Kissing in Action (12 page)

"Any of that recently?"

"Pretty much everyone, every day since they got here." He barked out a sharp laugh, then coughed before placing the cigarette between his lips, talking as it waggled. "Look, I'm standin’ at the door. I don't always see much."

"You'd be surprised," said Solomon, turning the pages flat again and returning the clipboard. "Did you get any unexpected visitors here? Say, from when you were hired for the job up until Katya's death?"

"I'm employed by the warehouse so I've been here for my shift since the band booked the site. I don't recall anyone gettin' in whose name wasn’t on that list. We've turned away a few fans tryin’ to sneak in. Nothin’ unusual."

"You've never done security at the hotel? Or for the band?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Like I said, I come with this building. If you want to speak to band security, that guy on the phone over there is your man." Dan pointed to a short, balding man standing by a Porsche.

"I recognize him," said Solomon. "Thanks for your time."

"No problem, man. Hope you catch the guy that did this."

"Guy?"

"Figure of speech. It's always the wronged boyfriend, isn't it?"

Solomon shook his head. "If she had one, he would be the first person I'd ask." He nudged my arm, indicating I should follow and as we walked over to the loud, short man.

"Why didn't you ask about the blackmail?"

"No letters were reported being found here, and the guy doesn't have access to the hotel."

"Maybe he heard something?"

"It's unlikely, and I don't want him starting rumors," Solomon said as approached the Porsche. "This is Josh Alvarez. He's the head of security for the band, but I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet."

"I thought you'd gone over security with him already?"

"With his team, yes, but this guy was always absent."

"Isn't that weird?"

"I thought so. Josh Alvarez?"

Josh held up one finger and turned his head away, yelling at someone about not drinking on the job. When he finally hung up and turned around, he appeared startled to see us. "You can write to the band for signed photos," he said, attempting to step around us.

"We'd rather have a minute of your time," I said.

"I wish I had more time, cutie, but some of us big boys are busy. Try hanging around the warehouse door, and you might strike it lucky for an autograph or a selfie."

"I don't want an autograph or a selfie."

He peered at me "You want a job? Do you dance?"

"Uh..." I paused, wondering how to answer that. I thought I could dance, but I suspected wine had a lot to do with that. The real answer might have been no, but I was enthusiastic, and didn't that count for a lot?

"Will you go topless?" Josh persisted, his eyes dropping to my bust line.

"Joe Carter hired us to investigate the blackmail threat to the band," said Solomon, squaring his shoulders as he stepped in front of me, forcing Josh’s eyes into staring at his chest instead. As far as sights go, I wouldn't have complained, but Solomon was more my type than his. "We're looking into Katya's murder too. Let's find some time for a few questions."

"Right, Solomon, our private dick. Ah! Sure, fire away. Joe said to answer any questions."

"Where were you at..."

"The time Katya was murdered? Here. I was going over the security schedule for the video shoot."

"Did anyone see you?"

"Sure. That guy over there was on the door and signed me in. There were a few other people in here too. Oh, and Shelley."

"Shelley was here?"

"Yeah, she left her purse or something and came to pick it up. I think that was eleven-thirty?"

"It was definitely her?"

"Yeah, it was her! I said hello and she told me to kiss her ass. I'd love to, but there're rules about that kind of thing these days. Anything else?"

"Do you know where I can find the vocal coach?" I asked.

"Home on bed rest. She got the flu three days ago so we sent her home rather than exposing her to the band and getting them sick. I gotta go. I have meetings. If you and your secretary need anything else, call me," said Josh, handing Solomon his card. He climbed into his Porsche and sped away, leaving us watching him.

I turned to Solomon, trying not to steam. "Secretary?" I asked.

"An honorable profession," said Solomon.

"Secretary!" I muttered again as we made our way to Solomon's SUV.

"Focus on what we found out, not his stupid comments."

I mentally pulled myself together. "Okay. So, Shelley left the hotel and she came here. She's definitely got an alibi."

Solomon nodded. "Shelley is not our killer."

Chapter Nine

The front entrance to the hotel was surrounded by journalists, photographers and fans, with people spilling all over the sidewalk onto the road as they jostled for a good view. Solomon slowed to bypass them while some turned to stare into our windows, probably hopeful of seeing a band member. I wasn't sorry to disappoint them.

"This is going to get crazy," said Solomon.

"Going to? I think it already got crazy," I said, taking a long look at the bank of video cameras. In front of one stood a superbly coiffed woman speaking into the camera and gesturing to the hotel at her back. Clearly, the news had brought the national press in. "When did they all get here?"

"Late last night after the story broke. They're either camping out, or rotating in shifts."

"Can't they just wait for a statement from B4U?"

Solomon shook his head. "That's not how the media works. They need to be on the ground and working contacts to get a story. If there's no story, they need photos to guess a story. If they're not getting a story, they're regurgitating each other's stories."

"Sounds like they'll try and get into the hotel again."

"Not going to happen." Solomon pulled into the rear service road and rolled to a stop at the security gate. A guard stepped forward and waited as Solomon produced his pass before buzzing us through a moment later.

"The gate and guard weren't there before," I said, looking back over my shoulder as the gates closed behind us.

"Installed yesterday. No journalists sneaking in the back entrance."

"And no B4U sneaking out?"

Solomon smiled. "That's an added bonus."

"What if the media get wind of the blackmail too?"

"How about they don't?" said Solomon, without any trace of amusement. "This has to be kept quiet."

"I don't know why. Maybe with all eyes on the blackmailer, they either stop, or we have a whole bunch of eyes working out who it is."

"Or we have a whole bunch of eyes digging for dirt on the remaining band members." Solomon turned the car into a parking space and cut off the engine. We didn't move from our seats, choosing instead to admire the concrete wall view.

"So it's out in the open. The blackmailer can't continue."

"Joe paid us to keep this quiet and the band don't want their secrets in the open. They just want the blackmail stopped and the culprit caught. Listen, Lexi, it doesn't matter if we agree with the client; if they pay us to do a job that we take, we complete it to their satisfaction. If this gets out, it's not just a case of the blackmailer getting caught, it could mean their careers are ruined anyway."

"So, we keep on quietly digging?"

"Exactly." Solomon climbed out, and walked around before opening my door, and offering me his hand. I took it, hopping down, only for him to catch me mid-hop and gently lower me to the ground. His hands were warm against my waist and I rested my hands on his shoulders, enjoying the moment to kiss briefly before remembering we were professionals.

"John, I have very little to go on to find this blackmailer. All I can do is knock the people off my list one by one, and that's going to take forever," I told him as we walked towards the hotel.

"Look how many suspects we've eliminated today. I still think that if we find one, we'll find the other. Let me get that," Solomon added, reaching for the door before I could grasp the handle, and opening it for me.

"Thank you. Now we can rule out Shelley, I want to talk to Lauren and Amelia again. Maybe Joe too. Until I know the identity of the woman I saw him with, and find out why he lied, we can't rule him out as Katya's murderer. He was in the right place at the right time; plus, she's still our mystery woman. She could be connected."

"I agree."

"I love it when that happens."

We rode the elevator silently, stepping out onto the top floor opposite Large and Larger. Neither moved from their usual watchful positions in front of the elevator, but Large nodded to us. As I placed my foot on the carpeted corridor, a scream pierced the air.

Solomon and I took one look at each other and broke into a sprint towards the furthest suite. Behind us lumbered Large and Larger.

Solomon burst into the suite ahead of me, his arm protectively holding me back. Naturally, I slipped under it, expecting to see a corpse. Instead, Shelley, Amelia, Lauren and Joe all stood frozen in the room and each one of them was alive and breathing.

Lauren looked up first. Holding out an envelope, she said simply, "We got another one. Another blackmail letter."

~

Solomon and I sat with Joe in Joe's suite. It took an hour to calm down B4U with each of them unable to coordinate their hysterics with the other band members. Amelia started first, flapping her hands and shrieking that she wanted to get a new hotel, then just as she calmed down, Lauren started in, claiming someone was out to get her. Finally, just as we assured her — and probably not correctly — that no one was out to get her
right now
, Shelley screeched, “What about me?”

Finally, we took the letter and slipped out of the room, leaving Joe to orchestrate a cool down. We huddled at the end of the corridor near the housekeeping closet.

"Let's look at the good news," said Solomon. "The blackmailer still thinks there's money to be made."

"I need to show you the dictionary definition of 'good news'," I snipped, reaching for the letter.

Solomon laughed, flashing a perfect set of white teeth. "The good news," he continued, "is that the blackmailer doesn't think the murder is a reason not to pursue the primary goal: cash."

"Um... yay?"

"Also, we can rule out Katya as the blackmailer."

"She's still dead!"

"It also tells me that the murderer and the blackmailer probably aren't the same person."

"How? Murderers need money too!"

"Look at it this way... A murderer would want to lie low. He wouldn’t want to attract attention that could bring the police to his door. This blackmailer isn't thinking that way. If he knows about Katya's murder, and I'll bet he does, he thinks that not only is everyone’s attention diverted, but also that the band will be scared enough to pay up quicker."

I took another look at the demand for fifty thousand dollars, a price tag that was far higher than any of the other demands. "It's a big payday."

"It's a final payday," decided Solomon.

"Yeah, looks that way," I agreed, "but what makes you think there's any 'if' about knowing about Katya's murder? Montgomery never had so much media attention. They know."

"Even better. While everyone is looking for the murderer, we can focus on smoking the blackmailer out."

"We?"

"We," Solomon said firmly.

I slid on a latex glove and reached for the envelope, turning it over. The three remaining band member's names were printed in computer type on the outside. It was also not postmarked. Whether there were any fingerprints was a matter for our lab guys. I returned the envelope to the plastic baggie Solomon produced and picked up the letter. The message got right to the point.

Shelley, Lauren, Amelia.

Remember, I know all your secrets.

None of you are safe.

Only Katya's secrets are safe.

$50,000 in 24 hours and you'll never hear from me again.

Ignore this and your secrets will be revealed.

The account details were printed below, but unfortunately for us, there was no return address or signature. Either was too much to hope for. Solomon was right though; this was a final blackmail note and our final opportunity to catch our perp.

"Doesn't the bit about Katya sound like a threat to you?" I asked.

"I think it's supposed to. Wouldn't it make you want to pay up?"

"Yep," I agreed, taking another look at the ominous print, "but I'll need a pay raise. Do B4U have fifty thousand dollars?"

"I think that's irrelevant. They've paid enough to keep their secrets safe. We've got twenty-four hours left before their secrets might be spilled to the world."

"Nothing like pressure to focus a person," I said and Solomon nodded slowly. "I asked the security guards if anyone came onto the floor in the couple of hours before the note was found and they both said no."

"I've been looking into your idea about secret passageways. They don't show up on the blueprints I was given, but I'm convinced the plans don't match up to the rooms. If someone else knew the passageways were there — and we go with the theory that someone else snuck onto the floor, unseen, to kill Katya — then the blackmailer could know about them too. That could be how they were able to place the letter in Shelley and Amelia's suite without being seen."

"That theory just makes it sound even more like the blackmailer and killer are the same person."

"Or it makes it sound like two people know about the secret passageways."

"If that's the case, who's to say there isn't someone standing in the walls, listening to everything we say right now?" Even as I said it, a cold chill ran down my spine. I wondered if that's how B4U felt with their every move being watched. It was a creepy thought, and made even creepier in that Solomon and I both froze. I, for one, was listening for anything in the walls, but all I could hear was my rapid heartbeat. "Can we find this passageway before I give myself a heart attack?" I asked, while trying not to chew my lip or throw myself into Solomon's lap.

"You got it," said Solomon in a low voice. I wondered if he wanted to throw himself in my lap. I wouldn't have said no. Well, not for a while. "Let's get the access route to the suites closed off as a matter of priority."

"If you want, we could hold hands," I suggested.

Solomon gave me a doubtful look. "Scaredy-cat."

"That's got nothing to do with it!"

"Really?"

"Hardly anything to do with it," I muttered.

"Are you sure?"

"Mmm-hmph," I whimpered as I sidled up, almost pressing myself against him. He stuffed the blackmail letter and envelope into his jacket's inside pocket. There was a lot to be said for being brave, but I preferred to be honest enough to admit the idea of someone creeping around behind the walls was pretty scary.

"Let's start in Shelley and Amelia's suite since we can be sure the blackmailer got in through the tunnel there."

"Yeah, and Shelley definitely got out of her room somehow when they locked me in."

Shelley and Amelia had already vacated the suite by the time we got there, along with Joe and Lauren. That made it a lot easier to crawl on the floors of the living room on our hands and knees looking for openings. I could just imagine their faces if they watched. As I plucked a thick shard of glass from under the credenza, I could quite easily imagine, had Katya been alive, what fragile object she would be using to throw at us at that moment. I could easily imagine her stepping over me, or even on me, to get to Solomon who currently lay prostrate, next to the wall, sectioning Shelley's room from the living room.

"I don't know why I'm lying here," he said after a long moment of me frowning at him. "I know there's no secret passageway in this wall because the doorway is too thin."

"I did wonder."

"You didn't say anything."

"I was enjoying a moment of superiority."

"Do you want to enjoy some filing later?"

"Only if that's a euphemism."

"Let's check inside the bedroom."

I winked as Solomon rose. "I knew that was a euphemism but... in someone else's bedroom? Solomon!"

Solomon laughed. Wrapping an arm around my shoulders, he guided me into the bedroom and over to the bed, pressing lightly so I sat. "Take it easy. I'll crawl around the floor."

"Mind the..." I started, but Solomon had already tripped over a stray shoe before righting himself.

"What a dump," he said, shaking his head. "Where's housekeeping?"

I looked around the room, noting the smaller number of items draped over the furniture and strewn across the floor. All the drawers were shut and the bed was made. "I think they've made up the room already. This is clean compared to when they locked me in here."

"If I ever have a daughter, I'll make sure she knows how to tidy her room." Solomon moved over to the doorway and ran his hands gently across the wall.

"A daughter?"

Glancing towards me, he shrugged. "Or a son. I don't mind."

"So long as they're tidy?"

"Tidiness is important. Kids need boundaries and discipline."

I planted both hands on the bed as I fixed him with a confused look. "Huh."

Solomon stopped. He ran his hands down the wall towards the floor, then began to move them around, pausing as his fingertips drummed back and forth across a vertical portion of the wall. "I think I found something. A concealed doorway. This the right place for one too."