25

Sunset Strip

Vivian chased Preston into the kitchen.  “Are you saying Freddie was behind this the entire time?  But he’s a friend of yours!  I don’t believe this.  He knows everything.  I’ve heard you talking to him on the phone.  He knows all about the coins, the suspects, and every single move we’ve made.  How could you let this happen?  You had him follow me and even pushed him into meeting Nora...”  Vivian’s eyes widened in horror.  “He has Nora and Bella, doesn’t he?”

Preston refused to look at her and went over to the kitchen counter.  “I don’t know.”  He grabbed the telephone receiver, but he slammed it back down again.  Then he picked up the telephone base and looked at the bottom of it.  “That bastard!”  Preston yanked a wire out of it.  “Nick!  Freddie wiretapped her phone and probably mine, too.”

Nick stood behind Vivian and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.  “This is crazy, Preston!  Freddie is a little on the quirky side, but he’s just a rookie.  He’s only been working for us for a year.  There’s no way in hell he’s involved!  He’s not capable of pulling off anything of this magnitude.”

“We taught him everything he knows, so don’t underestimate him,” Preston shot back.  “He’s been hellbent on proving himself.  What better way to do it than by beating us at our own game?”

Vivian pulled away from Nick and glared at both of them.  “What do you mean, he’s working for you?”  Preston ignored her and started dialing the phone.  She stormed over and pushed the switch hook down, ending his call.  “Don’t you dare ignore me!  I want to know who you are, all of you!  I need to know everything about this Freddie character.  I don’t trust you to find him before Nora gets hurt...if he hasn’t hurt her already.”

Preston took a deep breath while clenching his fists. “We’ll find him.  I swear to God, we’ll find him, Vivian.  Let me call Barney, then we’re heading straight to Freddie’s motel.  He’ll be lucky if I don’t break his neck.  I know this is my fault.  It was stupid of me not to look in my own backyard for the bastard.”

His words silenced her.  So, too, did the outrage in his dark brown eyes as he spoke.  Preston had just been double-crossed by someone he’d trusted, and she knew exactly how that felt.  “I’m going with you.”

He nodded and picked up the phone.  “Barney, it’s Stone.  I want everything we have on Fredrick Barcroft.  Yes, Freddie!  I want his entire file and every damn piece of information we have on him, no matter how small.  Meet us at the Sunset Motel as soon as you can.  Look for Nick’s car parked next door, and Barney, bring your gun.  I’ll tell you why when you get there.”  He slammed the phone down.  “Let’s go.”

“What about the coins?” Vivian asked.

“Put them in your purse in case we need them.  Make sure you have your gun with you, too.”

“I’ll get the coins.”  She hurried into her bedroom and found an empty velvet pouch on the floor, lying next to a small pile of costume jewelry that had been dumped out.  Then she hurried into the living room, gathered the coins, and put the pouch in her purse with her handgun.

Preston and Nick waited for her by the door, and the three of them flew down the stairs.  When they reached the alley, Preston insisted on driving.  Nick handed him the keys and, again, Vivian was wedged between them in the front seat, but this time she remained silent, worrying about Nora.  She would never, ever forgive herself if anything happened to her.

Freddie was a murderer.  He had killed both Tilly Trimble and the actress from the movie, and if he was determined to prove himself, as Preston had said, there was no telling what he would do to Nora.  The thought that he had Nora in custody since yesterday afternoon upset her even more.

Whereas Preston had taken the blame for not realizing Freddie’s involvement, she blamed herself for not protecting Nora from the start when she was hunting for Elliott Kimball.  She should have considered the fact that Nora was the closest person to her and in the most vulnerable position should someone seek retaliation against her.

On top of that, she was terribly worried about Bella, too, but the fact that Freddie had a canine companion soothed her a little.  Years ago, she’d run across a few criminals who valued and even worshipped their pets, and she hoped Freddie felt the same.

She suddenly snapped her head up with another thought.  “The actress didn’t write that note.”

Nick leaned closer to her.  “What did you say?”

Vivian looked at Preston with tears welling in her eyes.  “Freddie forced Nora to write that note telling me to meet him at the observatory.  I should have known it was her handwriting, but she must have been shaking like a leaf as she wrote it.”

It took a moment for him to speak.  “Vivian, Freddie viewed both Tilly Trimble and Priscilla Peachtree as expendable.  He knew he needed better leverage, something far more personal if he was going to convince you to give him the coins.  That’s why he’s using Nora now.  Until he has those coins in his possession, he won’t hurt her.”

Vivian continued staring at him, trying to figure out from his facial expression if he was stating a fact or simply trying to pacify her.

Preston slowed the car down.  “The motel is just up ahead.  He’s in room Sixteen.  It looks like there’s only a few cars out front.  I don’t see Freddie’s truck, but let’s check his room, anyway.”  Preston turned into the parking lot at the hot dog stand next door, and as soon as he stopped, another car pulled into the lot. 

“Barney is here,” Nick announced.

“Tell him what’s going on while we head over to the motel.  You’re coming, aren’t you, Vivian?”

“Yes.”  She took her pistol out of her purse, stuck it into her skirt pocket, and stuffed her purse under the front seat.  “I’ll leave the coins in the car for now.” 

Nick quickly introduced Vivian to Barney, then she and Preston led the way to the motel.  Nonchalantly, they walked across the parking lots to the end of the motel.  Vivian noticed the last room number was Thirty-Two, so Freddie’s room was dead center.  She counted six cars parked in front of the motel with a large space in the middle, and she hoped this wasn’t a waste of time.

As they approached room number Sixteen, they could hear music coming from the open window.  Preston motioned for her and Barney to stay on one side of the room while he and Nick passed by the window to the other side.  Preston chanced taking a quick peek into the window and nodded to them, letting them know someone was in the room.  He and Nick whispered to one another, then Nick walked up to the door.

He pounded on it.  “Police! The place is surrounded!  Come out with your hands up!”

“What the hell are you doing?” Preston barked at him.

“Where’s he going?” Nick said, shrugging his shoulders.  “There’s only one way out of his room.”

Preston nudged Nick aside and kicked the door open.  All four of them charged into the room just as the bathroom door shut.  The others followed him and tried to open the door while Vivian wandered around, inspecting the room. 

The first thing she spotted was the painting of Hollenbeck Park hanging on the wall.  Directly underneath it, she saw Nora’s colorful beaded handbag lying on the nightstand.   Her hand trembled as she picked it up.

“It’s not Freddie, but the man went out the window,” Preston told her. 

Vivian followed them out the door and along the front of the motel.  When they reached the end, they saw the man running behind the hot dog stand to the next road over.  “Preston, give me the car keys!”

He tossed them to her, and he and Nick raced after him.

“Barney, follow me,” she said, and they ran across the parking lot.

Vivian got into Nick’s car, started it up, shoved the shifter into first gear, and sped down the road.  At the intersection, she ignored the red light, downshifted, and turned right.  She had no idea if Barney was behind her or not as she made the next turn, but up ahead, she saw the man they were after hopping into a blue Chevy parked at the curb, and he drove off. 

Preston and Nick waited for her by the road.  She slowed down, and they got into the car.  “Go!” Preston yelled before he even shut the door.

Vivian kept her eyes glued on the Chevy and skillfully weaved around traffic as she shortened the distance between them.  She was familiar with many roads in the city and the outlying suburbs since she delivered orders to customers living in pretty much every area and neighborhood.

They traveled west until they crossed the Los Angeles River.  The man made a left, heading north to Glendale.  Eight minutes later, he turned right, and Vivian stayed hot on his trail for another five minutes. 

“He’s heading for the Colorado Street Bridge,” she said.  “I know a shortcut.”  And she turned off the main road.

“Where are you going?” Preston asked.

“Trust me.”  She gripped the steering wheel tighter and zigzagged through several rural streets, barely slowing down with each turn.

“You lost him, Vivian,” Preston grumbled.

Nick smirked.  “No, she didn’t.  There he is!”  He pointed to the blue Chevy that was approaching the bridge from the west while they were traveling to the bridge from the south.  “Are we going to hit him?”

“No, but brace yourselves.”  She didn’t lose sight of the car as they closed in on him a quarter mile away from the bridge.  She even adjusted her speed to make sure their cars would reach it at the exact same time. 

Ten seconds before the two cars collided, the man in the Chevy noticed them and panicked.  That’s when Vivian slammed on the brakes, throwing all three of them forward, and they watched the man lose control of his car as he passed by them.  The Chevy swerved into the other lane and back again with the wheels nearly lifting off the ground before it slammed head-on into the guardrail on the bridge.  Thankfully, there were no other cars around.  Preston and Nick got out of the car and ran toward the Chevy.  Vivian pulled the keys from the ignition and proudly followed along. 

The man saw them coming and gathered his wits.  He jumped out of the car and started running across the bridge, but Nick easily caught up to him and tackled him to the ground.

By the time Vivian joined them, Preston and Nick had grabbed the man by his arms, lifted him to his feet, and took him over to the side of the bridge.  There, they threatened to throw him over the railing into the Arroyo Seco, a very shallow river that was fifteen hundred feet below them.

Preston kept a tight grip on him.  “He’s the actor from the movie, Vivian.”

She walked over and snatched the man by the chin, digging her nails into his skin as she got a good look at him.  “Put a blonde wig on him, and he’s identical to the waiter at Carole’s party.  I found Nora’s handbag in the motel room.  I say, toss him over the railing.”  She was bluffing, of course, and she hoped Preston and Nick knew that.

But the man started spilling his guts.  He rattled on, telling them that his mother was sick and needed an expensive operation, so when Freddie offered to give him ten thousand dollars, he agreed to help him.  The trouble was, the man’s story went on and on for so long, by the time he finished he said it was his sister who needed the operation.

“This guy is feeding us a bunch of baloney!” Nick yelled.  “Let’s push him into the river.”  He and Preston lifted the man by his arms and legs until he was bent at the waist and hanging over the metal railing.

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you the truth!” the man shouted. 

They held him there, waiting.  “Out with it!” Preston told him.

“I’m Freddie’s cousin.  My name is Carl Barcroft.  Freddie called me and told me about the coin collection and promised to split the money with me if I helped him.  I thought we were going to steal it from some rich fella.  I had no idea Freddie had concocted such an outrageous scheme.  I didn’t have anything to do with killing that woman.  I swear it!”

Vivian stepped forward again.  “What woman?”

“Priscilla, the actress.”

“What about Nora?” Vivian asked.  “Where is she?”

“The young woman with the little dog?  Freddie’s got them locked up at the studio.  He said we needed them to get the coins.”

Preston started pushing him further over the edge.  “What studio?”

“It’s on Shepherd Drive over in Rose Hills east of the city,” Carl said quickly.  “It’s a private studio in an abandoned warehouse that you can rent by the month.  That’s where we made the movie.”

Preston pulled Carl down off the railing but kept a firm grip of him.  “We’ll let Barney deal with this guy when he gets here.”

“Speak of the devil,” Nick said.  “Here he is now.”

Barney parked before the bridge and walked around the back end of the Chevy.  “Cripes, I had a heck of a time trying to follow you.  Why doesn’t anyone use their turn signals during a high-speed chase?  I see you caught the guy.  His car took a bit of a beating.”

“He’s Freddie’s cousin,” Nick told him.  “Did you read anything about him in the files?”

“I flipped through them quickly after Preston called.  Let me guess.  Is his name Carl?”

“Yep.”

“Well, guess what?  This young buck must have escaped from the Mack Alford Correctional Center in McAlester, Oklahoma.  He’s supposed to be serving a five-year sentence for grand theft.  I wonder if anyone noticed he’s gone.”

“Why didn’t we hear anything about him,” Preston said.

“His notes state Freddie was grilled about his entire family when he signed on, and he was upfront about his cousin’s criminal record.  They probably didn’t think it would pose a problem.  It only earned about two brief sentences in his files.” 

“It did pose a problem.”  Preston looked at Carl.  “You’re going to enjoy fifteen to twenty years added to your sentence when you return to your prison cell.  Barney, get him out of here before the police arrive.  We need to find that studio.”

Curiously, Vivian watched Barney grab a pair of handcuffs from his car, secure Carl in them, and lead him away.  She’d been listening intently to everything they said and had a dozen questions, but right now, Nora took precedence.  “Barney, wait a minute!”

“What’s wrong,” Preston asked.

“We’re not thinking this through,” she told them.  “We can’t go to the studio and expect Freddie to just give up without a fight.  Even if you offer him the coins, he’ll know that his cousin told us where he’s hiding, and you have him in custody.  We may need Freddie’s cousin to barter for Nora and Bella.”