Done to Death (27 page)

‘What? I'm missing something.'

‘The cameras: what if this show turns into some horrible documentary of Rachel's meltdown? It's going to come off like a freak show, from her physical transformation to these rambles about her mother and brother. This is why I feel like crap. I'm a part of it. Oh Lil …'

‘Ada, you've done nothing wrong.'

‘I'm not so sure of that. And where is she?' She pushed back the covers and got out of bed. ‘I can't stand this. Lil, we've got to do something.'

‘I know …' And Lil was up and headed toward the closet.

‘There are probably dozens of police out looking for her,' Ada said. ‘So what's two more middle-aged women?'

Lil stopped. She looked at Ada, who was throwing on a Prussian blue track suit. ‘I love you so much,' she said.

Ada chuckled. ‘That's because no one else will go with you, in the dead of night, to find a missing heiress.'

‘There is that … Oh my goodness.'

‘What?' Ada said.

‘I'm married to Nancy Drew.'

‘She was gay?' Ada asked.

‘I often wondered. Did she have a boyfriend?'

‘We both know that doesn't mean a thing. Look at Lenore.'

‘There's so much information we're missing,' Lil commented. ‘To start, with Richard dead do we know for certain that Rachel is the heir?'

‘She's the natural heir. Whether or not Lenore structured things differently, we don't know. If Rachel were my daughter, I'd set up a trust. The thought of her with that much money … not good.' Fully dressed, Ada caught a glimpse of the two of them in the mirror on the back of the closet door. Her in a blue track suit and Lil in a burgundy one. She snorted. ‘We look like two of the Power Rangers.'

‘I never understood that show. My girls watched it.'

‘Part of me feels like we're running away,' Ada said.

‘From the film crew, from
Final Reckoning
?'

‘Don't laugh, but yes, and we should hurry.'

Lil grabbed her keys and the satchel with her camera and laptop from her nightstand. ‘Maybe that's what Rachel did,' she said. ‘Maybe she realized this whole thing is in bad taste and, rather than be a part of it, she bolted.'

‘It's a thought,' Ada said. They headed to the front door. ‘We should tell Aaron we're going out. He's going to be so disappointed.' Ada stopped, her hand on the knob.

There was a light knock on the other side.

Lil looked over Ada's shoulder and turned on the outdoor light. ‘Speak of the devil.'

‘Aaron.' Ada opened the door to see her grandson, freshly showered, in jeans and a red hoodie.

He looked from his grandmother to Lil. ‘What are you two up to?'

‘Going for a drive,' Ada said.

‘I see that.' His tone was suspicious. ‘Grandma, you've got a seven o'clock call, which means hair and make-up no later than five.'

‘Aaron, why are you out here?' she asked.

‘I wanted to be ready when they came.'

‘It's four a.m.'

‘I don't want to miss them.'

Ada looked into her grandson's eyes. His excitement was obvious. On the list of people she loved in this world, his name would be one of the top four out of her mouth. She glanced back at Lil. ‘We want to drive around, and maybe see what's happened to Rachel.'

‘But didn't Mattie want you to stay here in case she turns up?' he asked, having had a first hand view of how Ada and Lil intruded into police investigations, at times with terrifying results.

‘You'll be here,' Ada said. She stepped into the cool pre-dawn air.

‘You're running away,' he said.

‘Don't be silly,' Ada said.

‘They'll film it anyway.'

‘I figured that,' she said. ‘Huh? Aaron, you're the same age as Rachel.'

‘Yeah, but my mom's not a bazillionaire and, sadly, I do know who my father is.'

‘True, but if you were to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night, where would you go?'

‘You mean if I were Rachel? 'Cause where I'd go and where a crazy celebutante would go … although, maybe not so different. Around here there's not a lot of options, and Connecticut clubs close at one or two. So if she went partying, unless there's some kind of after hours scene in Grenville, which there isn't, the closest would be Brattlebury. And that's not her scene.'

‘What are you thinking, Ada?' Lil asked.

‘I'm thinking about what we know of Rachel from the press. She's always getting picked up by the cops or getting thrown out of nightclubs. Even crazy people have habits. So if it's the middle of the night and she's missing, maybe she went clubbing.'

Lil nodded. ‘Or the part of her that likes to go clubbing wanted a night out. But like you said, it's Grenville and Shiloh. A couple restaurants have bars, but nothing in town stays open past midnight.'

‘Then what Aaron said: let's think out of town − Brattlebury, or even Hartford. Rachel was raised here, she'll know where to go.'

‘It's not New York,' Aaron offered. ‘Although in the middle of the night, she could be in Manhattan in ninety minutes. And the two of you are not going to downtown Brattlebury or Hartford at four a.m.'

Ada caught their reflection in the hall mirror, two ageing Power Rangers; he had a point. ‘Here's a thought.' She headed back toward Lil's office and settled behind the computer. She clicked on the browser as the other two followed. She typed in
Rachel Parks
and was offered four million hits. She refined the search and added the word
nightclub
. And finally,
after hours
. That got her down to thirty-seven hundred.

Lil grabbed a pad and pen and took notes. ‘That one,' she said, noting a blog entry with a picture of Rachel apparently passed out on the sidewalk. ‘What's the date?'

‘April 23rd,' Ada said. ‘The day Lenore was shot.' She read it aloud. ‘Brooklyn nightclub owner Casio Gomez was philosophical when asked about the latest celebrity meltdown at his trendy Park Slope club, Murielle's. He said it was “the price of success”, although whether he was referring to the bad-girl behavior of Rachel Parks, or his nightclub, was unclear. Mr Gomez did point out that Murielle's has a strict no-drinking policy for anyone under age and that at no time was Ms Parks served alcohol. One late night … er, early morning, reveler gave a first hand account of the famous train wreck's behavior. “She might not have been drinking, but she was high as a kite.”'

Ada paused. She looked at the pictures of Rachel, her dress hiked up and not wearing underwear. And then at related posts and comments, where people had offered their two bits about that night. ‘She knew she was pregnant.'

‘Drugs and alcohol are not so good for a developing fetus,' Lil offered. ‘Especially in the first trimester. And from everything you've said, she intends to keep the baby.'

‘Yeah, but even today – I mean yesterday – when we were shooting, everyone, myself included, was drinking a lot of caffeine. She had either water or herb tea.' She scrolled back to a couple earlier entries.

‘But you said she dyed her hair,' Lil said. ‘Most OBs discourage that. A certain amount of the ammonia gets absorbed through the scalp.'

‘I asked her about that. She said it was henna and the OB told her that it was fine.'

‘So that's not adding up,' Aaron said. ‘Either she's taking care of her unborn child or she's not. Or maybe she's not even pregnant and the whole thing is a publicity stunt.'

Ada shook her head. ‘She is pregnant. I heard her talk with her doctor. And I do think she's taking care of the baby.' She stared at the screen. ‘Here's another at the same club, two weeks earlier.' There were pictures of Rachel and her brother seated with a couple of young actresses. They looked happy and healthy. In one, Rachel's head was thrown back and she was laughing at something her brother had said. Clicking back to the browser she found several more sightings of Rachel Parks at the same club. Clearly it was a favorite.

‘Aaron, how late do after hours clubs go?' Lil asked.

‘Speaking as someone who's been to a total of two raves and one after hours club, I'd say things break up around six or seven in the morning. Kind of the vampire thing: when the sun comes up it's time to crawl back home.'

Lil and Ada exchanged glances. ‘She could be in New York,' Ada said.

‘Or turn up here,' Lil added.

‘Or turn up dead,' Aaron offered.

Ada shuddered. ‘Let's not think that. For all of Rachel's issues, there's a sweetness to her. And I can't help but think of how alone she must feel. We should split up.'

‘I'll drive to Brooklyn,' Lil said, as she looked down at her outfit. ‘This isn't going to get me in, is it?' She looked at Aaron.

‘No. Wear black and bring your press card and camera,' he offered. ‘I should go with you.'

Ada looked at her grandson, aware that his heart was set on spending the day with the film crew.

‘You don't have to,' Lil said, aware of what he was about to sacrifice.

‘Yeah, I do,' he said. ‘It's fine. I don't think the cast and crew of
Final Reckoning
will miss me.'

Ada got up and gave him a peck on the cheek. ‘I don't care what anyone says, you're the best grandson ever.'

‘Gee, thanks. We should get a move on.' He looked at Lil. ‘Meet you at my car in five?'

‘Sure,' and Lil headed back for a quick change, somewhat clueless about what to wear to a club that catered to night-prowling New Yorkers.

‘Why the change of heart?' Ada asked Aaron.

He pushed back his bangs. ‘It's fun and all, and I think you should milk this for everything it's worth, but they're not real.'

‘Who's not real?'

‘Any of them. It's like they're all desperate for something. And they turn on each other and are constantly trying to make points with that Barry guy, or with Melanie. But behind their backs they say awful things. Who wants to be part of that?'

Ada nodded. ‘It is exciting, though.'

‘Yeah, but I don't think I want that. So, overall, I'd say it's been a good learning experience. But not for me.'

Lil reappeared, having done a lightning change into fitted black jeans, black turtle neck, flats and a black leather car coat she'd swiped from Ada's side of the closet. Her silver-blond hair was tied back in a ponytail.

Aaron snorted and Ada raised an eyebrow.

‘I'm trying,' Lil said.

‘It's fine,' Aaron offered. ‘Sort of like a sixties hipster; I'll call you Dieter.'

After they'd left, Ada sipped tea and searched the Internet. The condo felt empty and she wondered if the show would go on. She thought about what Aaron had said about the cast and crew. Yes, she'd felt it, the desperation, but also the excitement. She looked at pictures of Rachel, invariably in a nightclub. Some were with her brother; several were of her unconscious or being carted out on a stretcher; and others showed her in designer gowns at award shows. There was even one with her, at age eleven, on
Lenore Says
. There was much darker material as well. Evidence of a porn tape, but whenever she clicked a link it was to find the offending material had been removed.

‘Interesting.' She looked at the dates of the postings, over two years old. ‘Horrible,' she said aloud, realizing Rachel would have been a minor. But their presence – now absence – raised questions. Who posted them? Who took them down? Who shot the video and who was she with? From there the questions grew darker. She'd been a minor, and whoever had posted or shared the video had committed a serious crime. Even viewing it, which she had nearly done, would be a violation of federal law. Had the authorities removed the postings from the Internet? Her mother? Her brother? A family lawyer?

She clicked on YouTube and entered Rachel's name. Lots of small videos, mostly shot with camera phones. Engrossed in her task, she started at the sound of the doorbell and then the phone.

She picked up on her way to the door. ‘We're here,' Melanie chirped over the line.

‘That's one question answered,' Ada said.

‘What are you talking about?' Melanie asked, as Ada opened the door.

‘Has Rachel been found?' she asked.

‘No, but don't worry, we're prepared for all contingencies.'

Ada looked at the smiling brunet. Her face was scrubbed, her eyes bright. She was ready for a day of shooting and was
prepared for all contingencies
. That statement brought home the awful possibility that Rachel might not be found, at least not alive.

A
t six a.m. Lil lucked out and found a parking spot for her Lincoln a block from Murielle's, the nightclub where Rachel had been hours before Lenore was shot. ‘This is nothing like I remember,' she said, as they got out.

‘You've been to Brooklyn?' Aaron asked.

‘Ages ago. I went with some friends from college to a party. It looked nothing like this. It's all so clean … it looks expensive.'

‘It is,' he said. ‘Almost as bad as Manhattan. It's a damn shame that Grandma couldn't have hung on to Great Grandma Rose's apartment on Delancey.'

‘It wasn't an option,' Lil said.

‘Come on, Dieter, there are ways.'

‘Don't be a brat.' She glanced at the GPS app on her iPhone. The address for the nightclub showed they were close.

‘There,' Aaron said, indicating a broad store front with black curtains in the windows and a single light over the door. ‘That's the address.'

‘Yeah,' Lil said, recognizing it from the picture of Rachel on the sidewalk. Only then there'd been a crowd and an ambulance. ‘It's so quiet.'