Sylvester could hardly contain himself. “Guess who got arrested?”
“Who?”
“Billy Barnett.”
“What for?”
“Murder.”
“You framed him for another murder?”
“I didn’t.”
“Someone else framed him for murder?”
“He might have actually done this one.”
“What?”
“Turns out he had a motive. Some gossip columnist was spreading nasty rumors about his lead actress.”
“He killed him for that?”
“It does seem a bit of an overreaction.”
Gino looked at him sharply. “You find this funny?”
“The man’s causing us no end of trouble. It’s hard not to enjoy his misfortune.”
“Where are you getting your information?”
“It’s on the news. He was arraigned this morning. The TV stations covered his release.”
“How come we didn’t get a heads-up?”
“My man on the force was off duty. When I called him it was the first he’d heard of it.”
“Where’s Barnett now?”
“Supposedly back on the set. I called Dylan, but he hasn’t seen him.”
Gino slammed his fist down on the desk. “What is it with this guy? He’s the original Teflon man. The cops can’t get him, we can’t get him. He’s never where he’s supposed to be. You can’t pin him down. He gets arrested for murder, and he’s out and gone before we even hear. How’d he get out so quick on a murder charge?”
“They charged him with B and E. They can always up the charges, but the defense won’t get them kicked for lack of proof. For the prosecutor it’s a win-win.”
“For Billy Barnett, too. He waltzes in and out of jail like he owned the place, and completely disappears.”
“It would appear so.”
“Get ahold of Dylan. If Barnett’s not there, he can damn well find out where he is.”
Dylan wasn’t any help. “He’s not here, but that doesn’t mean anything. The place is crawling with TV crews. He might be holed up in one of the trailers and ducking the press.”
“Nose around, find out where he’s hiding.”
“There’s a limit to how interested I can be without people getting wise.”
“Well, then, you’d better be careful, hadn’t you?”