Chapter Fourteen
Sam Goodman’s plane arrived on schedule at LAX, and he looked no worse for wear when he walked into the MBI office suite on Wilshire Boulevard after his six-hour-and-twenty-minute flight and thirty-eight-minute cab ride. Morris already had the rest of the MBI team assembled, along with Dr. Roger Smichen, Detectives Walsh and Malevich, and two other LAPD detectives who’d been assigned for the duration to the investigation.
After introductions were made, Morris asked his office manager Greta Lindstrom to make copies of Goodman’s presentation from the flash drive the FBI profiler had brought. While they waited for these, Goodman poured himself a cup of coffee and helped himself to a bagel and cream cheese, and then engaged in small talk with Morris and other members of the team. Ten minutes later Greta brought in enough copies for everyone present, and MBI’s computer and hacking specialist, Adam Felger, had everything set up for a video presentation. Goodman took one last bite of his bagel, used a napkin to wipe a smear of cream cheese from his lips, and was about to begin when Morris received a call from the mayor’s deputy assistant, Doug Gilman.
“An unusual situation has arisen,” Gilman said.
Morris excused himself from the gathering, and once he was out in the hallway with the conference-room door closed, asked Gilman if he was going to be happy with the situation.
“Doubtful,” Gilman said. “I’m certainly not thrilled by it.”
“What is it?”
Gilman hesitated, then said, “I believe you’re personally acquainted with Philip Stonehedge?”
Because he wasn’t expecting that name, it took Morris a moment before he remembered that Stonehedge was the actor starring as the serial killer in The Carver film, and that they’d spent time talking together in the actor’s trailer. Even though it had been less than a day, it seemed like this had happened months ago.
“I met him yesterday,” Morris said. “So?”
“So Stonehedge saw last night’s press conference and decided he wants to tag along with you on this investigation. The studio that’s making his latest film—the one you’ve been consulting on—has been calling the mayor all morning to make that happen, and they’ve succeeded. The mayor has given his blessing.”
Jerry had called a half hour earlier to tell Morris that filming for The Carver was being shut down for a week. Now he knew why.
“How about Hadley?” Morris asked.
“The Commissioner signed off.”
“Why in the world would they do that?”
“Because the studio will be paying the city two million dollars for this privilege,” Gilman said. “I guess they see this as a unique promotional opportunity for when this movie comes out. Having Stonehedge stumping around, giving interviews about how he was on the team that tracked Corey Freeman’s killer.”
“I don’t like this.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think you would. But it’s only going to be for seven days. That’s all we agreed to, and then you’re free of him. Besides, according to Stonehedge you two have a good rapport.”
That was a stretch. Morris had spent no more than twenty minutes talking to the actor, and his feelings had been pretty much neutral regarding Stonehedge.
“This isn’t a game,” Morris said, his voice growing tight from his growing exasperation. “Nor is it a Hollywood publicity stunt. We’re trying to catch this maniac before he breaks open any more skulls.”
“I know that, but Morris, we’re talking about seven days. That’s all. Besides, if you think about it it’s not that big a deal. You cops have been having ride-alongs with actors for years.”
A throbbing had started in Morris’s temples, and he squeezed his eyes closed and slowly began massaging the area around his eyes with his thumb and index finger from his left hand as he held his cellphone with his right. “Not when we’re dealing with a serial killer,” he said. “We’ll be putting Stonehedge’s safety at risk—”
“He’s been warned about that.”
“Yeah, well, that’s only one issue. Another is that we need to control the messages we give out to the media. What we put out there could be critical in capturing this killer. Not only does Stonehedge risk making this into an even bigger media circus than it’s going to be, but if he says the wrong thing either on social media or in an interview, it could ruin our chances of catching this guy.”
“He won’t say anything,” Gilman said. “At least he better not. Stonehedge signed a nondisclosure agreement that forbids him from saying anything about the investigation while it’s ongoing. If he does we’ll be prosecuting him, and he understands that.” There was a deep breath and exhalation from Gilman, then, “Look, Morris, this is happening. There’s nothing I can do about it, and nothing you can do about it. I called to give you a heads-up, but deal with it the best you can, okay?”
Morris applied more pressure as he massaged the area around his eyes. “Was he told this might be SCK?” he asked.
“No.”
“When’s he coming?”
“Any minute.”
The office suite door opened and Morris looked up to see Stonehedge walking into MBI’s lobby. He told Gilman he’d talk to him again later, and signaled for Stonehedge to join him.
The actor had on thick-rimmed eyeglasses, a fake prosthetic nose, scruffy blond wig, and had an equally scruffy fake mustache and beard attached to his face. He also wore badly faded jeans, a Los Angeles Dodgers T-shirt, and old running shoes. It was a decent disguise; the nose, wig, facial hair all looked real. If Morris hadn’t been expecting the actor, he might’ve been fooled by it.
Stonehedge shot Morris a sheepish grin as he walked over to him and offered his hand, which Morris ignored. The actor seemed momentarily taken aback by the slight, but recovered quickly and acted as if Morris hadn’t just dissed him. “You like my disguise? This is what I wear when I don’t want to be recognized,” he said. “I really appreciate you letting me do this.” This last part was said as if Morris actually had any say in the matter.
“Why do you even want to do this?”
Stonehedge’s grin turned a bit strained. “The scenes I shot yesterday were lousy. I was lousy. A ridiculous walking cartoon, nothing more than that. Jerry’s going to have to reshoot those scenes. But if I can immerse myself in this for a week, I’ll crack this nut, I’m sure of it, and I won’t embarrass myself in this role.”
“Really? Why do you think a murder investigation will help you do that?”
“Morris, man, don’t kid a kidder. This isn’t just a murder. The city of Los Angeles isn’t going to hire you for a run-of-the-mill murder. This is the real deal. Am I right?”
Morris was going to try bluffing him and see if he could change Stonehedge’s mind, but he accepted that the actor was too stubborn and he’d only be wasting his time.
“It could be,” Morris admitted. “Here’s how we’ll do this. I’ll allow you to observe as long as you don’t interfere. I want you to be as good as invisible. Okay?”
“Not a problem, man. I’ll blend into the walls. You won’t even know I’m here.”
“No tweets, no instagrams, no postings on Facebook. No social media, period. You do any of that, or leak anything to the press, and not only will I make sure you’re prosecuted, but I’ll break your jaw. I’m not kidding about that.”
Stonehedge smiled wickedly. “Morris, man, first impression I never would’ve guessed what a badass you are. This is going to be great. Truly. And don’t worry, I won’t be mentioning a word about this to anyone. That’s not why I’m doing this. My only reason is for my craft, that’s it.”
Morris didn’t fully believe him since all actors were in effect professional liars, but nodded anyway. “Okay, then,” he said, and he offered the actor his hand, which Stonehedge enthusiastically took.
“I might actually be able to help you with this, whatever this turns out to be,” Stonehedge said. “I have access to people and organizations that you and the Los Angeles police department don’t. Anything I can do to help, just say the word.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“So what are you dealing with here?”
Morris saw no reason to hide it any longer. It wasn’t his call anyway. “Possibly SCK,” he said.
The actor gave him a confused look.
“The Skull Cracker Killer.”
For a fraction of a second, nothing, but Morris could the see the wheels turning in Stonehedge’s eyes and then the precise moment that the actor connected the name to the news stories that came out of New York over five years ago. Immediately after that, the actor’s jaw dropped.
“Exactly,” Morris said.