Not Suspicious in Hollywood: Not in Hollywood Book 5 Read online

  I shook my head.

  “Did you know she was Ramos’s girlfriend?”

  “I found out yesterday. Griffin and I were still trying to work out how to tell Ramos when I found the body.

  “What are you going to do about it?” asked Crystal.

  I shrugged. “There is nothing I can do about it. The case is being investigated by a couple of detectives in the Homicide squad. I’ve been questioned and that is the extent of my involvement in this situation.”

  “Good,” Crystal said firmly.

  “What do you mean ‘good’?” I asked.

  “I mean that you need to keep away from this case as much as possible.”

  “I’ve got to go back to work tomorrow,” I said ruefully. “My options regarding distance are really not available to me.”

  “Then at least try being careful this time.”

  I stifled a frustrated sigh. Despite my reputation, I was always careful. The people around me seemed to have this idea that I went charging heedlessly into dangerous situations. That was so far from the truth as to be laughable. I was one of the most cautious people that I knew. I always weighed up every option, evaluated all risks, before going forward with anything. I was the ultimate planner. Unfortunately, life has a way of spitting on plans and I had learned to be adaptable. I didn’t get into these situations because I wanted to get into them. I got into them because Fate had a very sick sense of humor and I seemed to be the whipping boy of the moment.

  Crystal eyed me suspiciously.

  “So, do you know why your mother is coming to visit?” I asked, desperate to change the topic before Crystal decided to try to institute a curfew policy when it came to me.

  Crystal took what was obviously a fortifying sip of her coffee. “Money probably. I only hear from her when she’s run out of husbands or money.”

  “Why do you keep paying her off?”

  I was confused by the exceedingly dysfunctional nature of Crystal’s relationship with her mother. Roxy would blow into town, drive Crystal crazy until she got some money and then she would wander to another part of the world and start torturing someone else.

  “I pay her off because it means she leaves. If I don’t give her money, she stays in my life and I really don’t want that to be an option.”

  I sipped my own cup of coffee thoughtfully. “You know it might be worth refusing to pay her anything. Once she realizes that you are no longer an easy mark she might leave you alone.”

  Crystal sighed. “I have tried that before, but it comes down to a battle of wills. Who can last longer? Generally I find that I cave because I just want her away from me.”

  “And yet she keeps coming back. Whenever she turns up you go through this crazy time and it can’t be healthy for you. Maybe it has reached the point where you have to make a stand. You know, short term pain for long term gain.”

  “I know, I know. But it wouldn’t just be pain. I would have to wait her out and that woman can be annoying. She turns up everywhere I am and she has no problem with humiliating me whenever she can.” Crystal dropped her voice. “I want to minimize the time she spends with Edwin. She’ll want to sabotage our relationship. I know she will. She’ll see him as a drain on the money that she feels should rightfully go to her. I will do anything to protect him from that.”

  “Edwin knows about your mother. Nothing she says is going to have any impact on how he feels about you,” I said gently.

  It was true. Edwin worshiped the ground that Crystal walked on. It would take more than the words of one money hungry mother to change that.

  “I tried to get him to leave while my mom was here,” Crystal said.

  I snorted. That was going to work. I could not see any circumstance where Edwin would willingly leave Crystal’s side when her mother was in town.

  “That was pretty much his reaction as well,” Crystal murmured.

  “So what are you going to do?” I asked.

  Crystal shrugged. “Just try to get through the next few days. You’re right though, I need to stop giving in to the woman. If I don’t this is going to happen for the rest of my life because I just know she’s going to outlast me. She’ll probably end up fighting Edwin and any kids I might have over the will.”

  I grimaced. That was a cheery thought.

  Crystal took a swallow of her coffee and put the cup down with a decisive thud.

  “I can do this,” she muttered, more to convince herself than to convince me. “Thanks for listening, Trudie. Keep out of trouble this time.”

  I loved how everyone thought I could prevent myself from being in these situations. If there was a way for me to avoid finding a dead body, I would be the first to attempt it.

  Chapter Seven

  Once again I found myself staring at a blank screen, trying to find the best way to tell my boss that, despite my best efforts, I had found myself in a police interrogation room again. There was a nagging part of me that kept wondering whether this was going to be the moment that Monique decided that I wasn’t worth the trouble. After much deliberation I decided that the blunt approach was probably best. I outlined the situation in bald terms and almost cringed as I pressed the Send button. I barely had time to turn off my computer when my phone rang.

  “Hello,” I said timidly.

  “You contemplated not answering the phone didn’t you?” Monique asked dryly.

  “Of course not.” I couldn’t help the fact that I was nodding my head.

  “I know you’re nodding.”

  Some days I hated the fact that Monique knew me so well.

  “Do you need Reggie?” she asked.

  “No,” I replied. “The recording company organized a lawyer for me. He got me out of the station.”

  “Really?”

  I could understand the incredulity in Monique’s voice. I was still in a state of shock over the fact that I hadn’t been left behind and forgotten.

  “I think it might be better to pull you from this job.”

  It took me a second to process what Monique was saying. “Why would you do that?”

  “I don’t want to risk you getting hurt.”

  “Jorge’s there too,” I reminded her. “Are you planning on pulling him from the job as well?”

  “Jorge doesn’t suffer from the same run of bad luck that you seem to have.”

  I loved the fact that Monique seemed to be blaming my luck and not me. Hopefully that meant that my job was still safe.

  “Maybe we should look at increasing security on this assignment,” Monique mused.

  “If you can find somebody,” I grimaced.

  According to Jorge, none of the other security staff would willingly work with me. My reputation had, in my opinion, been blown completely out of proportion at the agency and Jorge was the only person who could be convinced to take an assignment with me. Usually it didn’t bother me. Frankly, I preferred to work with Jorge. Unfortunately, I knew that it made things difficult for Monique when she needed to find more than one staff member to work with me. The rumor mill would go into overdrive and all of a sudden phone calls from Monique would start to go unanswered.

  “Maybe I’ll get lucky and one of the new hires will not have heard about you yet.”

  It was good to see that Monique’s positive spin on the situation was hoping that my reputation was not included in the welcome pack for new employees.

  “Regardless, I have been notified by the band’s management that they do not want you at work tomorrow.”

  “I’ve been fired?” That didn’t seem fair.

  “Of course not. The band and their management are going to be in crisis meetings all day tomorrow and they don’t need you or Jorge. Naturally, they put it a different way, something about being sensitive to the stressful situation you faced today and that you deserved a day off.”

  I nodded. Translated that meant that from a public relations point of view, the next couple of days were going to be challenging and they just wanted to make sure
the band was prepared to face it. They didn’t want outsiders interfering with their risk management program. Despite the warm and fuzzy moment at the station, Jorge and I were definitely still considered outside guns for hire with no real loyalty to the band. However the band and its management decided to play things, we were not going to be part of the decision making process. I was perfectly fine with that.

  “You’ll be required back at the mansion the next day though. Hopefully I’ll be able to get someone extra for security then.”

  “Good luck with that.” I wasn’t holding my breath.

  “Promise me that you will not take any risks.” Monique’s voice sounded serious.

  That made me feel bad. Monique had always supported me and the strain in her voice was telling me that I was causing her some concern.

  “I promise,” I said quietly.

  After saying goodbye to Monique I sat heavily on the couch and my head dropped into my hands. I knew that the people who cared about me were getting worried. The sheer terror I had seen on Griffin’s face at the mansion was a clear indicator that each of them was having nightmares that the next time I wasn’t going to be just a traumatized bystander. I wiped my hands over my face. Maybe I should talk to Monique about finding a quiet job for my next assignment. Maybe she had some filing she needed done. How much trouble could I get into with that?

  I jumped at the sound of my phone ringing again. Thinking it might be Griffin, I answered it without checking.

  “Trudie, it’s Vale.”

  I felt my forehead crease. “Hi, Vale. Is there something I can help you with?”

  Vale cleared his throat nervously. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay, after what happened today.”

  “I’m fine,” I said automatically. I really wasn’t fine but I couldn’t say that to my client. At all times I had to at least give the impression that I had everything under control, even if I didn’t.

  “Heard you weren’t going to be in tomorrow. I was just wondering if you were coming back at all or whether you were going to abandon us? Buddy wanted to know. He’s really quite fond of you.”

  I laughed. “Now I know you’re lying. That goat hates me with a passion.”

  Vale chuckled. “I think hate is a bit of a strong word.”

  “I don’t think it’s strong enough for the way that goat feels about me.”

  There was silence as we both seemed to be searching for something else to say.

  “I’ll be back the day after tomorrow. Tell Buddy I’ll see him then,” I said.

  “I’ll do that,” Vale replied. “Take care of yourself.”

  I ended the call and stared at my phone for a few moments. I hadn’t been expecting to be contacted by any of the band directly. I had become quite fond of all of them over the last month, except Ash of course. That in itself was unusual. Generally, after a month working for any of my clients, I was wondering how much more I could take. In some cases I would be actively looking for the nearest escape route. This job had been relatively pleasant, if I didn’t take into account the hedonistic rock and roll lifestyle which, surprisingly, I seemed to be able to ignore. Still, I hadn’t expected any of them to care. It was nice.

  I yawned widely, surprised by how tired I was. I curled up on the couch and fell asleep, hoping my dreams would be untouched by the events of the day. I came awake suddenly as I felt myself being lifted up. I opened my eyes to see Griffin looking down at me with that same worried expression that seemed to be on his face far too often.

  “You’re home.”

  He kissed me on the forehead. “Yes, sweetheart. Go back to sleep, I just figured you’d be more comfortable in bed.”

  “Thank you,” I said as he laid me down on the mattress.

  I waited for him while he was in the bathroom getting ready for bed. When he stretched out beside me I turned to him and felt safer as his arms wrapped around me.

  “How is Ramos doing?”

  Griffin took in a deep breath. “She’s holding it together. I had to tell her about Jolena cheating on her. I didn’t want her getting blindsided by Fletchall with that little piece of information.”

  “Did she have any idea?”

  Griffin shook his head. “Seems Jolena had issues in the past but Ramos thought that they had worked through them. From what I could tell, Ramos didn’t know Jolena was cheating but she wasn’t completely shocked.”

  “How did she know her?”

  “Jolena’s a model. Not an overly famous one or anything. Seems she did a bit on the side, enough to keep her going but not enough to hit the big time. She was also starting to do some acting work, small bits really. Ramos met her in some coffee shop they both go to and they hit it off. It seems they went from there. Ramos thought it was exclusive but from what I’ve been hearing, Jolena was a bit of a wild one. She liked moving in certain circles. Partying with musicians would be right up her alley.”

  “I hope she’ll be okay,” I said quietly against his chest.

  “She’s strong,” Griffin murmured. “She’s got a lot of family around her and they’re helping.”

  “Good.”

  “I got a scare today, sweetheart.”

  “I’m sorry.” I held onto him a little tighter.

  “We got a call about a female body at that property and I knew that you were the only woman they have working there at the moment. I honestly thought I’d lost you. I never want to feel that way again. I never want to go through what Ramos is going through right now.”

  I knew I couldn’t say anything that was going to make this better.

  “I know you don’t do anything to cause this. I know it’s just my fears but I wish I could find a way to wrap you up and keep you safe.”

  “Monique is worried too. She is looking at putting on a second security person until they find out what happened.”

  “Good. I know Jorge keeps an eye on you but I wouldn’t mind somebody else there to watch your back as well.”

  I felt a light kiss on the top of my head. “Just stay safe for me, sweetheart.”

  I nodded and felt myself drifting off, secure in his arms.

  Chapter Eight

  “Wake up, sweetheart. You need to get ready for work.”

  I opened my eyes slowly and found Griffin, fully dressed, with his hand on my shoulder.

  “Not going to work today. Monique told me they didn’t want me.”

  I turned over and pulled the covers over my head. Griffin pulled them away and I grumbled in his general direction.

  “What’s going on? Have you been fired?”

  I really didn’t appreciate the hopeful quality in his voice.

  “No, I haven’t been fired. I’m just not going to work today. The band is in crisis talks with their management over what happened with Jolena. My input is not considered necessary in those circumstances.”

  Griffin’s face tightened. “So, they’re circling the wagons, are they?”

  I nodded. “Probably. Once management, public relations and lawyers get involved, that’s what they seem to do.”

  “And our chances of finding out the truth get more and more unlikely.”

  Griffin sounded bitter and I didn’t blame him. It was bad enough when he was investigating a normal case, let alone one where he had an emotional stake in it.

  “Are Detectives Fletchall and Pickett any good?” I asked.

  Griffin shrugged. “I don’t know Pickett at all. He’s new to the precinct. Fletchall has been there forever and he’s a pretty good detective. Doesn’t always get along with everybody but then who really does?”

  I sat up in bed and rubbed a hand over my face.

  “Have they told you anything about Jolena yet? Do they know what happened?”

  Griffin smiled ruefully. “They’re not going to tell me a thing about this case. The victim being Ramos’s girlfriend means that the two of us are now kept on a strictly need to know basis. I’ll probably be spoken to at some point but they are going to keep
me as far away from this case as it is possible to get.”

  “Enjoy the interrogation. I have to say that the one I had yesterday was the most pleasant that I ever had.”

  Griffin quirked an eyebrow. “Really?”

  I nodded enthusiastically. “Detective Fletchall brought me coffee and he was nice to me. You might want to take notes.”

  “Are you complaining about my technique?”

  “When it comes to the interrogation room, yes I am.”

  Griffin smiled and brushed his lips over mine. “I’ll see you when I get home.”

  I smiled back at him. “See you then.”

  When I heard the door close I fell back onto the bed, pulled the covers over my head and closed my eyes.

  I heard a key in the door.

  “Did you forget something?” I called out, although it was slightly muffled by the covers.

  I didn’t hear a reply and I turned my head slightly.

  “Griffin?”

  I screamed when a figure jumped on top of me.

  “Don’t panic, it’s just me.”

  I ripped the covers down. “Crystal, what the hell are you doing? You almost gave me a heart attack.”

  Crystal smiled unrepentantly.

  “Okay, that does it. I want my emergency key back now.” I glared at her.

  Crystal sat up on the bed.

  “Fine, here it is,” she said, dropping the key on my bedside table.

  I could feel my eyes narrowing. That had been too easy.

  “You’ve made a copy, haven’t you?”

  “Several,” Crystal grinned.

  I dropped my head back on the pillow. “You’ve got to stop doing that,” I growled. “Griffin’s pretty much living here these days. He’s generally armed and when it comes to my protection he’s on a bit of a hair trigger. You come into this apartment when he’s not expecting it and I can’t be held accountable for what happens next.”

  Crystal dismissed my worries with a wave of her hand. “I have complete faith in Griffin’s reflexes. Anyway, how else am I going to be able to get an eyeful of him as he walks out of the shower?”

  I shook my head. Crystal is deliriously happily married to my friend, Edwin. Despite that inescapable fact, she has got the strangest bucket list which includes getting a glimpse of Griffin when he walks out of the shower. Edwin can’t really say much because his bucket list includes watching me utilize skills that I had learned at a previous job at a strip club. I hadn’t thought my pitiful attempts at using a stripping pole for fitness would interest anyone, not even my boyfriend. But Edwin was insistent that he and Crystal should get a show. I think it had more to do with the comedic value of seeing the lack of coordination that I bring to dancing, and elevating it to swinging around a pole. I was beginning to think that our friendship had wandered into a weird territory.