Rock Star Down (The Psychic Registry) (9 page)

When did you last
have sex with Rock?

I don't know, she
thought. A few days after I got back from LA? No— It was after the
last
trip. So a few weeks ago… And something was missing then. There was sadness
between them, like he knew what she'd done. But he couldn't have known… Wait,
what? Are you?
Miller?

"Detective?"
Jaqui said.

But he had his answer
and he decided it would be better to leave her wondering, unsure of just how
much he knew. He dialed back his read to a 6 and opened his eyes to look at
her. She was probing his eyes for answers, but he made no acknowledgement.

"Do you have
anything else that you want to tell me?"

She nodded, "I
loved my husband."

"I believe you,"
he said. And he did.

He looked to Archer to
see if she had any questions of her own, but she was watching Nathan with a
mixture of fascination and awe that rendered her mute.

"Detective
Archer?" he asked, before glancing at Jaqui.

Archer gave the
faintest head shake,
No
. And Nathan feared that she'd checked out.
Nathan severed the read on Jaqui and the room was suddenly quiet. But it wasn't
the noise level that had changed, merely the machinery of minds that he could
no longer hear.

"Thank you,
Jaqui. That's all the questions that I have for you right now."

"I have a
question for you, Detective?" Jaqui said. "You know I'm innocent, don't
you?"

"I do not believe
that you killed your husband," Nathan replied.

There was a collective
sigh of relief from Jaqui's entourage followed by a tangle of cross-talk that
he could not follow. But Jaqui quickly hushed them all.

"So what happens
next?" she asked him.

"If it's alright
with you, I'd like to stay a while, ask a few questions of your extended family
here."

"Whatever you
need, Detective. Who would you like to speak with first?" Jaqui replied,
making it clear to all that she expected nothing less than their full cooperation.

"Thank you. And
call me Nathan. Or Miller, if you'd prefer. Detective makes me sound like a
cop."

"Okay."

"As far as who I'd
like to talk to, unless anyone is in a hurry to be somewhere, maybe my
colleagues and I could take a short break first."

"Certainly. I'll
have Carlota freshen up the table," Jaqui said.

"Don't let us be
any trouble," Nathan replied.

"Trouble? Nathan,
you've given me the best news I've had all week."

Nathan returned Jaqui's
smile, then turned to speak with Archer but she had pushed away from the table
and was making her retreat. He started to get up, but Laurel placed a gentle
hand on his shoulder to stop him. She leaned over and spoke in his ear, "Rest
up and stay focused. I'll check on Archer." Then she slipped from the
room, quick on Archer's heels.

Laurel followed Archer as she withdrew
into the piano room. The detective was shaking her head, and it was clear she
was in the midst of some strong internal debate. To Laurel she appeared
bewildered and perhaps embarrassed. "Detective Archer?" she asked,
her concern carrying clear in her voice.

Archer looked at
Laurel and shook her head and scoffed, "Me? A Detective?"

"Are you feeling
okay, Susan?" Laurel asked, as she wondered about the risks of being in
close proximity to Nathan while he worked. Had Archer been
scrambled
somehow?

"Okay? I'm a
fucking idiot!"

"You're not an
idiot. But I admit you're not making much sense right now. Did I miss
something?" Laurel replied.

Archer smiled, but it
was one full of self-deprecation, "You know I've worked with Nathan before
– gotta be five cases now – and I guess I just couldn't let myself believe it.
Don't ask me why— But sitting in there just now, I realized
I was the only
one
who couldn't see it."

"That he's a
psychic?" Laurel asked.

"It's fucking
real
,
Laurel. And I've had my head up my butt this whole time! Thinking back, it's
obvious now. And I just feel so stupid… and a little scared."

Laurel let out a
nervous laugh, "For goodness sakes! You had me worried there, Detective."

But Archer looked
truly anxious. "Has he been inside my head, Laurel? I mean, why couldn't I
see what was obvious to everyone else?"

Laurel shook her head
vehemently, "No, Susan. Nathan wouldn't do that to you. He might tease you
a little— Or a lot. But he wouldn't do something so mean. He wouldn't
tweak
you like that."

Archer narrowed her
gaze at Laurel, "But he could do it? That's what you're telling me, aren't
you, Laurel? He could mess with my mind if he felt like it!"

But he wouldn't,
would he?
"Do you honestly think
that he has?" Laurel demanded.

Archer slumped onto
the couch. "No. I don't think so," she conceded.

Laurel sat next to her
on the couch. "So you were skeptical and now you're not? I guess I'd be a
little
embarrassed, but so what?"

"You two have
probably been laughing at me this whole time—"

"No, not at all.
And I had my own doubts at first, but I don't anymore," Laurel said.

"He get inside
your
head?" Archer asked.

"Maybe."

Archer nearly pounced
on her, but stopped short, leaving them face to face, "Fuck
maybe
.
He got in your pretty little head, didn't he? What was it like, Laurel? I mean,
did you
know
what he was doing?"

Laurel was taken aback
by the suddenness of Archer's change of mood. She wasn't just being a
detective. She was sounding a bit like a jealous woman. Laurel smiled,
knowingly. "Do you
like
him?"

That got Archer's
attention. "What? No! I mean, sure he's attractive—"

"You
want
him to get inside your head, don't you, Susan?"

Archer shook her head
and looked away but Laurel knew she'd hit it. And she thought she would rub it
in a little more, but then she remembered that Archer carried a gun and that
they all had to work together. And besides, she understood something of what
the other woman was experiencing.

Laurel changed her
tone, shifting from catty to confidential, "You want him to get inside
your head, but you're afraid of what he'll find out. And you're afraid of what
he'll do, but you're
more
afraid that he won't do anything at all. That
he'll take one look and shrug as if you mean nothing."

Archer closed her eyes
and nodded, "I shouldn't have asked about it, Laurel."

Laurel flashed a
forgiving smile, "It's okay. At least I know it isn't just me."

Archer looked at her
and returned the smile, "So what was it like?"

Laurel shook her head,
but she couldn't help herself and she giggled, "You're just going to have
to find out for yourself."

But Archer sighed and
shook her head, "No, Laurel. I mean— You've got to know his reputation."

Indeed she did know
it. And she imagined it was well earned. "Yeah."

"Besides, I'm a
cop. And I've got my career to consider. I stay in the good graces of Nathan
Miller and I'll easily make Sergeant. Maybe, Lieutenant."

"Maybe Captain,"
Laurel teased.

"
Shut the fuck
up.
But seriously, he could help make my career. And I don't want to screw
that up."

Laurel nodded. It was
becoming a familiar dilemma.

Archer continued, "So
do me a favor, Laurel? For my own good, don't tell me what I might be missing,
okay?"

"Okay,"
Laurel agreed.

"And you take
care, yourself."

Laurel nodded. She
could indeed take care of herself.

Archer rose to her
feet, "Alright, let's go find Miller before he gets himself into any
trouble. Did you see the way he was eyeing Jaqui?"

Laurel had seen a lot.
"Did you see the way
Jaqui
was eyeing
Nathan
?"

"Fucking Nathan
Miller," Archer laughed as she shook her head.

He'll get inside
your head, Laurel.

He'll get inside your
head, she agreed and she answered Archer's laugh with one of her own.

The housekeeper, Carlota, escorted
Laurel and Archer to a small fenced-in garden behind the house where they found
Nathan sitting on a wrought iron bench. Carlota had brought Nathan an iced tea
– apparently, at least his second – and she asked if Laurel or Archer wanted
anything, but they declined.

"Thirsty, Nathan?"
Archer asked.

He smiled at her and
took a long swig. "That was a tough read with all those people."

"Does reading
take a lot of energy?" Laurel asked.

Nathan nodded, "The
caffeine and sugar helps."

"I can't do
sugar. It goes straight to my thighs," Archer lamented.

They still had a
murder to solve and Laurel wondered how their interrogator was feeling. "So
how are you managing Nathan? Jaqui must be pretty upset, right?"

He shrugged, "I'm
alright. I think she's handling it pretty well."

"Cool customer?"
Archer asked.

"She's just numb
right now. She feels it, the loss, the emptiness, the regrets. He's gone
forever and she can't fix it. And nothing she does will bring him back—"
Nathan's voice caught in his chest.

Laurel sat next to him
and took his hand in her own, "It's not you, Nathan. It's someone else.
You're Nathan Miller, remember?"

He nodded, "Thanks.
Did I mention the self-pity?"

Archer studied Nathan,
but if she had any concerns she kept them to herself. "But she didn't have
anything to do with killing him? I know Barnes has been looked at, doubt it was
him. But who's this guy with the website?"

"Harold Dean.
Anybody get a look at him yet?" Nathan asked.

"First I've heard
of him, so I doubt it. I can run him down later, but I want to hear what else
you got," Archer asked.

Laurel was quite
curious as well. "It seemed there was a bit left unsaid between you and
Jaqui."

He nodded, then
glanced about to confirm that they were alone in the garden. Nothing but a few
bees and the spring blooms to bear witness. He also slipped his hand from hers,
to Laurel's regret.

"Jaqui and Rock
were having a rough spell and they hadn't had sex together in some time, possibly
weeks," Nathan told them.

"So it's like we
figured. Rock cheated," Laurel said, dropping her voice to just above a
whisper.

"But did Jaqui
know that?" Archer asked.

Nathan contemplated
his answer, then said, "I don't think so."

"
You don't
think so
?" Archer said. "I thought you read her mind?"

Nathan shook his head.
"That many people in the room, it takes a lot of effort. And when the
emotions run strong, sometimes you get caught up in the current. Then the read
takes its own course. I didn't ask specifically about that. Maybe I should
have, but I didn't. My take is that Jaqui didn't know."

Laurel shook her head,
"They hadn't had sex in weeks? Was she holding out on him as punishment?
Because I can't see Rock kicking
Jaqui
out of bed."

Nathan nodded and
smiled. Then he narrowed his eyes at them and spoke soberly, "I just want
to be clear about something. I try not to judge people in their personal lives
and I don't talk out of school when it comes to a case. I treat the information
I get as confidential unless it relates to a crime and needs to be public
knowledge. If this leaks, it didn't come from me, and I'll be very disappointed
if it came from either of you."

Laurel shook her head
vehemently. She wasn't going to be feeding the media.

Archer feigned umbrage,
then motioned for Nathan to get to the good stuff.

His smile returned,
although it had turned bitter. Laurel couldn't tell if Jaqui's thoughts were
making him cross or if some other memory was the source of his sourness. Nathan
told them, "Jaqui has been traveling to Los Angeles, trying out for movies
and the like. But we already knew that. Thing is, she's banged a director out
there a couple times."

Laurel gasped, "She
was cheating on
Rock
?"

"I think she saw
it as a business deal. At least, that's what she tells herself," Nathan
said.

Archer added, "It
tells
me
that the spark was gone. A woman doesn't sleep with another man
unless she's already decided to quit on her husband. That business angle may be
true, but smacks of balm for a guilty conscience."

Nathan nodded, "Yeah,
I got a whiff of her planning to leave Rock, or at least planning to put some
ultimatum to him, something she knows he won't accept."

"But she
loved
Rock," Laurel said, freely voicing her bewilderment.

"Yeah, she loved
him," Nathan said, "But she loves
Jaqui
more."

Laurel thought that Rock
seemed like such a great guy on TV. And Jaqui was so glamorous. But she was
cheating on him. And for what, a movie role? Yet Rock was a cheater, too! Maybe
they deserved each other.

"There's more,"
Nathan added, "Rock knew that she was cheating."

"What?"
Laurel replied, "Did he confront her?"

"Did he
know
?
Or did he
suspect
?" Archer added.

"Oh, he
knew
.
And he confronted her. Jaqui was
shocked
, but she denied it. So the
question is, how did Rock find out?" Nathan asked.

"Wasn't in the
media. And Franklin didn't hire a private eye," Archer said.

"So somebody told
him!" Laurel declared. Then she glanced over her shoulder at the house. "Somebody
close to Jaqui."

Both Nathan and Archer
nodded in agreement.

Archer added, "Well,
we know that Franklin was likely killed by someone he knew. If it wasn't Jaqui,
then it was probably someone from this bunch."

"Likely?
Probably?" Laurel said. "I get the jealous wife angle, but that's out
now that Jaqui's in the clear. What makes these other folks into credible
suspects? You're leaping from gossip to murder. What about the stalker, Harold
Dean?"

Archer had only given
them fragments of the case thus far and Nathan seemed curious as well.

Archer gave an
impatient huff, but told them nonetheless: "Regarding the random angle, if
it was a total stranger – like a burglary gone bad – then we aren't going to
get the guy without physical evidence and a big fucking break. But Franklin's
murder doesn't look like simple bad luck as there were no signs of forced entry
and nothing was stolen. On top of that, the place has a security guard on the
reception desk plus the guy that manages the facility has his office up front."

Nathan interjected, "And
they only saw Jaqui."

"I'm getting
there smart guy, just drink your tea," Archer ribbed him. Then she
continued, "Franklin and Jaqui are big clients of the studio, so they and
their people come and go on a frequent basis. Barnes – that's the guard – sees
Jaqui on her way in, tries to chat her up. The manager didn't see her come in,
had his door closed. Anyway, Jaqui came back maybe a minute later screaming
that Franklin was hurt, call an ambulance, et cetera and so on."

"Jaqui wondered
about Barnes, but didn't think he could take out Rock," Nathan said.

Archer shook her head,
"Ramirez told me that Barnes is pushing 350 pounds and he's got diabetes
and kidney problems. According to the manager, Barnes spends a lot of time in
the bathroom. He's supposed to let him know when he leaves the desk unattended—"

"But sometimes he
doesn't," Nathan finished.

"The manager says
he closed his door as he was on a call, which happens often. Barnes confirmed
he was having a bad day and spent a lot of time in the lavatory. He allowed
that possibly he forgot to let the manager know."

Laurel understood
where they were going. "So the murderer could have come and gone without
anyone seeing him."

"But it would
likely be someone familiar with the studio, that knew his way around,"
Nathan said. "Somebody who'd been there before and would expect to be let
right in— Or, that there was a good chance the front desk would be unmanned
altogether."

Archer wanted to
agree, but wasn't convinced. "This murder still looks like a crime of
passion. That, or we're back to some
random
scenario. Maybe the killer
didn't come to the studio with intent, but something happened with Franklin to
precipitate the murder?"

"We know a few
things," Laurel said, as she found herself in agreement with Archer and
Nathan regarding Jaqui's entourage. "Somebody told Rock that Jaqui was
cheating during her trips to LA. And that Rock was cheating, too, quite
possibly while at the studio."

Archer nodded, "The
timeline on Franklin is a little soft, but it would seem that he had time for
either a wake-me-up or a nooner, before or after the recording session."

"Why not both?"
Nathan said.

"Well, he was a
mere mortal," Archer replied.

"Remember where
we are, people!" Laurel chided, though she couldn't suppress her smile.

"You know who's
looking good? The sister, Vanessa," Nathan said.

"I noticed you
noticing her," Laurel said, knowingly.

"Yeah? But that's
not what I meant. If she found out Rock was cheating on her little sister,
maybe she lost her head and killed him?" Nathan said.

"She could have
been the one to warn him about Jaqui's casting couch romps," Archer
offered. "Maybe trying to help get Jaqui and Franklin back together?"

"Or helping drive
them apart. Maybe
she
was sleeping with Rock?" Laurel said.

Nathan shrugged, "Or
none of the above. Anyway, I need to talk to her. But before that, I want to
talk to Silverman. I can imagine him trying to drum up some drama for his show
and maybe things got out of hand."

"
Out of hand
?"
Archer said.

"Just a little,"
Nathan replied.

Nathan was enjoying the fresh air and
open space of the garden, so they held the interview with Silverman outside. He
and Silverman sat on one bench, while Archer and Laurel took another bench
opposite them on the small patio within the garden.

Silverman said to
Nathan, "You know, Jaqui loves this garden. Rock put it in, just for her.
He did the stone work in the patio, here. The past three days, she spends half
her time out here, sitting right where you are now. I find myself wondering if
that's a coincidence or something else?"

Nathan shrugged. It
wasn't mere coincidence. The part of Jaqui that he carried, the part that was
hurting, wanted very much to stay in that garden. But he wasn't her, he was
Nathan Miller. And he had a job to see through, so he tightened up his read on
Silverman to a 5, then he did a quick scan for black flags and found none.

"Come on Miller?
Humor me," Silverman said.

"I'm in
your
head now, Mister Silverman," Nathan told him, "Maybe later I'll order
your favorite sandwich for lunch. And you'll just have to wonder if I'm doing
it to mess with you, or if I've actually acquired your tastes."

Silverman smiled, "You're
alright, Miller. You change your mind about that show, we could make a killing."

Nathan nodded; no
doubt Silverman would give it his all. But Silverman was far too affable and
relaxed to be the killer. Still, he might have useful secrets. First, Nathan
had to get him off balance. "You're very close to Jaqui. Things ever turn
intimate?"

"What? No chance,
Detective! Jaqui is a lovely young woman. But I'm a family man and quite
happily married," he replied.

And it all rang true
for Nathan, "Fair enough. Tell me about Jaqui's Hollywood plans."

"Plans? She's going
to
be
a movie star. And I'll be there to help chronicle her rise to
superstardom."

"And what about
Rock?" Nathan asked.

The producer sighed
and Nathan felt the tremor of guilt, "Rock wasn't coming along for the
ride."

"So she was
leaving him? Relocating to California?"

"It wasn't a done
deal, mind you. But she had her head all but made up and we didn't think he'd
go for it— He's from around here, has his parents nearby. He's more traditional
than Jaqui— I understand and respect that."

"Who else was in
on the plan?" Nathan asked.

"Myself and
Natalie. Vanessa and Rachel, she's Jaqui's PA. Plus her divorce lawyer."

No wonder Rock
found out.
"Any dissent among
the inner circle?"

"Vanessa liked
Rock. She thought Jaqui was wrong to divorce him. Again, can't say I disagreed.
But if Jaqui were to stay – provided Rock was still with us – then she'd be
making babies for the next decade instead of making movies. And that wasn't
going to be enough for Jaqui."

"And what about
you?" Nathan asked.

"Jaqui having a
kid would be solid ratings, pal."