Elizabeth Basque - Medium Mysteries 02 - Silver Lake (5 page)

Mack turned his back to Julie and me as if he were ashamed. We waited patiently for him to finish.
Tick, tick, tick
. The clock sounded loud in my quiet apartment.

“
One night, I became extremely sick. Doctors were summoned, and they gave me medication. After that, my brain went foggy. I only remember asking Bella where Garrett was. I vaguely remember her asking me to sign some important documents. I didn’t know, or really didn’t care what they were. I thought I was dying, and I was. So, I signed them.”

I sighed, holding in my questions.

“At the end,” Mack faced us again, forcing all the emotion out of his voice, “I was alone. I called out for Bella, and for Garrett. Neither came. I was alone, in my master bedroom of my mansion that I had worked a lifetime for, and I called but
nobody
came.”

Julie was crying openly, and I was trying to stay strong for Mack. Mack just hovered there in my living room, reliving his last moments of life.

“After I took my final breath, I was suddenly looking down on myself from above. I was shocked at the body I saw lying there; it was so frail, just a shell of the man I had once been.”

“
Did you see the light?” I asked. “Did someone come to take you Home?”

“
Ayuh,” he answered, nodding. “I saw it, but I wanted to see Bella first. You see, I thought the light would wait for me. I moved—it was odd to be able to float, it was effortless—down to the living room. And what I saw shocked me more than anything. Bella was there, with the doctors. They were talking, laughing!” Mack was enraged all over again. “They had music on—they never even heard me cry out. Champagne. My best champagne, from my own cellar! I watched them for a moment, and then I understood. I turned back, wanting nothing more than to go to Heaven, or Home as you call it. I was done with the world.”

“
But the light was gone,” I whispered.

“
It was gone,” Mack agreed. “And I left. I left that place and never returned. And when the light came for me again, I turned my back on it.”

Chapter Nine

“
Why?” Julie finally asked. “Why did you turn your back on the light?”

“
Because I didn’t deserve it,” Mack answered brusquely. “Any man stupid enough to be murdered in such a way—poisoned and drugged—without realizing what’s being done to him, is a fool. That’s what I am. A fool.”

I had been listening to Mack talk for a long time. It was dark outside by then, and I opened my patio door and lit a cigarette.

But Mack’s response bothered me. “This wasn’t your fault,” I told him quietly.

“
Like hell it wasn’t,” he countered. “But enough. You’ve gotten what you wanted, now you know everything.” He started to float toward the front door.

“
Wait,” I said.

“
Oh, woman, what more do you want from me?”

“
First of all, thank you, Mack,” I said, smiling at him. “Thank you for telling us all of this.”

“
Yes,” Julie chimed in. “Thank you, Mack. It must have been a horrible way to die.”

Mack just hovered, waiting for me to finish. “I have a bad feeling about your son.” I went on, “I told you this before. But now that I’ve heard your story, I just don’t know. It’s like a big lump in my stomach.”

“Well, there’s nothing I can do about anything anymore,” Mack declared. “I don’t know why my son stopped visiting me. Perhaps Bella convinced him. I don’t know, and I don’t want to know.”

“
But…”

“
But what?” he demanded. “There’s nothing more, Pauline. Leave me be.”

And he was gone.

The silence in the living room was too much. I picked up a throw blanket, wrapped it around me and moved out onto the patio, juggling my drink, the bottle of vodka—screw the hassle of making martinis—and my cigarettes. Julie followed.

It was one of those California evenings when you couldn’t see the stars. The smog, the city lights, and a little haze created a gray roof over our heads. But I could hear some crickets singing over the distant traffic noise below.

“Poor Mack,” Julie said. “I had a feeling his life was sad, otherwise, he would have told us some happy memories, don’t you think?”

I nodded. “He did have a few happy years, though. Sometimes that’s enough.”

“But how he died! He didn’t deserve to be alone. I’m disappointed that his son didn’t help him.”

“
That’s bothering me, too,” I said. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“
You’re going to look into it, aren’t you?” Julie asked me.

“
Yep.”

“
But Mack said to leave it alone.”

“
No, he said to leave
him
alone. There’s a difference. And I won’t rest easy until I have some more facts.”

“
Pauline, you don’t want to upset Mack. I’m afraid of what he might do.”

I thought about it. What would Mack do? What could he do? He could make my life hell, I knew that much. Or worse, he could just disappear altogether, and never come back. I didn’t want that, as much of a pain in the ass the old ghost was.

But the gnawing in my gut persisted. I knew to trust it. Something wasn’t right.

“
I don’t care what he does,” I finally said. “I’m going to see what I can find out.”

“
Oh, good!” Julie exclaimed, surprising me. “I’m in, okay?”

“
All right,” I said, smiling. “Tomorrow, then. Around ten?”

“
You bet.” Julie rose. “But I’m going to get some shut eye.”

“
Good idea,” I said. I was feeling dark and hazy, like the sky. I had a serious appointment with my bed and pillows. I didn’t want to weave or stumble in front of Julie, though, so I stayed put while she made her way inside and toward the front door. “Oh, Julie?”

“
Yes?” she called over her shoulder.

“
Wear something nice. All right?”

“
Whatever you say, sure.”

***

Silver Lake was just a hop, skip and a jump from my place in Echo Park. Julie arrived promptly at ten with donuts and coffee and wearing light Capri pants along with a silk blouse. I had dressed similarly, and when we looked in the large mirror near my front door, we laughed.

“
Looks like we’re going on another adventure,” Julie said. “Remember when we wanted to scare those drug dealer creeps and we wore all black?”

“
How could I forget? I still can’t wear those black boots you talked me into buying without thinking of that night.”

We took my car, weaving through mid-morning traffic. I hadn’t been to Silver Lake in some time. A couple of years back, Julie had been interested in becoming a real estate agent, and she had some software that allowed her to look up information about properties: how much houses were worth, who owned them, etc. So, she had Garrett Mackenzie’s address. I was curious to see where he lived, but I didn’t really have a plan for whether to approach him or how.

When we made our way into the eclectic area, I remembered why I had always liked it so much. The neighborhood surrounded the Silver Lake reservoir, and many of the houses were built up along the hillsides. These were mostly older houses, but grand houses, nonetheless, some built by famous architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Richard Neutra.

“
You know, Walt Disney built his first animation studio here,” I remarked as I wove through the old and narrow streets. “It’s where he made
Snow White.
”

“
Really?” Julie’s interest was genuine. She glanced from her cell phone, from which she navigated the directions to Garrett’s house, to the streets for a moment. “Look! You can see the Hollywood sign.”

I smiled at Julie’s good nature. She was curious about everything. “It’s beautiful here,” she went on, “but the properties cost an arm and a leg.”

I thought about Mack, and how he’d owned a lot of Silver Lake property at one time. He’d invested before property values went sky high. I was sure Mack had been worth millions when he died. My smile faded.

“
Turn right here,” Julie instructed.

I did, and we found ourselves winding up into the hills. I would have gotten lost without Julie. I didn’t have a GPS. There was a limit to how much technology I let the changing times force upon me.

Eventually, we pulled up across the street and a little farther down from a beautiful, sprawling home set behind well-manicured lawns and gardens. Huge glass windows, sparkling clean, made for a magnificent view, I imagined. The place was simply yet elegantly fashioned, quietly announcing wealth and a little decadence.

“
Wow,” Julie whispered.

Yeah. Wow. I wondered if this was one of Mack’s homes, or whether Garrett had acquired it on his own.

“What are we going to do now?” Julie asked me.

I didn’t answer right away. I wanted to get a feel for Garrett, and seeing the way he lived helped me do that. I had done a little research and found his work address, but I didn’t know whether he was at home or at work. There were two cars in the driveway. One of them could belong to Garrett. They didn’t look like the maids’ cars to me.

“I don’t know,” I finally answered. “I’m trying to think of a good reason to knock on his door.”

“
We could say we love the house and want to buy it,” Julie suggested.

“
People don’t do that,” I said.

“
I know. But we could act stupid. Fake it.”

I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel.

“We could tell Garrett that we’re friends with his ghost father,” Julie said.

“
People don’t do that either,” I chuckled.

Just then, a man and a woman appeared from a side door leading to the driveway. The woman was undoubtedly the beautiful Lana Costa, Garrett’s fiancée. But the man holding her hand wasn’t Garrett. Julie and I watched, fascinated, as they spoke casually. Then the man kissed Lana.

“Oh!” Julie exclaimed, horrified. Her mouth failed to close—she was that surprised.

The man got into his car and started backing down and out of the driveway.

“Quick, turn your head away,” I said.

“
But he…”

“
I know, I know. But we can’t draw any attention. Look out the window at the view.” Julie did as I told her to. “Smile,” I said, smiling myself. The man, whoever he was, would pass right by us in a half a second. “Take a picture with your phone.”

I pointed to the Hollywood sign as Julie rolled down her window and aimed her phone/camera at the sign and the sparkling reservoir.

“That’s right,” I said as the man passed us and whizzed off. I didn’t know whether he noticed us or not. I did, however, notice a prominent window sticker with a dot com address on it. “He works at that famous modeling agency that all the supermodels do,” I said.

Julie said, “It would be pretty smarmy if she was two-timing Garrett with her booking agent.”

“Oh, that’s sick!” I said in disgust. Julie was probably right. I risked a glance back at the house while Julie snapped pictures. Lana was getting into the other car. “What a bitch,” I said, still smiling and pointing for Julie to keep taking pictures.

“
I can’t believe it,” Julie said. “Lana is a…
skank
!”

Lana left, passing us, too. I did manage a peek at her, but she didn’t glance at me. Her expensive sunglasses hid her eyes as she drove down the winding street.

I waited about ten seconds, then started my car. I pulled into Garrett’s driveway and backed out, heading the other way.

“
We’re following her.” Julie had a habit of stating the obvious.

“
Yep,” I said. “It’s time to find out a little more about Garrett’s cheating fiancée.”

Chapter Ten

Lana drove like a bat out of hell. Along the way down the hill, another vehicle got in front of us, which was good, I thought. Perhaps she wouldn’t notice she was being followed. She might not have anyway, but better safe than sorry.

She came to a stop on Hyperion and, luckily, I found a parking spot not far behind her. She got out of her car and crossed the street as if she’d done so a hundred times before.

“
Come on,” I told Julie.

We grabbed our purses and exited my car. I didn’t want to lose sight of the beautiful Lana, but we had to wait for passing traffic before we could cross.

Lana walked like the international model that she was. She carried herself like a queen, as if she owned the world. She wore a light sundress that accented her slim but curvy, sexy figure. Her long, tanned legs seemed to go right up to her neck. Men did a double take as she strolled down the busy sidewalk, but she paid them no heed. Still, her lips curved ever so slightly as she moved with grace, as if all was as it should be in her glamorous universe.