Killer Ambition - [19]

“Do you know all of Hayley’s friends?” I asked.

“Until just now I would’ve said yes. I guess all I can say is that from what I know, she’s had the same girlfriends since fifth grade-” Raynie abruptly stopped as her lips trembled.

I patted her hand.

Raynie took a deep breath. “The waiting…it’s…I just want her home.” Her voice faltered on the last word. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned away.

When she’d recovered, I went back to the subject of friends. She gave us the names of the same three girls we’d already interviewed at the school.

“Hayley never was one for the big crowds or cliques,” Raynie said. “That whole clubbing scene was just an act she was trying on. Like I said, partly a way to get back at Russell. The real Hayley is more of a homebody. Not a lot of friends, but they’re for real; girls she’d go to the end of the world for. And, I think, vice versa.”

“So she doesn’t have any other friends? Girls who go to a different school, maybe?” I asked.

Raynie thought for a moment. “I don’t know whether they stayed in touch, but Hayley used to be pretty close to Brittany Caren.”

“The actress?” Bailey seemed taken aback. “Brittany Caren, as in the star of Circle of Friends?”

Raynie nodded.

Now the name rang a bell. “Wasn’t she in a few films too?” I asked.

“Yeah, Russell casts her a lot. We’ve known Brittany since she was a kid, when Russell was a co-producer on Circle. Hayley was a huge fan. She used to come to the set and watch the taping. Hayley was a lot younger, so to Brittany, she was just a kid. But Brittany was incredibly sweet to her. She’d always invite Hayley to hang with her in her trailer. It sent Hayley over the moon.” Raynie smiled softly at the memory. “When Hayley got older, they’d go shopping together, see movies. Brittany was the older sister Hayley wished she’d had.” Raynie paused, then added, “And I think Brittany felt the same way.”

“So there are no siblings from a prior marriage for either of you?” I asked. “Hayley’s an only child?”

Raynie nodded. “Not by choice. We tried for another baby, but…” She sighed.

I nodded.

“Any idea when Hayley and Brittany last got together?” Bailey asked.

“It wasn’t recent. Brittany kind of fell off the rails, as you probably know if you’ve seen the tabloids. It was so sad. She went from a sweet, lovely girl to a drunken pill head. When they canceled the show, everyone knew it was because of her.”

“But she’s still doing movies,” Bailey said.

“Only because Russell keeps casting her-no one else will, she’s a walking nightmare. He probably feels sorry for her. But knowing Hayley, I’m sure she tried to stay in touch, show her loyalty. She’s not the type to cut off a friend, no matter what. She’d want Brittany to know she’s still there for her.” Raynie’s eyes grew wet and she dropped her head briefly before continuing. “How often they see each other, or whether they still get together in person, that I don’t know.”

We got Brittany’s contact information and address, and since there didn’t seem to be anything else we could learn at the moment, we thanked Raynie and said our good-byes.

“Does Russell know about Brian yet?” she asked as we headed for the door.

“No, but we’ll tell him soon,” Bailey said.

Raynie nodded ruefully. “Better you than me.”

I thought that was probably true.

10

As Bailey drove us back down the hill, I looked at the address Raynie had given us. “Brittany lives in Hancock Park.” Which was on the way downtown.

“Go ahead and call, see if you can get her. But I’m going to need to get an update from Harrellson pretty quick, so we won’t be able to stay long.”

“What’s Harrellson doing?” Don Harrellson, a great detective and a funny guy, was one of the team Bailey had assembled to help with the investigation.

“He’s checking into Russell’s associates.”

Meaning Russell’s possible enemies. “I guess it has to be done, but what enemy would risk a possible life sentence to get back at him?”

“If we limited our investigation to rational possibilities, our solve rate would be two percent.”

Hard to argue with that one. I fished out my cell phone and squinted at the number Raynie had written on an orange star-shaped Post-it. The late afternoon sun was hanging low enough to shoot a white-hot laser through the windshield, practically blinding me. I had to put on my sunglasses to read the number. I got Brittany’s voice mail. “Hi, it’s Brittany. Leave a message…or don’t. Beeeeep.” I chose the former and gave her my number and Bailey’s and told her to call ASAP.

When we got to the station, Harrellson was at his desk in rolled-up shirtsleeves. “Having fun out there in Tinseltown, girls?”

I don’t usually like being called a girl. But it’s all in the attitude. Harrellson gave the word an ironic twist that made it funny instead of condescending.

“Probably not as much fun as you’re having,” I said.

“Well, not everyone appreciates the joy of banging their head against a brick wall the way I do. Our boy Antonovich has helpers and advisers crawling around his house like it’s an anthill, and they all thought they had to “advise” yours truly about the galactic importance of His Supreme Highness Antonovich and the nefarious ways of jealous Hollywoodites. Man oh man, did they. Between that shark fin of a manager, whatsisname, Ian Powers, with the big swinging dick attitude, and his security adviser, Duncan Donuts-”