The cast and crew stood in a hushed semicircle at the opening to the alley, kept back from the crime scene by the police. One by one, they were being questioned by a couple of young officers and told they could leave. But no one did. The crowd only grew.
Kate, on the other hand, had been ordered to stay until the police were done with her.
She stood against the outside wall of Stage Six, along with the other key members of the production team, including Tad, the director, the cameraman, and Mei. They watched from a distance as the police searched the cars in the alley and roamed in and out of the surrounding soundstages.
Searching for a boy named Hugo Quick.
Kate had told the police everything. How Hugo had snuck through the studio gates in a white catering jacket. How he’d tucked a gun into his waistband and disappeared in Stage Six. What he’d said about knowing the identity of Lemmy’s killer.
When she’d mentioned Lemmy Berman’s murder, the Pasadena Police Department had been contacted, and Detective Bassett had arrived a half hour later. Kate had been worried he would arrest her on the spot—he already suspected her, and now she’d found a second murder victim—but he’d acted sympathetic as he’d interviewed her, even patting her arm. “Don’t worry, we’ll catch him. They make our job easier when they kill twice.” He’d left her and entered Stage Five to inspect Glenn’s body.
“I don’t see why you’ve been ordered to stay,” Aunt Lorna complained, standing next to Kate. “You had nothing to do with it.”
“I found the body, Aunt Lorna, and I saw Hugo with the gun.”
“Who is this Hugo?”
There were too many ways to answer that question. “One of Ollie’s boarders” was all she said.
“Of course,” Aunt Lorna said dryly.
“It’s all so strange,” Mrs. Fairchild murmured, standing on Kate’s other side. She looked pale and horrified, her fingers pressed to her red lips. “Why would that boy kill Bonnie’s tutor? Did they even know each other?”
“They met last night,” Kate said. She didn’t answer the first question about motive. Glenn had caught Hugo stealing at the party, but she didn’t think that’s why he’d been killed. More likely, Glenn had stumbled across Hugo with the gun. Whatever Hugo had been doing here—stealing something or stalking someone—Glenn had seen and been silenced.
And it was her fault. If she’d sounded a warning about the gun, Glenn would still be alive. But Hugo had known exactly what to say to make her stay quiet, turning himself into a hero instead of a villain: I know who killed Lemmy. And then he’d kissed her.
She hated that part of her still hoped he was innocent, somehow.
A few yards away, Tad argued with a police officer over how long it would take before they could resume filming in Stage Six. “Nothing happened in there. You’ve searched the place. Why can’t we go back to work?”
“The investigation has barely started.”
“Barely started? How long is this going to take? You see all these people standing around here—they cost money! Every minute we’re not filming is more than you make in a month!”
“Glenn was his friend,” Bonnie said in a whimpering voice, standing on Mrs. Fairchild’s other side, “and he doesn’t even care.” She’d finally stopped crying. She held a cluster of handkerchiefs, since practically everyone had given her one. Aurelio had comforted her for a while until her mother had taken his place, ordering him away with a pointed look.
Now, Aurelio paced like a caged tiger as he watched the police, his arms folded, his expression fierce. He caught Kate’s eye and summoned her closer with a jerk of his head.
“Are you sure it was Hugo you saw?” he asked her in a low voice.
“Of course I’m sure. We spoke to each other.” He kissed me.
“And he said he knows who killed Lemmy? Did he say who it was?”
“No.” She hesitated. “Because he made it up. Hugo is the one who killed Lemmy. I overheard him talking to Reuben last night.”
Aurelio shot her a look. “That’s crazy. Why would Hugo kill Lemmy?”
She couldn’t tell him about Ollie’s loan. “I can’t say, but there was a reason.”
“I don’t believe it. Hugo wouldn’t do that—and he wouldn’t do that!” He pointed an angry finger at Stage Five. Aurelio had seen Glenn’s body before the police had arrived and closed off the building.
“Then where is Hugo now?” Kate asked, hoping for a good answer. “Why hasn’t he shown up, wondering what’s going on? Or shown up to explain to the police who did this? Why is he hiding right now if he didn’t kill Glenn?”
He scowled. “I don’t know. Maybe he got shot too. Maybe he’s lying somewhere, bleeding.”
“Aurelio…” Kate swallowed, trying not to picture Hugo lying dead somewhere. “Hugo was the one with the gun.”
“If he came here with a gun, he had a good reason, and it wasn’t to shoot Bonnie’s tutor.”
Kate looked down the alley to the car Hugo had driven—still here, which meant he was still here. But where?
The crowd at the opening to the alley shifted and separated, allowing one of the motorized carts through, driven by Mr. Eckles with Clive Falcon at his side. Mr. Falcon stepped off the vehicle before it had even stopped moving and strode toward Tad.
“Goodness,” Aunt Lorna murmured, looking impressed. “Who is that?”
“Dad.” Tad didn’t look happy to see him.
“They catch the loony who did this?”
“They’re looking for him now. Everything is under control. We’ll resume filming soon.”
The police officer standing next to Tad said, “Not until we’ve completed our search. These are big buildings.”
“How many men have you got down here?” Mr. Falcon demanded. “Do I need to call the police commissioner? The mayor?”
A sudden flurry of activity erupted from Stage Six, and an officer trotted across the alley. A moment later, Detective Bassett emerged from Stage Five and hurried to Six.
The officer who’d run across the alley called out, “Which of you knows about the wardrobe trailers?” Mei raised a hand and was led away, and a moment later, the same police officer returned and approached Kate. “Excuse me, Miss Hildebrand, can you come with me, please?”
“This has gone on long enough,” Aunt Lorna protested, taking ahold of Kate’s hand. “My niece has suffered a terrible shock. I’m taking her to our hotel now, and if you have any more questions, you can find us there.”
“I’m fine, Aunt Lorna.”
Her aunt whispered near her ear. “There will be reporters here soon, taking pictures of you at a murder scene. Our family name on the front page again.”
Kate yanked her hand free. “You think I care about that right now?”
The police officer said with strained politeness, “I’m afraid I must insist that Miss Hildebrand come with me.”
“Take a taxi to the hotel, Aunt Lorna.” Kate followed the police officer into Stage Six.
He led her across the dim interior toward Aurelio’s wardrobe trailer, passing Mei along the way. “He’s the only one who uses that trailer,” she overheard Mei tell another police officer.
As they neared Aurelio’s trailer, Kate heard the pop of a camera flashbulb inside. “Go on in,” the officer who’d escorted her said. “Not room for all of us.”
She stepped up into the small trailer and found Detective Bassett and a police photographer staring down at a row of open shoeboxes on the floor. The camera took another photo, and the flash spotlighted a black handgun inside one of the boxes.
“Is this the kind of gun you saw Mr. Quick carrying?” Detective Bassett asked her. “We’ll match the bullet, but it’s helpful to know at the moment.”
Kate stared down, trying to make sense of it. “I … I think so. I only got a glimpse. But what’s it doing in Aurelio’s wardrobe trailer?”
“Looks like someone didn’t want it to be found. Smells like it was fired recently.”
Hugo must have hidden it here. There’d been a lot of confusion after she’d found Glenn and called for help, the entire cast and crew in a stir. Hugo could have slipped in here easily, hidden the gun, and then disappeared. But why hide it in Aurelio’s trailer? To make him look guilty? Kate couldn’t imagine Hugo doing that. He’d probably hoped to retrieve it later.
The other detective called through the trailer door, “The Mexican boy says he doesn’t know anything about it.”
“Of course he doesn’t,” Kate snapped. “Aurelio had a camera on him when it happened. He had nothing to do with this.”
“That’s all for now, Miss Hildebrand,” Detective Bassett said. “But don’t go far.”
She left the building and found Aurelio being questioned by another detective in a suit. He looked startled and pale, talking fast, his hands moving. Kate glanced around and was relieved to see Aunt Lorna was gone, not witnessing another one of Ollie’s boarders in trouble with the police.
Bonnie pulled free of her mother’s hold and ran to him. “Aurelio, what’s happening?”
Aurelio told the detective in a frantic voice, “I was only in jail for one night, and it wasn’t even my fault. That guy hit me first.”
“Come away, dear,” Mrs. Fairchild urged, pulling at Bonnie’s shoulders.
Clive Falcon put his hands on his hips. “Tad, I thought that boy was the star of your show.”
“He is.” Tad tried to approach Aurelio but was blocked by a uniformed officer. He called out, “He couldn’t have done it! He was on set!”
“Do you know how much this delay is costing me?” his father demanded.
“Let’s take him down to the station,” the detective standing next to Aurelio said to the uniformed officer. “Away from this circus.”
Aurelio stepped back with raised hands, looking panicked. “I didn’t do anything!”
“We can do this nice, or we can put you in handcuffs,” the officer said.
Bonnie squealed, reaching out, as her mother held her back.
“You can’t take him now!” Tad cried. “We’re in the middle of a shoot!”
“Oh, I think you can stop worrying about that,” Clive Falcon barked. “This picture is shut down for good.”
Tad whirled to face his father. “They’re just questioning him! We’ll be filming again in a few hours!”
“You weren’t ready for this, Tad. I should have stopped it last week. I gave you a second chance and a third, but that’s it—I’m pulling the plug on this disaster of a movie.” He strode back toward the cart, where Mr. Eckles waited.
“Dad!” Tad hurried after him.
Kate felt ill, watching it all. None of this would have happened if she’d turned in the bloody sword the night she’d found it and told the police about Hugo hiding it. He would have been taken in for questioning. His fingerprints found on the murder weapon. He would have been behind bars, and Glenn Petersen would still be alive.
She saw Detective Bassett emerging from Stage Six and walked toward him.
He saw her face and gave her his full attention. “What is it?”
Kate spoke in a low voice, for him only, but clearly enough that there could be no misunderstanding. “Lemmy Berman was killed by Captain Powell’s sword. Hugo Quick hid it in the laundry room, and I found it the next day. I should have given it to you, but I didn’t. And right now, it’s hidden in my trunk in my grandfather’s attic.”