Helena Goes to Hollywood: A Helena Morris Mystery (28 page)

“That confession sounded good to me.” Ricky stepped in and grabbed the wrench away from Norm as he howled in pain.

As Ricky tried to cuff him Norm fought. The murderer grabbed my leg and tried to punch my knee. I’d seen suspects wild from the pain of a gunshot before. This guy was high on adrenaline. Most focused on the area causing them pain and just wanted help, asking for drugs or a doctor. However, some grew more defiant and desperate to escape. I stepped out of range and resisted punching the guy.

I heard the sirens approaching. Ricky had raced here on his own and saved my ass. I wasn’t going to get him in trouble. When Norm tried to punch my knee again I grabbed him by what was left of his hair and punched him square in the nose. I felt it break. “That’s for my sister.”

I looked up at Ricky with a smile. He chuckled, “It was totally self-defense and kind of hot.”

“Men.” I rolled my eyes at him.

Two uniformed officers came in, guns drawn. They holstered their weapons as soon as they’d assessed the situation and helped Ricky cuff the suspect.

“He put the stuff in the sink, pipes or disposal. His dad was a contractor and he did maintenance on the place. No one would look there.” I breathed my first clear breath since coming to L.A.

Ricky got on his cell phone. “Get the evidence team and a plumber out here. I need someone who can pull apart pipes without destroying the scene now.”

“He was reaching for stuff in there when I entered. I’ve got a picture. He might’ve loosened up the pipes.” I knew nothing about them but it was worth a look.

Ricky gloved up and shined a flashlight underneath there. “Got a ring and a nasty piece of paper. We’ll wait for the plumber to dig farther. Looks like he just put these here.” He bagged both items.

The ring was Danny’s wedding ring. A gold band with little four-leaf clovers etched in it. “That’ll have Sonia’s name in it. She looked all over for that ring.” I read the letter through the plastic.

“Mind if the police have a look?” Ricky stepped behind me to read over my shoulder.

“It’s from Danny to Faith and he was breaking up with her.” I didn’t believe it. He’d actually done it.

“Bastard! It was too little too late,” Norm screamed.

I used all my restraint to not kick him in the face.

“Shut up,” I told him.

The uniformed officer read Norm his rights and he nodded at him.

I read on with the letter. “He was leaving Faith to try and get back with my sister.”

“You said she wouldn’t take him.” Ricky nudged my shoulder.

“It doesn’t sound like she had and Sonia didn’t know anything about this. He must have wanted to be free of Faith before he made another reconciliation attempt. Danny was so scared of being alone. He hated L.A. because he always felt alone here. He took the biggest risk for her.” Sonia would be touched and heartbroken.

“The idiot. Danny had to move on. Quit looking like a wimpy loser pining for his ex. That Carmen slut was a mistake but it was done.” Norm shook his head.

“So you stabbed him in the back like a coward. You hid the note and his ring so it wouldn‘t be found.” I really wanted to hit him again.

“I tried to convince him to man up. Take some auditions Myra lined up. He started the fight.” Norm struggled. “He was going out the back door when I walked up. It was all your fault—you kept coming by and accusing him of stalking. He’d never stalk Sonia. She walked on freaking water to him. You’re really dumb if you think he’d hurt her.”

I looked at Ricky with frustration. Either I was going to pound that ass into pulp or he’d cart him off.

Ricky stepped in. “So you stabbed him and left him there?” he asked.

His eyes went cold, inhuman, and evil. “My wife had done everything for them. They betrayed her. Sonia left and that was bad enough. Danny kept using Myra but never listening. The money was drying up.”

“We’ve got motive and a confession.” I smiled at Ricky.

“Why couldn’t you’ve stayed in Vegas? You ruined it all.” Norm spat at me.

Luckily his aim wasn’t that great.

Norm fought them as the two uniforms hauled him to his feet and carried him out to the squad.

“He’s got a bullet in his leg. Get that dealt with but I’m coming along.” He turned to me. “Don’t worry, Hel, I won’t let him out of my sight. My partner is coming to wait on the plumber.”

“I’m staying.”

“Fine, there are four uniforms front and back guarding the scene. CSI is coming too. Don’t touch anything”

I sat there for half an hour staring at the blood stain from Danny.

“I’m sorry.” I’d said it ten times. If I hadn’t encouraged him to leave Faith and try again with Sonia he might at least be alive. If I’d have seen through Norm faster he might be alive. Myra would be investigated now too. What did she know?

Danny had to have been calling me to tell me he was going to leave. Maybe ask if it was okay to come by the set and ask Sonia to lunch. Something good would’ve happened—maybe.

Being alone was hard for Danny but I never had a problem with it. I’d hid alone in my room a lot as a little kid. Alone was safe and alone I did well, so maybe I just didn’t understand the aversion other people had to that state. Every once in a great while it bothered me but that always went away. At that moment I shivered from the loneliness. The loss of Danny hit me.

The other detective walked in with a spindly guy in coveralls. The name patch announced he was Skip. I did my best to snap out of the daze.

“Kitchen sink?” the detective asked.

I nodded. “We found these visible. He’d pulled them out. I’m hoping the knife is in there too.”

“Okay, Skip, you know the drill. Glove up. It’s all evidence.” The detective stood next to me and examined the evidence.

I just sat there on the kitchen table staring.

“You saw the pictures?” I asked.

He nodded. “Ricky forwarded it all to me from the hospital. The guy drives a Lexus. Owns a bunch of houses and is that greedy and crazy.”

“Crazy is right,” I nodded. “He came at me with a wrench and tried to break my knee cap.”

“You took him.”

“Fear for your life will do that. No guilt and no worries.”

I never really feared for my life from Norm. He might hurt me but never kill me. I was faster. He had a wrench but he wasn’t skilled enough to outmaneuver me. I had to get to my gun but I had it. I could’ve kicked the wrench from his hand. Norm proved too unpredictable and I could’ve ended up with a broken foot. Or gotten Ricky hurt. Or he might have had another weapon. Or he could’ve ditched the wrench and ran. None of those options were acceptable so I had played it safe.

“I’m okay.”

I shook off the lingering doubts and relished the fact that my sister and I were safe. Relief, true and full relief rushed through me.

“Got something in the sink pipe.” Skip set it on a tarp he’d spread on the kitchen floor. “Knife.”

“Blade looks right. He wiped it but we’ll get some blood residue. Anything else?” he asked.

Skip nodded and pulled out a thin men’s shirt crusted with blood. “That’s it and I’ll check the disposal, but not much room to hide stuff. He probably wanted to destroy this stuff and never got the chance.”

I looked at the ring with my sister’s name on it. The disposal blade would’ve damaged it. I was grateful Norm had put the stuff in the pipes and not tried to shred the ring in the disposal. “I need this back when you’re done.”

The detective nodded. “Go tell your sister the good news. We’ll need you to come in for your statement first thing tomorrow.”

“Thanks.” I wanted my sister to know she was safe once again.

I
drove back to the mansion with a sense of relief but I’d been there before. Calling Ricky’s cell, I needed to be sure before I said a word to Sonia.

“Everything okay?” he answered.

“You tell me. I don’t want any false hope this time. He confessed?” I couldn’t wait to hear it was tied up.

I stopped for a red light and took a deep breath. My gut said I had the right person but when it came to family, feelings were tricky.

“Oh yeah, he ranted and raved all the way there and to the detective who interviewed him. I watched it all on tape. Norm said it was fine until you showed up and were hanging around. Blamed you but he admitted he did the deed for his wife. Talk about drama. He thinks that makes him a hero. We told him we’d charge her as an accessory. Pick her up and interrogate her. So he signed a confession, waived the lawyer in exchange for immunity for his wife. At least he really loved her.” Ricky sounded sad.

“I feel bad for Myra. I don’t want Norm pulling an insanity plea. So no search tomorrow at Sonia’s?”

“No search. Sonia’s off the hook, it’s okay.” Ricky sighed. “You did it.”

I wish I could take all the credit. I’d paid attention and asked the right questions. A lot of them. I’d also gone in a lot of wrong directions. “I never thought the paparazzi would help my case. I got lucky. He was stalking Sonia too, right? I don’t have another stalker on the loose?”

“It’s Hollywood. She could always have a new one. He denies driving the black Caddy that chased you. No records of him or anyone he knows driving one. He hasn’t bought any tires. We’re running his credit history and all of it.”

“I think that might be a stalker paparazzi. Seriously, they had enough time to get my plate number and I shot out their tires. They couldn’t have pressed charges or come after me. But if they sold the pictures they’d probably eat the loss on tires.” I hated trying to think like a soulless creature but that guy from the backyard might hold a grudge.

“I hear you. That wasn’t the most threatening move but more like baiting. Now on to the slashed tires on Sonia’s car. Norm denied it. A couple beat cops picked up some skittish college kids that fit the description and had a knife later that day. They were slashing tires and generally being idiots. Some frat dare. I’m not saying it’s them for sure, but some of those idiots get extra points for proving they got a celebrity.”

“You’re kidding? College pranks?” Something didn’t sit right with me. “Did you charge them?”

“They paid fines. Rich daddies. Vandalism. We can put Sonia through a line up and see if she remembers the two but they’ll stick to the story that it was a college dare and they never meant to hurt anyone. She’s a celebrity and they get public attention all the time. She’ll look petty and the added charges will be minimal. I don’t know if you want to put her through that.” Ricky shuffled papers on his end of the phone.

“Probably not. As long as it’s handled. But Norm left the notes, and stole the dog?” she asked. Something about the tire slashing seemed more coordinated and deliberate than kids but pressing the issue now wouldn’t solve it. Norm had admitted to murder; a couple of tires weren’t something worth denying. Someone else out there might have a grudge.

“Yep. He was obsessed with protecting his wife and his fury was focused on Sonia and Danny. He’s not getting out,” Ricky sighed.

“Okay. Thanks. Bye.” I tossed the phone in my purse. Driving along, the pressure and fear slowly evaporated. I let the success creep inside. Sonia was safe. Well, safer. The murderer was caught. Her primary stalker was caught. The nightmare was behind us but had Norm been masking a less lethal problem?

I pulled into the driveway and saw Jordan’s and Emmy’s cars still there. Checking my watch, I saw it’d only been three hours. It felt like two weeks or maybe just two seconds. I walked inside and disarmed the alarm. Out of habit I locked the door behind me.

“That took forever. What could be so interesting at the rental house?” Sonia had her feet propped up on the table.

I stared at them. Somehow her toenails had been painted a snakeskin gray and black. “What the hell happened to your toes?”

Emmy smiled. “If she’s going to jail, she needs to look tough so no one pushes her around.”

“And funky nail polish will accomplish that?” I didn’t see how but okay.

I dropped my purse and headed for the table. Luckily prison wasn’t an issue, but they wouldn’t let her keep nail polish on or makeup or anything like that in prison.

“What’s wrong with you?” Sonia asked.

“What? Nothing” I rotated my right shoulder and looked down.

I kicked people all over with my bare hands and feet in martial arts classes. This was nothing. Then I spotted it. My nail polish had gotten smudged.

“Sorry Emmy, I messed up your hard work,” I said.

Emmy waved it off. “We can fix that.”

Sonia sat up straight in her chair and felt my forehead. “Are you sick?”

“No.”

Sonia threw up her hands. “What is the problem? Are you drunk?”

Jordan cleared his throat. “Hel, sweetie, the alarm isn’t on. What the hell?”

“What he said.” Sonia folded her arms.

I rested my head back on the cushy chair and smiled.

“It’s over.” This time I knew it was real.

A loud knocking came from the front door.

“What, I’m being arrested?” Sonia asked.

Her hands went to her throat. Perfect dramatic pose for a movie but police didn’t generally strangle or hang people.

“No, it’s not a lynch mob. I’ll get it.” Maybe it was better for Ricky to give some official news or something.

Sonia paced one step behind me. “What’s over?”

“Norm did it.” I opened the door and was immediately blinded by the flashes.

“Helena! Sonia!” The camera crews and reporters took over the front lawn.

Sonia stepped out without missing a beat. “You’ll have to excuse my appearance. My friends and I were having a girl’s night in. The only safe fun my sister will let me have lately.”

The reporters chuckled and shouted questions while I stared and tried to look poised. It wasn’t just tabloid reporters this time. I saw respected news affiliates out there.

“Sonia, how do you feel about the arrest of Norm Andrews? He’s been booked by LAPD.”

I had the sneaking suspicion the Queen Bees had a photographer on me. Now I knew it. How else could the news break so fast? Unless it was someone in the LAPD.

“Actually, my sister just got back and I haven’t gotten any of the details yet. No police have been here so I don’t know anything. But I do know that I’m innocent and if they’ve found the real killer,” Sonia swallowed hard and her eyes glistened over, “I’m relieved for Danny and everyone else who loved him.”