Hollywood Homicide by M.Z. Kelly

Author:M.Z. Kelly [Kelly, M.Z.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-12-18T07:00:00+00:00

THIRTY SEVEN

Ted and I were spared further misery the rest of the day because Lieutenant Conrad took his favorite detectives with him to brief the brass on our case. We spent the remainder of the day trying to dig up a closer connection between Steinberg and Hawkins.

With Selfie and Molly’s help we determined that the two men were involved in sexually assaulting an actress in Washington State while on the set of one of the director’s movies in the late 1980’s. The case was hushed up and eventually went away thanks to a financial settlement with the woman, but it further established a link between the two men.

As we finished up for the day I ran a hypothetical past Ted. “Suppose Hawkins sexually assaulted Scarlett during one of their therapy sessions and told Steinberg about it. Maybe the director didn’t want anything interfering with the making of his movie and tried to keep Scarlett quiet. When she refused, one or both men killed her, and called Landon in to fix the scene.”

“Why all the blood and gore at the crime scene then?” Ted said. “There would have been easier and far less messy ways to take care of her.”

“Maybe one of their inner psychos took over. We know Steinberg was making a film about the devil impregnating Scarlett. Maybe he wanted to recreate a fantasy world in real life. It could be that he even thought it would give his movie publicity.”

I remembered what Natalie and Mo had said about Scarlett possibly being into the dark arts. Nothing we’d found out seemed to fit with that, so I dismissed it, for now.

Ted shrugged. “I think it’s a stretch.” The big detective stuffed the last of his paperwork into his briefcase. “What you told the others earlier about Hawkins being the key to what happened makes sense. I say we go back to the shrink tomorrow.”

“If Conrad still lets us work the case.” I put Bernie on his leash. “See you in the morning, partner.

***

I grabbed a bite to eat and then met Natalie and Mo at the Barkley Bungalows in West Hollywood. I’d never heard of the apartment complex but when Bernie and I arrived it felt like we’d stepped across a threshold in time to an era when old Hollywood thrived.

The owner of the apartment building, Bub Barkley, a former actor who reminded me of one of the little men in a movie about a wizard and a witch, gave us a little history of the place.

“The Bungalows, as they were once called, were built in the late 1940’s. As you can see, the place is a little rundown. We’ll be filming a TV show here while we renovate the complex, so I’m able to offer you reduced rent.” Bub’s gaze had wandered over to Natalie where it stopped and his saliva glands activated. The little man’s features took on the appearance of a love sick hound dog.

“This place is the bomb,” Natalie said, tossing off a shoe and

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