Early the next morning Teddy was awakened by a banging on the front door. He rolled over in bed and checked the security system. It was the police.
Teddy pushed the intercom and said, “Just a minute.” He pulled on a bathrobe and stumbled downstairs.
Teddy opened the front door and said, “Did you find out anything?”
That took the officer aback. “Find out anything?”
“About the break-in.”
“Only in a manner of speaking. The man who attempted the break-in was found dead in his apartment last night.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No, sir, that’s a fact.”
“So, you don’t know why this guy targeted my house, and now we’ll never find out?”
“That the least of our problems. We have a murder on our hands.”
“That’s got nothing to do with me.”
“Well, sir, you do top the list of people who might want the victim dead.”
Teddy groaned. “That doesn’t even make any sense. The guy tried to rob me so I killed him? I certainly hope you have a better theory than that.”
“We’re just running down leads.” The officer turned and pointed. “That is your Porsche Speedster parked over there, isn’t it?”
“What about it?”
“The police responded to a call last night of a man breaking into the downstairs door of the building where the victim lived.”
“Well, I hope they had more luck investigating that break-in than they did mine.”
“A car matching the description of yours was seen parked in the neighborhood about the time the police got the call.”
“Did they get the plate number?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
“You are, actually. You just don’t have it because they didn’t get it. This is Hollywood. You know how many vintage cars there are in this town? Maybe it’s an affectation, but I don’t care. I’m not out to impress anybody. I happen to like the car.”
“Where were you at the time of the crime?”
“Well, I don’t know when the crime was committed. What time are we talking about, Officer?”
“Around eleven last night.”
“Oh. Then I know exactly where I was. I was watching the news. I wanted to see how they reported the Oscar nominations. Not to brag, but my picture happened to get several.”
The officer grinned. “You got an Oscar nomination?”
“Yes, I did.”
“What movie?”
“Desperation at Dawn.”
“Really? I loved that movie.”
“You’ve made my day. That, Officer, is more important to me than an Oscar. It’s nice to get good reviews, of course, but what you really want is a film that people enjoy. If you can do that, you’re doing your job.” Teddy smiled. “See, with all that happening yesterday, you can understand how I find it hard to relate if some punk gets whacked in his apartment. How was he killed, by the way?”
“Single shot to the head.”
Teddy considered, nodded. “Cinematically good. You know how we do it in the movies with blanks and blood bags, but, of course, it’s not the real thing. You’ll keep me informed on how this turns out?”