slush.
Sheriff King was leaving his office when my call went through, but he took it. My first question was direct and to the point about Suzy’s autopsy.
“Well, well, Miss Delaney. It isn’t every day that a suspect calls to check in with me.”
“Have you gotten the autopsy report on Suzy Dutton?” I asked for the second time.
“I’m trying to keep the coroner’s ruling out of the press,” he said, “but I don’t reckon you’ll be spreading the news. Word all over Los Angeles is that your movie is cursed. Rumors abound, and most of them center on your director. Folks are saying some of his past deeds are coming home to roost.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Talk like that isn’t good for a movie.”
“I wouldn’t have believed that the sheriff of a California county would be susceptible to ghost stories and curses.” I couldn’t help myself. King brought out the very worst in my antiauthoritarian nature.
“I’ve been in law enforcement long enough to know that sometimes the factual explanation defies logic. Bad luck is the same as a curse, except a curse makes for better headlines.”
“Right, and the boogeyman is haunting the cast and crew.” I had to force the sarcasm into my voice, but I wasn’t going to let King know he was getting to me. He was a smug bastard. “What did the autopsy determine?”
“I don’t have to tell you this, but I will. It was a homicide. She was pushed.”
“How did the coroner come to that conclusion?” I wasn’t questioning the coroner, but I was curious.
“He found grass and dirt under her fingernails. She clung to the cliff. Her knuckles were scraped and bruised-”
“As if someone stepped on her hands?” I couldn’t keep the shock out of my voice.
“More like stomped them with cleated hiking boots.”
That was even more horrific. “Who would do such a thing?”
“That’s what I’m going to find out. We’ve questioned Bobby Joe Taylor at length, and though he knew Suzy, he doesn’t believe she was visiting him. They’d had an argument about a movie script and she wasn’t speaking to him. He also says the note on the mirror wasn’t directed at him, that he’d given up his womanizing ways and had been dating his current girlfriend exclusively.”
“And what else did you expect him to say?” Was King slow or just determined to devil me? He believed everyone except me. Because he was determined that Federico was guilty of something?
King’s voice was lazy. “I figure most all of you actor types will lie to cover your asses, so I didn’t expect anything else.”
“If I were involved in Suzy’s death, do you think I’d be calling right now?”
“You would if you were smart and trying to look innocent.”
There was no way to win with King. “Do you have any other suspects except for me and Federico?”
He hesitated, and I wondered if he was actually going to be honest with me.
“Who?” I pressed.
“There were several phone calls made to Ms. Dutton’s home. The calls came from pay phones in the Malibu area.”
“I didn’t-”
“Your actions for the specific times when the calls were made have been accounted for. You were on the set and filming. You and Marquez have alibis, so don’t bother professing your innocence.”
Even when he was being sort of nice, King was a pill. “So who else is a suspect?” I deliberately withheld Estelle’s name. I couldn’t decide if I was trying to protect Federico, or if I simply wasn’t comfortable pointing the finger of blame at a young woman who was already emotionally troubled. It was possible that Estelle made those calls to Suzy, but the bottom line was that only circumstance seemed to implicate Estelle. I had no real evidence that she’d done anything wrong except tinker with her father’s cameras-and that was hearsay from her brother. I knew what it felt like to be falsely accused, and I didn’t want to inflict that on someone as delicate as Estelle.
“We’re working on it.”
“Sheriff, have you determined a motive for Suzy’s death? I mean, looking at it from my point of view, why would I kill her when I already have the part?”
Silence stretched between us. At last he spoke. “You might not have as much to gain as Marquez, when it comes right down to it.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said sweetly, “but what does Federico have to gain from the death of a former girlfriend?”
“Oh, I’d say there could be numerous answers to that question. Marquez is something of a legend in the Hollywood Hills. A lot of people had scores to settle with him, and maybe Suzy Dutton was trying.”
Arguing with King was like spitting into the wind. “Am I still a suspect?”
“That sheriff in Sunflower County speaks highly of you, Miss Delaney. He assured me you were never a serious suspect in the murder of Renata Trovaioli, but that he had to arrest you because of the evidence that had been planted to frame you.”
Coleman was a day late and a dollar short with his explanations. But there was no point going into that with Grady King. “So am I off your suspect list?”
“Maybe.”
He was as thorny as a Devil’s Walking Stick. “I’ll take that as a yes. Sheriff, could you possibly check on Federico’s daughter, Estelle?” I gave him her Malibu address. “She’s been here in Petaluma, but she left Costa Rica suddenly yesterday and we’re concerned that we haven’t heard from her. She isn’t answering her phone.”
“Why concerned?”
I didn’t want to overplay it. “She’s high-strung and she’s had emotional problems in the past. Just a call or drive by her place to make sure she’s okay would be great.”
“I’ll get an officer out there as soon as I hang up. I’m sure we have someone in the Hollywood Brat Babysitter department. Hey, if Federico’s daughter was in Malibu-”
“She was in Petaluma, according to her roommate, at the time of Suzy’s death.” That wasn’t a proven fact, but I didn’t want King giving Estelle the rough treatment until I knew she was guilty. “Even though you’re ill-tempered, I thank you.” I meant it, too. If I knew Estelle was truly in Malibu-and okay-it would give me some necessary answers about what was happening in Petaluma.
“When is the film crew returning to the States?” he asked.
“In a couple of days. We’re almost finished.”
“Tell Marquez to check in with me as soon as he gets into town. And let me remind you, Miss Delaney, that if you aren’t involved in the murder, then it’s possible you’re a future target. Bobby Joe Taylor has convinced me that the note left on the mirror was meant for you. So take that into account when you’re flitting around the area.”
“I feel better knowing that you’re concerned for my safety. Have a good afternoon.” I hung up. Even though I enjoyed my moment of one-upsmanship, King’s words troubled me. Bad things were happening around this movie. Someone had a burn on for Federico or someone involved with the film. And until we found out who that person was and stopped him or her, things could get worse.
Once Tinkie and Chablis were safely tucked in bed, Graf and I found some time alone. Instead of a stolen few passionate kisses in the garden alcoves, we had the night to ourselves. With all of the commotion going on, I hadn’t been able to focus on Graf and my feelings for him. As the moon peeked in the bedroom window, I set about putting that to right.
A breeze with a trace of salt rumbaed with the sheer curtains and teased our superheated skin as we made love. We were different, both of us, than we’d been in New York. We were gentler in some ways and more savage in others. But there was no doubt that we were kinder to each other in every way. The sense that time would run out for us-an emotion that had dominated our relationship in New York-was gone. We took our time with each other, savoring each touch, each sensation.
There is no aphrodisiac like self-confidence, and I found a willing partner in Graf. In our bed, there wasn’t room for fear. In that wonderful way of passion, the more I had, the more I wanted.
Graf had just begun a wicked exploration of the backs of my knees with his mouth when there was a loud crash from downstairs followed by an eardrum-piercing scream.
Sweetie began barking and clawing at the bedroom door with such franticness that it sent a shaft of fear through me. Tinkie was alone in her room with only Chablis to protect her. Chablis would do her best-and could be a
