Not Suspicious in Hollywood: Not in Hollywood Book 5 (6 page)

I
was surprised to find Ramos waiting at my
apartment.

“Liza, are you okay?”

I immediately cursed myself for the stupid
question. Of course she wasn’t okay.

“I need to talk to you, Trudie.”

“Uh, sure, whatever you want.” I clumsily
unlocked my door. “Come on in.” I motioned her into my apartment. “Can I get
you a coffee, something to eat?”

“How long did you know?” Ramos asked
suddenly.

“Know what?”

“How long did you know that Jolena was
cheating on me?”

I clasped my hands together. “I didn’t know
who she was until we met at the barbecue.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“What was I going to say?” I hoped she
would understand. “I didn’t know how to approach the situation and it wasn’t
the place to say it.”

Ramos turned away from me. “I knew there
was something wrong with you at the barbecue. You were acting strange, even by
your standards.” She turned back to me. “I want you to tell me everything that
happened.”

I really didn’t want to do that.

“Are you sure? Maybe you should just leave
this to Fletchall and Pickett. I gave them the information. They are the ones
who are following it up.”

“Everything, Trudie.”

I swallowed nervously. “The guys in the
band are currently working on a new album so they are pretty much cloistered
away during the day. There are a minimal number of staff on site, mostly just
to keep things ticking along smoothly. We make sure the guys get what they want
so nothing interrupts the creative process. At nights they sometimes have
parties. Most of the attendees at these parties are female, a lot of them are
models. The stereotype of rock stars hooking up with models is pretty
accurate.” I grimaced as I belatedly remembered that Jolena had been a model.

“Go on,” Ramos waved her hand.

“On those nights when the band is partying,
the women compete with each other to spend some time with the guys. There’s a
hierarchy. As you would expect, the lead singer is at the top of that
hierarchy. Ash’s tastes sometimes run a little wild. My role at these parties
is to make sure things don’t get too out of hand. That night Ash had two women
with him. I heard some screaming and I followed Jorge into the room. We found
Ash sitting back while these two women were fighting each other. Jolena was
doing some damage to the other girl. Jorge tried to separate them and found it
really tough. Some of the other guys came in to find out what was happening and
eventually we got everything calmed down. The other girl was a bit messed up.
She had definitely come off second best in the fight. Jolena was told to leave
and that she would never be welcomed back. It was the only time I had ever seen
her there. When I saw her at the barbecue I didn’t know how to react. I am so
sorry for what has happened.”

We both stood silently and the seconds
ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace.

“This is your fault,” Ramos accused. “If it
hadn’t been for you, this would never have happened.”

A part of me wanted to defend myself, but
the look in Ramos’s eyes were those of someone who was not going to listen to
reason. Anything that I had to say in my defense was just going to add fuel to
the fire.

“You are surrounded by death. It was only a
matter of time before we got caught up in it.”

I stayed silent, concentrating on the floor
in front of me.

“I know Jolena had her problems but this
shouldn’t have happened to her.”

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.

“That doesn’t help me,” said Ramos.

“I know.”

“They said you tried to save her.”

I nodded.

Ramos turned and walked out of my
apartment. I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

I didn’t quite know what to do next. I was
concerned about Ramos. She was calm, like she always was, but it seemed to be a
thin veneer. I wondered where Griffin was. I had thought that he would be with
Ramos today.

There was a knock at my door. I opened it,
half expecting Ramos to have come back.

“Detective Fletchall, what are you doing
here?” I asked, surprised to see the police officer at my front door.

Fletchall smiled. “I was in the
neighborhood and had a couple of questions for you if that is okay. If you want
to check with your lawyer first I can wait.”

I smiled. “No, that’s fine. I really don’t
think I have anything to add to what I’ve already given you, but if you want to
come in, you’re welcome.”

I stepped back as the detective walked into
the apartment.

“Would you like a coffee?”

Fletchall smiled. “That would be great.
It’s been a bit of a rough day. You can probably imagine.”

I could. I had seen the effects on Griffin
in the first days after he caught a case. It was a mad scramble for clues
before the trail grew cold.

“Grab a seat.” I indicated a chair at the
dining table and started making a coffee for him

“So what did you need to ask me?”

Fletchall cleared his throat. “The word we
are getting from the guys in the band is that Jolena was only at the mansion
that one time when she was thrown out. Is that true?”

I nodded. “As far as I know it is. I don’t
remember seeing her there any other time. We have had quite a few people
through at some of these parties but I would have thought that I would notice
Jolena. She had something about her that stood out.”

Fletchall nodded as I passed him a coffee.
“She sure did. Thanks for that.” He raised the coffee to take a sip. “That’s
really good, exactly what I needed. You say that you saw her at the barbecue.
Do you think that she recognized you?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. She didn’t give
any indication that she did. I felt a little uncomfortable about the situation
so I went to speak to Dana Pickett, your partner’s wife.”

“I don’t think I met her,” Fletchall said
as he started writing things in his notebook.

“Well, Dana and I talked for a while and
then Griffin and I left.”

“Did you tell Griffin about Jolena?”

I nodded. “When we got home that night I
told him.”

“Do you know if he told Ramos about it?”

“I don’t think he told her until after
Jolena died. Everything happened so fast that morning, I don’t think he got a
chance.”

I heard the front door to the apartment
open. I looked up and was surprised to see Griffin walking into the room.
Griffin stopped at the sight of Fletchall and me sitting at the dining table.

“What’s happening here?” he growled.

I smiled up at him. “Detective Fletchall
just wanted to have a chat about the case,” I said.

Griffin did not return my smile, instead
glaring at Fletchall.

“How’s Ramos?” I asked, more to cut through
the tension that seemed to have enter the room along with Griffin.

“She’s getting through it,” Griffin replied
and then stared at Fletchall meaningfully. “I am sure she is hoping that the
case gets solved quickly so that she can start making sense of the whole
thing.”

Obviously getting the hint, Fletchall stood
up. “Thanks for the coffee, Trudie. And for the talk. Griffin’s a lucky man.
Not many girlfriends would be so understanding of the amount of time he spends
with Liza.”

I almost groaned. I could see Griffin
bristle. The last thing I needed was for Griffin to get in an argument with one
of his coworkers. I don’t know why cops seemed to always feel the need to score
points off each other. I blamed the long hours and the lack of sleep.

Fletchall made his way past Griffin, the
cocky grin on his face seemed to be almost daring Griffin to take a swing. When
the door closed behind Fletchall, Griffin glowered at me.

“What was he doing here?” he barked.

“Please tell me you are not angry with me
because the detective in charge of the case of the body that I found yesterday
came to talk to me,” I said with a measure of serenity that I didn’t
necessarily feel.

I watched as Griffin took in a breath and I
could see him striving to reach a level of calm that wouldn’t provoke either of
us to fly off the handle.

“I hardly think that it’s appropriate for
him to visit you at your home and have a coffee with you.”

I could feel my jaw drop. “What are you
talking about? You did it all the time when you were investigating cases. I
couldn’t get rid of you. Everywhere I turned you seemed to be there.”

“That was different,” Griffin said
defensively.

“How was it different?”

“It just was. Anyway, he’s supposed to be
looking for Jolena’s murderer, not chatting you up.”

“He was not chatting me up. He just had a
couple more questions for me and he was in the neighborhood. Wait a minute, did
you say that Jolena was murdered?” I queried.

Griffin nodded. “Looks like she was
strangled before she went into the water.”

“Ramos knows?”

Griffin nodded.

“She came here.”

“What do you mean she came here?”

“Ramos came to see me.”

Griffin sat heavily on the couch. “Why on
Earth would she do that?”

“I don’t think she’s coping as well as
we’re all expecting her to.”

“What did she say?”

“She wanted to know how long I’d known
about Jolena cheating. She wanted details.”

“Oh hell.” Griffin leaned back against the
couch and closed his eyes. “Anything else I need to know?”

“No, not really.”

Griffin opened his eyes. “What else,
Trudie? I know there was something else. You really can’t lie worth a damn, can
you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said, feeling
uncomfortable.

“Sweetheart, tell me.”

I sat down next to him and curled into his
side. “She blames me for what happened to Jolena. She said that there is death
all around me and it was only a matter of time before someone close to me got
caught up in it.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Griffin said as he put an
arm around me. “She’s hurting. She got hit with the double whammy. First,
Jolena gets killed and then she finds out that she was cheating on her. It’s only
natural that she’s going to lash out at someone. You being the one to find
Jolena and the fact you knew about the cheating makes you the most convenient
target.”

I nodded against his chest.

“Please tell me that you are not taking
what she said seriously.”

I sighed heavily. “She’s right. Everywhere
I turn I seem to trip over a body.”

Griffin stroked his hand down my arm.
“Yeah, but you also help the people who are affected by the death. In most
cases you are precisely the right person to deal with the situation. Maybe
there’s a reason for you being the one to find these bodies.”

I looked up and arched an eyebrow at him.
“Do you actually believe that or are you just trying to make me feel better?”

Griffin smiled sheepishly. “Maybe a little
of both.”

I brushed a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you,
you are very sweet to me sometimes.”

“I’m sweet to you all the time.”

I grinned. “Do you still have a copy of
that file you made up to have me charged with assault that time I accidentally
elbowed you in the eye?”

Griffin nodded.

“Then that means you’re only sweet some of
the time. That file was supposed to be destroyed.”

Griffin laughed. “It’s a memento, a fond
memory of when we first met.”

I pulled away from him and stood up. “If
you think that’s a fond memory, you have got some serious issues, my friend.
Anyway, what are you doing home so early? Didn’t you just go to work a few
hours ago?”

“I’ve been suspended,” Griffin said
abruptly.

I dropped back onto the couch and I’m sure
my mouth was wide open.

“What happened?”

“They’re investigating Ramos for her
girlfriend’s murder and I may have told my lieutenant how much of an idiot he
was.”

“And they suspended you for that?” I asked.

Griffin rolled his eyes. “Okay, I wasn’t
suspended so much as told I had to take leave that I had accrued. I’m not to
show my face in the precinct until Lieutenant Ellis has taken my photo down
from the dart board in the break room.”

“Okay,” I said slowly. “How long do they
think that will be?”

“Not sure. Usually Ramos pulls it down at
some point, when she gets annoyed with seeing it up there. But she’s suspended
as well so it could take a while.”

“How often does it end up there?” I asked.

Griffin gave me a sheepish grin, along with
his most innocent look. “Pretty regularly.”