Serial Date: A Leine Basso Thriller (9 page)

Chapter 14

Leine locked her
purse in a desk drawer in Serial Date's administration office and was just leaving to grab a cup of coffee when Gene cornered her next to the water cooler.

“We gotta talk,” he said in a low voice. Large patches of perspiration bled through the armpits of his short sleeved shirt and beads of sweat dotted his forehead. He grabbed her by the arm and led her behind a cubicle, checking to make sure no one was nearby.

“Sure, Gene. What do you need?”

“Kaneesha quit…”

“Okay? And?”

“Bronkowski gave the spot to Brenda, my niece.”

The worry on his face didn't jibe with what he was telling her.

“How is that a problem? They caught the killer, Gene. Don’t worry.” Leine made a move to leave, but he gripped her arm.

“Stacy's missing…” The words came out in a hiss.

“There you are, Gene.” Peter's voice slid between them as he walked across the room toward the cubicle. Gene backed off, plastering an artificial smile on his face.

“Yeah, boss?”

“I need you to check on Javier. He's having some kind of meltdown in the dressing room.”

“On my way.” Gene cast a furtive glance at Leine as he left.

Peter sighed and turned to Leine. He looked gaunt. The skin around his bloodshot eyes had a grayish cast and his lips looked like a bloodless gash across his face. Leine wondered how much cocaine the man ingested that morning.

“Actors.” He scowled as he folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the end of the cubicle. “So, you've heard about what happened with Kaneesha and Stacy?”

Leine decided to play dumb. No point in getting Gene in trouble. “No. What's up?”

“Kaneesha quit. I can't really blame her. Finding Mandy was pretty devastating to the girls—I mean, contestants. Couldn't quite pull it together afterward. Anyway, Gene's niece, Brenda, stepped in. I think she'll be great. Gene's a little stressed, though. He's pretty overprotective.”

“And Stacy?”

Peter shook his head. “Stacy took off with Devon. They're both gone. Found a note saying they were headed for the redwoods, gonna live in wine country.” He chuckled. “It's happened before. Sometimes these gals get a taste of dangerous and just can't help themselves.”

Leine remained quiet, her curiosity about what Gene tried to tell her growing.

“Thought I should let you know. Bring you up to speed, so to speak.”

“Are you going to replace her?”

“Paula's looking at submissions now. Should have someone within the week. I'll keep you posted.” Peter rolled his eyes as he backed away toward the door. “Never a dull moment…”

As soon as he'd gone, Leine went in search of Gene. She didn't find him in a quick sweep of the building and ended up getting sidetracked by Billy and his inane questions about her past as a bodyguard. By the time she extricated herself from the conversation, she caught a glimpse of Gene and Peter leaving out a side door.

She walked back to the office to grab some cash, intending to find something to eat in the vending machine in the break room. As she bent down to retrieve her purse from the desk drawer she overheard Peter's assistant, Paula, speaking to someone on the phone.

“I understand that, Mrs. Ross, but she's no longer employed by Serial Date.” There was a pause. Then, “Officially, all I've been told is that she left. I don't know why, ma'am. I'm sorry.” Another pause. “Yes, ma'am, I'll have Mr. Bronkowski call you as soon as he gets in.”

Paula hung up the phone. Leine walked over to her desk.

“Stacy's mother?”

Paula nodded. She didn't look happy.

“She says Stacy didn't call them last night like she always does and she's worried. Mr. Bronkowski told me not to tell anyone about the note she and Devon left about going to northern California to live. If anyone calls looking for her I'm supposed to tell them what I told her mom. He said he'd take care of any callbacks.” Paula busied herself tidying a stack of papers. “If it were my mom, she'd be here in a heartbeat, looking for me. It's not like Stacy to run off with some guy. Especially one of the bachelors.”

“Why not? Devon was attractive and seemed nice enough.” His alibi of having dinner with his mother had checked out, too. “And, he must have made a boatload of money being on the show.”

“It's not that. When she first got hired she and I became friends, I guess because of me being active in church and all. None of the other girls go and Stacy was really lonely. She told me she decided to come on the show as a way to minister to non-believers. I told her good luck. I've been around here since the beginning and I haven't figured out a way to make a dent. Basically, I keep my head down, do my work.”

Leine's urge to talk to Gene ramped up a notch. “Why do you stay? It's got to be frustrating to see everything that goes on around here.”

Paula's cheeks turned a delicate shade of pink. “The money's really good, you know? I've been able to tithe a lot to my church. I figure it evens out in the end.”

“I guess we all have our reasons. Stacy must have had hers.”

“I suppose. It still doesn't seem like her, though.” The phone buzzed and one of the lines lit up. Paula gave Leine an apologetic look before answering.

Leine grabbed her purse and headed toward the break room, more determined than ever to find Gene.

***

The chance didn't present itself until after five. Leine was getting ready to leave to pick up April when she saw Peter and Gene walk through the front door. Gene stopped to talk to the new security guard on duty as Peter continued toward his office. Peter had fired the guard that fell asleep the night of Mandy's murder. This one wasn't much better, in Leine's opinion.

She stepped behind a column. As soon as Peter passed by and rounded the corner, she marched up to Gene, grabbed his arm and pulled him out of earshot of the guard.

“What were you trying to tell me earlier?”

Gene shook his head. “Nothing. Don't worry about it. I had a momentary lapse.” He glanced down the hallway where Peter had disappeared.

“C'mon, Gene. That's bullshit. You were upset this morning. Something about Stacy missing?”

“Nah. I was over reacting. Peter told me about the note they left. Not a big deal.” Gene shifted his weight, looking toward the hallway.

“Yeah, I don't think so, Gene. I know when you're lying. You forget who you're talking to.”

Gene's expression hardened. Leine knew that look. His stubbornness had kicked in. She continued, ignoring his discomfort.

“I had an odd conversation with Paula this morning about Stacy. Did you know she was using Serial Date as a kind of a missionary outreach thing for her church? You know, trying to save souls and shit like that?”

Gene blinked, but didn't look away. Good. She had his attention.

“Why would Stacy go running off with Devon? Wasn't he one of the two original suspects in Mandy's murder?”

Gene closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were filled with despair. He took her elbow, dragged her into a nearby office and shut the door.

“I don't know what to do.” He leaned against the wall and covered his face with his hands. Alarmed, Leine stood next to him, her hand on his shoulder.

Gene sighed and dropped his hands to his sides.

“Last night when I was locking up, I found Stacy…” He stopped, obviously trying to collect himself before he continued. “Someone had...she was dead.” Gene tried to take a deep breath but it looked like a struggle. “It's gotta be the same guy from before.” He leaned over like he was in pain, his hands on his knees, his breathing rapid.

Afraid he'd hyperventilate, Leine rubbed his back, trying to calm him, stunned by the implications. They've got the wrong guy. He's still out there. I need to tell Jensen.

“Gene.” She glanced around the room, looking for something he could breathe into to calm down. Nothing looked usable. “Gene. Listen to me.” She put her hand under his chin and lifted his head so she could look him in the eye.

Focusing on Leine seemed to help quiet his breathing. He stared at her through misery-filled eyes.

“Peter knows, am I right?”

Gene nodded.

“I've got to tell Detective Jensen.”

Gene shook his head. “You can't tell anyone. Do you know how many people rely on this show? They'll shut it down. Peter has it under control. He's making sure it doesn't happen again.”

“Are you crazy? How can he do that? Does he know who did it?”

By the look on Gene's face, he wasn't telling her the whole story. This was insanity. Careful to keep her voice calm she asked, “Gene, where's Stacy now?”

“I don't know.”

She could tell the stubbornness had kicked back in by the set of his shoulders and his tight-lipped reply. She could also tell he was lying. She had to tell Jensen. It didn't matter if they shut the show down. Be the best damn thing that ever happened to this fucked up little slice-of-life. Sure, she'd be out of a job along with everyone else, but for Christ's sake, people were dying.

“You can't tell anybody, Leine.” Gene's eyes glittered in the fluorescent light. His breathing had become more measured, calm. This was a look of his she'd never seen him use before. It held a strong warning mixed with something Leine had seen many times in her life.

Malice and implied threat.

“Sure, Gene. You know me. Not a word.”

His face relaxed, but not by much. He wasn't convinced. She'd have to be careful.

She looked at her watch and realized she was late. “I've got to go.”

“Things can happen, Leine. Remember that.”

Gene was threatening her?
She almost laughed, but realized she couldn't always be on alert. He did know her. Knew her habits, knew where she was living. Didn't matter how long they'd known each other. The term “thick as thieves” was never very accurate when it came to actual thieves. She'd have to rely on her instincts to stay safe. Good thing April was staying at Frank's.

“I will.”

***

As soon as she cleared the front doors and Gene's line of sight, she called Jensen but it went to voicemail. She left a short message asking him to call her.

Leine disconnected and walked quickly to her car. She tried April's cell on the way, but no luck there, either. Then she tried Frank's. April had given her the number before Leine left for work that morning.

“Hello?”

Frank's voice set her back on her heels. God, she hated that she still felt like this. When was she going to get over him and move on? She left him. Not the other way around.

“Hi, Frank. It's Leine.”

“Oh. Hi.”

There were so many things she wanted to say but realized none of them mattered right now. What mattered was April.

“Can I talk to April?”

“She's not here. I thought she was with you.”

“She said she was going to your place this morning. I offered to drive her, but she said you were going to pick her up on your way back from the airport.”

“I swung by, but she wasn't there. She didn't answer her phone, so I assumed you two went somewhere. Did you try calling her?”

“Of course I did. It went to voicemail immediately, like she turned it off.”

Leine heard him sigh and braced herself for what she knew was coming next.

“Look, she told me what happened. That you left to go on a date, didn't even try to spend time with her.”

“That's not true—”

“You need to realize—”

Leine bristled at the condescension in his voice.

“You're never gonna have that fairy-tale, mother-daughter relationship you always talked about. It's not possible. Not if you're in the equation. You're incapable of loving anyone. Figure it out.”

Leine felt herself grow cold. Icy.

“I loved you, Frank. I just didn't love your life. If you would have put one ounce into our marriage that you put into your businesses and not been a lying son-of-a-bitch, we would've lasted.”

“I never lied to you, Leine. You assumed. Different animal.” Another sigh. “Whatever. It's over. Life goes on. We need to find April, not argue.”

He was right. “I'll run by my house, check to see if she's still there and call you back.”

***

Twenty minutes later, she pulled in front of her house and parked. The dark windows didn't inspire confidence. She got out, locked the car and walked up the sidewalk. The hair on her scalp prickled, reminding her of the feeling she'd had the day before, as though someone were watching her. She kept walking until she reached the front door, sliding her hand inside her purse, reassured by the semi-automatic. Inserting her key, she went inside, ignoring the impulse to turn. She closed and locked the door behind her, drawing her weapon.

“Anybody home? April?” Her anxiety rising, she waited a beat, then walked through the house, looking for a note, her backpack, anything that might suggest where April may have gone.