Fearless in High Heels (8 page)

I opened my mouth to set him straight, but Dana jumped in before I could. 

“Yes!  Yes, we are.”

“Wonderful,” Bowman said, clapping his hands.  “Please, come into my office,” he instructed, leading the way into the back room.

“We are?” I whispered as the three of us followed the agent.

“What better way to corner her?” she mumbled back.

I nodded.  “Clever.”

“Please, sit down,” the faux Johnny Cash said, sinking into a leather office chair behind his desk as he indicated a couple of metal chairs with seventies inspired orange and avocado prints on the seat cushions. 

“Thanks,” I said, complying.  The chair groaned under my weight, and I suddenly wasn’t sure if the chairs were inspired or original.

“So what sort of job is it that you’d like to hire Becca for?” he asked.

“Uh…”  I shot Dana a blank look.

“Music video,” Dana supplied, lying seamlessly through her teeth.  “See, I’m launching a music career, and I really need this first video to be fabulous.”

“Love it, love it,” Bowman said, his eyes shining with dollar signs.  “Becca is an excellent dancer.  And singer, if you need some backup.”

“That’s what we’re counting on,” Dana said, flashing him a big smile.

“I understand you represented Alexa Weston, too?” I jumped in.

At the name of his fallen client, his “on” face slipped, his eyes going moist for a moment.  “I did.  It’s such a terrible tragedy what happened to her.  What a waste of talent.”

I murmured agreement and nodded.  “Alexa and Becca where friends, right?” I asked.

Bowman nodded.  “Yes.  I often booked them together.  But,” he quickly added, “if you’re looking for another girl, I have several clients who would be perfect to work with Becca on a music video.”

Dana shook her head.  “No, that’s fine.  We’re just interested in Becca.”

“When was the last time you saw Becca?” I asked.

Bowman paused.  “Why?”

Oops, maybe too direct?  “Uh, well, I just wanted to make sure that she still looks like the pictures we’ve seen.”  Hey, I was catching on to this lying game.

Bowman nodded slowly.  “I can assure you that she would not change her style without letting me know.”

“So, you’ve seen her recently?”

“I have.  She was in here a couple of days ago and looked perfect.  Camera ready,” he assured me.

“A couple of days ago.  That was before Alexa died,” I noted.

He nodded.  “Yes, they were both in.  They were collecting their checks for a tampon commercial they did.”

“How big were the checks?” I asked, remembering the mention of the windfall.

Bowman frowned.  “I’m sorry, I don’t think that’s something I should share.”

“What she means,” Dana said, jumping in to save my horrible-liar butt again, “is that our production has a tight budget.  We heard a rumor that Alexa and Becca were commanding higher pay lately, and we’re quite frankly a little concerned that we may not be able to match them.”

God, she was good.  I nodded next to her like a bobble doll.  “That’s right.  We’re concerned.”

Bowman pursed his lips, and I could see greed warring with the fear of losing a paying gig.  Finally fear must have won out as he leaned forward, putting his elbows on the desk.  “Look, to be honest, the commercial was a regional thing.  I’d doubt the amount of the checks could pay their rent, let alone qualify as ‘high pay,’” he said, doing air quotes with his fingers.

“Is it possible they’ve been working under the table somewhere else?” I pressed.

Bowman shook his head.  “No way.  I’d hear about it.  I’m very well connected.”

While his modest digs made me question the last part of that statement, I knew for a fact that Hollywood was a small world.  Chances were he honestly would have gotten wind of them moonlighting eventually, especially if it was a high paying gig.  And while Alexa and Becca may not have been brain surgeons, I had a feeling even they weren’t stupid enough to risk it. 

Which meant Alexa’s windfall had to have come from somewhere else. 

“So that means,” Dana said, her own mental wheels turning beside me, “that you booked them for all their jobs.  Even the vampire parties?”

Bowman scoffed.  “Great, you’ve heard about those?”

“Oh, have we,” Marco jumped in.

“Look, I told them not to do that job.”

“Really?” I asked, leaning forward.  “Why not?”

“It ruined their credibility.  That Sebastian character may have some ridiculous stuff going on at that place, but I know the kinds of movers and shakers that are into ridiculous extra curricular activities.  Alexa and Becca were more likely to run into a big name director at one of the parties than they were at the farmers’ market.  They were pigeon-holing themselves before they even got a part.”

“But you booked them on it anyway?”

“In case you didn’t notice, I’m not exactly repping Tom Cruise here,” he argued, gesturing around his office.  “I gave them my honest opinion, they ignored it, what can you do?”  He shrugged. 

“Did the parties pay well?”

Bowman shook his head.  “Well below scale.  Then again, they aren’t exactly union jobs, if you know what I mean.”  He paused.  “Look, you want to book Becca or not?” Bowman asked, some of the eagerness he’d originally displayed having been questioned out of him.

Dana nodded.  “Definitely.  As soon as possible.”

“Great,” Bowman said, turning to an ancient computer monitor beside him and squinting at the greenish font.  “She’s free all next week?” he offered.

“We were hoping for sooner,” I said.  “Like… today?”

“No can do,” Bowman answered, shaking his head.  “She’s booked tonight.”

“Where?” I asked, leaning in.

“One of those vampire parties at Sebastian’s place.  She’s book from 10:00 PM on.”

*  *  *

“I knew it all came back to vampires!” Marco stage-whispered, grabbing my arm as we left Bowman’s. 

“Okay,” I conceded.  “Let’s say, just for kicks, that however Alexa came into her windfall is tied to the vampire parties.”

“I bet it was Fangs,” Dana said.  “He looks loaded.  I bet he was paying them to do something illegal.”

“He did seem a little cagy about what happens after the parties,” I agree.  “Maybe he was paying the girls to sleep with his guests?”

“Hooker vampires?  I love it!” Marco said, clapping his hands together.  “Or, even better, maybe he was paying them to suck their blood!”

I shot him a look.  “Gross.”

“Hey, the body was drained of blood,” he pointed out.

“True.  But there was only one pair of bite marks on her neck.  Meaning she was only drained
once
.  If someone had been,” I cringed, nausea creeping up on me again “drinking her blood on a regular basis, there’d have been older marks.”

“Well, maybe it was a one-time thing?  He paid her for one blood suck, but it got out of hand, and he sucked too much blood?”

“Can we not say the words ‘blood’ and ‘suck’ together anymore, please?” I pleaded, willing my stomach to sit still.  “Besides, there’s one problem with your theory.”

“Only one,” Dana mumbled as we got back in her car.

“What problem?” Marco asked, ignoring her. 

“Why kill Alexa at the club?  I mean, if Sebastian really did hire her for some sort of drinking thing, it stands to reason he’d do it in the privacy of his own home.  Why risk doing it at a crowded club?”

Marco pouted.  “Good point.  Well, whatever Alexa was into, I’m betting both Sebastian and Becca are into it up to their fangs.”

“So you guys think Becca will show up at Sebastian’s party tonight?” I asked.

Dana turned to me, her eyes suddenly gleaming with a Cagney and Lacey look I knew all too well.  Though in reality, we were probably closer to Lucy and Ethel.  “Oh, Maddie.  Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” she asked, a grin dimpling her cheeks.

“That a cheeseburger would really hit the spot right about now?”

“The party tonight!  It’s our one chance to corner Becca and grill her.”

“I don’t know…” I hedged.  “Maybe we should just turn all this info over to Ramirez and let the police sort it out.”

Marco scoffed.  “Like the police could blend in at a vampire party.”

“They don’t have to blend, they have warrants,” I countered. 

“No, Marco’s right,” Dana argued.  “We’re much more likely to get info about Becca by going undercover than the police are by busting through the doors, badges drawn.”

I bit my lip.  She had a point. 

And she could tell she was wearing me down.  “Please, Maddie,” Dana pleaded, clasping her hands together in front of her.  “Ricky’s
Moonlight
contract is up for renewal for a third movie next
week
.  If the club is still closed by then, I just know he’s gonna sign.”

I let out a sigh.  As much as I hated the idea of walking into a possible blood drinking orgy, I had to admit that this was our best, and possibly only, chance of catching up with Becca. 

“Fine,” I relented.  “Let’s go rent some fangs.”

Chapter Ten

Luckily Dana knew the perfect place to get vampire attire – the set of
Moonlight II: The Eternal Kiss
, the sequel that half the known world was awaiting with baited breath (yours truly included) and which was currently being filmed at Sunset Studios in Hollywood.

Sunset Studios houses the biggest and best names in both television and film, and is encircled by an impenetrable wall that is so heavily guarded it makes Buckingham Palace look like a joke.  Inside the paparazzi-proofed walls, the studio grounds are laid out like a small city; only the city is a little schizo.  There are streets of Brooklyn brownstones butting up against suburban tree-lined neighborhoods, right next to a futuristic post-apocalyptic town that also doubles as the old west, depending on which production is currently shooting.  Dana and I had once gone undercover to help in one of Ramirez’s investigations here, and I’d gotten lost wandering the pseudo neighborhoods on more than one occasion.

Today, however, we did not need to go undercover as, thanks to Dana’s movie star boyfriend, she was on The List.  One look at her ID and the guard at the massive iron gates waved us through, indicating parking in a lot just to the right, where we quickly traded her Mustang out for a golf cart, the studio’s main method of transport.

Moonlight II
was being shot in the Brooklyn neighborhood, today, a rare daylight scene involving Lila and Daniel being forced to walk among mortals to find a magic potion that turns vampires into humans for just long enough for them to consummate their relationship.  (A scene which Dana was not looking forward to.  Rumor had it Ava had been paid extra to go full frontal.)  We parked our cart on the edge of the set, then walked in, stepping between camera tracks, lighting racks, and microphone cords to a pair of white trailers set against the storefront of an Italian deli.  “Ricky Montgomery” was taped to the door of the first in block letters, “Ava Martinez” on the other.  Dana spared one dirty look at door number two before knocking on door number one.

A dirty look that, as it turns out, she could have delivered in person, as Ava opened the door to Ricky’s trailer a beat later.

She blinked, batting long, fake eyelashes at us.  “Yeah?” Ava asked, unceremoniously.

“We’re here to see Ricky,
”
Dana informed her.

“
And you are?” 

Dana’s teeth gnashed together.  “His
girlfriend
.”

“Oh.”  Ava gave Dana slow up and down, doing a hot-girl-to-hot-girl assessment.  “I see.  Well, I guess you can come in then,” she said, standing back to allow us entry. 

I could tell it took all Dana had not to elbow the stick figure out the door as she passed by her.  Very big of her, really.

I, on the other hand, actually
was
very big and did end up knocking into Ava in the tiny trailer doorway.  Just a little.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.  “Bun in the oven.”

“I can see that,” Ava responded, eyes flickering to The Bump.  “What’s that in your bag?”

“Nothing.  Just a baby.”

She frowned and opened her mouth to respond, but never got the chance as Ricky emerged from the back room.

“What a surprise!  What’s my favorite gal doing here?” he asked, moving in to give Dana a peck on the cheek.

While Ricky’s image on the big screen made moviegoers across the world swoon, I had to say that the in-person version was even more spectacular.  He was tall – well over six feet – had broad shoulders, slim hips, and every inch of his body was hard muscle, attesting to his gym-rat status.  His hair was black at the moment, long and lose to his shoulders.  Which might have been a little too early-Banderas to be sexy had his skin not been tinted a pale white that was so ethereal, the entire look was kind of mesmerizing.  I could see why girls were hot for him.  I firmly gave my own over-active hormones a down-girl talk as I perched myself on the edge of his sofa.

Marco sighed beside me, echoing my own thoughts as he whispered, “God, that man is hot.”

“Smokin’.”  I nodded, watching Dana return Ricky’s hello with a kiss.  I noticed that she included a little tongue for Ava’s benefit.

“Wow, nice to see you too,” Ricky said once she let him come up for air.  “To what do I owe this surprise visit?”

“Can’t a girl come visit her
boyfriend
?” Dana asked.  Though whether she was talking to Ricky or Ava, I wasn’t totally clear.

“If that’s the kind of hello I get, you can visit any time,” Ricky said, still grinning.

Dana shot Ava a look that said round one had clearly gone to her.

Ava narrowed her eyes.  “Actually, Ricky and I were kind of in the middle of something, so maybe this isn’t the best time.”

“I’m sure it can wait,” Dana shot back.

“I don’t think so.  It’s very important.”

“What could be that important?”

“We’re rehearsing our next scene.”

“Oh, which one?” I jumped in, unable to stop myself from going fan-girl just a little.