Not Happily Married in Hollywood: Not in Hollywood Book 2 (13 page)

“Exactly, so you have no cause to feel you are being
unreasonable. It’s about how you are feeling. That’s all that is important.”

“You have anything to add to Dr Phil over there” I said to
Edwin.

“No, I think she got it all. Anyway you’ve got us and you’ve
got ice cream. What more could you possibly need.”

I kept repeating Edwin’s advice as I sat in the courtroom
the next day across from Griffin at Adele’s bail arraignment. I had debated
whether to attend the hearing, but I had been with Adele every step of the way,
and just because I wanted to spend the day huddled under my blankets, didn’t
mean I was going to desert her now. I had to deal with the situation at hand.
Unfortunately my situation at hand was a client who was charged with the murder
of her husband.

Elliot and Miranda Powell came through the courthouse doors
and I smiled tentatively at them. Miranda smiled back and Elliot nodded his
head at me. They sat closer to the front of the courtroom, probably trying to
make sure that Adele knew they were there. Surprisingly Travis also turned up
at and slid into the seat beside me. I could see Griffin frowning when he saw
the two of us but I ignored him.

“What are you doing here?” I hissed.

“I was witness in a case earlier. Saw this was on the docket
so thought I’d have a look.”

“You know, considering you are not being paid for this you
seem to be spending an awful lot of time following this case” I said.

“Just curious I guess. Gotta say, did not see this coming at
all. I assumed I’d get another phone call, find Eric with his pants down and a
quick and expensive divorce. Would never have guessed that she had it in her to
off her husband.”

“She might not have been the one to kill him.” I whispered
back.

“I don’t know” said Travis. “Much as I don’t like the guy,
Griffin is pretty good at his job. I don’t think he would have charged her
unless he had some compelling evidence.”

I stared ahead stonily. Travis looked at me speculatively.
“And he used you to get the evidence didn’t he?”

I glared at him.

“Told you he was all about the job. You need to not be in
the way when he is after someone or he will roll right over the top of you.”

“You’re going with an ‘I told you so’ now” I said, letting
my annoyance show.

“Oh honey, believe me I wish for your sake it could have
been different but at least you found out what he is like now rather than
later.”

“Well thank you” I said sarcastically. “Now maybe I should
start working for you and lose all my faith in humanity.”

“Wouldn’t want that” Travis murmured and as I looked in his
eyes I saw seriousness for a change.

At that moment Adele was led into the courtroom. She looked
frail. Jail was not going to work for her. Without her makeup and wardrobe she
looked fragile and delicate.

Travis let out a breath. “She’s not looking good is she?”

I shook my head. If this was how much she deteriorated after
only one night, I didn’t see her being able to hold up for much longer.
Watching the legal arguments being made between the prosecutor and the hotshot
criminal lawyer that Elliot had organized, I suddenly felt tired. The legal
arguments were over quickly and bail was set. Elliot and Miranda hustled Adele
out of the courtroom and whisked her away, probably to a drug induced sleep.

“Want a coffee?” Travis nudged me as I stood up.

“Sure” I said and followed him out.

Sitting in the diner Travis leaned back and studied me.

“What?” I said. “Do I have something on my face?”

“You don’t believe she did it do you?”

“No” I said.

“Why not?”

“Probably because I’m a trusting idiot” I said tiredly.

“Even trusting idiots need a reason” said Travis. “What is
yours?”

“Adele is deathly afraid of spiders, hates them with a
passion.”

“Okay, but what does that have to do with anything?” Travis
asked.

“One morning when I came into work, Adele was hunched in a
corner. There was a spider on her desk and she was absolutely freaking out. I
was going to kill it for her when she stopped me, asked me to catch it, drive
twenty miles and release it.”

“Seems a bit extreme” Travis said.

“The point I’m trying to make is that she hated that spider,
wanted it gone but even then she would not let me kill it. At the moment I’m
the last person to say that the woman is a saint, but I really don’t think she
has it in her to stand next to Eric, shoot a bullet into his head and then
crawl into bed beside him and go to sleep.”

“Does sound a bit unlikely” conceded Travis as he took a sip
of coffee. “Griffin must have some serious evidence if he believes that Adele
is the killer.”

“As far as I know they found the gun in Adele’s safe, gun
residue on her hands and they’ve got a recording of a discussion Adele and I
had next to Eric’s coffin, where she told me that she hated him and that it was
a good thing he was dead.”

Travis raised an eyebrow.

“I know, out of context it sounds bad. I mean it didn’t
sound good in context either, but I still don’t think she did it.”

“Where would you go next if you were looking into it?”

“I’d probably speak to Eric’s other wife.”

Travis choked on his coffee.

“Another wife?” he queried as he grabbed a napkin and
started to wipe up his shirt.

“Yes, it seems that Eric married Ruby, the neighbor we saw
the other day, about six years ago. Didn’t divorce her, so legally he was still
married to her. She turned up at the funeral yesterday and gave a little
speech.”

“Must have been interesting.”

“Yes it was. I had a short chat with her yesterday but this
was all before Adele got arrested. I didn’t ask her too many questions. She was
hurting. Seems she really loved the jerk.”

I slumped back in my seat.

“Not feeling quite so idealistic at the moment?” Travis
queried.

“I’m just dandy” I replied with a forced smile.

“Don’t do that” Travis said leaning over the table.

“Do what?” I queried.

“That fake smile thing. Tell me what’s going on.”

“What are you, a shrink?”

Travis smiled widely. “Honey, I’ve had so many women and men
crying on my shoulder, I should be board certified by now.”

“You’re seriously disturbed, you know that” I said, a smile
teasing itself out.

“And there’s the smile that I wanted” said Travis as he
stood up. “Okay so if we want to find out what really happened to Eric, the
next stop is the other wife. You want to come with me?”

“Why are you looking into this?” I asked as I got up.
“Surely you have better things to do than look into a closed murder case.”

“Usually I do, but as of this morning I have been hired by
Elliot Powell to find any and all information which will provide the defense
with reasonable doubt against the charges facing Adele Wesson.”

“For the love of… You were pumping me for information” I
said getting annoyed. “Seriously, can I not find one man who is actually
interested in my company and not what I may or may not know about a murder?”

Travis grabbed my arm and turned me around. “Firstly I am
very interested in your company, with or without the drama that seems to
surround you. Secondly, I hadn’t officially taken the case yet. I wanted to get
your opinion on the situation before I said yes.” He pulled out his phone. “Now
if you don’t want me to take the case I will text Maria and tell her we’re not
interested. If you want to help me with the case I will text Maria to send the
paperwork through and officially take it on. My next step is your choice
honey.”

I looked up at him confused. “Why is it my choice? What I
want should have nothing to do with your business decisions.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with my business decisions.
However I like hearing your opinion. You sometimes see things in a way that I
may have become too cynical to see. It’s kind of refreshing and sometimes I
like seeing the world in the same way that you do. Anyway at least this is a
bit of a change from taking photos of men with their pants around their
ankles.”

I laughed suddenly. “You are a very strange man” I said.
“Take the case. I think Adele needs as much help as she can get.”

Travis shot off a quick text. “Very well then, we need to
get to the other wife’s house.”

“What do you mean, we? Surely you don’t want me
interfering.”

“You would be wrong” Travis said. “You’ve already
established a relationship with her. She is more likely to talk if you are
there with me. Also I sometimes have a problem in that women find me
intimidating.”

“Really” I said sarcastically, “I can’t imagine why that
would be.”

“Ha ha” said Travis as he stopped next to a car and opened
the passenger door.

I took one look at the car and burst out laughing. Travis’s
current ride was a little compact that was about twenty years old and bright
canary yellow.

“Just get in” he said slamming the door behind me as I got
in the seat, still laughing and wiping my eyes.

The car’s interior was a horrendous brown color and the look
on his face as he squeezed himself into the small car was priceless and sent me
into peals of laughter again. Starting the engine up, his knee banging against
the steering wheel, he sat stony faced.

“I thought the cars you drove were supposed to blend in” I
said still smiling.

“That’s true but my car got totaled a couple of days ago
thanks to this case and this was the only other car that I had available”
replied Travis.

“Why do you have it? It looks like a rubber ducky on wheels.
Not exactly the blending in type of vehicle.”

“Every now and then we want someone to know that they are
being followed or I need a decoy car” said Travis. “Rubber ducky on wheels
works for those times.”

“I’m amazed you actually fit in it” I said.

“I don’t really, we had to bust the springs in the driver’s
seat to give me a bit of head room.”

I burst out laughing again. Looking up as I wiped the tears
out of my eyes I saw Travis smiling at me as he smoothly pulled into the street.

Sitting on Ruby’s couch my heart, went out to the poor girl.
The second she started talking to us about Eric she had dissolved into tears.
Travis’s face had taken on that panicked look that most men get when faced with
a woman crying. Looking at him in disgust I got up and sat next to the poor
girl, putting my arm around her shoulders and had her sobbing into my chest.

“I’m so sorry” I said repeatedly and I was.

I never liked Eric but there must have been something in him
that made him special to Ruby. Wiping her eyes she sniffed.

“I know what people think of Eric” she said quietly. “We
grew up without any money at all. He never wanted to go back to that. He wanted
to have money, it was all he worried about. He knew women found him attractive
and they would always throw gifts at him, things he could never afford
otherwise. He figured if he just kept taking the money until he could get a
good amount together, then he could buy a gym himself and then he wouldn’t need
to answer to anyone. We could get started with our life together then.”

Travis cleared his throat. “Why would he marry Adele Wesson
if he was already married to you?”

I choked on the temptation to tell the insensitive male in
the room to shut up, but Ruby proved stronger than I thought she would.

“He thought being married to one of these rich women would
be his big score. He just needed to find one dumb enough not to get a prenup.”

I winced. That did sound pretty accurate.

“That didn’t bother you at all?” pushed Travis. “Knowing he
was going to be with another woman, that he was married to another woman.”

“Of course it bothered me” Ruby said once again on the verge
of tears. “But Eric told me that what he did physically with those women meant
nothing. He was doing it for our future. I would always be the only one who
really knew him, the only one that he really loved. Everything else was just a
way of getting money. He was doing it all for us.”

She dissolved into tears again.

“Please” she said. “I know you’re working for her. If she
did this to Eric, please don’t help her go free. I know what people think of
him but if she killed him, it wasn’t right. She shouldn’t get away with it just
because she’s rich.”

“Is there anyone else that you know of that could have done
it, someone who Eric may have hurt?” Travis asked.

Ruby smiled through her tears.

“Women don’t like being used for their money, even when they
know what the score is. Eric always had women mad at him, and if it wasn’t the
women it was their husbands or boyfriends.”

“Do you have any names or anything that we can follow up on?”
Travis asked.

“No” said Ruby. “Eric never wanted any of that part of his
life to touch me. He didn’t want me to know what he was doing, he didn’t want
me to be hurt by it.”

“Was there anyone else that he would have confided in?”

Ruby thought carefully for a moment. “His friend Anton.
Anton and he have been friends since they were kids. Anton got him the job at
that high class gym that Eric worked at before he met Adele. If anyone knows
about the women Eric was with, it would be Anton.”

Leaving Ruby I didn’t look at Travis as I got in the car.

“You know, I don’t know whether those two had a devoted
relationship, or whether she was a completely delusional fool” Travis said
heavily. “You knew Eric for a little while, could you see that side of him.”

“No” I said. “As far as I was concerned he was a gold digger
with the morals of an alley cat. Dealing with him was the worst part of my day
at work.”

Travis nodded “Ruby seems to be sweet. If he was taking
advantage of her it kind of takes him to a whole new level of lowlife.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Ready to tackle Anton?” Travis asked cheerfully.

I smiled and before I could answer my phone rang. Looking at
the caller ID I could see that it was Griffin. My smile faded. Without thinking
about it I hit the reject button and put the phone back in my bag.

“Griffin” queried Travis.

I looked at him startled. “How did you know?”

“Trained investigator remember” he smiled.

“Yes.”

“So you’re at the ignoring his phone calls stage of the
relationship.”

“I don’t even know if what we had could be called a
relationship.” I said glumly.

“You’re mad” Travis observed.

“Yes I am and don’t you start telling me I’m being
unreasonable.”

“Hey, sister. I already told you I think the guy is a douchebag.”

I smiled. “Bit harsh, don’t you think? I thought guys stuck
up for each other when it came to women.”

“Not all the time. Sometimes even men can see when a guy’s
being a jerk. Or sometimes they want the girl themselves and are just looking
for the opportunity to take his place.”

“Really?” I questioned.

“Do you have any idea the number of people who find out
their significant other is also doing their best friend?” Travis said, a grin
on his face.

“You are just a whole new level of depressing aren’t you?” I
said.

“I’m serious, it happens all the time, and I’m not even
going to start on how many times it’s the sister or brother.”

“Stop talking please? Every time you start I get a little
more demoralized about the way that the world is.”

“So you should” nodded Travis sagely, a small smile playing
on his lips.

The gym that Anton worked in was completely removed from the
one that we had been to for Eric previously. The place screamed money and
sophistication. The people who were working out were wearing designer gym clothes
and even some high price jewelry. I could see how Eric would think he’d hit the
jackpot by working here. Getting to the reception area I was surprised to find
Edwin behind the desk.

“What are you doing here?” I asked before Travis could start
speaking.

“Temp job” said Edwin. I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Looking around the place at the mostly female clientele and the incredibly
muscular and gorgeous, predominantly male staff I could see how Edwin had
landed the job.

“What are you doing here Trudie? Thinking of signing up?”
Edwin asked.

I allowed myself a quick fantasy of swanning around the gym,
attaining that perfect body surrounded by gorgeous male personal trainers. Alas
a moment was all I could give that particular fantasy, before reality and my
love for chocolate intruded.

“Not today” I said watching as one particularly muscular
specimen of manhood walked past me in the tiniest of shorts.

Behind me I could here Travis snorting but to his credit
Edwin, despite knowing that my willpower when it came to fitness was never the
best, kept a completely straight face.

“We were wondering if we could speak to Anton.”

“Any reason in particular?” Edwin asked curiously.

“He was a friend of Eric Wesson. We are just doing some
follow up for Adele.”

“Don’t see a problem with that” said Edwin as he pressed
down on an intercom system and called for Anton.

“Here he comes” said Edwin.

I turned around and felt like I was stunned. Anton was
masculine perfection. His body was not overly big, but it showed the hours that
he spent in the gym in all their glory.

“Close your mouth, you’re drooling” whispered Travis.

I felt my hand reaching for my face when I realized who said
it. My eyes narrowed.

“I hate you.”

“Not the first time you’ve said it” Travis grinned.

“Maybe not” I stated. “But I think it needs repeating”

“What’s up?” Anton directed at Edwin.

“These people need to speak to you” said Edwin waving a hand
in our direction and then turning his attention to the computer again.

“What can I do for you?” asked Anton.

“Is there somewhere private we can talk?” asked Travis.

“This way” said Anton and led us into one of the locker
rooms. There was a distinct citrus scent in the air which masked the stale
sweat odor that I usually associated with gyms.

“So what’s this about?” Anton asked.

Travis pulled out a card. “My name’s Travis Cooper and this
is Trudie Eyre.”

I smiled warmly, maybe a bit too warmly from the look Travis
gave me.

“We are looking into the death of Eric Wesson and we were
told that you were good friends with Eric.”

Anton sat down heavily on a chair.

“Yeah, Eric was my best friend from when we were kids.
Always got into trouble with each other. Always got ourselves out of it too.
Can’t believe some woman killed him, especially not that rich woman he married.
No way did she seem the type.”

“We heard that you got Eric a job here before he met Adele” Travis
said.

“Yeah, Eric was the type they like working here. This place
isn’t too bad but it caters for a certain type of clientele. Management like us
to keep the customer very happy, if you know what I mean.”

Travis and I nodded, Travis because he understood, me
because I didn’t want to understand.

“Eric met Adele here, she wasn’t really into the exercise
side of things but then not many of them are. She fell for him pretty hard and
he married her.”

“Even though he was already married to Ruby?” I interrupted.

“Oh, you know about Ruby” Anton said.

“Yes we do, Ruby came to the funeral. Made for quite a
scene” I said. “First funeral I’ve been to where both of the wives turned up.”

“Look, you got to understand where we came from. We had no
money, none at all. And then you have these women, who have got so much money
and they’re willing to spend it on us. We’re not going to turn it down, not
when all they want is some attention. That’s the way it started with Eric and
Adele. She was buying him all this stuff but she wanted more and more
attention. She needed it. The more Eric gave her, the more she wanted and then
she wanted him to make it into a relationship. All Eric could see was that this
could be the big payday for him. If he could pull this off, give up a year or
two of his life and he could take care of himself and Ruby for years.”

“So, he hadn’t ditched Ruby?” asked Travis.

“No” said Anton, “if there was anyone that Eric loved it was
Ruby.”

He obviously saw the disbelief on my face.

“Look, Eric was no saint. He liked women, sex and money and
not necessarily in that order but, and this is something you have to remember,
he loved Ruby as much as someone that damaged could love anyone. His mother did
a number on him and his priorities were completely screwed up. He was a good
friend to me and I will miss him. He treated most women like crap, but he
treated Ruby like a princess. Most of his drive to get more money was so he
could set up a life with Ruby.”

“But he was sleeping with so many women” I said. “How could
he reconcile that with being in love with Ruby?”

“To him sex meant nothing, it was a tool to get what he
wanted and he wanted money fast. Adele was nothing more to Eric that a cash
machine. He once told me that the more he fooled around on Adele, the more
money and gifts she threw at him.”

Well that explained Eric’s constant sleeping around.

“Any of the women get upset at the lack of feeling on Eric’s
part?” Travis asked.

“Most of the women here know the score and usually they have
husbands at home who are providing them with the money they need to give to
Eric. They don’t want anything that is going to actually interfere with their
nice little setup.”

“Husbands then.”

“Could be. He never told me about any husbands that he had
problems with, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any” Anton said.

“Any way we could find out?” Travis asked.

Anton went to a locker in the corner and opened it, pulling
out a keychain which had a tag attached to it. He passed it to Travis. “Look,
this is a key to a place that Eric kept. The address is on the tag. He never
wanted anything he did to taint Ruby, so he kept this place as a home that was
separate to her. If there was anything going on in Eric’s life that was going
to get him killed, chances are that it would be there.”

“Thanks” said Travis grasping the key.

“Eric wasn’t a bad guy” insisted Anton, “he
just
never
had
a
chance.”