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Missing
As Preston drove to Santa Monica beach, he thought about what Vivian had said at the observatory about their nemesis building up to something bigger. He had the same feeling now. It seemed this guy was deliberately leading them around by the nose, hand-feeding them false clues, teasing them with threats, and dumping a body here and there just to keep them on their toes...and on edge.
The man was in control, and he knew it. He was flagrantly flaunting his superiority, and while overconfidence usually proved to be a criminal’s downfall, so far this guy hadn’t made one single mistake, at least none that they had noticed. It was only a matter of time before it all exploded, and what worried Preston most was who would be in the crossfire when that happened.
They reached the estate, and he pulled his Jaguar into the carport next to Nick’s convertible. He checked his watch. “It’s going on three-thirty, so Nick hasn’t been here too long. We’ve got an earful to tell him.” Preston walked with Vivian to the front entryway. “I’m starving. What about you?”
“I’m a little hungry now. We haven’t eaten since you made cinnamon toast this morning.”
“Watch this. I bet Gunther is waiting for us in the foyer. It’s like he has some sort of sixth sense. He not only knows the minute someone arrives at the estate, but if my parents or a guest need anything, whether it’s a drink, food, or an article of clothing like a sweater, he’s right there offering it to them before they even have a chance to ask for it.”
“It sounds like he’s alert and attentive. There’s nothing wrong with that. I thought he was a very nice man.”
“He is,” Preston said as he opened the door. “I just find it uncanny.”
Vivian stepped inside. “It looks like the coast is clear.”
Preston glanced around and didn’t see anyone. “Huh...”
But the second they walked into the sitting room, Gunther appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. “Good evening, sir. It’s nice to see you again, Miss Steele. Nick Campbell is waiting for you on the pool patio. I stocked the liquor cart, and Henrietta set up a buffet of snacks and sandwiches for you in the living room. Did you need anything else?”
Preston grinned at Vivian. “Were there any telephone calls for Miss Steele?”
“No, sir.”
“Thank you, Gunther. I think we’re all set.” As they headed for the living room, Preston whispered, “See?”
Vivian rolled her eyes. “It’s uncanny...”
Preston loosened his tie. “Okay, now you’re just being sarcastic.”
“Have you noticed you always fiddle with your tie whenever you become defensive?”
He scowled at her. “Well, you have a nervous habit, too.”
“And what would that be, Preston?”
“Whenever you’re deep in thought, you tuck your hair behind your ears.”
She laughed and picked up her pace. “You’re being childish.”
They found Nick standing at the buffet cart in the living room. “Sorry we’re late,” Preston said. “We’ve been checking out all kinds of leads since we left Griffth Park.”
Nick piled his plate with finger sandwiches, deviled eggs, garlic knots, and meatballs, and sat down in the wingback chair. “I found out the police received an anonymous tip at nine o’clock this morning, telling them that there was a dead body at the observatory. They identified the woman as Priscilla Peachtree, a part-time actress.”
“That poor woman,” Vivian sighed. “Did they find anyone else?”
“Nope, and so far, your name hasn’t come up in any of their reports.”
“That’s a relief. Preston, where’s your telephone? I have another idea on where to find Lucky.”
He pointed to it. “On the side table next to the patio door.”
Preston put a couple of small sandwiches on his plate and relaxed on the couch. While Vivian made her call, he filled Nick in on the stops they’d made this morning, starting with the shoe store and Sentry Realty, and he finished by explaining Vivian’s encounter with the man posing as a wholesale buyer.
“The trouble is, we don’t have any idea who he is, or how he could be tied into this. It seems George was also a gambler, so we’re thinking maybe the two of them met at the racetrack, but all we’re doing is adding more suspects instead of eliminating them.”
“We can cross Thomas Goldman off the list,” Nick told him. “I found out why he was fired from that bank in Chicago. I guess he got into a big fight with the president of the bank.”
“What did they fight about?”
“The president refused to give Goldman his consent to marry his daughter, so the two of them ran away together and came here to California. They’ve been married ever since.”
“It sounds innocent enough, but didn’t you say that Betty, the teller you were talking to at the bank, seemed angry when you asked about Goldman?”
“Yeah, but I also discovered that she’s Thomas Goldman’s sister-in-law. She was probably worried about me asking too many questions. There’s nothing else in his file that sets off an alarm. By the way, Barney said you wanted him to keep looking into some guy who lived on Pearl...”
Vivian joined them. “I wasn’t able to reach Lucky.”
“You’d better help yourself to some food before Nick eats it all,” Preston chuckled, and she wandered over to the buffet cart. “When you’re done, can you sketch a portrait of the phony Gary Rutherford? Freddie should be here soon. I’m going to send him to Santa Anita Park. I’m sure they get a big crowd at the racetrack on Friday afternoon. Who knows? Maybe someone who works there will recognize him.”
“I have my sketchpad with me. It shouldn’t take long.” Vivian sat on the other side of the couch and took the pad out of her carry bag.
“Excuse me, sir,” Gunther stated from the doorway. “You have a visitor.”
“Gunther, just tell Freddie to come in.”
“It isn’t Mister Barcroft, sir. Miss Carole Lombard is in the sitting room and insists upon speaking with you.”
Vivian jumped to her feet. “Carole is here?”
Nick’s eyes lit up. “The movie actress? Holy crap, I’ve been dying to meet her! Show her in.”
“Wait a minute, Gunther,” Preston said as he stood up. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Preston, what are you going to tell her?” Vivian asked. “I don’t want her involved in this. It’s too dangerous.”
“What’s too dangerous?” Carole spouted as she swept past Gunther, entered the room, tossed her purse on the floor, and plopped down in one of the armchairs. “You’re right, Vivian. It was ridiculous for me to think there was any love interest between you and Preston. The police paid me a little visit about an hour ago. I drove to the boutique, but your car wasn’t there, so I ended up here. Now, which one of you wants to tell me what the hell is going on?”
Nick set his plate of food down on the table and slid to the edge of his seat, thrilled to pieces. “I’m a huge fan of yours, Miss Lombard. My name’s Nick Campbell. I’ve seen every single one of your movies, and they were all terrific.”
“Thank you, Nick. It’s nice to meet you.” She folded her hands in her lap. “I’m waiting for an explanation.”
Preston stepped forward. “What did the police want?”
Carole turned her glare on Vivian. “They asked if I knew where they could find my best friend, who promised to be honest with me and include me the next time she was involved in something dangerous.”
“I’m sorry, Carole,” Vivian said. “What did you tell them?”
“I told them the truth. I didn’t know where you were.”
“Did they mention why they wanted to know?”
“Oh, no, Vivian, you’re not going to get any more information out of me until you tell me what is going on.”
Nick stood up. “I think we could all use a drink. What can I get everyone?” He waited, but no one said a word, so he went over to the liquor cart. “Okay, that’s four glasses of scotch straight up.”
Preston wasn’t sure how to handle this. They needed to tell Carole something without telling her everything. “All we know is the police found a dead woman on the hiking trail at Griffith Observatory this morning, and she was wearing a jacket with Vivian’s boutique emblem sewn on it. Vivian contacted the police and explained that she sold the jacket to a customer a few weeks ago. It’s no big deal.”
“No big deal, eh?” Carol said as she took the glass of scotch from Nick. “First, there’s a dead woman in the hotel, then the two of you spend the night together, and now there’s another dead woman? Don’t tell me it’s not all connected.”
Preston looked at Vivian. “She knows we found Tilly in the hotel room?”
“I didn’t tell her that you were there.”
“Well, now I know,” Carole quipped. “I can’t believe you didn’t mention that before. Why don’t you both start telling me the truth?”
Preston shook his head, but Vivian ignored him. “Carole, outside of being a rat, George stole something of great value before he died. If we tell you anything else, then you’ll be in danger, too. You shouldn’t even be here. You are my best friend, and I don’t want anything to happen to you. Please, let us handle this. I’m begging you.”
“We’ve done everything we can to prevent this from going public, Carole,” Preston added. “With your celebrity status, you’d not only be drawing attention to it, but it might put both you and Clark in the most danger of all.”
It took a long moment for Carole to respond. “All right.” She gulped her drink down, got out of her seat, and faced Preston. “Swear to me on your life that you won’t let anything happen to Vivian.”
He held a smile on her. “She’s doing a fine job taking care of herself, but I swear.”
Vivian roped her arm around Carole’s. “I’ll walk you out.” And they headed down the hall.
Freddie passed by them as he entered the room. “What’s going on?” He took a double take. “Hey, isn’t that...”
“Yes, it was Carole Lombard,” Preston told him. “She just stopped by for a visit. I need you to do something for me as soon as Vivian gets back.”
“Where’s Boris?” Nick asked.
Freddie laughed. “That lazy beast refused to get out of bed, so I left him in the hotel room. What do you need me to do, Preston?”
“Vivian is going to sketch someone she met. I want you to take it with you to the Santa Anita Racetrack and ask around to see if anyone recognizes him. He may or may not be our guy.”
“That’s terrific,” Freddie laughed. “Can I place a bet while I’m there? I’ve got a five-spot burning a hole in my pocket, and there’s a horse named Karloff in the fifth race that’s thirty-to-one. Get it. Boris Karloff? I’ve got a good feeling about it.”
“As long as you get the job done as quickly as possible, Freddie.”
When Vivian returned, Preston introduced her to Freddie and asked her to draw the portrait. It only took her a few minutes, and when she was done, she showed it to them. “He’s in his early thirties and about six feet tall, with hazel eyes and dark hair.”
Preston took the sketch from her. “Excellent...” He showed it to Nick, then he gave it to Freddie. “Vivian is waiting to hear from someone who might know his name, so keep in touch, and give me a call if you find out anything.”
Freddie agreed. “Sure. What are you and Nick going to do next?”
“We haven’t figured that out, Freddie.”
“All righty then. I’ll talk to you later. Nice meeting you, Miss Steele.”
Preston wandered over and sat on the couch. “Are you okay, Vivian?”
“Thank you for helping me keep Carole out of this. I told her that I’d be staying here at least for the night. Can someone pick up Bella for me? Maria has been watching her all day, and I miss her. I also have a travel bag in my closet that should have everything I need inside.”
“Leave it to me,” Nick told her. “I just need directions to your place, and the keys to get into your apartment.”
She told him how to get to her boutique and handed him the keys. “Bella is staying next door at Martino’s Delicatessen. Use the side door in the alley to get inside my building. Walk straight through the back room to the hallway and take the stairs up to my apartment. My travel bag is right inside my bedroom closet. I’ll call Maria and let her know you’ll be picking her up.” She went over to the telephone.
“Thanks, Nick,” Preston said.
“You owe me,” Nick chuckled. “Bella won’t bite my hand off or anything, will she?”
He laughed. “She’s not much bigger than your hand.”
“Oh, I wanted to tell you earlier that Barney found out that guy who lives on Pearl Street moved here from New York City.”
“Arthur Romano?”
“Yeah, I guess he retired after thirty years working as a...”
Preston threw his hand in the air, stopping him. “Hang on a minute, Nick.” He noticed Vivian looked upset and listened to her conversation.
“Noon? That was hours ago, Maria,” Vivian said. “No, that’s okay. I’m sure we just got our signals crossed. I’ll get in touch with her.”
As soon as she hung up, Preston asked, “What’s wrong, Vivian?”
“I’m not sure. Maria said Nora came by at noon today and took Bella with her.”
“Took her where?”
“I don’t know.” Vivian picked up the phone again. “I’m going to call the boutique. Maybe Nora didn’t get my message this morning and showed up for work.” Vivian stood there for a moment, then she held the phone out in front of her and stared at it. “There’s no answer.”
