Killer Ambition - [22]
Patricia gave a bark of a laugh. “Anyone who held a grudge? There’re probably thousands. Every actor-”
I’d heard this litany enough to repeat it in my sleep. I shook my head. “We’re talking about something out of the norm. Very few actors or producers are going to do something as crazy as kidnap his daughter just because he didn’t hire them or buy their script.”
Patricia gave me an incredulous look. “You don’t know much about this town, do you?”
I knew enough to say I was sick of hearing about “this town.” And all the people in it. Besides, I’d lived here long enough to know that although there were vampires in the industry, there were a heck of a lot of smart, talented people who were just decent, hardworking folks.
At that moment the bouncer came in and announced that the script had been delivered. Should he sign for it?
Looking annoyed, Patricia sighed and stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
Brittany had been leaning on the arm of the sofa, staring off, but I noticed that when she’d heard the bouncer mention a script, her brow had furrowed.
“You okay, Brittany?” I asked. A thought of some kind? Was it possible?
Brittany nodded. “Yeah. You got me thinking about Hayley…and the script…it reminded me. Back before Russell was a big director, when he was a co-producer on my show. It was when he’d just sold his first film script, Wonderland Warriors-you’ve heard of it, right?”
“Maybe,” I said. The name was somewhat familiar.
“It was huge. Wonderland Warriors was what made Russell. Tommy said Russell stole that script from him.”
“Tommy? Who’s that?” Bailey asked.
“He was a writer on Circle of Friends.” Brittany peered at us hazily. “You’ve heard of Circle, right?”
We both nodded. “Of course,” I said, eager to get her to refocus on this Tommy guy. “So Tommy said Russell stole the script for Wonderland Warriors?”
Brittany nodded. “Yeah. Tommy always wrote by hand on a legal pad. He was kinda strange. But I always thought he was a pretty good writer.” She started to drift off again, so I quickly reeled her back in.
“What happened when Tommy accused Russell of stealing his script?”
“It got really gnarly. Tommy-”
“Do you remember his last name?”
She squinted for a second. “Maher. Tommy Maher.”
“What did he do?”
“They got in a big fight. Tommy got moved to the other end of the lot-”
The rapid click-clack of heels on marble told me Patricia was on her way back. Brittany’s expression told me she’d noticed that too.
“Did Tommy file a lawsuit against Russell?” The theft of a script was no little thing-especially if the script had been the star maker Brittany said it was.
“No. I don’t think-”
Patricia had the ears of an owl. As she entered the living room she said, “Don’t think what?”
“Nothing,” Brittany said. Her face had closed. We’d reached the end of this line.
I tried another tack. “Did Hayley ever talk to you about a boy named Brian?”
At this, Brittany looked puzzled. “Brian? No, I-I don’t think so.”
Patricia walked over but remained standing. “I never heard her mention the name either.” She reached down and took Brittany by the hand. “Now if you don’t mind, Brittany’s got an early call-”
I stood and pulled out a card. “Brittany, thank you. I know you and Hayley were very close at one time. If you remember anything else, will you get in touch?”
Brittany nodded. “Of course. I want to help any way I can.” She took the card and held it in front of her as though she didn’t know what to do with it. Bailey added her card to mine and gave one to Patricia too. I knew Bailey did it just to tweak her. I also knew both cards would land in the trash before we made it to the car.
“Thank you both for your time,” Bailey said.
Time flies when you’re trying to pry information out of a zombie and end-run the zombie’s keeper. It was six thirty by the time Bailey and I left the Carens’. Too late to knock on any more doors.
“Feel like a drink?” I asked.
“I feel like day-old bacon. I’d like a drink. Maybe several.”
“Brittany looked like she had several before we got there,” I said. “If I had a mother like that, I would’ve been dipping my pacifier in vodka.”
“She’s a classic Momager-”
“And a classic something else.” I thought back on Brittany’s vague expressions and floaty demeanor. “But I think it’s more than booze. That girl’s a pill head too.”
Bailey nodded. “So I guess the stories are true.”
“Sadly, some of them are.”
Bailey headed for the 101 freeway south, taking us back downtown.
12
We decided to have dinner at the Biltmore bar-or rather, Bailey decided we’d have dinner at the bar. She said it was because it would be faster, less hassle.
“Admit it,” I said. “You just wanted to come here so you and Drew could coo and slobber all over each other.”
“You really want to say that in front of the person who makes your martinis?” asked Drew, who’d walked over to where we were seated.
“Ignore her, she’s in a cranky mood,” Bailey said. “We’ll have the usual. How was your day?”
“Same-o. But it looks like the loan’s coming through. Just waiting for the broker to okay the deal on the space,” Drew said.
First in a new series from bestselling author and famed O. J. Simpson trial prosecutor Marcia Clark, a "terrific writer and storyteller" (James Patterson).Samantha Brinkman, an ambitious, hard-charging Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, is struggling to make a name for herself and to drag her fledgling practice into the big leagues. Sam lands a high-profile double-murder case in which one of the victims is a beloved TV star – and the defendant is a decorated veteran LAPD detective. It promises to be exactly the kind of media sensation that would establish her as a heavy hitter in the world of criminal law.Though Sam has doubts about his innocence, she and her two associates (her closest childhood friend and a brilliant ex-con) take the case.
In Marcia Clark's most electrifying thriller yet, Los Angeles District Attorney Rachel Knight investigates a horrifying high school massacre.A Columbine-style shooting at a high school in the San Fernando Valley has left a community shaken to its core. Two students are identified as the killers. Both are dead, believed to have committed a mutual suicide.In the aftermath of the shooting, LA Special Trials prosecutor Rachel Knight teams up with her best girlfriend, LAPD detective Bailey Keller. As Rachel and Bailey interview students at the high school, they realize that the facts don't add up.
Without a Doubt is not just a book about a trial. It's a book about a woman. Marcia Clark takes us inside her head and her heart. Her voice is raw, incisive, disarming, unmistakable. Her story is both sweeping and deeply personal. It is the story of a woman who, when caught up in an event that galvanized an entire country, rose to that occasion with singular integrity, drive, honesty and grace.In a case that tore America apart, and that continues to haunt us as few events of history have, Marcia Clark emerged as the only true heroine, because she stood for justice, fought the good fight, and fought it well.
TROUBLE IN PARADISE is an all-new short story featuring Rachel Knight, star of thrillers GUILT BY ASSOCIATION and GUILT BY DEGREES.Rachel Knight and her friends Toni and Bailey are taking a break from their busy, crime-focussed lives with a trip to tropical island paradise Aruba. But trouble is never far away from these three, and on their first day their investigative skills are called on when a reality TV child star goes missing…
Someone has been watching D.A. Rachel Knight-someone who's Rachel's equal in brains, but with more malicious intentions. It began when a near-impossible case fell into Rachel's lap, the suspectless homicide of a homeless man. In the face of courthouse backbiting and a gauzy web of clues, Rachel is determined to deliver justice. She's got back-up: tough-as-nails Detective Bailey Keller. As Rachel and Bailey stir things up, they're shocked to uncover a connection with the vicious murder of an LAPD cop a year earlier.
Новых владельцев фермы, затерянной среди белорусских болот, ожидает чудовищная находка: фрагменты тел, спрятанные в заброшенном сарае. Под подозрением оказываются пациенты психиатрической лечебницы, расположенной неподалеку. Иначе и быть не может, ведь за колючей проволокой содержатся люди, уже успевшие совершить жестокие преступления. Главный врач больницы не спешит защищать своих подопечных, он хочет знать правду. Он лично просит о помощи Алексея Тронова, надеясь, что его проект отнесется к клинике не так предвзято, как полиция. Тронов, заинтригованный необычным делом, соглашается помочь.
Наталия Новохатская Предлагает серию развернутых описаний, сначала советской (немного), затем дальнейшей российской жизни за последние 20 с лишком лет, с заметным уклоном в криминально-приключенческую сторону. Главная героиня, она же основной рассказчик — детектив-самоучка, некая Катя Малышева. Серия предназначена для более или менее просвещенной аудитории со здоровой психикой и почти не содержит описаний кровавых убийств или прочих резких отклонений от здорового образа жизни. В читателе предполагается чувство юмора, хотя бы в малой степени, допускающей, что можно смеяться над собой.
Смерть – какая она? Страшная? Или наоборот – освободительная? Кто решает кому жить, а кому нет? Журналист Максим Котов недавно пережил самую страшную потерю. Неизвестный вирус унёс жизнь его ребёнка. «Так бывает…» – сказали врачи. Но Максим уверен, что смерть его дочери – не случайность, а часть большого заговора. И в этом заговоре его ребенку была отведена роль пешки, которой с легкостью пожертвовали ради достижения «большой цели». Котов решает найти виновного и отомстить. Но чем больше он углубляется в расследование, тем запутаннее становится история.
Эта история начинается с ограбления с трагическим финалом: немолодой хозяин загородного дома погибает от рук неизвестных преступников. Однако в этой истории оказывается не так все просто, и сам погибший несет ответственность за то, что с ним произошло. Рассказ «Вода из колодца» седьмой в ряду цикла «Дыхание мегаполиса». Главным героем этого цикла является следователь Дмитрий Владимиров, который на этот раз должен разобраться в хитросплетениях одной запутанной семейной драмы.
