Dangerous Bond (Jamie Bond Mysteries Book 4) (17 page)

"Any chance you've seen this guy in here lately?" I asked. Sam held up her phone for his inspection.

He stared at the picture. "Yeah, I've seen him." He chuckled. "He was hard to miss with those dummies."

Excitement buzzed through me. Finally.

Sam smiled. The second time in less than fifteen minutes. Maybe her universe was righting itself again. She deserved it.

"This was yesterday?" I clarified.

He nodded.

"Any chance you know where he was heading when he left?"

He grinned. "Sure do."

I felt that excitement kick up a notch. "Where?"

"Out back. He's renting a room from me."

I exchanged a glance with Sam. Renting a room for his mannequins? Inappropriate and gross images came to mind. "Like a hotel room?" I asked.

"No. Hang on." He poured a beer on tap into a frosty, chilled mug, then set it and the scotch on the bar for a couple of guys. They paid, he made change, and we waited.

The two guys were staring at us, smiling and whispering to one another. A quick look around told me that everyone had noticed us. This was definitely a different bar than the last.

When the bartender was done, he cocked his head to the side. "Follow me."

I hesitated for half a second and contemplated trusting this stranger. There were four of us, but he looked like he could hold us down if he really wanted. The fact we were armed was a point in our favor though.

I stepped forward, and the girls followed.

We passed through a small kitchen that was dimly lit. He must've closed that down already. There wasn't much more than a grill, couple of fryers, and a dishwashing station anyway.

He opened a back door, and we stepped into an alley. A dingy privacy fence sat straight across from us, and a blue Dumpster was a few feet away to the right. Farther down from that was a side street. He turned to the left. "This way."

"Where are we going?" I asked, but he must not have heard me over the shuffle of our footsteps on the asphalt. Or maybe he was ignoring me on purpose.

The hairs on my arms rose. My radar wasn't beeping, but this still felt off.

The corner of the privacy fence turned to show a converted warehouse up ahead. Its chipping white paint was dingy, and a black plastic garbage can stood by the door. Its lid was upturned, and the can was full, but I couldn't see with what. Hopefully it wasn't body parts.

As we reached the warehouse, I glanced back at the girls. Sam looked intense again. Her brow was furrowed, and the corners of her mouth were down turned. She firmly held the Taser in her hand. She must've had her own concerns about where the bartender was leading us.

Caleigh clenched her teeth together in a forced smile and gave me two thumbs up, but I could tell she was nervous too. Her eyes darted around, and after she put her hands down, she stuck her right one into her purse. I knew her gun was in there.

I wasn't sure if Maya had a weapon on her. She usually didn't carry one, even though she was licensed to. At least in California. She tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth. She was feeling the uncertainty vibe too.

The bartender opened a door and waved his hand for us to step through. I paused. What if he slammed the door shut and locked us in? I'd seen episodes of
Criminal Minds
. What if this had nothing to do with Julio, and this guy simply needed four hot women to complete his murder spree?

So, did I keep my guard up and possibly risk myself and my friends, or did I listen to my gut and trust that we're four badass women who know how to handle ourselves?

I took a deep breath and went for option number two.

Only when I walked over the threshold, I stopped short.

Standing in the center of the room was Julio.

Sam leapt at Julio, with her arms outstretched and her fingers curled. She reminded me of an animal, although I knew of none with her curly mane or fashion sense. She screamed at him about his disappearing and child support. Then she slapped him on the cheek. Hard. The sound echoed, and he yelped. "Ow,
mija
. What's wrong with you?"

Sam's hand had to sting, but the pain didn't register on her face. "Me? I was going out of my mind with worry. I thought you were dead or kidnapped or worse."

"What's worse than death?" Caleigh whispered to me.

I looked around and watched the bartender shake his head before making a hasty exit back to the bar.

The warehouse wasn't very big, and most of it was empty. But right in the center was a hanging green screen—the kind used in movies and on television. In front of it were the three mannequins. Each had on a wig—black, red, and blonde—and they were dressed in booty shorts and halter tops. There was some equipment farther away from the screen. A large speaker and a giant fan, like the ones we used to stand in front of when I'd modeled in order to achieve the sexy windblown look. There were a few other items I couldn't make out, as well as a couple of folding chairs. And there were two tall standing lights on each side, facing the mannequins. It looked like something was being filmed here.

When I turned back to Sam and Julio, he had his arm up, covering his face, while she continued to beat him with her open palm. Caleigh and Maya had joined in the fray, trying to peel Sam off of him. Though, they didn't seem to be trying all
that
hard. I didn't blame them. I had half a mind to smack him a couple of times myself for the worry he'd put us all through.

I stepped forward, wrapped my arms around Sam's waist, and pulled her back. Her heels scraped on the concrete floor. I let her go and hoped I wouldn't need to intervene again.

Julio stood straight and yanked down the hem of his blue-and-white jersey. I hadn't seen him in a long time. He'd put on a little weight but not much, and his hair was longer. It came to about an inch past his shoulders, in waves. He was also sporting a full but short beard. He looked good. Not
that
kind of good. I didn't look at my girls' men in that way. He simply looked healthy and not how I'd feared—tortured or dead.

Julio said, "Calm down,
mija
. I've never seen you so angry. Well, except for that time I sold your…"

Sam charged toward him again, but I jumped in front of her before she could do real damage. "Julio, what's going on here?" I asked.

He blinked at me. "What do you mean?"

"She means why did you leave town," Sam jumped in, "and worry us all half to death?!"

He looked away and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Sam."

"I'm sorry? I'm sorry! Oh, you're gonna be sorry…" She trailed off, making a move for his jugular.

I held her back. "What's going on here?" I asked, gesturing to the mannequins.

Julio's eyes shifted left then right. "I can't say."

Fury seized Sam's face and tensed her body. "You can't say?" Sam shouted. "You miss your visit with Julio. You miss a child support payment. Your precious phone is left behind at your place, and there's
blood
beside it. You disappear. You don't call or check in, and you can't say? Are you flippin' kidding me?"

We all stared at him because she was right. While I wasn't feeling quite as homicidal as she looked, his answer irked me to no end. I was tired, and we needed to get to some truth.

"Look," I said. "Roger Claremont is dead, and Heavy may have been involved. We know he kidnapped another man, someone else associated with Roger. And then you go missing. Sam has been terrified. You owe it to her to tell us what's going on."

Julio looked to his ex. He stared at her for a minute and then said, "Fine. Heavy Cash and I were shooting a secret music video with Roger."

Of all the weird things in this world that people have told me, reasons as to why they were caught with their pants down usually, this had to have been the strangest.

"Excuse me?" Sam asked.

"It was supposed to be top secret. But, man, it was awesome." He waved a hand in front of the mannequins and green screen.

"You already finished the video?" Caleigh asked.

He nodded. "Yeah."

My head started to pound. I rubbed my left temple. "So, what was with the disappearing act?" I pushed.

He sighed. "We had to keep the music video secret because a clause in Roger's contract with Hoagies said he wasn't allowed to appear on film for anything but their commercials until a certain date. That date was coming up, but Heavy needed to keep this all on the down low until then."

"Roger was supposed to be in the video?" I asked.

Julio nodded.

"But didn't you film it here?" Maya asked, piecing the events together. "Roger was killed in L.A."

"Right," he said. "No, we filmed some of it last month in L.A., at Roger's house. His master bathroom is sweet. It's got marble counters, gold faucets, and a shower the size of my entire bathroom. And there's this bathtub with fuel jets. Awesome."

He hesitated for a second, as if he'd forgotten what he was talking about. Listening to how wonderful a bath in that tub would be, I'd momentarily forgotten the topic as well.

"Anyway, we used the hot tub in there to shoot all the parts with Roger. But when he died…well, obviously we couldn't film there anymore, so we finished the rest here. I know a guy here in Vegas who had a green screen. They aren't cheap," he added.

"Could Roger really sing?" Caleigh asked. "I never would've guessed that."

Now that she said that, neither could I. "Yeah, his speaking voice was kinda tinny."

Maya and Sam nodded in agreement.

Julio stared at us blankly. "Who cares if he could sing? He was a celebrity. That's all that mattered. You think half of the musicians have good voices? That's what Auto-Tune is for."

I wasn't well versed in music, but I figured he was at least partly correct. Some musicians definitely had more talent than others. No judgments though.

"Look, Heavy thought that kind of unique cameo was just the sort of thing that would make the music video go viral and kick-start his stalled career again," Julio said.

"I thought Heavy and Roger weren't speaking because of the unpaid loan," Maya said.

Julio shook his head. "No, Roger didn't loan Heavy money that wasn't paid back. That was just his cover story to keep the video secret. He was actually financing the single and music video with Heavy."

"So what happened to Roger?" Sam asked.

Julio shook his head. "I don't know. Heavy burst into my house the other night saying that Roger was dead and the cops were going to come after Heavy for it. He had some blood on him, and I assumed it was Roger's. Heavy grabbed me and shoved me in a car. Like, literally grabbed me and shoved me. Didn't give me a chance to pack or nothing. He was kinda frantic."

Which explained why the cell was left behind. "What did he do then?"

"We drove to Vegas. Heavy said we needed to finish the video ASAP."

"Before Heavy got arrested?" Caleigh asked.

Julio gave us another blank stare. "You chicks really don't know a thing about the music business. We had to finish it before the news broke. You can't buy that kind of publicity! Heavy getting arrested would just add to his street cred, and he wanted to have the video ready to release as soon as that news broke."

"Did Heavy kill Roger?" I asked, getting to the point.

But Julio just shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I've learned to keep my mouth shut and not ask too many questions when working with these kinds of dudes."

"What kind would that be?" Caleigh clarified.

"Dangerous ones."

Word.

Sam shook her head at Julio, but she didn't look like she wanted to kill him anymore. "Of all the stupid schemes. You better just hope that our son has inherited my brains."

I heard Caleigh stifle a laugh.

"Last question," I said, still puzzled about one specific aspect. "Why the mannequins?"

Julio grinned from ear to ear. He had a charming smile. I understood what had attracted Sam to him. "The song starts off about the rich life. Roger's bathroom showed what money could buy, and we put famous places up on the green screen, like New York, Paris, and London. But the song was about how fake the entertainment business could be. The ladies represent that. You know, they're plastic." He chuckled.

I smirked. Nice touch.

Julio got closer to Sam and took her hands in his. "I'm sorry I worried you,
mija
. Tell my little man I'll make it up to him."

I turned away to give them a private moment but not before I saw Sam's hard edge soften enough to give him a tight hug. For all of her smacking him, I could tell she was relieved to find him in one piece.

"So, do we think Heavy did it?" Caleigh asked me as we made our way toward the door.

"I don't know," I hedged. The truth was even though all signs pointed to Heavy as a kidnapper and possible murderer, I wasn't sure what his motive might be. If Roger really was bankrolling Heavy's video and starring in it, it seemed like he might be more useful to Heavy alive. Unless, of course, the whole thing had been to generate more press prior to Heavy's release. Julio had said you couldn't buy that kind of publicity, but would someone really kill for it? "I think it's time we chatted with Heavy Cash," I told her.

We left Julio at the warehouse. He said he was just putting the finishing touches on the music video files, and he planned to return to L.A. tomorrow. He promised to send child support and to call Sam as soon as he was back in town. On the walk back, Sam said she had no intention of waiting for him to call her. She was going to show up at his house, with Julio Jr. tomorrow. I told her I'd happily give her the day off.

Once we got back to the hotel, we wasted no time in taking the elevator up to the penthouse, courtesy of Speedo's key that Maya had swiped. This time we didn't care about disguises. I closed my fist and pounded on Heavy's door.

It opened, and Heavy's manager, Johnson, stood there. He wore a white tank top and his pants from earlier. He held a glass of amber liquid, probably scotch or bourbon, in his hand, and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot. "You're too late," he said before I could even speak. "The detective already took Heavy away."

Detective?

"You mean the assistant district attorney? Aiden Prince?" I asked, remembering our little moment from earlier that night.

But Johnson shook his head, took a swig of his drink, and swallowed hard. "No. He said 'detective.' He had some sort of badge."

I held my hand above my head several inches. "About this tall, blonde, green eyes."

Johnson shook his head again, swaying slightly. "No, this guy was shorter. Dark, greasy hair."

My Spidey senses tingled. That was definitely not Aiden. Were the Vegas cops looking for Heavy too?

"Did he have on a uniform?" I asked.

"No. Brown pants and a green polo shirt."

The uniform of Lite Wraps.

Adrenaline rushed into my body at the prospect that Jenkins was on the loose. Had he busted out of the hotel room? Were Elaine and Charley okay? And why on earth would he pose as a detective to take Heavy away? He'd seemed in a hurry to get away from Heavy earlier when Maya had found him. Was he bent on some sort of revenge?

"Look, you got it all wrong about Heavy," Johnson said, breaking into my wild train of thought. "He may put on a hard exterior," he slurred, "but that's for the public. The fans. I mean, you ever heard of a geeky rapper?"

"Geeky?" Maya asked.

"Yeah. The guy's like read all the
Harry Potter
books and lives for that
Star Wars
stuff."

"Like light sabers and that furry guy?" Caleigh asked.

I didn't know much about
Star Wars
, but I knew the name of Chewbacca. I made a mental note to sit Caleigh down for a movie night in the near future.

The manager rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I don't get it either, doll. It's not my thing. But Heavy's like obsessed with all things nerdy. But I tell you, he's smart enough to know that his fans won't go for it. He wants everyone to think he's a thug so that he can sell records. But in truth, he's just a big, cuddly bear who loves his mama and Jedis and couldn't hurt a fly." He paused, a flash of sobriety flitting across his features for a second. "But don't tell him I said that."

Suddenly pieces started to fall into place. Heavy was the perfect murder suspect. Heck, he practically encouraged the police to think so. What easier person to frame for a murder? This had all been a setup. And I had a suspicion just which greasy, wrap-loving guy had been doing the framing.

Just then my cell rang. I glanced at the display before answering it this time. It was Elaine. Something was wrong. There was no other reason for her to call, and I knew it had to do with brown pants and a green polo shirt. "Hello?" I asked, my voice more breathless than I'd intended.