Athen called Cricket who picked up within seconds.
“Hey,” he said.
“Please, do me a favor,” Athen said. “I’m interviewing someone, and I have reason to believe Tyler James has free access to our house. Can you keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t let himself inside again?”
“He’s been in there? Recently?” Cricket sounded surprised.
“Last night. Weren’t you watching him?”
“Damn. I got desperate and went to the gas station to take a leak. I switch off with a buddy so we can catch some shut eye. Musta drank too much coffee ‘cos last night, I couldn’t wait for the end of shift. Tyler James musta been in and outta your place real fast because I thought I was keeping a close eye on him. I couldn’t have been gone more than seven, eight minutes. This was around two o’clock in the morning.”
“Exactly the time Grady says he came in the house.”
“Well, when I got back to surveillance, your niece was running over to his place from yours. That was at two-ten.”
“And you didn’t see Tyler come out of my house?”
“Naw. He was in his house. I watched him let her in. Jeez, I’m sorry Athen. Hey, wait up. I see Grady backing out of your driveway. Wait. He stopped. He’s got your niece with him. She’s crying her ass off and getting in the backseat. Oh. Now’s he’s taking the dog from the back seat and putting it in the cargo hold.” A pause. “That’s a handsome dog ya got there, Blackeye.”
“Yeah. Thanks. Grady’s driving Despina home to Santa Cruz.”
“Does Tyler James know that?”
“Apparently not. Grady confiscated her phone. Listen, we discovered Tyler’s got keys. We think she gave ‘em to him.”
“Damn.”
“She was running around our house with Tyler while we were sleeping. He’s been in there, snooping.” Athen caught a glimpse of Paulie’s wide-eyed expression. He knew he’d have to explain himself. And soon. “What if he’s done more than ah, the case you know about? What if this creepozoid’s left souvenirs of his crimes somewhere in my house?”
“Holy crapola.” Cricket went silent for several seconds. “I’m here for another hour then Murph takes over from me. I’ll fill him in. We switch off every six hours in different vehicles. If Tyler James makes a move toward your house before you get home, we’ll figure out a distraction.”
“Great. Thanks. When I do get home, I need to change the locks and ah, maybe you could help me hunt for a possible hiding place for his souvenirs. Grady just told me he noticed Tyler wearing disposable gloves when he was in my house.”
Cricket let out a snort. “Oh, that sorta gives the game away.”
“Think he’s onto you?” Athen asked.
“Nah. I change cars too often. I think he befriended your niece as a ruse to get in there.”
“I think so, too.” That thought relieved Athen more than the prospect of Tyler James grooming her for sexual manipulation. “I’ll let you know when I pick up new locks and I’m heading home.”
“Roger that.” Cricket ended their call. Two seconds later, Athen’s phone rang. It was Mike from the crime scene unit.
“I just heard from the office. Nothing from AFIS, so Natasha King’s got no criminal record. I put a call in for an expedited search with Homeland Security. She didn’t come here anytime in November, as far as they can tell. And I called in a bunch of favors on this one, Athen. If you send them a photo now, they’ll work backwards but an arrival date would really help.”
“I know. Cameron Deck isn’t even sure of the date she moved in, let alone when she arrived in LA.”
“Yeah, I know.” Mike sighed. “I asked him myself. Well, we got a lot of prints. A lot on the walls in the bedroom but I don’t see any reason for ‘em. I did figure out the source of that perfume you and Paulie talked about.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Natasha King keeps these metallic rings on some of her light bulbs around the apartment. I think she was putting drops of perfume inside the them and the heat warmed the perfume, permeating the place.”
“Okay. That explains the lingering scent. I’ll let Paulie know.” Athen ended their call and he and Paulie walked up the garden path. Maggie Harman opened the door before they could even knock. She was a beautiful young woman whose hair was dyed a shade of pink most people couldn’t carry off. If Athen had to describe her, it would be as a young Marilyn Monroe, even down to the 1940s style floral dress and matching pink, open-toed high heels that she wore.
“I have an audition,” she said, her tone breathless. Yeah. Marilyn Monroe. “I like to stand out.”
Athen nodded. “I just have a few questions.”
She didn’t seem to want to let them in, but had no choice when Athen said, “It’s better if we talk inside.”
As soon as they entered, he wondered if the place had been messy when he’d called because it was in pristine shape, now. It was like something out of Architectural Digest. Clean lines. A single, massive pillar candle decorated the fireplace. A three-foot-tall replica of the Eiffel Tower, and a huge hardback edition of a Taschen book on Paris were the only decorations on the coffee table. The sofas grouped together in two sections were all white, with charcoal-colored faux-fur covered cushions placed on them. Athen did a doubletake. Not cushions. Two beautiful, charcoal-colored cats.
“Are they yours?” Athen asked.
“Lilac is. The other one, Violet, with the violet, heart-shaped tag belongs to Tash.”
“They’re beautiful.”
Maggie smiled then, but the worried look never left her eyes. “Yes, they are.” She kept glancing down at the cellphone in her hands.
“They must be siblings.”
“Yes. We rescued them together last year from an alley in East LA. The mother cat had been hit by a car. I took one kitten, she took the other.”
“Can I ask how you met Natasha?”
She hesitated. “Online.”
“How long ago?” As Athen asked questions, Paulie moved around the room, studying the carefully placed books on the sprawling, built-in shelves. She had a long, but narrow worktable that jutted out slightly from the shelving units. He moved toward them. Maggie seemed to grow more uncomfortable. Paulie froze.
Athen knew he’d spotted something. I gotta keep her focused on me. “Who got in touch with whom?”
Paulie turned and pointed upward to a corner shelf and mouthed, “Camera.”
Maggie’s glance darted from Paulie back to Athen. She leaned against the back of one of the sofas, a finger on her chin. She shifted her gaze upward as though pretending to ponder the question.
“Look at me,” Athen said. He rarely got testy with people, but Maggie Harman was playing games with him. “Come sit over here.” He indicated a sofa which would mean her back would be facing away from Paulie. Athen moved to the sofa opposite her, leaning close to her.
“I have an audition,” she said, rubbing her hands across her knees as she sat.
“Yes, I know. But you’re friend’s in very grave danger.”
Maggie looked shocked. “She is?”
“How did you two connect online?” he asked.
“Through a guy she used to date.” She let out a theatrical sigh. “She met him on a dating site and moved here thinking they’d get married.”
Athen stared at her for a beat.
“He works for the Saudi consulate.” Maggie brushed an imaginary stray hair back from her forehead. Her hairdo was what Grady would have described as a Nancy Grace helmet-do.
“And did they get married?”
“No.” Maggie shook her head. “It never... it... didn’t work out that way.”
“What happened?”
“He wasn’t who he said he was.”
“And this is the man you reported her disappearance to?”
She looked wide-eyed for a moment but recovered fast. “How did you know that?” She kept looking down at her phone. “I have to make a call,” she whispered.
“Not yet. Explain why you called this ex of hers. And not the police.”
Maggie winced. “I didn’t think it was that serious. You know. Tash being missing. What’s he doing over there?” She turned to watch Paulie.
“Eyes on me, please.” Athen kept his voice stern as over the top of her head, Paulie indicated the location of another camera on a different wall unit. “Tell me about the ex.”
She seemed to grow more nervous. “He still loves her. He no longer works at the consulate. But yes, I called him. He’s well connected. I thought he’d launch a discreet inquiry. I hardly expected Beverly Hills cops at my door.” She suddenly swiveled around again. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” Paulie lied. But he shot Athen a meaningful glance and held up three fingers. Three cameras. He kept moving around the room then held up four fingers. Four cameras? Why would anyone need that many cameras in one room?
Athen touched Maggie’s arm. It made her jump. “And what is this man’s name?”
“Jamie Fahdi.” Her face twitched. “I really have to make a call. Please.”
“But why did you call him, of all people?”
“I didn’t know who else to call.” Her tone was desperate more than defensive.
“How about the police?”
She glanced away from Athen, fixing her gaze on some point in the middle distance. “I panicked.”
“You panicked?” She was the second person to say this to him today. The first being Cameron Deck. “So, you report her missing to some guy who used to work at the consulate.”
“He’s an agent for Mossad,” she said.
“Mossad?” This thing was getting freakier by the second.
“That’s what he says, but I Googled it and there aren’t supposed to be any Mossad agents here. Not in real life, anyway.”
“You’re saying he’s a Mossad agent. An Israeli covert spy. And he worked for the Saudi consulate? Are you kidding me?”
“I’m just telling you what he told us.” She was starting to get upset now. “That’s what gave us the idea.”
“What idea?”
She looked at him. “I’m in trouble, aren’t I.” It was a statement. Not a question. “Look. He must have connections. Somebody contacted you, right?”
“The mayor.” Athen blurted the words then wished he hadn’t.
“That makes sense.” Maggie seemed more relaxed now. “Scotty’s poker buddies with Jamie.”
Athen knew then that the Saudi consulate had never been involved. The mayor’s gambling pal had called him, and Scotty tried to make it look official. And important.
“Where is Natasha King really from?” Athen asked, his voice low and controlled.
“She’s an Arab princess,” Maggie said, a strange, high squeak to her voice.
“No, she’s not. They’ve never heard of her. What the hell is going on?”
“I can’t. Oh, my God. This thing’s out of control.” She covered her mouth with her hands. Her whole body seemed to shake. She dropped her hands again. “Do I need a lawyer?”
“Maggie. Just tell me. Please. What happened to Natasha? Is that even her real name?” Athen put a steadying hand on her arm again.
She couldn’t speak. Tears were falling down her cheeks. She shook her head. Man, she was dissolving right before his very eyes.
“Natasha is her name,” she whispered.
“Okay. And where is she from?”
Maggie’s gaze flew upward, then down again. Sobs wracked her body.
“Are you afraid of this Jamie guy?”
“No, not him.” She shook, and when Athen slipped an arm around her he was surprised how bone-thin she was.
“Then who are you afraid of?” he asked, keeping his tone gentle as Paulie leaned in and handed her a wad of tissues.
“Her landlord,” she said. “I’m petrified of Cameron Deck.”
Paulie and Athen stared at each other over the top of her head a moment. Paulie held up a laptop bag. A blinged-out Hello Kitty laptop bag.
“You need to talk to me,” Athen said. “Is this Natasha’s laptop?”
Maggie nodded. “You can’t let him know it’s here. He’ll kill me.”
“Kill you?”
“He’s been looking for it.” Her eyes widened with fear. “Oh, my God. Please do not tell him.”
“Why?” asked Paulie. “What’s on here?” He handed her more tissues as she patted down her face. “It’s okay. Take your time. Blow your nose.”
“Is this the original laptop she claims was stolen a couple of weeks ago, or the replacement?”
Maggie blew her nose, turning a bleary-eyed stare at Athen. “Cameron told you about that? He was suspicious. He knew she’d caught him.” She shook her head.
“Caught him doing what?” Paulie promoted.
“She didn’t tell me. She told Isla something once about him and it got back to him. Tash hasn’t trusted her—or him—ever since. Don’t ask me what he was doing. I’ve gone over the laptop a few times. There isn’t much on there. Screenplays she started working on and never got past a few pages. A few poems. I thought she was really creative, until I Googled the poems and they’re all somebody else’s.” She patted at her eyes again. “But go ahead. Maybe there are secret files I can’t access.”
“Is there a passcode to get into it?” Athen asked.
She looked at him. “Ask nicely.”
Is she for real? Before Athen could ask, Paulie did, and she responded. “Jenolan,” she said, spelling it out for them. She seemed to be ready to say something more, but tears rose again, her makeup running in multicolor streams down her face. Athen wondered if she’d be able to pull it together for her audition after this.
“She said she had something on here related to him. I don’t know what. I couldn’t find it. I was thinking maybe Internet porn or something. Anyway, she only brought it here two days ago and asked me to hold it for her. I was surprised because she told me she’d had a robbery, too. No idea where she’d hidden it. She said she was going away for a couple of days. She said she needed to rehearse her scenes and get away from Cameron.” She sat back against the sofa. “This joke went too damned far.”
“What joke was that?” Paulie asked.
“She isn’t even Saudi, is she?” Athen asked. “Come on. The truth.”
Maggie looked at him. “No,” she said finally.
“Is she Australian?”
Maggie seemed stunned. “How’d you figure that out?”
“There’s one long-distance call on her phone bill. It’s to Australia.”
“Really? Wow. She’s been so careful.” Maggie chewed her lip. “I wonder if Cameron figured it out. He’s obsessed with her you know, but then, he’s not the only one.” She sat up. “Please don’t tell him. It’s her only leverage with him.”
“Why does she need leverage?” Athen asked just as Pauli asked:
“Why did you go get her cat?”
She swiveled her gaze to him as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.
“Because she asked me to.”
“When?” Paulie and Athen asked in unison.
“She texted me last night. I was sleeping and just got it this morning. I was a bit surprised she’d left Violet at home. She’d never normally do that.” She looked at Athen. “You said she’s in danger?”
“Can I see the text?” Athen asked.
“Sure.” Maggie stood, and out of the corner of his eye, Athen detected a figure silhouetted in the flat screen TV mounted on the wall.
“Gun!” he screamed. “Get down, Paulie!” Athen pulled a shrieking Maggie to the floor and covered her body with his. Somebody shot. Bam! Bam! Bam!
Maggie huddled against Athen, whimpering into his neck.