L.A. Dead

She went to a small fridge, opened the door, and bent over, presenting a backside for the ages.

Stone took a deep breath and let it out slowly. There was not a hint of fat or cellulite anywhere. How did Hollywood do it?

She came back with a pitcher of iced tea and two glasses, then poured them both one and sat down on the sofa.

She pulled a leg under her, and Stone could not help but notice that she had recently experienced a clever bikini wax.

'The fuzz were very nice,' she said.

'I'll bet.'

She giggled. 'I don't think they'd ever seen a movie star up close before. I mean, not this close, but close. You're by way of being an old acquaintance, so I don't mind.'

'Neither do I,' Stone said truthfully.

'Vanessa's death really shook me up,' she said, but she didn't look shaken. 'People my age are not supposed to die.'

'You think the ex-husband did it?'

'I can't think of anybody else with a motive,' she replied, shaking her head. 'Vanessa was a sweet girl. You said you were with her last night?'

'Yes, I gave her a lift home from Marc Blumberg's office, and she asked me to stay to dinner.'

'Oh, speaking of food, it should be here in a minute.' As if on cue, there was a rap on the door, and Charlene got up and went into the bathroom. 'You let them in, Sugar; I don't want to give the waiter a coronary.'

'You don't seem to mind giving me one,' Stone said, walking to the door. He heard a giggle from the bathroom.

Two waiters came in and, in a flash, had arranged two lobster salads and a bottle of chardonnay on the coffee table. They were gone just as quickly, and Charlene returned, just as naked.

'I'm starved!' she said, sitting down and attacking the lobster.

Stone poured them both a glass of wine. 'Charlene, who were Vanessa's best friends?'

'You met most of them at my house,' Charlene replied. 'The ladies who lunch? The whole group was there, except for Vanessa and Beverly.'

'Beverly Walters?'

'Yep. You know her?'

'I met her briefly in a restaurant once.'

'Beverly's all right, I guess, but she wouldn't be in the group, if it hadn't been for Vanessa.'

'What's Beverly's story?'

Charlene shrugged. 'She's a Beverly Hills housewife, I guess. She came out here to be an actress and ended up giving blow jobs for walk-ons. Her husband saved her from that; now all she does is have lunch and shop.'

Stone tried the lobster; it was perfect, tender, and sweet. 'Where'd the food come from?' he asked.

'From the studio commissary; have you been there, yet?'

'No.'

'You'll have to come with me, sometime, Sugar; that would do wonders for your reputation around here.'

'You're not exactly shy, are you, Charlene?'

'You ever noticed anything shy about me, Sugar?'

'No, I haven't. Tell me, was this group of ladies with you on the day Vance was shot?'

'Was it a Saturday? Yes, it was, I remember, now. Sure, they were all there that day; we have a regular Saturday thing at my house.'

'How late?'

'Later than usual, as I recall. Everybody's mostly gone by five or six, but a couple of people stayed right through dinner. I think it's cleansing to have dinner without a man occasionally.'

'What time did Vanessa leave?'

'She didn't stay for dinner. I remember, they left, because Beverly had a dinner party to go to that night, and she had to get home and change. I don't know what Vanessa was doing.'

'They left together?'

'Yes, they came and left in Vanessa's car.'

'That's promising,' Stone said, half to himself.

'Promising? How do you mean?'

'Sorry, I was thinking aloud.'

Charlene, having eaten a third of her lunch, grabbed her wine glass and half reclined on the sofa, resting her feet in Stone's lap.

The view was transfixing, Stone thought, trying to concentrate on his lobster instead. 'Are you and Beverly close at all?' he asked.

'Not very. Like I said, she's not my favorite person.'

'I understand that Beverly is… talkative.'

'Well, that's an understatement! We had to listen to every detail of every affair she had.'

'Did she ever sleep with Vance?'

'Sugar, if Vance had ever had a social disease, half of Beverly Hills would have come down with it.'

'I mean, did she ever talk about having an affair with him?'

'She tried, but she was late to the party; the rest of us had already had Vance.'

'Vanessa, too?'

'Sure, and before she was divorced. Vance didn't discriminate against married women.'

'Who is Beverly married to?'

'A producer on the lot, here: Gordon Walters. That's her entree around town; if she were ever divorced, she'd never get asked to dinner. Gordy's a sweetheart, but Beverly isn't all that popular. Everybody knows you can't tell her anything. It would be like putting it on a loudspeaker at Spago.'

'Charlene, I wonder if you'd do a favor for me.'

'Sugar,' she said, poking him in the crotch with a toe. 'I've been trying.'

'Another kind of favor.'

'Sure, if I can.'

'Have lunch with Beverly Walters; see if you can find out what happened after she and Vanessa left your house that Saturday.'

'Why do you want to know?'

'You can't share this with the ladies,' Stone said.

She made a little cross with a long fingernail on her left breast.

'Beverly is a witness against Arrington, in this shooting thing. She's testified that Arrington told her she wanted to kill Vance. Arrington was joking, of course.'

'Of course,' Charlene said dryly.

'It's possible that Beverly might have been at Vance's house that evening, and that she might have seen something. I can't let Arrington go into court without knowing what Beverly saw. Do you think you could worm that out of her?'

'Shoot, Stone, I could worm Beverly's genetic code out of her, if she knew it.'

'Vanessa said something about this to me, and I wouldn't like for Beverly to know that. Vanessa felt she was breaking a confidence, just by mentioning the possibility.'

'That sounds like Vanessa,' Charlene said, looking misty for a moment. 'Shed be true blue, even to Beverly.'

'When do you think you could see her?'

'She'll be over at the house on Saturday, with the others, I'm sure; we'll have some commiserating to do over Vanessa.'

'I'd appreciate any help you could give me.'

Charlene smiled a small smile. 'How much would you appreciate it?'

'A lot,' Stone said.

'I don't believe you,' Charlene replied. 'It's Arrington, isn't it? She's why I can't get you in the sack.'