been in the house during the killings.

  I later decided that it was Sam’s final words that convinced us to take the case. She looked at us with her luminous eyes and said, “My Mom…she’s…I mean, she was going to take me to see my grandmother in England. I’ve never met her, but I’ve seen pictures of her. She looks a lot like my mother.”

  I reached over and took her hand. My heart broke for this sweet child whose life had been suddenly and forever altered by a senseless act of violence. “Tell you what, Sam, after Detective Kingsley and I solve your parents’ murder, we’ll take up a collection so you can go see your grandmother.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.” Sam hugged us both before we walked her back to the waiting room where her aunt and uncle were waiting. After saying our goodbyes I walked back into the stationhouse with Leo and said, “What do you think?”

  Leo beamed a mega-watt smile at me. “I think we’re a couple of suckers for little girls.”

  FIFTY-THREE

  “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” I said to Natalie and Mo after slipping into my Princess Leia costume.

  I studied myself in their bedroom mirror. My brother had worked his hair magic and I was packing a couple of those weird twisty buns that were so big it looked like I had a couple of spare tires attached to my head.

  “I guess we’re gonna have to start calling her princess,” Natalie said to Mo.

  My beautiful friend was dressed as Catwoman for the night’s performance, which involved us hanging out in front of Grauman’s, or what’s now known as the TCL Chinese Theater, trying to get the goods on Gladys’s cousin. The elderly proprietor of the Hollywood Movie Museum was convinced that Egbert was the thief who had stolen her diamond brooch. Her cousin, who was in his seventies, went under the persona of Spider-Man while mugging for photos and tips in front of the theater.

  “Whatcha all think?” Mo said, working her head back and forth as she talked, and pointing her enormous breasts in our direction. She wore a skimpy red, white, and blue costume. Her head was adorned with a crown and a black wig that fell to her shoulders. “Mama Mo is gonna be rocking Hollywood tonight as Wonder Woman.”

  I was rendered speechless. My friend looked like a cross between Wonder Woman and Hulk Hogan.

  “I think Mo just put the wonder in woman,” Natalie said, turning to me, at the same time twisting her cat whiskers.

  I searched for something positive to say, but came up empty. I finally managed to tell Mo, “You look powerful, like you’re a larger-than-life version of Wonder Woman.”

  She regarded me with one Wonder Woman eye. “Larger, huh?” She put her hands on her wide hips. “Maybe you think you’re somethin’ special with that princess getup.”

  I was saved from her wrath by the familiar high-pitched warble of Nana calling out to us as she walked into the bedroom. “Never worry, Batgirl is here.” She did a pirouette, showing off her costume.

  I put a hand over my mouth, trying to keep from bursting out laughing. With her skinny hips and almost non-existent breasts, Nana looked like something out of a costume party at a convalescent home.

  “You must be the oldest Batgirl in existence,” Natalie said. “You’re probably gonna scare half the crowd off.”

  Nana was now examining herself in the mirror. “Nonsense. I might even find a guy in front of the theater tonight.”

  Natalie shook her head. “I guess now we know how they came up with the phrase, old bat.”

  Mo regarded Nana with one eye and then looked at Natalie and me. “We also know where they got the name cougar.” She looked back at the elderly bat. “You just remember to stay outta our way tonight. We only let you tag along ’cause you got us tickets to that movie premiere.”

  “I’ll be as quiet as a bat with rabies,” the elderly Batgirl offered, laughing and slapping her knee.

  Nana had a
rranged for her limo to take us to the theater. She sat up front with her driver, who looked like someone from a Magic Mike movie, trying to keep the world’s oldest Batgirl from molesting him.

  As we rode across town, my friends asked me about Lindsay. I sighed and said, “Still nothing. I’m afraid she and the rest of the group have gone to cover. We’ll just have to wait it out and hope for the best.”

  “I still can’t believe she went over to the dark side,” Natalie said. “When we find her, Mo and me are gonna lock her in a room ’til she comes to her senses.”

  A wave of depression hit me as I thought about Lindsay being with the group. “I just hope we find her sooner rather than later.”

  Mo changed the subject, mentioning my mother’s final letter that I’d previously told them I’d read. “You mean she didn’t say nuthin’ ’bout your bio-dad?”

  I shook my head. “She said my father made a vow never to reveal himself to save my life. I don’t know exactly what that means. All I do know is that she loved me and was planning to go to the authorities about being abused when her husband put her in the hospital permanently.”

  “Your mum didn’t have a very happy life,” Natalie said. “It’s a right shame.”

  “At least I know that she cared about me and wanted to see me before she passed.”

  “That brings up the issue of your bio-dad,” Mo said. “Baby sis and me got a tip that Kellen Malone is living over in Hidden Hills on one of them big fancy horse ranches. Maybe we need to go have a chat with him.”

  I shook my head. “I want to wait. I’m going to talk to Collin Russell about him when I get back from Hawaii.”

  Wonder Woman’s big forehead became pinched. “I thought you was going to Santa Barbara with that doggy doctor?”

  I smiled. “Change of plans. When Noah found out I got a week’s vacation, he cleared his calendar, and his uncle is letting us use his condo on Maui.”

  “Kate’s finally gonna lose it,” Natalie said, clapping her hands. “If you want some tips on faking an orgasm, just let me know. I’ve had wads of practice.”

  “What makes you think I’m going to have to fake it?”

  “You’re a born-again virgin. Once you get back in the saddle it’s gonna take some time to get you broke in again.”

  I smiled. “If I need an orgasm coach, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, I think I’ll take my chances.”

  “We’re here,” Nana said from the front of the limo. Batgirl turned to us, exposing the world’s largest set of bat dentures.

  “What’s the plan?” I asked, after we met up on the street in front of the theater. It looked like there were a couple hundred tourists milling about. I felt like a complete idiot in my princess outfit.

  “We need to spread out and see if we can spot Spider-Man,” Mo said. “If anyone sees him before me, send me a text. I’m gonna use that swat and squat technique I learned in my self-defense class to take him down and get him to give up the goods.

  I spent the next half hour walking through the crowd of tourists on the lookout for a seventy year-old man in a Spider-Man costume. I even reluctantly agreed to pose for a couple of photos with tourists, at the same time praying that no one would recognize me. I was still scanning the crowd for Spider-Man when I heard a man’s voice behind me.

  “Why don’t we go get a drink and I’ll show you my light saber, sweetheart?”

  Han Solo was drunk and smelled like he hadn’t had a shower in week. He came over and grabbed my arm.

  “I’m not interested. Back off.”

  He laughed. “So, you wanna play hard to get.”

  Before I could stop him, he pulled me closer to him and kissed me on the mouth. I wanted to throw-up. I also wanted to kill him. I got his arm behind his back and took him to the ground, holding him against the pavement with one knee. I then got my phone out and called for a police unit to respond, all this while a crowd of onlookers gathered.

  Ten minutes later, a couple of uniformed officers arrived and took my admirer away for being drunk and disorderly. One of the officers recognized me and I was forced to explain about my costume.

  “Wait till they hear this one back at the station,” he said to his partner, as they walked back to their patrol car. “A member of Section One is working part-time for tips as Princess Leia.”

  I blew out a breath. My gigantic hair guns had unraveled during the skirmish. I now had big wads of hair dangling in front my face like a couple of yoyos.

  I then heard Natalie calling out to me. “Over here, Kate. We got Egbert.”

  I went over and saw that Gladys’s elderly cousin was on the ground with the largest Wonder Woman in existence sitting on top of him. Mo’s swat and squat hold involved her taking Spider-Man to the ground and squatting on him.

  “You need to talk to me,” Mo said, lowering her ample girth onto her nearly squashed suspect. “If you don’t, I’m gonna turn old Spidey into one big grease spot on the sidewalk.”

  We heard a muffled cry and then the sound of Mo’s suspect gasping for air as she shifted her weight.

  “Okay….I....give up,” Egbert wheezed. “I’m guilty.” He sucked in a ragged breath. “I took the brooch.”

  “Where is it?” Natalie demanded, bending down to him. “Tell us where it is or my friend puts an even bigger squat on you.”

  “It’s in my…pocket. Pleeease…just take it.”

  In a moment, Mo had Spider-Man turned over and found the brooch. She finally let him up before she and Natalie cuffed him as the crowd gathered around cheering. I turned, noticing that Nana, in the persona of Batgirl, had her phone out and had captured the entire episode.

  “This is going straight to YouTube,” Nana said. “Along with Kate ripping her princess pants when she took down that perv.”

  My brows came together and I looked down, now realizing that the entire seam in my costume had been ripped open, exposing my thong.

  Nana had priors for videotaping my most embarrassing moments. I went after her and tried to take her phone away and erase the recording but it was too late. She’d already downloaded the video.

  When I gave up and walked away, I heard the elderly Batgirl’s familiar warble behind me as she showed the video to the crowd and said, “Princess Leia’s a cop and I just put half-nude photos of her up on the Internet.”

  FIFTY-FOUR

  The following day, Noah and I caught a late afternoon flight out of Los Angeles to Hawaii. I’d made arrangements for Bernie to stay with Robin during my vacation and was looking forward to my first-ever trip to Maui. We arrived at the condo overlooking Kaanapali Beach late in the day. Because of the difference in time zones, the sun was beginning to set as we took a bottle of wine down to the white sandy beach.

  I’d heard that Hawaii sunsets were some of the best in the world. Maui didn’t disappoint, with the sun filtering through a scattered cloud cover, turning the world into hues of gold, red, and pink. It felt like I was a million miles from home.

  As we clinked glasses and toasted our arrival, a warm glow swept over me, both because of my surroundings and the anticipation of being with Noah. Despite those feelings, I had to admit I still had some lingering doubts about whether I was doing the right thing, especially in light of what had happened to Lindsay. Noah and I chatted about the beautiful scenery, our dogs, and my friends before I realized he’d sensed my reservations.

  “It’s okay, Kate,” Noah said.

  My forehead tightened. “I’m sorry?”

  He smiled, his blue eyes taking on the color of the darkening sky. “What I mean is that it’s going to be okay—you and me.”

  My gaze shifted to the sparkling ocean and I exhaled. “It’s just that…” I searched for the words to tell him what he’d picked up on. “I want…” I met his eyes again. “I want the best for you, Noah. You’re an exceptional person, who’s been through a lot.” I blinked, feeling my emotions surfacing. “The truth is, I don’t know if you will be safe around me. I’m not
sure anyone will ever be safe in my presence because of what happened to my sister, and…” I felt a profound sadness and couldn’t go on.

  When Noah didn’t say anything, I looked back over at him. Something about his smile seemed peaceful, like nothing could ever hinder his serenity.

  I finally said, “Do you understand what I just said?”

  He nodded, his eyes shifting toward the setting sun as he spoke. “Did you ever wonder how maybe every life, in its own way, is a love story?”

  What he’d said was so unexpected that I didn’t know how to respond.

  He went on, now looking back at me. “I think our lives are meant to be just that—a love story. The problem is, most of us get lost along the way. We forget why we’re really here.”

  A breath rattled in my throat. I finally found my voice. “I have to admit, I feel pretty lost most of the time, especially lately.”

  He continued with a lilt in his voice that complemented his serenity. “I think sometimes our stories lose both the subject and the verb.”

  “I’m sorry, but you just lost me.”

  He smiled. “The subject is who we really are, our true nature. And the verb that makes each story come to life is something that at the same time is both simple and immensely complex—it’s called love.”

  I sipped my wine and then cradled the glass between my knees. The waves lapping toward shore were soothing. “What you just said is…it’s really beautiful.” I smiled. “And I thought you were just a guy who helped iguanas with tummy aches.”

  He laughed and then took my hand, his tone becoming more serious. “When you said that you’re afraid for my safety, you’re forgetting my background, Kate. You’re forgetting that I’ve dealt with some very bad people in some terrible situations.” His eyes lost their focus. “When I was in the hospital for months, trying to come to terms with what happened to me, I made a commitment.” He looked back at me. “That commitment was to never let fear control my life.”