Exposed by Rage (5 page)

I felt bad about the things I had said to Eve, but I was angry and didn’t give a shit if I made new friends.  A lot of people in the adult film business were decent, hardworking, and surprisingly family oriented.  They just didn’t find it repugnant like the holier than thou  did.  It wasn’t the business it had been when Trixie started.  There were a lot of filmmakers back then who hi-jacked kids from the streets, drugged them, and forced them to perform.  And there were jackasses today who did the same, but the profession was beginning to freeze them out. 

I really hated it when someone thought I wanted to be part of the business like dimzie Mimzi had.  My family had already donated enough flesh, in my opinion, and I wanted as far away from the films as I could get.  Yet every time I tried to walk away, something happened to pull me back to Trixie.

* * * *

Arriving at Severenson’s office at eight as agreed, I wasn’t surprised to find the porn queen was already there.  Trix had returned for the meeting or Eve had lied about her being out of town.  So what was new?  Beverly, Jose and Elspeth were in the office lobby as well.  I was glad to know Jillie was taking care of them.  I was surprised Kevin wasn’t there, after all Jillie loved him and should have left him something.

Severenson invited us into his office and invited us to take seats.   “Melissa Jillian Favor, was a woman we will all miss,” he said solemnly.  “She loved all of you and wanted each of you to have something.  If you agree, we'll proceed with the bequests.  I don’t think we need to make this a formal reading.

“To the gardener, Jose Torres, your love of beauty has always been something Jillie found inspiring.  She also admired your hard work and what she called your amazing ability to make things grow.  At the beginning of the year, she bought a 75% interest in the Calgany Nursery which is now yours.  I will be happy to make an appointment with you later in the week to go over the details and to make the ownership changes official.”

Surprise widened Jose’s eyes, then sadness crept in.  I understood how mixed the feelings could be when one had gained something only because of a devastating loss.

“To Elspeth Bloomington, you have been with Jillie over many years and have acted in many roles in her life.  You have cared for her, watched over her, been a friend as well.  You are to receive the Cadillac you have been using and one million dollars.  Jillie hopes you will invest wisely and finally take the time to go visit all those places you've dreamed about all these years. 

Elspeth burst into tears.

“To Beverly Tyson she leaves the auto restoration shop, including all contents, and a choice of one of the T-Birds you restored.  She was also concerned that you were developing a problem gambling, and has added the requirement you refrain from placing any bets over $100.00 for the next two years.  The ownership documents for the shop and car will revert to her estate should you not agree, or if the control cannot be met.

"Ashley Dix.  The balance of her estate goes to you, including the house and VixSin, as you already know with the exception of two more bequests. There is also a trust fund, in the amount of one million dollars, set aside for our son, Jeremy."

My muscles stiffened making it hard to breathe.  Jilly and Severenson had a son? Where was he?  Why hadn't she told me?  I didn’t have to ask.

Severenson confessed.  "I know you have many questions, and I am available for the rest of the day if you wish to go over everything.  However let me explain about our son.

"Jeremy. A wonderful boy.  I fell in love with Jillie when I was just entering law school. So much in love.  I didn't care what she did, and I didn't try to stop her from continuing her career and we got married.  Rather impulsive, we went off to Vegas.  A year later Jeremy arrived.  He was so special, and Jillie was an amazing mother.  He was in a horrible car accident. Only ten years old.  He has been in a coma ever since then."

“I'm so sorry.  I never knew.  Are you still... married?" What I meant was, was this a motive for Kevin, finding out she was still married and it set him off?”

 "No.  The marriage couldn't stand the strain of my guilt over Jeremy’s injuries.  I knew the brakes on the car needed to be replaced but I put it off because I was too busy."  He gave me a sad smile.  "Jillie tried to convince me it wasn't my fault but it was."

“Why didn’t she say something?  Tell me?”

“Ashley, Jillie didn’t want anyone to pity her.  She thought that telling people about Jeremy would be like asking for pity—something she couldn’t tolerate.  She didn’t tell anyone unless she had to.”

It hurt, but I understood.  "So she's leaving a trust to make sure he is cared for.  Is it enough?"

"Thomas," Trixie interrupted, "can we get on with this?  I don't have all day and have things I have to do."

 "Of course.  Jillie has left you the Arizona properties in exchange for your quarter share of VixSin, and I have been instructed to offer you a chance to purchase Jillie's share of the other clubs you co-owned.  The price is to be a reasonable discount from market value to be paid to Ashley.  If you choose not to purchase this interest, I am then instructed to open the sale to others."

"That bitch.  She wouldn't have had any of this if it hadn't been for me.  She was supposed to leave me her share."  Trixie’s hand curled into claws and she looked ready to rake Severenson's eyes out.

 "She never agreed to that as you well know.  When the partnerships were drawn it was clear she intended to maintain the right to dispose of her interests in the clubs as she saw fit.  This is a courtesy to you."

 Trixie started to say something but instead snapped her jaw tightly shut.  Trixie could be a convincing actress when necessary.  Had she really known that Jillie wasn’t leaving her shares of the other clubs?  Was that a strong enough motive to kill Jillie in such frenzy? 

* * * *

I had one more stop before I headed home.  I drove back to the club.  It was early by club standards, but most of the people I wanted to talk to would be there.  I made sure the few customers had their drinks, and were being entertained before I called the staff into the office.

“I know you’ve heard Jillie left me this place.  I figure you have questions.”

Randi, Butch, Kevin, and the other staff members looked at me, waiting for me to say...something more.

Randi broke the silence, “So, you going to close us down?  I know you always hated this business.”

“I haven’t made any decisions.  I don’t like the business, but I don’t want to put anyone out on the streets either.  I’ll have to think about it after Jillie’s killer is caught.”

“Who was the…” Butch looked at Randi, searching for the right word, “woman in the office all morning?  She going to take over Randi’s job?”

“No, as I explained to Kevin, Poppy’s a good friend.  Good with numbers.  She came to give me a hand.  Anything else will be her decision.”  Butch and Randi turned to look at Kevin, who shrugged.  Was there a reason he hadn’t told them who Poppy was? 

“So it’s possible you’ll close down. How can you do this?  Randi worked hard for--.”

Randi laid her hand on Butch’s arm, “She said she doesn’t know.” 

Randi stared into my eyes.  After a moment she said, “Butch, I believe her.  Don’t go getting all heated up over something that hasn’t happened.”

Butch jerked his arm away from Randi and stalked out of the room.

“Sorry, Ashley.  He needs to cool off.  He’ll be okay.”

“I can only promise you one thing.  Whatever I decide you won’t be left out in the cold.  You’ll have a job, if you deserve one.  If you want it.  I just don’t know yet what the jobs are going to look like.”

“Fair enough,” Randi said too sharply, and the others in the room nodded agreement, slowly filing out.  “Kevin, I need to talk to you a minute, can you wait? 

“When you’re ready, we need to talk, Ash,” Randi continued.  “I’ve got some things I have to tell you, but they’ll wait.”

“Will it help me find Jillie’s killer?  If not, we can talk tomorrow.”  Randi went to find Butch and Kevin stood waiting for me to tell him what was on my mind.

“Kev, I think you know that Jillie’s will was read last evening.  I don’t understand why she didn’t leave the club or something to you.  I want to make that right.”

Kevin gave a sad smile.  “I didn’t want anything.  Told her I wouldn’t accept it.  I didn’t love Jillie for her money.”

“I never thought you did, but it’s only fair that you have something—at least some memento, maybe one of the T-Birds or…”

“No, Ash.  Thanks, but I have my memories and that’s enough.  Jillie paid me a good wage, helped me out a few times when I needed it, and there is nothing that can replace what I’ve lost.”

I understood, in a way.  I hadn’t wanted anything from her either, but that wasn’t in her plans for me.  I gave Kevin a hug and returned to my car.  I couldn’t deal with the business of doing anything but finding the son of a bitch who  murdered the one woman who made me feel like I had a family.

I would have given my first performance in a porn film if I’d had someone in my sights I could beat to hell and back.  In the parking lot Jillie’s --
my
--car had Bitch emblazoned in paint across the hood.  The two driver side tires shredded. Not a soul in the lot.  Not the ghost of a car visible other than the staff’s that were there when I arrived.  I called the dealer to have the hood repaired.  They would send a team to change the tires, and drive the car in.  They offered to provide a loaner.  I refused.  I had plenty of other transportation at the house.

Since DeMarco had called and told me he was headed in my direction, I called him back and filled him in on what had happened.  He arrived before the tow. 

“I don’t know who did this, but it must be someone I’m acquainted with.  I haven’t been in town long enough to piss anyone else off.”

“I’ll have Braden write up a report.  He’ll enjoy doing you the favor.  Any chance you caught something on the security camera?”

“No, I seem to have parked in a blind spot, Butch already checked and there is nothing to indicate who might have been around to do this.  I don’t need a report on this.  I’ll take care of it myself.  I don’t need Braden to like me any better than he already does.”

DeMarco choked back a laugh.  “You make friends easily I see.  All that honey that drips off you.  You sure you don’t want to report the damage to the car?”

I let out a snort, my version of a derisive laugh.  DeMarco wasn’t half as inhuman as I wanted him to be.  I didn’t want to like him but--- Hell I couldn’t think about that now. “Car isn’t that bad and I’d rather not have a bunch of cops chasing shadows over this one.  Figure he was sending me a personal message.”“Your call,” DeMarco shrugged as the tow truck arrived for my car.

“Poppy,” I called as we entered the bungalow, “make sure you’re decent when you come out. Detective Demarco’s with me.”

“You could call me Michael,” he said, walking over to the bar rail between the kitchen and the rest of the front room.  “Smells great.  Your friend a professional cook?”

That comment called for a snicker since Pop had tried cooking school and hated it, but the laugh wasn’t forthcoming.  “No, she’s a civilian auditor for the Army.” Poppy knew I hadn’t eaten and had prepared one of my favorite dishes for the late dinner.

“How’d the two of you hook up?”

“Met her in Dallas when I was a kid.  She’s a couple years older, decided to protect my ass when I left home.  When I turned seventeen she talked me into joining the Army with her.”

DeMarco wasn’t listening.  Instead, his eyes were wide open, hazy with lust and disbelief.  I didn’t have to turn around. I knew who he was looking at.  I had seen that same goofy look on others, many times and only once been jealous.  This time.

Poppy.  Have I mentioned she is drop dead gorgeous?  Straight black hair gleaming like onyx surrounds her Latin beauty face.  In picture-perfect proportion she has the perfect nose, full lips that invented the pout, and emerald green eyes.  She has it all and always has this effect on even the most levelheaded men.

“DeMarco, Detective, correct?”  Poppy put the headlights on high with her smile, a sure sign I was going to see a lot more of Michael DeMarco than I could ever want. 

He cleared his throat, probably praying he wouldn’t sound like a braying ass in heat when he finally worked up the courage to speak.

“Yes, Nice to see you again, Poppy.”

Again?  Maybe I misjudged the look.  He wasn’t drooling.

“I wondered if you were Ashley’s DeMarco.  We’re old friends,” Poppy said, not offering any further explanation she cut off any chance I had at digging into the past.  “I only heard one car drive into the auto park.” Poppy looked at me, waiting for an explanation. 

“Had a little trouble with the car.  DeMarco offered me a ride.”  But not the ride I would have considered the most fun if I decided I was interested.  I admit I was hoping DeMarco wasn’t gonna turn out to be an ass.  Poppy would reveal all when I got her alone and twisted her arm.

“While I was  at the club someone made a bit of a mess, writing on it and it would have been difficult to drive home on the tires,” DeMarco said.  “When Ashley invited me in I thought I would take the opportunity to get a better take on how her mind works.  We really haven’t talked about our impressions of the murder and the suspects,  However she’s pretty certain none of her friends are capable of such violence.”

“I don’t have a clue who did it, or why and I thought I have been pretty clear about what I think.” 

A flash of concern on Poppy’s face reminded me of other times I had been targeted by some creep.  They never ended well.

“Did anyone go in or out of the club while you were there?” Michael asked. 

“I really don’t know.  I didn’t notice anyone.  I had the night staff in the office for a while.  The only others there were a couple of dancers I haven’t met and some of the regulars who seem to live there.  It was too early to draw in much of a crowd.”

“I brought the books home if you want to go through them after dinner,” Poppy said changing the subject.

“We can do that after DeMarco leaves,” I told her and turned to Michael.  “I need to be brought up to speed on the finances since I’m the new owner.”

“Dinner isn’t quite ready,” she told us before he could ask any questions.

DeMarco ignored her, his eyes narrowing as he rubbed the back of his neck.  “ I hadn’t heard you are the new VixSin owner.  Any other surprises?”

”Can we talk about that later?  I promise I’ll fill you in on everything.”

He nodded, but I knew he wouldn’t let me wait too long to spill the story, maybe he was just being nice because of Poppy. 

“Then maybe we should get these pictures out of the way,” Demarco drew an envelope from his jacket pocket.  “Pop, this might be a little rough. I--”

“That’s okay, Mike, Ash told me what you were bringing, I have a strong stomach.  So Jillie was branded?”

“Yes, and it looks like flower petals to our tech.  I can’t really make much out of it.  Even though she was unconscious, she may have moved when he did it because it’s only a partial and not very distinctive.”

I took the photos and did a quick run through them, looking for the best view.

The tech that had identified the burn as a petal had better eyes than I did.  All I could see were some crescents side by side.  They could have been moons or anything else.

“Sorry, I don’t know what this is,” I said after several passes through the shots.  I handed the photos to Poppy so she could get a better look. 

“You think it’s a flower?”  Poppy rolled her eyes toward DeMarco.  “I don’t see anything to makes me think of a flower.  The head of a spear?  Maybe a plant like aloe.  Could be a knife, but not a flower.”  She handed the pictures back to DeMarco.

“Yea, I don’t see it either, but he’s pretty sure.  Maybe it just doesn’t come across here without his equipment to study it.”

The buzzer for the front gate sounded.  I switched on the camera and found Dylan staring back at me, a grim smile on his face. I pushed a button and could see one side of the gate silently swing open. A minute later we could hear the thunk of a door closing and footsteps coming down the walkway.

He didn’t come in immediately.  We could see him through the French doors, duffle bag slung over his shoulder, looking at the main house.  You could almost hear the wheels turning as he searched the path, past the pool house, down into the garden.  DeMarco started out the door, but I stopped him.

“Leave him alone, DeMarco.  He’ll come in when he’s ready.  Always likes to get a personal look around.”

“He’s your friend.  What did you say he does?”

“Top honcho in the Crime Investigation Command.  That’s big time in the Army.  If he decides you’re friendly, you might learn something from him.” 

DeMarco’s lids slid down leaving just a slit of eye exposed.  I had insulted him.  There were times my brain didn’t control my mouth and trash leaked out.

“Okay, you two ignore Dylan until he’s ready to join the living.  Set the table, Ash.”  Poppy dropped pasta into a pot of boiling water.  “Hope you are hungry.”

Poppy was placing the bread on the table when Dylan decided to join us.  He dropped his bag and grabbed me, pulling me into his arms, an intimacy that made me feel awkward.  Dylan didn’t mean it in a man-woman kind of way.  He’d learned my views on that the hard way when I punched him in the jaw the first time he’d given me a hug. 

“Ash, I’m sorry about your friend.  We need to figure out who she pissed off so we can get the fucker and put him away.”

I pushed away from his grasp.  “You’ve been here all of ten minutes and figure you know why Jillie was killed?  Who made you the all-seeing wise ass?”  I admit I wasn’t happy he thought he could just walk in and take over, even if he was head honcho on the base. 

Poppy put food on the plates, making a show of ignoring us.  DeMarco briskly rubbed his hands together, as if to warm them and then reached out to give Dylan a welcome.  A weak attempt to distract us from flaring tempers and irritating conversation. 

Dylan ignored him. “I talked to Poppy before I left base.  I’ve had the entire trip to think about this.  Jillie called you over a week ago upset.  Whoever upset her was someone she knew well enough to have that effect.  You aren’t looking for some stranger, or a casual acquaintance.  Whoever killed her was close enough to cause her doubt in them or in herself.”

* * * *

It had been hard to argue with Dylan’s logic once I got past his superior attitude.  He and DeMarco spent dinner trying to outdo each other tossing around theories as though they knew something Poppy and I didn’t.  I decided to ignore them and enjoy the meal but I admit I was impressed with DeMarco’s insights.  No one in the world cooks better than Poppy and her chicken enchilada pasta was something one wouldn’t find on any restaurant menu.

The cottage was beginning to feel crowded.  I needed to get away and think.  While the men bonded over an after-dinner drink, I took a walk and thought about Jillie’s call, begging me to come to Plano.  She wouldn’t tell me what she really wanted, hedged and hesitated when I pressed for more information.  Dylan was right, she knew something disturbing and wasn’t ready to admit it.  So, what would make Jillie wary about talking over the phone?  Did Trixie know something? She had avoided my eyes on our visit and hadn’t said two words at Severenson’s.  Not unusual porn mother wasn’t talking.  I needed to get in her face and have a daughter-to-bimbo talk. 

Demarco followed me outside, reminding me I had some explanations to make about the legacy Jillie had left me.  I gave him a brief overview of the extent of her estate, and what had been left to the others.  He was as surprised, as I had been, that Kevin wasn’t included, but I was sure that wouldn’t stop him from taking a harder look at him-and the rest of the beneficiaries.  I had to admit, I was beginning to admire the way he worked and the way he looked.  That wasn’t a good thing in my books.  Attraction’s fine and can be fun, but anything deeper was pure trouble.