Not Suspicious in Hollywood: Not in Hollywood Book 5 (11 page)

“I think Ash is capable of killing her,” I
said slowly, trying very hard to choose my words carefully. “I’m just not sure
whether he did kill her.”

Pickett looked at me keenly and I started
to feel uncomfortable. I had been right. This was in no way one of my better
interviews. Even with Griffin I had been able to fall back on annoyance and anger.
I couldn’t quite work out what it was Detective Pickett wanted from me.

“How well do you know Detective Ramos?” he
asked suddenly.

I shrugged cautiously. “She’s Griffin’s
partner. I’ve usually only had dealings with her on a professional basis. The barbecue
the other night was the first time I’d been in a social situation with her.”

“How do you find her, when you’ve dealt
with her?”

“She’s always been strong, capable and
professional. I have always known that she was a good cop. We may not have got along
personally but I knew she had Griffin’s back so that was all that I really
cared about.”

Pickett smiled in what I’m pretty sure he
thought was an ingratiating way. It wasn’t.

“I’m new to the precinct so I don’t know
her at all. I think that’s one of the reasons I was assigned this case. It just
seems strange that you find out that her girlfriend is cheating on her and then
the girlfriend ends up dead.”

“Sometimes coincidences happen,” I said
quietly.

“And sometimes they are not coincidences,”
Pickett said firmly.

“If you are looking at Ramos for Jolena’s
murder, then you are looking in the wrong place. Ramos and I may never have
been best friends but I would stake my life on her not doing this.”

“That’s very loyal and brave of you but
I’ve been in this job long enough to know that everyone is capable of doing the
wrong thing when emotions are involved. Sometimes people make a quick decision
and they can’t step back from that. Good people make mistakes every day.”

I knew good people made mistakes but I still
could not believe that Ramos could do something like this.

“Is there anything else you think would
assist me in my investigation?” Pickett asked.

I shook my head.

Pickett pulled a card out of his jacket and
handed it to me. “If you need to speak to me at any time, just give me a call.”

I nodded quietly and stood up.

“Trudie,” Pickett’s voice stopped me as I
walked towards the door.

I turned around.

“You were nice to my wife at the barbecue
the other day. She was very nervous about meeting all those new people and you
made it a little easier for her. I’ve heard about other cases you have been
involved in. I would hate to have to tell Dana that you had got hurt or worse.
Be careful. Sometimes people aren’t who you think they are. You should really
be more wary when deciding who to put your faith into.”

When I left the room I was not surprised to
find that Griffin was waiting for me. He glared at Pickett as he walked past.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes, just been a bit of a strange morning.”

“What the hell happened? You were supposed
to be safe while Jorge and I were checking the perimeter.”

“I was, well for most of it. I just did the
same thing I do every morning. I checked to make sure the guys had everything
they needed but then Ash went weird on me.”

“What did he do?” Griffin lowered his
voice.

“He thinks the same thing you do, that Vale
likes me. Unfortunately he took that as a challenge. I think he was just trying
to upset Vale by coming on to me.”

“Do none of these people realize that you
have a boyfriend?”

“Oh, they know. They just don’t care.”

I probably should have realized that
telling my boyfriend some guy was trying to make another guy jealous by
seducing me was not the best way to explain the situation.

“I really wish that you would find yourself
a different job,” Griffin said for what seemed like the millionth time.

“If I did that we wouldn’t have these
precious moments together.”

Strangely enough, Griffin didn’t seem to
appreciate my observation.

“What the hell, Trudie?”

I turned around to find that Travis had
decided to return and put his opinion forward.

“What?”

“You get left alone for all of half an hour
and two of the band end up brawling over you. They’re still at each other’s
throats. What did you do?”

“Do not for a moment try to lay the blame
for this on me. Something is going on between Vale and Ash and they’re just
using me as a convenient arguing point,” I said indignantly.

“Why does it always have to be you?”

“How about the fact that I am the only
female on the premises? Put Jorge in a dress and he might have been the one
they were fighting over.”

Travis and Griffin looked at me as I
realized what I had just said.

Griffin cleared his throat. “Do you think
of Jorge in a dress very often?”

“Okay, bad example.”

“No, no,” said Travis. “It just gave us an
interesting view into what goes on in that mind of yours. We’ll be filling
Jorge in on it when we see him.”

Great, I was never going to hear the end of
that one. Of course Jorge chose that moment to join our little group.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“Oh nothing,” interjected Travis before I
could answer. “We’ve just discovered that Trudie has fantasies about you in a
dress.”

“Okay,” said Jorge slowly. “We will definitely
be talking about that later but for now we have to clear out.”

“Why? We haven’t been here that long,” I
queried.

“Now that the cops have calmed down the
situation between Vale and Ash - nice going there, Trudie, by the way - they
are executing a search warrant. All staff are requested to leave immediately.”

“Why are they executing a search warrant?”
Griffin asked.

“I don’t know. You might want to ask your
cop buddies about that one because they don’t seem to be too interested in
sharing information with the rest of us.”

Jorge sounded exasperated. I could
understand why. For a person who worked in security this was beginning to be an
exercise in frustration. Before Jolena’s death this job had been routine, or as
routine as working security for a rock band could be. Now, we seemed to be all
over the place.

“Do we have any idea when management are
going to want us back?” I asked.

Jorge shook his head. “The cops have
brought a pretty significant team with them. From the looks of it, they seem
determined to tear this place apart.”

“That’s unusual,” Griffin noted. “Budgets
these days generally don’t allow for a big team for a search warrant.”

Jorge shrugged. “I’ve spoken to Monique and
she has just said we need to stand down until we’re called on again.”

“That’s it then.” I turned to Travis.
“Looks like you’re on your own.”

“That’s nothing new,” Travis grinned at me.

“Once again, you say the saddest things.”

“You have got the softest heart of anyone I
know,” Travis smiled at me warmly.

Griffin put an arm around my shoulders and
glared at Travis.

“Don’t panic,” drawled Travis. “I think one
brawl over Trudie is enough for today. I’m not interested in starting a second
one.”

“Seriously, cupcake,” Jorge said tiredly.
“You are a trouble maker. Next time Monique calls me for a job with you, I’m
going to start requesting hazard pay.”

Dropping onto my couch, I waited for
Griffin who I knew had followed me from the mansion.

“Want a coffee?” he asked as he walked
through the door.

“In the worst possible way.”

After making my coffee Griffin sat down on
the couch beside me and I gratefully took the cup.

“So, you want to tell me exactly what
happened this morning,” he asked.

“Not particularly.”

“Tell me,” he insisted.

I sighed. “I went in to check on Ash to see
if there was anything he needed. He was singing so I waited. When he finished I
asked him if he wanted anything. He started going into schoolboy innuendo
territory. I told him to stop it and that I wasn’t interested. It seems Vale
isn’t happy about having you at the mansion. Ash then said that what Vale
didn’t understand was that Ash was the competition, not you.”

“What happened next?”

“Vale came in and saw what Ash was doing.
He told him to knock it off and then Vale punched Ash and it was on.”

Griffin looked at me thoughtfully. “Did Ash
say anything that could have set Vale off?”

I thought back. “Ash said something about
it not being the first time that a woman had preferred him to Vale.”

“Do you know what he was talking about?”

I shook my head. “No, I mean, there are so
many women that come through. And Ash does seem to attract most of them. A lot
of women, if given a choice, seem to go for the bad boy lead singer over the
others. But it isn’t as if the other guys are hurting in that area. There are
more than enough groupies to go around.”

“And yet they seemed to have focused their
attention on you.”

“I didn’t do anything to encourage it,” I
said softly.

“I know,” Griffin said tiredly. “I’m just
having trouble with the fact that no matter what I do I can’t seem to keep you
safe. I honestly thought my being there would help but the first time you were
out of my sight, this happens.”

He looked so disheartened that I put down
my coffee and wrapped my arms around him. “You can’t be with me every moment of
the day. You just need to believe that I will not do anything stupid. I don’t
think I was in any real danger this morning. It was just an uncomfortable
situation. Unfortunately, in my work, uncomfortable situations seem to be
common.”

“This thing with Vale and Ash, is it going
to be a problem when you go back to work?” Griffin asked as he stroked his hand
up and down my back.

“It could be, I don’t know. It wasn’t an
issue I was expecting to have to deal with. I’m sure Jorge has filled Monique
in on what the problem is and I’m expecting a call from her at some point.
We’ll discuss it and if it looks like it will get in the way of me doing my
job, I’ll step aside and one of the other personal assistant’s will take my
place.”

“Is that a problem for you?” Griffin said.
“Your job doesn’t seem that secure. How will you do financially? I can help you
if you want.”

It was sweet that he was worried.

“Monique has a waiting list of placements
that she can put me into. I know it seems that all my assignments are difficult
but that’s only because I have a higher level of tolerance for self-important
clients. As a result I generally get the worst ones. Every now and then Monique
will give me a less difficult job if I request it.”

“Good.”

We sat there quietly for a while, just
enjoying the comfort of being together. I felt protected and safe in the circle
of Griffin’s arms and I couldn’t imagine myself wanting to be anywhere else.
This was why Ash’s offer of being wild didn’t interest me.

“So, did you and Jorge find anything while
I was having my drama in the house?”

Griffin nodded. “We found that there are
plenty of access points to the grounds that hadn’t been found before. There is
a gate down behind the lake. It looks secure if you just give it a cursory
inspection, which it seems is all anyone has ever done. The padlock on it looks
locked but you can pull it apart relatively easily. That’s one point. There are
also some trees that overhang the wall that someone could climb and then drop
down into the grounds. To be perfectly honest, there are so many ways to get onto
that property that it is almost useless to have security at the front gate.”

“How about security cameras?”

“Another area where they are woefully
inadequate. There are some cameras but they don’t even come close to covering
the whole grounds. You could almost march an army into that place and security
would miss it. Travis has a huge job on his hands if he wants to fix that mess.
Then you add in the very real possibility that Jolena’s death could have been
an inside job and your problem list goes through the roof.”

“Travis isn’t really there for security
evaluation,” I said.

“I didn’t think he was,” replied Griffin.
“I know how this town works, remember. I’m betting the record company hired him
to find out who killed Jolena so they can preempt any bad publicity that could
come the band’s way.”

“Got it in one.”

“Maybe he’ll have more luck than Fletchall
and Pickett,” Griffin said thoughtfully. “The band and their management will
probably be a bit more forthcoming with him. He could get the jump on them.”

“He told me that he will pass along the
information. He isn’t going to let them cover anything up.”

I could feel some of the tenseness in
Griffin start to ease.

“That’s good to know. Ramos is really going
to need to get some answers.”

I was distracted when my phone started
ringing.

“That will be Monique,” I said as I
searched through my bag.

“Hello, Monique,” I said when I finally
managed to get hold of it. “How are you this fine day?”

I grinned at Griffin as he shook his head.

“I’m hearing stories, ma petite. Stories
that are causing me some concern.”

“Has Jorge been telling tales?”

“Our security contingent is becoming
alarmed that the situation you are in may be becoming volatile.”

Monique always phrased things so nicely.

“I’m fine, Monique. This morning was just a
little glitch. I don’t think that the guys are coping well with the situation
and they are acting out in some weird ways.”

“They need to stop acting out around you.”

There was an edge to Monique’s voice that I
hadn’t heard before. I had a feeling that arguing with her was not the way to
go today. She had obviously reached the end of her patience when it came to
this situation. I decided not to make this hard for her.

“What do you want me to do, Monique?” I
asked quietly.

Griffin raised an eyebrow. Obviously my not
arguing the point was a new concept for him. I hoped he enjoyed the show because
he had very little chance of seeing me employ this technique with him.

Monique sighed. “What I want is for you to
be as far away from that property as is humanly possible. I want you to never
have any contact with any of those people again. Unfortunately, the client is
adamant that you are to stay. It seems that despite the issues that your recent
run in with Ash has caused, you have been more effective with keeping the band
on track than anyone else they have previously had in their employ.”

Monique sounded truly irritated that I was
doing the job that I was paid for.

“So, what do you want me to do?”

“I want you to view every interaction with
these people with suspicion. I do not want you to take any chances. I want
Jorge and that man of yours to know at every moment exactly what you are
doing.”

“Do you also want to have a GPS tracking
device implanted in me,” I said, with just a small amount of sarcasm.

“If I thought I could get away with it, I
would,” Monique retorted. “I know you say that you are careful but I have a
very bad feeling that this situation is spiraling out of control.”

I remained silent as I let her get the
frustration out of her system.

“Stay close to the people who want to
protect you. Be aware of what is going on around you at all times. Now is not
the moment to do anything stupid.”

“I don’t do stupid,” I retorted, feeling a
little like I was being reprimanded by a teacher.

Monique sighed heavily. “I know you don’t.
I just want to make sure that you are safe. The next job you get is going to be
easy, where the worst risk to you is getting a paper cut.”

I had no problem with that. I figured I was
due an easy job.

“Be careful and call me if you want out.
Management have indicated that they believe the police will be finished by this
evening. They want staff back on board early tomorrow to clean up the mess the
police made. The band is currently in a hotel. They will be returning late
tomorrow afternoon after the staff have finished their job. I do not want you
to be left alone with anyone. At all times you will have Jorge or that man of
yours glued to your side.”

“I can’t do my job like that,” I protested.

“I don’t care,” Monique said firmly. “That
is my condition for you continuing to do this job.”

I could tell that she had reached the point
where arguing was a fruitless exercise.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, feeling a little
rebellious.

“Good.” Monique finally sounded like she
had found some peace with the situation.

As I got off the phone I turned to Griffin
who was watching me carefully.

“That sounded like fun.”

“Monique is not dealing well with me at the
moment,” I said. “I have a feeling that she is going to take me off this job at
the first opportunity.”

I saw Griffin’s smile.

“Now is not the time to enjoy the moment,”
I warned. “I understand everyone’s concern but all this second guessing and
protectiveness is starting to get on my nerves. I have to be able to do my
job.”

“I understand your frustration and I will
endeavor not to add to it,” Griffin said solemnly.

“Oh, honey. I don’t know what conflict
resolution course taught you that line but you need to work a lot harder on it.
You try that on me again and we are going to have words because there was no
sincerity there at all.”

Griffin at least had the good grace to look
sheepish.

“Okay, I agree with everything Monique is
obviously saying and I really wish I could say that I would stop being overly
protective but that is not going to happen.”

I really wanted to argue but I knew that
was the best I was going to get out of him. If Jorge had been standing there, I
wouldn’t have got any better.

A knock on the door interrupted the glare I
was shooting in Griffin’s direction.

I opened it and was surprised to find
Crystal standing there, chewing her lip.

“What’s wrong?” I said, instantly on alert.
It took a lot for Crystal to look that nervous.

“I need you to come to my mother’s
bachelorette party.”

That was unexpected.

“Why?”

“Okay,” Crystal said in that rushed way she
has when she is not really sure where she stands on an issue. “The fact that my
mother has been married so many times meant that I wasn’t really expecting that
she’d want a bachelorette party. I just naturally assumed that the term
bachelorette no longer applied to you when your weddings headed into double
figures.”

I could see where that was a logical
assumption to make.

“The thing is, Roxy wanted to do something
where she and I could bond with John’s daughters.”

“And she thought a bachelorette party was
the way to go?”

Crystal shrugged helplessly. “What can I
say? She may be acting differently these days but she’s still Roxy.”

“So, why am I supposed to come along?”

“I’m using you as social protection. I’m
hoping that with you there it won’t be quite as excruciatingly uncomfortable as
I think it is going to be.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“I’ll owe you,” Crystal said.

“That goes without saying.”

“Miss Betsy organized the afternoon so
she’ll be there to keep us company.”

“What do you mean, Miss Betsy organized the
bachelorette party?”

Crystal smiled guiltily. “I panicked. I
didn’t know what to do and Miss Betsy said she’d take care of it for me.”

“Did you by any chance give her any
guidance or did you just ask her to organize something?”

“Remember how I said I panicked. Well, I
really did, and I had to get to work. Miss Betsy was right there and she said
that it would be no problem at all for her to create a day that Roxy would
never forget.”

I had a feeling that none of us were going
to forget it. Griffin, who had been watching the conversation with avid
interest, had a faintly disturbed expression on his face.