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Bella & Boris
Vivian walked through the crowd at a turtle’s pace, thinking about what had just transpired. She didn’t trust Preston one darn bit, but he’d succeeded in convincing her to drive to Santa Monica to listen to what he had to say. She just hoped she wasn’t making a big mistake.
By the time she spotted Gary, he was standing at the buffet table, talking with another guest. She had truly enjoyed his company and didn’t want to just disappear into thin air without a word to him. But she also didn’t want to fumble around like an idiot, giving him some lame excuse as to why she was leaving so early. Lying to Carole would be tough enough since her best friend could see right through her.
Still, he deserved some sort of explanation, especially since he was instrumental in her getting the Bullock’s contract. Vivian made her way over to him and waited until he finished his conversation. Then, she used work as an excuse and explained that she needed to finish an important client’s order and deliver it first thing in the morning. Thankfully, he understood and said he was going to leave soon as well.
“Why don’t we meet for drinks at Cole’s after work tomorrow?” he asked. “I’m meeting the executives in the morning, so I might have some good news for you.”
“That sounds lovely,” she replied almost mindlessly. “I’ll meet you there at five o’clock.”
“I look forward to it.”
She wished him a good evening and went in search of Carole next. She found her near the patio amid what seemed to be a deep conversation with Spencer Tracy, and Clark was making his way over to them. With a twinge of guilt, she decided she’d rather apologize to Carole tomorrow rather than wait to talk with her now.
She made her way over to Preston, waltzed by him, and whispered, “I’m ready to go.” She continued around to the side door and after she thanked Suzanne again, she gathered Bella.
As they walked to her car, Vivian noticed Preston heading for his sporty red Jaguar not far away. Without acknowledging him, she and Bella got into her car. Vivian put her gun back into her purse and waited for Preston to leave first. Then she slowly pulled out onto the road to follow behind him.
That’s when she heard Carole calling to her. Vivian glanced over and saw Carole standing in the grass on the side of the house with her hands on her hips, watching her drive away. Vivian stepped on the gas and sped down the road.
She followed Preston down Santa Monica Boulevard the entire way, and within twenty minutes, they arrived at the massive estate on the beach. Vivian slowly passed by it and despite everything she’d heard about the Stone Estate, she couldn’t get over the enormity of the mansion.
Preston pulled into the open concrete carport on the south side of the home and motioned for her to park next to him. As soon as Vivian opened the car door, Bella jumped down and raced over to Preston excitedly, as though she knew him well.
“Who’s your companion?” he asked as he bent down to pet her.
Vivian scowled. “Bella usually doesn’t like strangers.”
“She’s smart. She knows I carry a few treats in my pocket.” Preston gave one to her. “We’ll go outside to the back patio. There’s someone here who’s sure to keep Bella entertained.” He grabbed the cocktail shaker from his car and led the way to the front door and into the foyer.
They walked through the sitting room and dining room before they reached a short hallway. Vivian looked around in awe, admiring the beautiful Victorian furniture and gorgeous oil paintings decorating the walls. Finally, they entered a large living area, and a distinguished older gentleman, formally dressed in a black suit and bowtie, was standing by the closed double glass doors, staring outside.
“I’ll take it from here, Gunther,” Preston told him. “Was he any trouble?”
“Not really, sir. I tried to feed him, but he refused to get out of the water.” Gunther turned around and saw Vivian. “Good evening, Miss.”
“This is Vivian Steele,” Preston introduced. “Vivian, I’d like you to meet Gunther. If it weren’t for him, this entire estate would come crashing down around us.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said.
“If there’s nothing else, sir, I’ll get back to my regular duties.”
“One more thing, Gunther.” Preston handed him the cocktail shaker. “I need you to...”
“Take it to your study? Of course, sir.”
Gunther headed for the hallway, but before he left the room, he glanced back at Vivian again. She watched him and wondered about it. There was something in the older man’s expression when he saw her there. His light eyes widened for a second as though he recognized her, or she spurred some sort of memory.
Preston opened the glass doors. “I’ll meet you on the patio, Vivian. I’m going to make us both a drink and don’t be alarmed when you see Boris lounging in the pool. He’s perfectly harmless.”
Not knowing what to expect, she picked Bella up and slowly walked out to the patio. Immediately, she spotted Boris lying in the water on the top step of the pool. “Oh, my...”
Bella saw him, too, and started squirming in Vivian’s arms, wanting to get down.
“Are you sure he’s harmless?” Vivian called out.
Before Preston could answer her, Bella wiggled around so much that Vivian was afraid she’d drop her. She set her on the ground, and Bella raced over to the edge of the pool, wagging her tail and softly yipping at Boris. Vivian followed behind her to make sure Bella was safe.
Leisurely, Boris got out of the pool and shook himself off, then he and Bella started sniffing each other. Vivian watched them closely, and she began petting Boris. “He’s very sweet, isn’t he?”
Preston handed her a scotch on the rocks. “Boris is big, but he’s gentle as a lamb. While the two of them get to know each other, let’s have a seat.”
Vivian kept an eye on Bella and sat at the nearby table. “I don’t plan on staying long. I want to know about the coins.”
Preston leaned back in his chair. “First, why don’t you tell me why you’re under police surveillance?”
She glared at him. “Really, Preston? You brought me all the way over here just to play games? What makes you think I’m under surveillance?”
“After you refused to answer my phone calls last evening, I drove by your building and saw a patrol car parked across the street.”
She took a sip of her drink. “All right. I think the mayor is worried Tilly Trimble told me something damaging about him before I went to the hotel, and the police are watching me.”
“Did she?”
“No, but after I saw the photograph of her and my husband in her hotel room, I found out the mayor was having an affair with her, too. I’m convinced the mayor arranged George’s death out of jealousy last fall, and Tilly was going to inform me about it. That’s why he hired either you or someone else to kill her. There, all my cards are on the table, Preston.”
“Not all of them. I thought Elliott Kimball shot your husband. He’s not affiliated with the mayor.”
“Kimball was right-handed. The gunman was left-handed like Captain Kynette, who is strongly linked to the mayor.”
“Ah, that explains why you were at Kynette’s trial.”
She bolted to her feet. “So, you’ve been following me, too. I recognize Boris now. He was with the man standing in front of the post office a few nights the past week. This is a waste of time. I’m leaving.”
“Sit down, Vivian. I had Freddie follow you, but not for the reasons you think. And I didn’t kill Tilly Trimble. I also didn’t have a dinner date with her that night, but let’s save that for later and talk about the coins. Chester Willoughby was a good friend of my father’s. He passed away last week, and when his attorney, who is also the executor of his estate, opened up Chester’s safe deposit box at Bank of America, his rare collection of coins was missing. A very valuable collection, I might add. It’s worth at least two million dollars.”
Vivian sat down, listening intently. “Go on.”
“The attorney is hoping to recoup the coins before reporting it to the police, and I agreed to help him. Six people had access to the safe deposit box, three employees at the bank and Chester’s three children.”
“George...” she muttered.
Preston nodded. “He wasn’t at the top of my list of suspects until yesterday after watching the movie. Someone else discovered the coins were missing, and he’s convinced George took them. That was the whole concept of the film. He thinks you have the coins now, and he knows I’m looking for them.”
“George died six months ago. Why would he think George stole them?”
“We don’t know if the coins were taken recently or a year ago. This guy might have done his own research and narrowed it down to George. Maybe he’s trying to take my focus off the real thief, or perhaps, and this would be my guess, George stole the coins and confided in someone about his theft before he died. Someone he was close to, like Tilly Trimble, and recently, she shared that information with our film producer before he killed her.”
Vivian stood up again, but this time she wandered over to Bella and Boris, who were contentedly lying side-by-side on the patio not far from the pool. A week ago, she would have argued tooth and nail against anyone who accused George of a crime, but everything was different now. “If George stole them, I can’t imagine where they would be. After he died, I packed all of our things and moved into the apartment above my boutique. There weren’t any coins.”
“Do you own a thirty-two caliber Beretta pistol?” Preston asked.
She glanced over at her purse on the chair.
“I thought so,” Preston said. “That’s the type of gun that was used to kill Tilly.”
“What are you saying?”
“After you left the hotel, I found several items sprinkled around that would have easily framed you for her murder had the police arrived first. If they found that gun in your possession, it would have sealed your conviction.”
“What items?”
He hesitated. “Similar to the photograph you found.”
Vivian thought about it. “You realize that everything you’ve told me points to the mayor, between his relationship with Tilly, his jealousy over George, and planting evidence against me. Why would Tilly wait six months to tell him about the coin collection, though?” Vivian wandered back to the table. “Unless she wasn’t sure George took the coins until she found out they were missing.”
“That brings us back around to who leaked the information. Only a handful of us knew the coins were stolen.”
“A handful of who?” Vivian asked.
Preston grinned at her. “Getting back to the mayor, he’s guilty of a lot of different crimes, and he might have arranged Tilly Trimble’s death, but patience and subtlety aren’t his strong suits. He usually takes what he wants without caring about the consequences and wouldn’t bother to make a movie to get his point across. You’re probably right that he instructed Captain Kynette to kill your husband. That’s more his style. It was your visit to the courthouse that alerted him that you suspect what really happened.”
Vivian sat down and took another sip of her drink. “Preston, if this mystery man, whoever he is, wants the coins and thinks I have them, why hasn’t he given me any instructions on how to give them to him? He went to all the trouble of making that violent seven-minute film, and the only message was that he’s willing to kill us for the coins.”
“I don’t know, but right now, my top priority is finding the person who stole the coins in the first place and retrieving them. That would put an end to all of this. If it’s any comfort, we both may be targets, but I’m in more danger than you are since I’m just in the way. As long as he thinks you have the coins, you’re fairly safe.”
“Now that you brought that up, I’m curious about the glass of champagne. How are you going to find out what the waiter put in it?”
“I have some equipment upstairs in my study to test for different substances.”
“Then I suggest you either test the champagne soon or transfer it to a glass container. Depending upon the type of substance the waiter put into it, the amount of silver in the cocktail shaker could react with it, altering the properties and possibly turning it into a deadly inhalant.”
Preston fell silent for a moment as he gazed at her. “You obviously have experience in more than just fashion design. Where did you live before you came to Los Angeles?”
She smiled at him. “Let’s save that for later when you tell me the real reason you went to Tilly Trimble’s hotel room.”
Preston laughed. “Fair enough. Come on, why don’t we go upstairs and find out how long it would have taken that champagne to kill me?”
