An Unladylike Murder, page 5
part #1 of Jessica Sloan Mystery Series
“That’s why I won’t even use it to track suspects.”
“I know how to do it without leaving any footprints so that’ll be one of my contributions to our team.”
“Hmm. Everyone your age seems to spend most of their time looking at their phone, texting or whatever is popular these days.”
“I still check out my friends and family to keep up with them. They all know to text me with anything important. Plus, I live with my younger sister, so she keeps me in the loop. It would be nice if there was a totally safe application but I haven’t heard of it yet.”
Cutter and Sloan walked down the hall looking for the manager’s office.
Thinking of her sister Brooklyn, her words from the night before flashed into her brain.
Brook said, “I’m engaged.”
“Congratulations, sis. When’s the big day?”
“We haven’t set a date yet.” Brooklyn had seen the worry in Jessica’s face.
“As I’ve always told you, you’re too attractive, smart and nice to be a cop. Let me introduce you to a few of Brad’s friends.”
“Look sis, I’m not worried because you’re younger than me and are getting married first.”
At least I won’t admit it.
Brook’s always needed a boy and now a man in her life.
“Yeah. I mean, my biological clock is ticking down and I still want to get married and have kids. But it’s just that when dad was murdered, I vowed to become a detective and now that I am one, I don’t know if I’ll be able to quit until I find out who killed him and why.”
Chapter 11
They found the patrol officer standing guard outside the theatre manager’s office.
Cutter gave him directions. “We’re going to interview the Rent-an-Actor date first. Can you take the two bald body guards into another room.”
“Yes, sir. There’s another empty room down the hall. Just let me know when you need to interview them.”
“Perfect.” Cutter slapped the officer on his shoulder.
Jessica and John watched as the guards were ushered away. Cutter told Sloan, “Any first interview is simply about getting a sense of the people you’re dealing with. I’ll take the lead. You listen and learn.”
“Fine. I’ll also do a records search on them from my iPad.”
“Fine.”
The Rent-An-Actor was sitting on a loveseat while examining his fingernails.
Cutter and Sloan both clicked on their cameras to start recording.
“I’m Detective Cutter and this is Detective Sloan. What’s your name?”
“Dale Lint.”
“Do you have any photo identification, Dale?”
Cutter held it up to his chest to ensure the camera got a good shot of it.
“Detective Sloan and I are going to record this interview. Is that okay with you?”
“I have an agent if it turns out you want to hire me.”
Cutter laughed. “It’s not that kind of recording, Dale. Now then, what exactly is it that you do for a living?”
“I’m an actor. You might have seen me in a few commercials.”
“No, I can’t say that I have.”
“When I’m not on stage, I also work for Rent-An-Actor. Tonight I was hired to be a charming but mostly silent date for some high tech babe.” He flashed teeth that hadn’t seen a hint of tea or coffee.
Cutter said, “Wow. What happened to old-fashioned meeting people face-to-face? I guess there isn’t anything they aren’t trying to put on the internet these days.”
Dale didn’t know how to respond to the middle-aged detective.
Cutter tried to joke. “I see you didn’t get the charming part correct, am I right?”
“What?”
Cutter hated good looking, but dumb as shit guys like him. “Never mind.”
“Had you ever met her before?”
“No.”
“Did she seem worried about coming to the theatre?”
“She did seem to be a bit rattled by the demonstration as we got close to the theatre. In fact, she seemed particularly freaked out by the anti tech crazies, especially the homeless leader guy.”
“What demonstration?”
Dale explained.
“So, it was just you and your date here tonight?”
“No, sir. The guy who hired me also hired two body guards for us.”
“Why did you need security guards?”
“I have no idea. I just play a role. I thought it was for our client to say something like hey, I’m important. Once I was told she was dead, then I must admit I felt a twinge of panic and was glad the guards were there, but they weren’t with me because they were with her. If you know what I mean.”
“Let’s move on, shall we.”
As Cutter led the interview, Jessica looked into Cutter’s blue eyes. They were bright.
He enjoys this part of his job.
“Can you tell us what happened once you arrived at the theatre?”
“We were met at the curb by the two guards and we all entered together. A grey haired female usher showed us to our seats. About three quarters of the way through the intermission, Jill decided she had to go to the Ladies room. Both of the guards went with her.” Dale paused.
“Then what happened?”
“They were gone a long time. After the show started, one of the guards came back and whispered that she was dead. Well, I almost fainted in disbelief. Then he told me he’d called 911 and that I should stay in my seat.”
“Were you expecting any trouble this evening?”
“No. But in preparation for my role for this evening I tried to read up on her and her company on the net.”
“What did you learn?”
“According to Google, she was a billionaire but with the recent deaths and lawsuits, her company was in big trouble.”
“What deaths and lawsuits?”
Sloan lowered her iPad to listen.
“I read that the people who wore her device were sworn to secrecy and had signed away their rights to even say they were using them. Their relatives, however, are starting to go on social media and yell that their loved ones died because the devices don’t work.”
Jessica made a note on her iPad. Research deaths and relatives.
“What do you do for Rent-An-Actor.”
“I meet interesting people who need to be seen with someone. It gets me out of the house while I wait for a call from my agent. Right now I’m waiting to hear if I’ll be getting called back for a major movie being made by Netflix.”
“Had you met Jill Gillberry before?”
“No.”
Sloan interrupted, passing her iPad to Cutter. It showed that Dale had a DUI arrest two years ago.
Cutter nodded and passed the iPad back.
“You were getting paid to escort her?”
“I was paid up front via the app, seventy-five bucks an hour with a four hour minimum, plus the cost of my tux rental. The limo was prepaid for us.”
“Who hired you and prepaid for everything?”
“A big shot investor from down on Sand Hill Road.”
“What was his name?”
“Coyne, David Coyne.”
“Did you have sex with her?”
Dale looked like he’d just sucked on a lemon. “Hell no, she wasn’t my preferred gender. I’m gay.”
“How did you know how you were to act?”
“The investor had written into the app that I was to be the perfect gentleman who escorted her to a play here at the Orpheum and then back to her home.”
“What did she say to you?”
“She was rude actually. The only thing the bitch told me to do was to smile and keep my mouth shut.”
Dale doesn’t do well under pressure.
Cutter turned to Sloan and raised his eyebrows.
She shook her head indicating she didn’t feel the need to question him further.
“Alright, you can leave for now but we may need to talk further. Don’t leave town.”
“What if I’m called away to an exotic location, say for filming?”
“Then you give me a call, okay?”
As soon as Dale left, Cutter muttered. “The only two things guaranteed in life, are death and useless witnesses”
“Was that last piece of information just for my benefit or do you want me to add it into iPoirot?”
Cutter shook his head. “Ha, ha. What do you think of this paying for a date thing?”
“Dale Lint, or the idea behind the company?”
“The company.”
“You can pretty much buy anything these days. Why not friendship? I’ve heard people use the service to hire people to pretend to be husbands, wives, dates, anything.”
“I don’t know. To me it sounds like an escort service. I immediately thought he was a gigolo.”
Cutter really is out of touch.
“No, it’s another startup. It has a low-tech product, but then so do Uber and Airbnb. By the way, I’ve discovered who Jill’s parents are and where they live.”
“How?”
“Facebook and Google.”
“Good.” Cutter stood up. “ We can’t believe anything Dale told us. He’s an actor that lies for a living. As for the parents, we’ll go see them right after we interview the guards.”
“Won’t it be kinda late to do that tonight?”
“Na.”
Chapter 12
John Cutter started with the guard who said he’d found the victim in the Ladies Restroom stall.
Sloan watched as the bald headed guard strode into the office.
He spends serious time in the gym.
So many muscles, it looks like it’s hard for him to walk. He could seriously hurt anyone, if he could catch them.
She had seen young men at her own gym who were intent on building muscles.
They must think bulges are some kind of instant sexual turn on.
I think they’re either insecure or too in love with themselves to care for anyone else.
Cutter introduced Sloan and himself. “Please have a seat.”
“Thanks. I’m Ben Lopez, glad to meet you.”
“Do you have any photo identification, Ben?”
The guard shifted his bulky body so he could pull out his wallet. “Here you go.”
The Driver’s License confirmed the guard’s name. “Benedicto Lopez. I see Ben is short for, Benedicto.”
“Yes, sir.”
Cutter passed the license to Sloan who entered the information into her iPad.
I’ll just do a quick criminal background check.
“Okay, Ben, who do you work for?”
“My brother and I run a Security Protection business.”
“You certainly look buff. Do you work out a lot?”
Ben ran his open hand over his chin even though he didn’t have a beard or goatee. “Being in shape intimidates people. Makes them think twice about getting near us, or our clients, so yes, we keep in shape.”
Sloan’s iPad buzzed.
Ben’s been involved in several altercations.
No arrest record.
No known gang affiliations.
Sloan offered Cutter her screen so he could scan the information.
Looking back at Ben, Cutter asked, “Have you ever been arrested for assault and battery?”
The guard scratched his nose. “Arrested; no sir.”
Cutter passed the iPad back to Sloan.
“Had you ever worked for Jill Gillberry before?”
“No sir. This was the first time we’d been hired to protect her. David Coyne of Coyne and Kumar Ventures down on Sand Hill Road has, however, used my firm several times before to provide security for various people.”
“What did Mister Coyne tell you about Jill Gillberry?”
“We were told the client was a workaholic who never socialized. We were only to walk her in and out of the theatre while making sure no one bothered her.”
“Are you sure you weren’t given any other instructions?”
The question seemed difficult for Ben to answer. After a brief delay, Ben said, “No sir.”
“Did Coyne tell you about any threats?”
Ben squinted as if he couldn’t see. “Yes, I forgot… He did tell us that she’d had some death threats recently.”
Cutter and Sloan were suddenly paying close attention.
“Did he tell you why?”
“Something to do with her company. Apparently some people using her product had died and a few of the relatives were crazy with grief and had threatened to kill her.”
Jessica and John glanced at each other. Jessica tapped on her iPad.
“Do you know what time you met her?”
“Just before the performance started. We met her and her date at the curb in front of the theatre. We escorted them inside and walked them directly to their seats.”
“What happened on that walk? Did Jill talk to anyone? Did anyone try to get close to her?”
“The theatre was jammed full and everyone was scrambling to find their seats while looking around to see if they could see anyone they knew. All normal behavior as far as I could see. Nothing that set off any alarms for us.”
“Go on.”
“We passed lots of people as we walked them down to the front row. Nobody stood out. Jill didn’t make any comments or say anything to anyone. No one bumped into her, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Ben tried to read Cutter’s blank look.
Finding nothing, he continued. “We scanned the area for anyone looking suspicious, then we took our seats on each side of them. The seats are tight by the way.”
Cutter kept drilling Ben. “Did it appear that anyone recognized Jill?”
“No.”
“Did anyone talk or try to talk to Jill or the actor?”
“No, sir.”
“Did she ask you to get her a drink before you sat down?”
“No, but the actor guy asked her if she wanted one and she said no. He also asked her if she wanted any of the things the hawkers were selling.”
“Like what?”
“Oh, they were selling t-shirts and CDs.”
“Did she ask for anything?”
“No, she just wanted to get to her seat. The performance started right after. Nothing happened until almost the end of the intermission when she decided she wanted to go to the Ladies room. Both of us walked with her. One in front and one behind her. The normal Ladies Restroom line had disappeared by then so she went straight inside. We waited outside, one on each side of the entrance.”
“Did you look inside?”
The guard cracked a smug grin. “Duh, it was a Ladies Restroom.”
“Okay, then what happened?”
“Both of us were standing outside when the lights flashed to warn the audience that the performance was resuming. She still hadn’t returned but because it was a Ladies room, we didn’t dare go in. We didn’t want some old hag to start screaming at us.”
“Then when did you enter?”
“When I heard the music for the performance start, I panicked and went inside.”
“What did you see?”
“The restroom was empty. The doors to all the stalls were partially open so I looked into each. The last one was the handicapped stall. It was only partially closed as well. I figured she had to be inside… ”
“Go on, Ben.”
“I knocked. When there was no answer, I swung the door open and saw her sitting on the toilet. I saw a syringe on the floor and stepped inside. I figure she must have injected herself with something. I have some emergency training so I checked her pulse and when I didn’t find one, I immediately called 911 on my phone.”
“So, whoever killed her would have had to pass by you when’d they’d left. While you were standing outside the restroom, how many women exited to return to their seats?”
The guard closed his eyes and appeared to think about his answer for several seconds. “Three. Two younger ones in black dresses came out right after Jill went in. An older lady rushed out… maybe a few seconds before the lights flashed.”
Sloan jumped in. “Could the older woman have been a man?”
Ben Lopez squinted, as if it hurt to remember. “No, I don’t think so.”
Cutter gave Sloan a cold glance, then resumed his interview. “How was she dressed?”
The guard closed his eyes. “All I recall was that she had big black hair, wore a scarf or something around her neck, and was wearing a pair of those light changing sunglasses.”
“Sunglasses?”
“You know the kind that change their darkness depending on how much light there is.”
“And that didn’t set off an alarm for you?”
“No, sir. Not at that moment anyway. I was more concerned about getting my client back to her seat.”
“Do you think you could work with a sketch artist?”
Shaking his head, Ben said, “Not really. She was just a blur to me. I had no reason to look at her.”
“Well we’ll need you to try. Did you notice if there are any security cameras in or near to the restroom?”
“Yes, sir. I looked and there aren’t any in the restroom or in the restroom hallway. I’m guessing that it’s a privacy thing.”
A roar of cheers erupted and lasted for the better part of a minute.
Sloan spoke loudly. “The play must be over. People will start heading out.”
Cutter looked at the guard. “Come with me, Ben.”
Going into the hallway, he saw the other bodyguard standing with a uniformed officer.
Cutter asked the uniform to relay a message to the Patrol Supervisor. “The killer is probably still here in the theatre. Have Ben Lopez here stand out front and look for her. Stay beside him. He was in the crime scene so when the crowd is gone have Forensics fingerprint him and take a DNA sample.”
“You got it Detective Cutter.” Then the officer whisked the first bodyguard away while Cutter motioned that he was ready to interview the second guard.
Chapter 13
The second guard’s name was Carl, short for Carloz, Lopez.
“Are you and Ben related?”
