Framed For Murder (An Anna Nolan Mystery) (13 page)

“I remember how good Jack thought you were in the part.
He said that you had a lovely, ephemeral quality that added a supernatural element to your characterization.” I hoped I wasn’t laying it on too thick.

“Did he really?” Karen said, her eyes lighting up.

“Oh yes. He said that when you were on stage, the audience couldn’t take their eyes off you, and that it was an uphill battle to get their attention during your scenes together.”

“Did he say that?
How kind of Jack – he always was so supportive of his fellow actors,” Karen said with a gracious smile, lapping up the compliments.

The waiter returned with our drinks.
Amy’s Lady Killer was some sort of tri-coloured, layered affair with cream on top. “Ooh, that looks yummy,” she enthused.

“It sure does.
Karen, let me buy you a drink. Would you like one of those?” I asked.

Karen snickered.
“No thanks, that thing looks like it has about a thousand calories in it.”

“Oh, come on, you don’t have to worry about your figure.
I bet you work out all the time. You’re so toned,” I replied.

Karen glanced down at herself.
She had on a t-shirt that proclaimed “Actresses do it onstage.” “Thanks, I have a portable gym I take everywhere I go.”

Amy sipped her drink while the waiter clicked his pen and waited.
“Wow, this is so delicious,” she enthused.

“It sure looks good.
I’ll have one if you have one, Karen,” I said.

“Well, why not?
Just one won’t hurt, I guess. Let’s live a little!”

“That’s the spirit, Karen.
Two Lady Killers, my good man,” I said with a flourish.

“Coming right up, little ladies.”

An hour later I was still nursing my drink while Karen and Amy had moved on to vodka cocktails. Karen’s eyes had become glassy and Amy couldn’t stop giggling. We were acting like we were best friends, just three women letting down our hair and enjoying a night out on the town.

“Have a chicken wing,” I said, pushing the plate toward Karen.

“Thanks Anna,” she said, helping herself to her fifth and biting hungrily into the meat. Diet forgotten, she tossed the well-chewed bone over her shoulder and reached for another. The bone bounced off the shoulder of a middle-aged man sitting at the table behind us.

“Sorry,” I mouthed at him.
The man shrugged good-naturedly and turned back to his friends. “You know, girls, I have something I want to say about Jack,” I said. Karen and Amy turned and tried to focus on me. “Don’t get me wrong – we had our problems – but I really miss him. Jack was one hell of a man.” I lowered my voice and leaned in closer, drawing them in. “Actually, I think that he was just a little too much man for me, to be completely honest. You know what I mean.” I wiggled my eyebrows. “It was probably best that we parted, but I’ll always love him.”

“You’re right, Anna,” Karen said.
She put her face so close to mine that I could smell the seasoning from her chicken wings. “He was a real ‘man’s man,’ you know, but he sure knew how to take care of the ladies.” She winked and leaned back in her chair. “Not like the little wiener I married. Ha, ‘wiener!’ That’s the perfect word to describe him.” She nudged my arm and wiggled her eyebrows at Amy, who giggled some more.

“I don’t think I’ve met your husband, Karen.
Have you met him, Amy?”

“Uh huh, he was shooting our scene yesterday.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Karen agreed. “He’s always with the second-string crew, shooting the crowd scenes with the extras. Connie’s problem is that he’s a big gorilla – he hasn’t got an artistic soul. He can’t handle the scenes with the tender emotional parts – you understand? Passion? Romance? He’s no good with them. Just like real life, come to think of it. The ape thinks he owns me. If I’m not ready for him on a second’s notice, he gets angry. What a shithead.”

“But Jack wasn’t like that,” I prompted.

“Jack? Hell no, that man was smooth – and sexy. He could get me revved up in no time and keep things simmering all afternoon. And sometimes into the evening, too.” She winked at me. I smiled back. Oh yeah, I just loved hearing all about her sex life with my ex-husband.

“I guess that you had to play it pretty close to the vest, spending time with Jack while your husband was working on the film?” I asked.

Karen nodded and tapped the side of her nose. It took her two tries to find it. “You know it, Anna. People around here have big mouths.” She looked at Amy and said “shhh,” laying her finger over her lips. Amy tried to wink back, but was having trouble closing only one eye.

“’Because I guess that Connie would be pretty jealous if he found out about you and Jack,” I prompted.

“Course he would. He thinks he’s some sort of a he-man because he’s European and has some hair on his chest. Ha! Hasn’t got much left on top of his head. He’s got a lousy temper, too. He tried to shove me around when we first got married, but I got even with him. I wouldn’t let him bully me, no sir.”

“What’d you do?” asked Amy, her eyes bright with curiosity.

Karen crooked her finger, motioning for us to come closer. We bent our heads together over the table. “I got him drunk one night and shaved his privates. He wouldn’t use a men’s room for weeks after that until the hair grew back in.” She grinned and nodded while Amy shrieked with laughter.

“What’s all this?
Having fun, ladies?” a voice growled behind us. I looked over my shoulder and saw a squat, dark, balding man with small eyes smiling down at us. Amy pointed at him and laughed even harder. He shrugged, grabbed a chair from another table, and joined us.

“Who’re your new friends, Karen?” he asked.

“This is Amy. She’s one of the extras on the movie,” Karen said, pointing to her.

“Sure, I’ve seen you around.
Good to see you again, Amy.”

“And this other lady’s Anna Nolan, Jack Nolan’s ex-wife.”

Connie turned to look at me, the smile disappearing from his face. “Jack’s ex-wife, huh? You’ve got my condolences, lady.”

“Thank you.”

“I don’t mean because somebody offed him. I mean for ever having married the jerk in the first place.”

I frowned at his rudeness.
“Not a fan of Jack’s, Connie?”

“Don’t be such an asshole, Con,” said his wife.
“She’s grieving over him.”

“Watch your ugly mouth, Karen.
I told you about calling me that.”

“Alright, dick-head.”

He leaned forward and grabbed Karen’s wrist. She gave it a sharp twist and broke free, leaning back out of his reach. “Stop being so grabby. You’re just showing off in front of my friends.”

“Ah, shut up.
You’ve had too many, Karen. We should be going – I have an early start tomorrow.”

“Well, I’m not called until tomorrow night, and I don’t feel like going just yet.
It’s only . . . .” She stopped to squint at her watch.

“It’s 10:35,” I said helpfully.

“Mind your own business,” Connie said, leaning too close to me. He scowled, making his face even more unattractive, and blew beery breath in my face. I flinched and pushed my chair back an inch. He smiled, thinking that he had intimidated me.

“Oh, get lost, Connie.
You’re such a downer. You’re no fun anymore. Just leave me and my friends alone,” Karen said.

“Why, so you can have some more fun, you moron?
You want the producers to hear that you were drunk in the Spur again? I told you it’s time to go, so get your fat ass out of that chair and get moving.”

“Fat ass!” she shrieked.
She grabbed her cocktail and threw the dregs into his face.

Connie roared and jumped out of his chair.
He lurched toward Karen, who leapt back out of his way, knocking over her chair.

“Alright folks, that’s enough.
Everybody calm down, now,” an authoritative voice said behind us. I looked up to see Steve Walker standing next to our table, a pool cue held nonchalantly in his hand. He must have been playing pool in the back room all the time we had been there. I felt relieved; I didn’t fancy getting into a barroom brawl. He was ignoring me, however. I hoped things weren’t going to be awkward between us.

Connie glared at Steve as the young constable put a hand on his shoulder.
“Come on, Connie, let’s not have any trouble here. Who’s the lady?”

Grimacing, Connie muttered, “That’s my wife, Karen.
I wasn’t looking for any trouble, Steve. I was just trying to get her to come home with me.”

Karen took a step toward the table.
“What’s the matter, Con, you scared of this guy?” Steve was out of uniform in a white shirt and jeans, so she had no idea that he was a cop.

“This is Constable Steve Walker, Karen.
He’s with the RCMP,” I said.

“You mean Constable McDreamy, don’t you?” she replied, leering at Steve.
Connie frowned.

“Nice meeting you, Karen,” Steve said.
“It might be a good idea if you and Connie went home to discuss your differences in private, don’t you think? A lady like you doesn’t want to air her disagreements in public.” He gave her a winning smile.

Karen sniffed and looked around the room, noticing the other customers staring at us for the first time.
Some of them must have been fellow cast and crew members.

“You’re quite right, Constable,” she said like the grand lady.
“I don’t know what’s got into my husband. Let’s go, Con.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you,” he grumbled, trying to take her arm.
She wouldn’t have anything to do with him, however, and brushed him aside as she retrieved her purse from the floor. Straightening unsteadily, she smiled at Amy and me.

“Ladies, thank you for a wonderful evening.
I hope to see you again soon,” she said before following her husband to the cashier with as much dignity as she could muster. Steve winked at me and I flashed him a quick smile. I didn’t have time to worry about him now, however.

“Come on, Amy, this is our chance,” I said, jumping up from my chair.

“Our chance for what, Anna?” she asked in confusion.

I whispered in her ear, “Our chance to follow them home and find out where they live.
Come on, I don’t want to lose them.”

Amy looked worried as I pulled her to her feet.
Connie had settled his tab and he and Karen were headed out the door by the time we waded through the tables to the cashier. I paid our bill and rushed Amy out onto the street after them. Karen and Connie were still bickering as they crossed the road and unlocked the doors to their late-model Jeep.

“Come on, Amy, run,” I said, dragging her to my car.

I unlocked the passenger door, shoved her in, and had the car started and u-turned by the time Connie pulled away from the curb.
I idled for a few seconds before pulling in behind them, not wanting to follow too closely. We drove down the main street and picked up speed as it became the highway, then slowed to turn right down a secondary road. We were the only two cars on the road, and I worried that Connie might notice my headlights. Hopefully, he and Karen were too busy arguing to pay any attention to us. We continued for about five minutes until they turned right down a gravel road. Connie was driving too fast and fishtailed, spewing gravel behind him. He corrected the car and proceeded a little more cautiously while Amy and I slowed to follow them. They came level to a private driveway barely visible through the trees and turned in. I slowed and waited a few moments before turning in behind them. They had already disappeared around a bend in the lane when I pulled over and parked at the bottom of the driveway.

“Now what?” Amy whispered.
The driveway was bordered by deep bush on both sides, blocking our view of the house. I cut the lights and turned off the engine.

“We’ve come this far – I want to see what they’re doing, Amy.
Let’s leave the car here and hike up to the house.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea, Anna?” she asked, frowning at me.
“What if they see us? How’re we going to explain our being here?”

“Don’t worry, Amy.
It’s dark and they’ll have the lights on inside the house. They won’t see us. I want to know what happens when they argue in private.”

“You mean, does Connie hit her?”

“Right,” I said, peering out the windshield.

“That’s not very nice,” she said.

I shrugged. “He’ll hit her or not hit her whether or not we’re here. Look at it this way, Amy – if he does start hitting her, we can call 911 and take off before the police arrive.”

“Well, I guess that would be alright.
But it’s so dark, Anna. We could trip over something and really hurt ourselves. Besides, I’m not feeling very well. I’m awfully tired. I think I had a bit too much to drink.” She leaned her head against the head rest and shut her eyes.

I looked at Amy and decided that she might be more hindrance than help.
“Don’t worry about it, Amy, I’ll go by myself. Why don’t you stay in the car and have a little nap?”