With the arrest over and the SWAT vehicle gone, Athen and Paulie made their way into the station. It was high tech and gorgeous, but as Lucy often reminded them, obsolete. They passed the bank of 911 operators and got a wave from a few of them. He and Paulie waved back.
Lucy came to greet them. “I’ve got you an office with plenty of wall space, some computers, a fax machine, desks, phones. What else do you need right now?”
They stepped inside. The place was huge. And perfect. “I’d like you and Soup to join us when you can.” Athen began assembling his laptop on the first desk he spotted.
Lucy nodded. “She’s on her way. Text her and let her know you’re in here. I need to contact the judge who signed off on Cricket’s warrant. I’m hoping because I played nice about Tyler being whisked away, he might grant me permission to get a DNA swab out of Cameron Deck.”
“Excellent,” Athen said. His phone rang. “Hold on, chief, it’s Albert Ngo, the New York detective who’s helping us out with Gary Goldman.”
“Oh, right. Natasha’s husband.” She perched on the edge of his desk as Paulie pulled up a chair in front of it.
Athen took the call. “Hey, Albert. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve got you on loudspeaker with my precinct captain, Lucy Lane, and my partner, Paulie Hansen.” He noticed Paulie perking up at his words. Partner. It felt right.
“No problem. I’m just grabbing an espresso. So, if you’re hear background noise, that’s why. Hang on. I gotta add sugar.” Athen grinned as Albert banged something on the other line. “Anyway, I had to wait for Goldman to show up and boy is he a weirdo.”
“In what way?” Athen asked.
“He looks homeless. He’s trying to open this theater, which I guess you already know. Doesn’t look half bad, but still needs a shitload of work. I think he drinks or drugs, can’t tell which. He was shaky and sweaty. I asked about Natasha and he was ready to run.”
“Run? Why?” Lucy asked.
“Apparently, he’d already heard she was missing. Said he didn’t want to get blamed because they had a big fight a few days ago.”
“Why would he get blamed if he’s in New York and she’s here?” Athen asked.
“He says they had a real blow out and she asked for a divorce. She hasn’t been sending him money. He thinks, and these are his words, not mine, she has a fancy man she wants to be with. Said she needed a divorce and she’d think about a settlement.”
“That makes no sense,” Athen said. “She needs to stay married for two years for the green card process.”
“He says she’s an emotional girl and says things when she’s angry. He fully expected her to call him and apologize but she hasn’t sent him money she promised and he’s in a bind here.”
“When did they have this conversation?” Athen asked.
“Seven o’clock in the morning Eastern Daylight Time, which would be four o’clock Pacific. Two days ago.”
They would add this to Natasha’s timeline. Lucy moved over to the board to add it as Albert said, “Goldman’s been counting on it. She was supposed to Venmo him the money that day. Never did. He’s been trying to get hold of her ever since. No luck. Says it’s not like her at all.”
Athen, Lucy, and Paulie looked at each other.
“Anything else?” Paulie asked.
“No, not really. Except Goldman’s supposed to be opening his theater for rehearsals in two weeks. Guess he’s screwed. Unless you can locate his wife and get her to send him his money.”
“Okay, thanks,” Athen said. “Did he give any indication who might want to harm her?”
“Ha! He says she feuds with everybody. Again, his words. Not mine. Oh, I gotta book. Pal. You owe me.” He ended the call.
For a moment, Athen pondered the conversation. “We’re back at square one,” he said. “Guess it’s time to repack the snowball.”
“Yeah,” Lucy said. “As Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, I’ll be back.” She hoisted herself off his desk.
Athen and Paulie got busy. She turned back to them. “So, this partnership thing. You both like the idea?”
“Yeah,” Athen and Paulie said in unison.
* * * *
Grady texted Athen. I can get us into the Beverly Hills Hotel for a couple of nights. We can’t go home. People are all over it.
Seconds later, Athen texted back. Holy crap! I had no idea until just now. Tyler killed a woman and his fans are acting like we’re the bad guys for arresting him!
Grady texted, Are you okay with a bungalow by the pool? They’re making an exception for Bella because you’re a local hero.
Athen called him then. “That’s some posh digs, babe. Should we be spending that kind of money?”
“They’ve offered us a discounted rate.” Grady longed to sleep in luxury without a petulant teen banging around their house. Even Bella, the most good-natured dog he’d ever met seemed tense around Despina. Grady had a lot to tell Athen about how hard it was, despite her horrible behavior to leave Desi with her parents. He’d promised her he and Athen would travel there right after his case was over and be there when she came out to her parents.
“I don’t see what the big deal is,” he’d told her. “Your mom never had a problem with your uncle being gay. Your father has a lesbian sister—”
“That’s different,” she’d said. “I’m her daughter. And the whole time she was going through chemo she kept saying what was keeping her alive was that she wanted to be there for my wedding and for her to hold her first grandchild.”
Ouch. Grady was surprised this weighed so heavily on Despina’s soul. She was always so disdainful of parental caring. He chose his words carefully. “Your mom knows she can do those things no matter if you marry a man, or a woman.”
“Easy for you to say,” she’d snapped. Grady tried not to fret about her.
“They offered us a discount?” Athen sounded surprised. His question brought Grady back to the present. “Why?”
“It’s all thanks to Sullivan Tang.”
“We call her Soup now.”
Grady heard the smile in Athen’s voice. “I’m sure there’s a story to it but I still need to know. You like the hotel idea?”
“Sure, babe. You’re my fancy man. You deserve the best.” He dropped his voice. “Thank you for loving me. Sometimes I don’t think I deserve you.”
“Sometimes I agree with you.” Grady grinned. He bit his lip. “Athen, can you believe Tyler killed someone?”
“Yeah.” Athen sounded exhausted. “I can. Where are you?”
“Just blowing through Bakersfield. Did you know the city’s motto is The Sound of Something Better?”
Athen laughed then. “For real? What’s the sound, any idea?”
“I think it may be cow farts.” Grady laughed too. “I almost stopped in Gilroy to buy fresh garlic.”
“Ha! Glad you didn’t. I’m planning on kissing you a lot tonight.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Grady said, ending their call.
* * * *
Athen and Paulie had put in a long day and by seven p.m., they’d established a working war room with photos of the main players and info they had, establishing a timeline for Natasha’s last known forty-eight hours. So far, they knew she’d talked to her husband at four a.m. Cameron deck said she was a late riser which didn’t really jibe with that early morning call. Her next sighting was two in the afternoon. What happened after that?
All missing person cases started backwards, but they had nothing else to go on. Yet.
Paulie went off to scrounge up a coffee maker and Athen perused the photos tacked to the wall.
Although they had Tyler’s photo among the many, there was nothing really linking him to the crime. Apart from the issue of the red dress, Natasha’s problem seemed to be men.
Who is her fancy man? He couldn’t help thinking of the Rolling Stones song Fancy Man Blues. Which one of her men hated her enough to kill her?
“Look at this.” Soup held up a printed page. The ALPR data was fascinating. Athen spotted his own car’s details and many others.
“I had no idea so many cars passed through a simple intersection each day,” Soup said, as she, Athen and Paulie went through the long computer printout listing all the license plates that had passed or come near Natasha’s residence over the last two days.
Lucy walked in with bags of potato chips.
“I think I love you,” Athen said, making her laugh.
She settled in with the others, going through the ALPR report.
It showed that a vehicle Athen knew to be a Beverly Hills undercover vehicle had made its way to Natasha’s residence the night before. They now knew it was the one Lorne Brand, driven for the mayor, on their way back from Wong’s.
According to Lorne, the mayor had been unable to reach Natasha and thought they’d drop by her apartment to see if they could catch her.
Meanwhile, Scott told Lucy he had no idea Natasha was missing until Jamie Fahdi called him that morning.
Lorne had been removed from the case since he was involved. He was now outside Athen’s house with armed officers trying to clear the throng of movie fans and media that had assembled outside what they believed to be Tyler James’ residence.
Unfortunately, the rental car’s dashboard camera had malfunctioned. There was no footage. But it had an active alarm and the car’s dashboard security system showed that it had been turned off at 2:07 pm two days before, when Cameron Deck said Natasha had left her apartment with her laundry. The navigation settings showed that the car had not gone far. Only to Wong’s, then back again. The alarm had been reset at 2:27 pm and hadn’t been moved since.
Deck didn’t deny driving her once Athen spoke to him again by phone. “She was in the car waiting for me as I dropped off her laundry. She loves having an errand boy.”
He sounded bitter. “Hey, can you people send some cops here? Please? I got looky-loos glued to the front gate. Everybody wants a piece of the princess. My tenants are afraid to come home.”
“In a minute,” Athen said. “Why didn’t you tell me you were with Natasha that day?”
“I was too embarrassed to admit that I drive her around town. Hey, wait. I just saw a report on Radar Online. They’re saying she’s not a real princess. Is that true?”
“Probably,” Athen said. “I’ll send you over to our traffic division right now.”
By seven-ten, one of the tabloid TV shows revealed that Natasha was no princess and that she had a severe gambling problem. Her story soon slipped from the headlines, replaced by the news of Tyler James’ arrest.
“That didn’t take long,” Lucy said after a news bulletin. “If Natasha was blonde, blue-eyed, and American, she’d still be big news. But she’s foreign and has dark hair. They don’t give a damn.”
“Well, Tyler James is big news,” Athen said. “Besides, it works for us really. There’s been so much reporting all day and we still don’t have any significant leads.”
“All hell just broke loose,” Paulie said as they watched endless news reports of the actor being wanted on cold case charges.
“You could stay in the house tonight since he’s locked up,” Paulie said. “Once we get rid of the media and the fans, you’d be safe there. Cricket couldn’t find any other hidden cameras. Tomorrow, you and Grady can start house hunting.”
“Yeah, we could,” Athen said. He’d briefly entertained the idea until he learned from Lucy that news media, fans, and tour buses had invaded Arnaz Drive and people were camped out in Athen’s bushes. It would take hours to get them to move. Beverly Hills officers had been swamped with a parade of passersby. Lucy said they’d get it under control with fresh reinforcements from the West Hollywood police department, but Athen didn’t want to spend another night in Tyler’s house.
What a crazy day. He shifted in his seat. He knew he’d have to start his investigation all over again. Comb the threads, follow up even the slightest details. He made notes. They discussed what they knew. They were still waiting for Natasha’s cellphone records and Athen wanted to go over all the footage from Wong’s again. Something niggled at him, but he didn’t know what. He also wanted to check the bank’s security tapes but they’d closed at five. He’d have to contact them again in the morning.
By nine thirty, most of the officers at the precinct had gone home and he wanted Lucy and Paulie to return to their families.
“I’ll stay with you,” Soup said. “I’ve got nobody waiting for me.”
But Athen wanted her to get a good night’s rest. He wanted to head to the hotel to be with Grady and Bella. The clues to his case, the answer, lay in the pile of information he had. Yet, he was no closer to solving the mystery.
“Let’s call it a day,” he said, bleary-eyed. “Start fresh in the morning.” He knew that as exhausted as he was, he’d go over each minute of the investigation so far and wouldn’t stop replaying it in his mind.
They all walked outside and Athen, laptop in his grip, wished he was already up on Sunset Boulevard lying in a swanky bed with his hot man with tropical flowers and a pool outside his door.
“How early do you wanna start?” Paulie asked.
“Eight o’clock,” Athen said. “Oh, your car is still outside Natasha’s. I’ll drop you there.”
“Great. Man, I’m hungry.”
“Me, too,” Soup echoed.
“My husband ordered Thai tonight.” Lucy gave them all a thumbs up.
Athen bid them goodnight. He wanted a shower, sex, and supper. Not necessarily in that order.
* * * *
Bella knew something was up. She stared out of the window as Grady steered the SUV around the circular driveway of the Beverly Hills Hotel. He and Athen loved what they called The Pink Palace and had come here a few times for late night frosty beers and their incomparable hot dogs before Despina came into their home. They’d often fantasized about renting a room or bungalow for the night.
Now as the valet opened the door, he couldn’t believe it was actually happening. “I’ll take your car, sir. The concierge is right here.” A uniformed man appeared. He ushered Grady and Bella down the flower-lined path to the bungalows
“Will you be wanting to order room service?” he’d asked over his shoulder. He’d not only taken custody of Bella’s leash, but wielded Grady’s overnight bag, Bella’s bag of toys and dishes, and the groceries Grady had bought at Bristol Farms before stopping here.
“Yes,” Grady said, hurrying to catch up. Did Athen grab some clothes from the house? If not, I’ll dash back early in the morning and pick up some stuff before he goes back to work.
The concierge led him to a quiet, beautiful, secluded cabana. “Mrs. Tang said you required our most secluded, most romantic bungalow with a private patio.” The concierge beamed at him. “This is it.”
Grady’s breath caught in his throat. “It’s perfect.” He glanced at the name tag. Tony Thomas. “Oh, you’re Sullivan’s brother!”
“I am.” Tony smiled. “Oh, do you hear that sound?” Tony tilted, a sweet smile on his face.
“What kind of bird is that?” Grady asked as Bella’s head swiveled in all directions. She fancied herself a bird dog, a squirrel dog, and a cat dog. As in, she wanted to play with everyone and everything she ever met. The trilling bird song was the sweetest Grady ever heard.
“It’s a mockingbird.” Tony handed him Bella’s leash. “We used to get them all the time in Beverly Hills. They returned during the coronavirus lockdown. The unmated bachelor of the species sings all night.”
“It’s a lovely sound,” Grady said.
“Some say they became disoriented and bewildered when people vanished into their homes.” Tony looked misty-eyed for a moment. “I think they took the time and space to find their way home again.” He unlocked the bungalow door for Grady and stepped inside with Grady’s possessions.
“Oh, this is wonderful.”
They exchanged smiles. Grady took in the welcome basket that contained fruit, chocolates, and bully sticks for Bella. The dog had no manners. She inched her nose past the wrapped goodies around the sticks and licked at them.
Grady laughed and pulled one out for her. She flopped at his feet and got busy. He unclipped her leash and left her to it.
The cabana was an enchanting, breathtaking space with a bed that Grady could have slept in for days straight.
“If you would like to order now, I can dial room service for you,” Tony said, putting everything down and handing him the key.
“I might open the wine bottle I see there and sit on the patio for a few moments,” Grady said.
“Ah yes, the wine is the compliments of the hotel. There’s champagne in an ice bucket on the wet bar and complimentary bottles of mineral water. Tony handed him a business card. “Should you need anything, please call me.”
“I will.” Grady handed him a twenty-dollar bill. “You’ve been amazing. Thank you.” For long seconds after Tony left, Grady took it all in. He got busy stashing the store-bought goodies in the fridge and examining the stuffed welcome basket. The champagne in the ice bucket was Veuve Clicquot. Grady knew that Athen would want a glass of it. Then he’d want sex. Champagne made him very frisky. “Want a little walk, girl?” he asked Bella who looked up at him.
If she could talk, her response would have been, “Don’t bother me. I’m chewing.”
Grady laughed and texted to Athen to let him know he was at the hotel. I’m in the last cabana. Wait till you see it.
Athen texted back, On my way.
“Good,” Grady said aloud and went off to order a bunch of room service menu items. He hopped in the shower after selecting a gel he’d been wanting to try forever. In spite of the stressful day, he was happy, and he was drying off just as there was a knock at the door. He threw on a robe. It was Athen, looking sexier than hell.
“Fuck. Look at you in that robe.” Athen pulled Grady to him and they kissed hungrily. The room service guy arrived seconds later, robbing Grady of his chance for doorstep sex.
“What did you order?” Athen asked, scrawling his signature on the receipt.
“Open the lids,” Grady suggested as the room service guy scurried away.
Athen did as he was told, looking ecstatic at the Pasta Alla Vodka they’d had at the hotel restaurant one time. He let out a moan. “Strozzapreti. My favorite pasta. Oh. And we have the McCarthy salad. I can smell the grilled chicken.” His hand hovered over the last dish. “What’s in this one?”
Grady just smiled as Athen whisked away the lid. “Oooooh... you ordered a hot dog. I think I just died and went to Heaven. It’s all beautiful, babe. But I want you first.” He put all the lids back on. “Come here.” He pulled Grady to him. He suddenly laughed and looked down. “Bella!” He reached down and ruffled the dog’s head. “Daddy loves you, sweetie, but he has important things to do.” He led Grady to the bed. Bella stood at the foot of it, watching them. She was always bored when Grady and Athen fucked. Which was fine by both men. Grady tried to ignore his impatient erection jutting from the folds of his robe. He arched away as Athen grabbed at it.
“Hold on.” Grady went and gave Bella another bully stick and put the welcome basket on the wet bar. She was a good dog, but she was a food hound who couldn’t be trusted around anything near her eye level.
Athen watched him, a smile on his face. “My turn now,” he said, pulling Grady to him again. He held Grady tight, letting his hands roam down his lover’s ass. He cupped his cheeks, making Grady laugh. “Yeah, I have some ownership issues,” Athen murmured against Grady’s lips. He quickly stripped Grady’s bathrobe off leaving his black boxer briefs on. He enjoyed prolonging the moment they were naked together. Loved taunting Grady using the briefs as a weapon to heighten his arousal. Athen squeezed Grady’s butt again, sliding the fabric up and his hands under it. He squeezed again, letting his fingers trail between the cheeks and into the crease.
Grady let out a gasp and ground his cock against Athen’s. Athen almost ripped off the briefs to throw Grady on the bed and let him have it, but he wanted to wait. He grasped the butt cheeks again, pulling the stretchy fabric up again, letting it wedge inside Grady’s ass crack. He tugged again, up, and around, then with his other hand, reached between their crushing bodies to take hold of Grady’s swollen cock.
“Yes!” Grady let out a moan. Athen gripped the head with a light touch careful not to let Grady come too soon.
They kissed each other with abandon, their tongues dancing over each other. Grady was the best kisser Athen had ever met. Athen kept pulling up on the underpants, letting them rub against Grady’s crack. Only when Grady seemed to be needing urgent attention did Athen reach between his lover’s cheeks and rub three fingers against his hole.
He dropped to his knees, hiking down the briefs again, testing, tasting Grady’s length with lips and tongue. Grady just wanted to be in his mouth but Athen worked slowly on the head until it was nice and slick enjoying the sounds of his own mouth-to-cock resuscitation. Nothing beat the sound of that in his mind. Grady whimpered until Athen sucked in the head, dragging more of Grady into his hot mouth. Mmm. He sucked until every inch filled his mouth then released him again. He could have let Grady enjoy a swift, hard release but Athen was inclined to resist.
Athen got to his feet, took off his own clothes, stepping out of his shoes and socks and whipped off his underpants. He got back on his knees and began cock-sucking again. Yeah, it was maddening for both of them. Suddenly Grady grabbed his head.
“Fuck!” he ground out, flooding Athen’s throat. Athen swallowed it all, leaned back on his haunches and grinned up at him.
“You’re a very bad man,” he said. He let Grady have a minute or two to recuperate. He pushed him on the bed and opened his legs, flicking his tongue this way and that. Grady was always sensitive after an orgasm. But it was too bad. He’d come too soon for Athen’s liking. Athen pushed Grady’s legs apart, knelt between them then up and buried his face in his man’s musky scent. He rubbed his tongue along every touch of skin then took one ball then the other into his mouth. God, he wanted to fuck.
“Do it,” Grady began to chant, but Athen wanted to take his time. Grady grabbed him, centering Athen’s hot head right where it belonged.
Still Athen didn’t give him what he wanted. He rubbed his cock along the crease then against Grady’s balls. He grabbed both their cocks in his hand and knew he couldn’t last much longer.
Grady was still begging so Athen began the delicious assault on his lover’s hole. He pushed and pushed until he was sliding in. Grady clutched at Athen’s ass cheeks, pulling him in harder, deeper, faster. Athen gave him everything he had, loving the erotic pleasure they gave each other. He came hard, seeing stars and fireworks in his mind. A rich sense of peace overcame him, but he kept fucking Grady making him come a second time.
They kept kissing each other until they needed to breathe. Athen came out of him and rolled to his side.
“Yummy,” Grady whispered, making Athen laugh.
They swapped gentle kisses and licks. Athen wanted more. They both did. But he was tired. So tired. He yearned for rest and lay wrapped around Grady who fell asleep seconds later.
But Athen couldn’t stop the thoughts that kept tumbling in his mind. Desperate for some solace, he kept reminding himself he needed rest until at two a.m. His phone rang. He checked the call, trying not to waken Grady. To his delight, he’d received an alert that Natasha’s records had been delivered to his email address. He knew that his team members would also have the alert. He took a deep breath and texted them all saying, I’m on it. Checking records now. Go back to sleep. There was no reason for them all to be awake and working at this hour.
He slipped out of bed, detangling himself from Grady’s warm body. In the process of repacking his mental snowball he felt compelled to work, work, work. He walked out to the small sitting room away from the sumptuous alcove where Grady lay sprawled on the bed. Athen longed to hop right back into bed with him. Bella licked his leg. This meant she wanted to pee. She always wanted to pee in unfamiliar surroundings. He unlatched the door to the bungalow and walked with her to the dark foliage lining the building. She squatted and peed among some beautiful birds of paradise.
She went on and on. The night was quiet and cool. “Come on, girl,” he whispered and led her back inside again.
Bella trotted over to the kitchen area. She dropped her head into the large stainless-steel bowl that went everywhere with her. The sound of her lapping at water always filled his heart with pleasure. He had had no idea why. At that moment he loved her and Grady more than he ever thought possible. Did I make the right decision not becoming a vet?
He fired up his computer as she jumped up on the sofa beside him and curled into a comfortable furry donut position. Athen opened the email with the phone records and scanned them. Natasha had made two calls the last morning she’d been seen alive.
The first was to a 310 area code number. That was at 4.30 a.m. The same number called her back a few seconds later. That had to be Gary Goldman. He would check. It was the last outgoing call that held his interest, however. He couldn’t help smiling.
I knew it. I knew there was something weird about this! The last call she made was at 7:03 a.m. It was to the Australian cellphone number he’d found on Natasha’s bill. Lucy had called it the day before and spoke to a woman who claimed it was a new number.
Bullshit. She talked to somebody on that call for eight minutes. What time would it have been in Sydney, Australia? He checked. Midnight. Right now, it was seven p.m. Sydney time. Perfect. He called the number.
The cellphone rang as he paced the small room. After several rings, a woman answered.
“Hello?” Her voice came out in a shaky whisper.
“Please, don’t hang up,” he said. “Please. And this is very important. I’m Lieutenant Athen Mavromatis with the Beverly Hills Police department. And I have every reason to believe Natasha is in very grave danger.”
The woman on the other end of the line let out a gasp. “I knew it,” she whispered. “I knew it. He’s killed her, hasn’t he?”