Authors: M.Z. Kelly
“Something stolen that can’t be returned,” I said to Bernie as we drove to Robin’s condo the next morning. “What the hell does that mean?”
I got a whine and an air lick before I saw him in my rearview mirror going over to the window and lapping up air.
I had no idea what Griselda Lugosi had meant, but I was more convinced than ever there were things going on with the Princes that we had no idea about. I decided that, no matter what it took, I would need to try and find a way to talk to Lady Prince’s attendant again.
After picking up Robin, I tried to put both our murder case and Griselda’s curse out of my mind—thankfully, I hadn’t grown warts or lost my vagina—and concentrate on how to ask the man I’d once worked with if he was my father.
“To tell you the truth,” I said to Robin after I picked him up, “I don’t know how to even begin talking to Pearl about what Oz said.”
He took a moment, brushing a hand through his short hair. “I can’t tell you how to begin the discussion, but I think you’ve eventually got to be up front and tell him what Oz said.”
“I know, it’s just…” I took a breath. “If he is my father, I don’t know how to deal with the emotions I’m feeling.”
He reached over and touched my hand. “Anyone in your shoes would feel the same way. I’ll be there to help you through everything.”
I felt my eyes misting over. “I appreciate that.”
As we drove, the conversation eventually drifted to Lindsay. I told him about Joe Dawson’s call. “He’s still hoping that she’s gone underground to try and stop the Swarm.”
“What do you think?”
I glanced at him. “I just don’t know. If she is going to help us, I think we’ll know soon. They’ve got a confidential informant who’s infiltrated the group.”
“It sounds dangerous.”
I nodded, but didn’t respond, thinking that danger, in one form or another, seemed to be my constant companion. The road turned and I said, “Pearl’s house is up ahead, just around the corner.”
We stopped in front of the iron gates and I punched in Pearl’s number. After several tries, it was apparent that no one was going to answer.
“Maybe he isn’t home,” Robin said.
“Maybe…” I punched in the number for the main residence. “Let me see what I can find out.”
After waiting for almost a minute, I got a man on the line who said he was an employee of the Dentons, the owners of the property. “We’re here to see Mr. Kramer, but he isn’t answering,” I explained.
“Mr. Kramer left a couple of nights ago. I don’t know where he is.”
I glanced at Robin, then turned back to the intercom. “Did he say when he would be returning?”
“Actually, no. His departure was rather sudden and unannounced.”
My anxiety level spiked. I took a moment, explaining that I was a police officer and had worked with Pearl. “Is there any chance we could come in and maybe check his cottage, just to make sure everything’s okay?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“You said he left unexpectedly and you have no idea where he is. I just want to make sure his property is secure and there’s no signs of…of any kind of disturbance. In the meantime, I’ll try to call him.”
After a long hesitation, he came back on the line. “Since you’re a police officer, I think it would be alright. I’ll buzz you in and meet you at his cottage.”
I tried Pearl’s number a couple of times as we made the short drive to his bungalow. There was no answer and no voice mail message.
“It’s a little strange,” I said to Robin after explaining about the calls.
“Maybe he has his phone turned off.”
“Maybe, but there should still be voice mail.”
Ten minutes later, the man we’d talked to introduced himself as Reginald and we walked to the front door of Pearl’s cottage. I knew that the small home had been the caretaker’s residence for the large estate at one time. Pearl had previously told me that the main residence had been owned by a Hollywood producer years ago and some of the family members had been murdered.
“When did you last see Mr. Kramer?” I asked Reginald.
“I believe it was a couple of days ago.” The Dentons’ employee was a slender man, with gray hair and a slight English accent. “It’s rather strange he isn’t around. We had plans to meet yesterday and go over some issues with the estate’s alarm system.”
“Is there a problem with the alarm?”
“It’s been malfunctioning. I called the company that installed it, but they’ve been slow to respond. Mr. Kramer said he was familiar with the system and planned to take a look.”
When we got to the front porch, I tried the door, but found it was locked. I turned to Reginald. “Would you have a key?” I saw his hesitation. “Just so we can take a quick look to make sure everything’s okay. I promise we don’t disturb anything.”
He nodded and in a moment had the door open. As I walked inside, I saw the masks on the wall, remembering that Pearl had told me he’d collected them on his many trips around the world. We moved through the kitchen, where we saw everything was in order. It wasn’t until we were in the cottage’s only bedroom that something seemed out of place.
Robin said what I was thinking. “It looks like maybe he was packing and left in a hurry.”
I agreed with what he’d said, seeing there was a small suitcase on the bed and some clothes scattered nearby. I went over to the walk-in closet and saw there were some shirts that had fallen off their hangers onto the floor. I then checked the bathroom and found that a drawer was open, along with the medicine chest. It further confirmed our suspicions that Pearl had packed and left quickly.
I went back into the bedroom, where I said to Reginald, “I’ve known Mr. Kramer a long time. He’s normally very tidy. It looks to me like he packed and left in a hurry.”
His gray eyes swept over the room. “So it would seem.”
We spent another ten minutes going through the cottage, but not finding anything else out of the ordinary. After the Dentons’ employee relocked the front door, we thanked him and I gave him my card. “Please call me if you see or hear from Mr. Kramer.”
He took my card and nodded. He met my eyes. “What…what do you think happened here?”
I didn’t want to upset him and said, “Maybe he had an illness in the family and left quickly. I’ll be sure to call you if I hear from him.”
Robin and I were leaving the estate, patterns of sunlight dancing through the overhead bough of oak trees, when he said, “I think Pearl’s in some kind of trouble.”
I glanced at him. “What do you mean?”
“His phone’s turned off, he left in a hurry, and no one knows where he is.” Robin’s blue eyes found me. “You’re a cop. What does that tell you?”
“Something’s not right,” I agreed. “I’ve got to find him.”
After taking Robin home, I spent the rest of the day making calls to Leo and anyone else who knew Pearl. Leo had a phone number for Pearl’s sister and called me back after speaking with her. “She said she last talked to Pearl a couple of weeks ago and everything seemed fine. She’s got some additional contacts and said she’d be in touch after making some calls. I think we need to wait and see what she finds out.”
“I’m worried. It isn’t like Pearl to spontaneously take off without telling anyone where he’s going. Something’s wrong.”
I heard Leo exhale. “Let’s give it a day or two and see if he turns up. If we don’t hear something by Monday, we can talk to Edna and see about filing a report.”
I agreed with him, since there were no other options, and ended the call, but I felt defeated. I spent the rest of the day running errands, but not being able to get Pearl off my mind. Could it be that someone had found out what Oz had said on his deathbed and that had put Pearl’s life in danger? But even if Pearl was my father, why would that put him in danger?
It then occurred to me that Pearl might have left the area permanently and I’d never see him again. Pearl had always been there for me, at least on the job, and I felt compelled to help him if he was in trouble. Late in the day, I came up with a plan. I left Bernie with my friends and made the drive to Malibu to see Collin Russell.
I’d met with Russell a few weeks back, at the time even thinking
he
might be my father. He’d been gregarious and charming the first time we’d talked, but denied knowing anything about my biological father. He had even provided me with some old letters, telling me that my mother had written them. According to Russell, he and Judie Crawford had been friends over thirty years ago, even acting together in some old movies.
My mother’s letters had confirmed that John Sexton, the man who raised me, was not my biological father, something that I’d already pieced together on my own. My mother had speculated that John’s murder was orchestrated at the highest levels of Hollywood’s elite to cover up what he knew about the murder of Jean Winslow. I still believed that her letters were genuine and heartfelt, despite now knowing that much of what Collin Russell had told me was a lie.
The second time we’d spoken, Russell had pulled a gun on me, telling me that he feared for his life because of what he’d previously told me. He had eventually dropped the weapon, apologized for his behavior, and we’d gone on to have a lengthy conversation.
I’d learned that Russell, who was now gay, had previously been married and fathered a son named Kellen Malone. He’d told me that he and his son were now estranged because he believed Kellen had become involved in the Revelation. I’d learned that his son was friends with Donald Regis, the head of Wallace Studios thirty years ago. Russell had said that Kellen would stop at nothing to control the studios and stars. He’d gone on to speculate that either Malone or Regis had been involved in the death of Jean Winslow and had covered it up, making it look like a suicide.
Russell had also told me that Ryan Cooper, the man who had killed my love-dad, was working as a hit man for the Revelation. He’d also confided in me that he’d been involved in a relationship with an actor years ago who was murdered. He speculated that his son and the Revelation were behind his death. That action had resulted in Russell and his son having no contact in decades.
In the intervening weeks, I’d realized much of what Russell had said was a lie. I now knew that he and Harlan Ryland were part of the Revelation. That cult had eventually been transformed into the Tauist Society, keeping much of the secrecy and beliefs of the original group, and prophesizing that they would eventually take over and change society. It was my belief that Russell had realized I was getting closer to the truth and he’d tried to cover his own tracks by blaming the Revelation, Ryan Cooper, and his own son for the trail of death and deception that had been covered up.
The sun was beginning to set by the time I arrived in Malibu. Russell’s house was in a hillside community of large homes overlooking the ocean. I had to park down the hill from the narrow road leading up to the house and walk up the street.
I stopped when I got to the iron gates bordering the walkway of the home. From where I stood, I was concealed by the heavy gates, but could see there were two men greeting one another at the front door. I shielded my eyes and saw the older man was about sixty, with thinning gray hair. I knew he was Collin Russell. Then I made out the features of the other man.
“I don’t believe this,” I whispered.
The men both turned away from the house for a moment before entering, probably to take in the view of the sun setting over the ocean. In that moment, any doubts I had about the identity of the second man were erased. The man standing beside Collin Russell was my boyfriend, Noah Fraser.
I thought about confronting Noah and Russell, but then thought better of it, deciding that if they were behind Pearl’s disappearance, I didn’t want to make things any worse for him. I pushed down my anger, doing a slow burn as I drove down the lane from Russell’s estate and parked on the highway. I decided to wait for Noah to leave and follow him.
It had only been a few weeks since Noah and I had professed our love to one another. In a short period of time, he’d convinced me that we were meant to be together. My thoughts drifted back to that night in Maui when he’d told me one of the most romantic things I’d ever heard. He’d said that we were meant to be together and that our lives were a love story. He’d then gone on to tell me that he had faith that fate had brought us together and then told me that he loved me.
“You bastard,” I said under my breath. I pounded my fists on the steering wheel, screaming. “How could you do this to me?”
I realized in that moment everything that had happened between us must have been carefully orchestrated so that he could gain my confidence. Then something else struck me. Noah had recently told me that I was obsessed with finding those responsible for my father’s death and that I needed to back off. I had no doubt now that he was acting on orders from Russell, and maybe even Harlan Ryland, to try and get me to stop looking into my love-dad’s murder.
Those realizations resulted in my emotions taking over. I spent several minutes crying, heartbroken that’d I’d been used by a man who had professed his love for me. When I finally regained some control, I looked up and saw headlights coming down the road from Russell’s house and recognized Noah’s car. I followed him after he pulled out on the highway, keeping several car lengths behind to be sure I wasn’t spotted. He ended up getting onto the freeway and going to downtown Los Angeles before stopping at a club called Longfellow’s.
I took my time before discretely entering the bar, but staying back so that I wouldn’t be seen. It took me a couple of minutes before I spotted Noah. He was at a corner table with a dark-haired woman. They were sharing drinks. Then I saw them sharing something else—kisses.
I decided I’d seen enough and left in a fit of rage, crying most of the way home. I was so upset when I picked up Bernie that I refused to tell Natalie and Mo what happened. It wasn’t until late the following afternoon after we’d done a little shopping, that I unburdened myself on the patio of a nearly empty restaurant. It all came out in fits of starts and stops, with tears bursting from my eyes.
I ended my tear-filled rant by telling them, “Everything Noah did and said was a lie. I’m willing to bet he’s a Tauist, sent by Russell and Ryland to try and get me to stop looking into things. That’s the reason he told me I was obsessed with finding my father’s killer and that I needed to back off everything.”
Natalie looked at Mo. “We need to cut off the bloke’s Willie and feed it to him, just like the mob does when they send a message.”
Mo, who today had on a bright orange wig, was more circumspect. “I think we need to use this to our advantage.”
I blew my nose and took a breath. “What do you have in mind?”
“We know that Noah’s working for Russell and Ryland, but he has no idea we’re on to him. I think he’s the key to everything. We need to use him.”
“He could be our secret mole,” Natalie said, clapping her hands together in excitement. “We’re gonna get all the inside 411.”
“But how do we do that without him knowing we’re on to him?” I said.
Mo’s expression turned into a grimace, like she was trying to solve one of Einstein’s equations. “Let me do some serious thinking ‘bout this. I’ll come up with something.”
I sighed. “In the meantime, Pearl’s still missing, and I’m really worried about him.”
“I know one thing for sure,” Mo said. “Nobody can take care of himself better than Pearl. He’s probably just lying low, waiting ‘til he can tell you the truth about him being your father and take down Russell and Ryland.”
My sense of betrayal and outrage again overwhelmed me. I finally said, “All I know for sure is one thing: After what Noah did, I’m turning in my woman card.”
“You mean you’re gonna become a lesbian?” Natalie asked. “I always wondered how somebody can just switch sides in the middle of the game. Tell me something, are you attracted to me?”
I looked at her. “No…I mean, yes. I mean, no, I’m not becoming a lesbian, but if I were, of course I would certainly be attracted to you.”
She smiled. “Okay, I’ll keep you on my list.”
“What list?”
“I got me an L-list in case I decide to flip.” She tapped her forehead. “Always be prepared—it’s the Boy Scout motto, and we know how some of
them
turned out.”
Mo smiled at me. “Baby sis always has a plan.” She regarded me. “You gonna be okay?”
I dragged a hand through my hair. “To tell you the truth, I don’t know. I think I need some time to process everything.”
“Fair enough. In the meantime, if Noah calls or texts you, don’t answer. We need to put a plan together, and you need to sort out your emotions before talking to him.” Her expression became serious. “You need to think of me and Natalie as generals, Kate.” They both came to attention and saluted one another. “This is war.”