Trifecta (8 page)

"I will, I have so little to say," Julia answered. 
She took a deep breath and described the scene in the hospital room.  Brian had
mentioned beautiful music several times.  Then Julia described how he had seemed
to be in some anguish.  At first she was afraid he was in pain.  Julia repeated
the words Brian had spoken to her, about something being too small.  And about heroines
and little angels.  Julia finished by telling Robin that it seemed like Brian had
observed something he did not want to see, inadvertently.  Whatever it was, it had
upset him to the extent that he had spoken of it from the depths of a deep coma.

Robin nodded at her thoughtfully.  "I'd like to know
your impression of Aaron Quijada."

"As you know, I just left a meeting with him,"
Julia said.  "He is charismatic, and enthusiastic about his work.  But I also
feel he's a very cold, calculating man.  The meeting was strange because there must
be quite a few people who work on an estate as large as his, but he answered the
door himself, and I saw no one at all.  No wife or children.  And no domestic workers. 
Also, he surprised me because he's a blatant chauvinist."

"How do you mean?" Robin asked.

"He obviously didn't believe I could do the work. 
And then, when we finally agreed that I would, he tried to cut my salary.  I had
quoted a very modest fee for finishing Brian's book, and for doing extensive photographic
work.  I made the fee low, so I would get the job.  It was much lower than the salary
Brian was receiving.  But he tried to cut it down even more, saying that I would
just be putting Brian's work together."

"Not much respect for the female gender," Robin
commented. "How did you resolve it?"

"I said, truthfully, that with the photographic supplies
I would be using and the rental of a studio, which I will have to do here in Los
Angeles, I couldn't make the salary any lower.  In Boston, where I have my own dark
room and equipment at my studio, I could have lowered the price.  But he's in a
hurry, and I can't go to Boston to finish the work.  We have to send it to the publisher
as soon as possible.  So he finally, and very reluctantly, agreed to my price."

"Did he ask you if Brian spoke to you in the hospital?"

Julia nodded.  "As I was leaving."

"That may have been the reason the two of you were
alone.  You answered 'no'."  Robin didn't make it a question, as though it
were the only reasonable way she could have answered.

"I have to find out what happened to Brian."

"Damn!  You didn't tell him?"  Robin seemed agitated. 
He got up and started pacing from the front door to the windows of the balcony. 
It took him about five strides on his long legs.  He even pealed back the draperies
and looked out, as though he thought they might be being watched.

"Not exactly," Julia answered, thinking that
he looked like a lethal panther stalking around.  "I implied that Brian had
been speaking quite a bit before he died."

"I don't believe it," Robin said, shaking his
head.  He came back and sat down.  He was looking at her fiercely again.  "That
was a stupid thing to do.  And maybe suicidal.  Do you want to end up dead, too?"

"I told you I'd find out what I needed to know,"
Julia said, angrily.  She had given that response to Quijada on purpose, to force
his hand.

"Now I believe it, when you said you'd find out by
any means," Robin said.

"Your turn," Julia said.

"What?" Robin said.  He seemed deep in thought.

Julia repeated the sentence.

"Oh.  Yes.  Well, I did go back to Cedars.  I talked
to some of the people there.  Not the doctors and nurses that had direct control
of Brian's medical care.  Other people.  And what I found out was that someone went
into Brian's room, right after you left, dressed like a hospital orderly.  The hospital
staff is still trying to find out who it was.  Anyway, during the time that person
was in the room, there were changes in the machinery that was helping keep your
brother alive.  The oxygen was turned off.  The machine that would have alerted
the staff if Brian needed critical care was also disconnected, so that it would
not make an alarm sound.  The nurse at the front desk thought it was an electrical
failure.  Then both machines were turned back on again."

Julia had her hands over her eyes now, shaking her head
back and forth.

"Do you want me to go on?"

She nodded but didn't remove her hands from her face.

"I was told that an autopsy was not performed.  But
needle marks were found on the body, before it was sent back to Boston.  The hospital
management is still conducting an investigation, trying to figure out exactly what
happened during the minutes you were absent from your brother's room."

Julia looked up at him.  "Charlotte, my grandmother,
didn't want an autopsy.  There was no indication that the death might not be natural. 
I mean, caused by something other than the beating."

Robin could see that Julia had to get her emotions under
control.  He picked up her cup and left the room, saying he would get fresh coffee. 
He told her to use the rest room if she wanted to.

Julia was grateful for his sensitivity and fled to the
bathroom, where she splashed her face with water.  She had come to find out the
truth.  Now she was shocked and horrified.  What she had feared was true.  Brian
had been murdered.  She now suspected that the brutal beating was not an attempt
at theft, but a carefully plotted scenario.  The only unplanned part of it was that
Brian survived.

When Robin reentered the living room, he brought her a
glass of water with the coffee.  Julia appeared to be composed again.  He resumed
talking, but changed the focus from her brother, so she could remain objective and
unemotional.  "Let me tell you what I found out about Aaron Quijada.  He is,
first and foremost, a business man.  He was a director of films in name only.  He
really is the money man, and from what I hear, he doesn't have an artistic or creative
bone in his body.  He's been described as a shark.  He has some kind of unknown
financial backing, although he has had no tax problems that I have heard of with
the IRS.  Still, he lives in a beautiful mansion, which he bought with cash."

Julia smiled.  "I can understand him being called
a shark.  He has this unblinking stare.  It's quite intimidating."

"He's famous for it.  But he has been successful in
several business ventures and has turned failing companies around, making them fabulously
lucrative.  Many people think he's a financial genius who can deliver California
from its current financial woes."

"Maybe he would be good for California," Julia
said, playing devil's advocate.

Robin was shaking his head.  "Many people think so. 
It's a scary thought to me, now that I've done some research.  Aaron Quijada is
rumored to be a major player in the Mexican Mafia.  That may be where his financial
backing comes from.  Their main business is the sale of heroin.  Many of the gang
fights in Los Angeles are over territory for the sale of heroin."

"Brian said 'little heroines’ several times,"
Julia remarked thoughtfully.

"I noticed.  There's also Quijada's wife, who committed
suicide some years back.  There are allegations that he embezzled  money from his
own movie company, with tricky bookkeeping, which was supposed to go to the legitimate
people backing the films, and to the actors and actresses.  But he's so slick no
one could figure out what happened.  A woman friend of his died of unknown causes."

"You're trying to scare me," Julia said.

"People who deal drugs are violent and have no mercy. 
If Quijada is taking money, well, that's immoral, but if he's having people killed,
that's something else altogether.  He's a very frightening man.  He also has this
big dog, which accompanies him everywhere, and is known to have mauled a man almost
to death."

"Bruno?"

"You've seen him?"

"I made friends with him.  On purpose.  I really liked
the dog.  He's just doing his job, guarding his master."

"Don't you trust him for a minute."

"The man or the dog?" Julia asked.

"Either one."

"How'd you get all this information?  It couldn't
be common knowledge, if the man is running for governor."

"It's not.  I did some research," Robin said. 
He was not going to tell her that he had used two of his paralegals for the research
on Quijada, all day yesterday, and that he himself had taken the day off to go to
Cedars-Sinai Hospital to obtain the information he had given her.

"Your research is very impressive, for such a short
time," Julia said.  She looked around the room.  If Robin did live in very
low income housing and this place was borrowed for their meeting, she would have
liked to offer him some money for the help he had already provided.  He had gone
to a lot of trouble, but she was afraid he would be insulted if she offered to reimburse
him.

"I really don't carry mace," Julia said.

"I didn't think so," Robin said, smiling.  "You
should have something though.  I do have a gun, but you would have to keep it concealed."

Julia shook her head in distaste.  "I would probably
shoot myself."

"I would offer my services, but it might be a little
obvious."

"As a bodyguard?"  She seemed to think it was
a very funny  idea. 

Robin tried to look insulted, but he liked seeing her laugh. 
She had beautiful white teeth.

"Sorry," Julia said, when she sobered.  "I
can see you would make an excellent body guard, but I agree, it might be a little
noticeable.  I must say, though, you've gone to a lot of trouble to piece together
this information.  I'd like to pay you for the research."

"Damsels in distress are my hobby," Robin said,
smiling and brushing it off.  "But I will get you some pepper spray.  It's
not much against thugs who deal in drugs, but if that dog ever came after you it
would be effective."

"Bruno evidently doesn't attack women."

"Consider the source of that information," Robin
warned.  "You'll be going to his home tomorrow.  He'll try to pump you for
more information, to see if you have any suspicions about Brian's death.  It's essential
that you don't let him think you do."

"I'll be careful," Julia said.

"All we know is that someone manipulated those machines
at the hospital.  I'll try to find out what kind of medical expertise that would
take.  Maybe it was a bribed hospital employee."

"The person may have disconnected the machines so
Brian could be injected with heroin, if that's what they have available and Quijada's
behind it.  An overdose could be fatal, especially for someone in fragile condition."

"We could go to the police right now," Robin
suggested.

"If we're wrong, it would be a horrible thing to do
to Aaron Quijada.  I don't want Brian exhumed for a postmortem autopsy unless it's
absolutely necessary.  It might kill my grandmother.  She's very distraught.  It
was hard to leave her to come here.  But I convinced her it was important to finish
Brian's last work."

"Well, it might eventually evolve into a real police
investigation.  But first we have to get more evidence.  We'll have to be careful,
though, because he's a powerful man, and if he's not responsible, I agree, we don't
want to make premature allegations.  It would be unwise, considering his influential
position in Los Angeles.  And you have to be extremely careful when you're dealing
with him.  Maybe Brian will have left clues in his notes."

Julia nodded.  "I think I'll be safe working there
for a while.  But if something happened to Brian, it could happen to you, too. 
You could be putting yourself in danger, just because you're helping me.  For that
reason I'll pay you for your time, at the very least.  This might be hazardous duty."

If there had ever been a time to tell her he was a lawyer,
it was now, Robin thought. 

"I could hire a private detective," Julia said,
when he hesitated.  "They get about two hundred dollars a day, plus expenses
for use of the car and, well, I don't know what else, really.  If you want to go
on with this investigation, I will insist."

She just might hire someone, Robin thought.  But he knew
he could do the work as well as any detective.  He would probably be more discrete. 
No one would ever guess that he was involved, and Quijada might find out if she
hired someone, which could put her in danger.

Robin smiled at her naivete.  He usually received at least
two hundred dollars an hour for his time as an attorney.  "If you really insist,
I'll accept your offer." 

Robin didn't feel guilty about the money she would spend
on him.  He knew he was worth it.  And Robin had not only done research on Aaron
Quijada.  He had looked into Julia's background.  Her parents had died when she
was very young and had left her a virtual fortune.

Robin thought her smile was just beautiful when he accepted
her offer.  He stood up and put out his hand to complete the contract, but he admitted
it was mostly because wanted to touch her.

When Julia took his hand she felt a shock of electricity
go through her whole body, like a quick wave of heat.  His hand was very warm and
felt large and substantial.  Comforting somehow.  It was odd.  To cover her surprise
at the strangely immediate physical reaction, Julia quickly asked him to show her
around his apartment. 

She had already seen the kitchen and bathroom, so Robin
took her through the apartment, ending up in the office.  She made nice comments
about his pictures on the wall, saying that she was a sports fan also.  Then she
walked across the hall to the door of the bedroom.

"It's a mess in there.  I would rather..."

She had already opened the door.  She just stood there
for a minute, and then she started giggling.  He thought her reaction was charming. 
She didn't seem embarrassed at all and he wondered why.  She conveyed the impression
of being restrained and puritanical, and he was surprised.