Part 12 (2/2)

”Not available.”

He laughed, apparently thinking she was joking. ”Good one. No, seriously, what's your name?”

”Fran,” I said. ”She's our office manager.”

”Watch it,” said Fran to me.

Rich Westholme slapped on a slimy smile. ”Well, Fran, have you ever thought of being in movies?”

She directed a look at him I thought might burn his sallow face, but he continued to grin at her.

”What about me?” I said. ”Maybe I've got ambitions to be in movies.”

”Yeah, yeah.” He didn't even bother looking in my direction. To Fran he said, ”I'm casting at the moment. There could be a part for you.”

I winced as Fran opened her rosebud mouth, having a fair idea what her response was going to be. With terrific timing, Melodie blew through the door at this exact instant. ”Rich!” She rushed over and planted a proprietary kiss on his cheek. ”You didn't say you were coming by.”

”Yeah, well, I was in the neighborhood.”

The phone rang. I waited to see if Melodie was intending to resume her duties, but she was too busy looping her arm through Rich's and leading him off. ”Honey, you said you wanted to see where I work, so let me give you the official tour. And you'll want to hear about my audition...”

Fran said, ”d.i.c.khead.”

I said, ”f.u.c.kwit.”

We looked at each other. ”You're all right,” said Fran.

I was excited but not showing it. I'd expected we have dinner in some local restaurant, but instead we were going to Ariana's place. Bob Verritt was driving and I was playing it cool. He was negotiating the sharp bends of the ascending Hollywood Hills road with more smooth skill than I had shown this morning. Of course, Bob probably had the advantage of knowing exactly where he was going. ”Have you been to Ariana's place many times?”

His long face split in a smile. ”Not often, and every time it's like receiving an invitation from the queen.”

”She lives alone, doesn't she?”

”Apart from Gussie.”

An arrow of disappointment skewered me. Then I thought how stupid I was to have thought otherwise. Why would someone as attractive as Ariana be alone?

”Here we are.” Bob pulled through an entryway into a smallish parking lot just off the road. There was room for three, maybe four cars. A barred gate began sliding across to secure the area from the road. Facing us was the door of a double garage, and I supposed Ariana's BMW was nestling in there side-by-side with whatever Gussie drove. I pictured something sportya” maybe even a Porsche.

Not much could be seen of Ariana's house from this vantage point, just a blank wall with an entrance door. ”Smile,” said Bob, ”you're on Candid Camera!'

I looked more carefully at the entrance. ”There's a surveillance camera here?”

”Don't bother lookinga”you won't find it. The lens is tiny.”

I became aware of a deep barking. The dog wasn't hysterical, but merely well-mannered, announcing there were intruders on the premises.

Ariana opened the door, her left hand hooked into the collar of a large German Shepherd. ”Don't mind Gussie. She's friendly, as long as you don't attack me.”

Gussie, tongue lolling, checked out Bob, gave a quick wave of her tail to acknowledge she recognized him, then switched her watchful gaze to me. I could have flung my arms around her neck and hugged her but thought it better to be more circ.u.mspect. Besides, I know dogs well, and although she seemed friendly, her role was to guard Ariana, and I was a stranger.

Ariana stood aside to let us in. ”I got Chinese takeout. I hope that's okay.”

”Bonzer.” I realized I'd skipped lunch. ”I'm starving.”

”Then let's eat first and work later.”

The house was on three levels, the last being a living room that stretched the entire length of the building. Jarrod Perkins could not have had a more stunning view. Far below us the brilliant lights of the city stretched in sparkling patterns until they reached a darkness I presumed was the Pacific Ocean. How odd to think the waves of that same ocean beat upon the sh.o.r.es of my own country, half a world away.

I'd expected the decor of Ariana's house to be stark, perhaps with black and white predominating, like her office. I couldn't have been more wrong. It was warm, comfortable, and welcoming. The walls were pale cream, the polished wooden floors glowed with honey tints, the couches and chairs, arranged to take advantage of the view, were upholstered in a deep rose fabric.

I would have loved to have had a tour of the whole house, but Ariana ushered us into a dining area adjacent to the kitchen, where we could look at the city lights while we ate.

Gussie stationed herself nearby, keeping an eye on Bob and me. I grinned at her. ”You may look fierce, but you're just a big, gorgeous sook,” I said. She c.o.c.ked her head, considering me, then flapped her plumed tail a couple of times.

Fortunately Ariana had ordered generously. While she picked at her food and Bob ate moderately, I feasted. Takeaway from Wong's Cafe in the 'Gudge ran a pretty poor second to this spread. And just like I'd seen in the movies, everything came in delightful little cardboard containers that folded over at the top, not the plastic trays I was accustomed to.

”That was beaut,” I said, sitting back with a sigh of satisfaction. ”Thank you.”

We moved to the living room for coffee. ”I'm afraid I'm a poor host,” Ariana told me. ”I don't have loose tea, but I do have Twinings tea bags. Could you slum, just this once?” She almost smiled as she added, ”It's not the herbal tea you so dislike.”

I said I'd have coffee, but I was charmed by the offer. Almost as charmed as I was by the house, but nowhere near how much I was charmed by Ariana Creeling herself.

When we moved to the living room, Gussie came too, putting herself beside Ariana's chair. Bob folded himself onto one of the couches, and I sat beside him.

Ariana was all business. ”Bob, what's the report on the Challoner case?”

He groaned. ”Tracking this particular missing teenager is no piece of cake, especially when her parents are in the middle of an acrimonious divorce and blaming each other for their daughter's disappearance. Add to that the girl took quite a sum of money with her, and she's got an excellent support group. Getting information out of her friends is like pulling teeth, but I'm getting there, slowly but surely.”

They discussed the runaway Ca.s.sie Challoner for a few minutes, then Ariana said to me, ”Let's get to the Deerdoc situation.”

”The Hummer?”

”It was an incendiary device. No details yet. Perkins made it easy, as he never bothers to lock his vehicles. The doorman of the building didn't notice anything, but it could have been planted long before Perkins parked the Hummer in Beverly Hills. When he was interviewed by the cops this afternoon, he said he had no idea who could have wanted to harm him.”

”Ha!” Bob snorted. ”If you included everyone Jarrod Perkins has p.i.s.sed off, potential suspects would number in the thousands.”

”Do you think the bomb has anything to do with the missing therapy session recordings?” I asked.

”It's possible,” said Ariana. ”I did my best to persuade Dave Deer to tell the police about the blackmail threat, but he insists it's got to be kept quiet.”

Bob said, ”You don't believe they're one and the same? The thief is the blackmailer?”

”It would be very helpful if it were one person, but I've a strong feeling it isn't the case.”

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