Rock Star Down (The Psychic Registry) (15 page)

So he gathered up his
clothes and dressed. On his way back downstairs he washed up in the guest bath
and made sure that he was presentable. Then he went down to the piano room and
found Rachel stretched out on the couch, only she was
pretending
to
still be asleep.

She knows
, he figured. But at least she knew how to keep quiet.

"Goodnight,
Rachel," he said.

"Why don't you
just stay the night?" she sighed. "I could call my girlfriend. Maybe
I
can get lucky."

Nathan smiled and
turned to go.

That's showbiz.

The coffee shop had already closed when
Laurel and Archer finished their walk-through of the studio the previous
afternoon. Archer wanted to find someone to corroborate Dean's story and since
they needed to meet somewhere it was agreed they would hold their morning
briefing at the café across from the studio. Laurel arrived there first and
ordered a cup of coffee, then took a seat to wait for the others.

 Laurel reflected upon
the prior evening's call from Fletcher:

"So tell me about
the case, Laurel?" Fletcher asked.

"Well, we've
eliminated Jaqui and most of her inner circle as suspects," Laurel told
him.

"But you're
looking at someone else, aren't you?"

Laurel had an urge to
sandbag him, but told nonetheless, "There's a young woman on the TV crew
that has our attention. We'll know more tomorrow."

"So she's a
nobody? That's too bad," he said.

"Sir?"

"Don't get me
wrong, Laurel. A good collar is a good collar. But I don't see a big press
conference in our future."

"I see…"

"Don't fret.
Miller and Archer know how to make a case."

"Yes, I know.
Thing is, Mister Fletcher. I might need to appear on the show."

"No kidding?
Well, I don't have a problem with it— Provided that it advances the interests
of justice and all that. But you know the media and the public can be funny
about such things. So if the reaction is bad, you're going to be on your own."

"I understand,"
she said.

"Hey, you really
want to cover your behind? Get the killer."

"Yes, Sir."

She always expected more questions from
him, but he seemed to find out what he needed to know then quickly moved on.
But he was the Big Man, while she was merely one of the little people at his
service. Fletcher had a way of playing the friend and mentor, but he was a
politician at heart and would turn on anyone if his own fortunes demanded it.
At least he was honest about it. Maybe the reason so many of his pawns left his
service wasn't simply because Nathan and others made such better offers, but
because loyalty to Fletcher was such a high risk game.

Laurel enjoyed working
with Nathan and Archer, but what would happen when the case ended? Could she
really go back to doing research for Bozeman, hoping that she might be needed
in the field? Working a research desk was easy, safe, and boring, plus the
wages were modest. Most of Bozeman's regular investigators had worked as cops
before joining the City Attorney's office. But could Laurel really become a
cop? The application process alone – not to mention, the actual academy –
required a substantial commitment. Was that what she wanted?

Laurel had taken the
admin job because it was something that she could already do. But becoming a
real, full-time investigator required a lot of training and time on the street.
Even if Laurel was tough enough to be a cop – and she had her doubts – was that
the kind of life that she wanted? She'd need to learn more before she could
answer that; hopefully, Archer would indulge her many questions. Like,
how
much did cops make?

Then there was
Nathan
.

She'd sent him a text
early in the evening, hoping that he might want to meet for a drink. But she
hadn't heard back until later. He was at home watching
Jaqui's World
and
they exchanged texts for a while – strictly comments about the show – until he
finished the second season and called it a night. She'd stayed up and watched
along online. And it wasn't drinks, but it was something fun. But that was
Nathan: seemingly open, but distant, even when near. Yet other times, when he'd
been reading, when his façade slipped, there was a man with such heart, such
earnestness, such strength of will. How was it that he could be
so real
,
and yet, so inscrutable?

He looked into other
people and knew their thoughts, their feelings as if they were his. Where did
Nathan Miller end and those others begin? He said he could purge their crud,
but the experience had to leave
some
trace? The foreign thoughts and
feelings
had
been there, and though purged, what of his
own
memories of the experience? He didn't purge those; he didn't forget what he had
read, did he? What was it like to be Nathan Miller?  

Archer arrived with Nathan following
just behind. They exchanged hellos with Laurel and each ordered a coffee before
joining her at the table.

Archer quizzed Laurel,
"You ask them about Dean, yet?"

"No, I thought I
should wait for the professionals," Laurel said.

Archer glanced at
Nathan and smiled, "I'm just a
cop
, so she must mean you."

Nathan shrugged, "You
get
paid
, you're a pro. The more useful dichotomy is experts versus
amateurs."

"Yeah? And which
one are you?" Archer asked.

"Depends upon the
subject."

Archer shook her head,
"
Read my mind
, Miller."

Nathan declined, "I'm
conserving my energy."

Laurel sighed. It was
a wonder that the cops ever closed any cases given the amount of bullshitting
that went on among them. Still, she liked them. And maybe that was the point?
They had to trust each other with their
lives
and that kind of trust
required a sort of camaraderie that she just wasn't familiar with.

"Look, we've gone
and bored the poor girl," Archer quipped. "I guess we should solve
this
murder
or something."

Nathan gave a playful
shrug and sipped his coffee.

Laurel nodded and
smiled, "Again, I'll defer to the judgment of those more experienced."

"Damn, that's me,"
Archer said. "Okay, we went over the scene at the studio. Jacobs and
Ramirez were both quite taken with dear Laurel, by the way, and happily answered
all of our questions. We talked to Barnes and the manager, too. Then me and
Laurel walked through some scenarios and we more or less agree that Natalie
could have come and gone unobserved and done the deed on Rock."

Laurel nodded, adding,
"She could have been there for a long time. There are plenty of dark
corners where you can hide out."

Nathan replied, "Right.
Dean only saw her leave. You think she could have been there for a while?"

Laurel said, "Yeah.
And if she was there, maybe she saw Rock and Vanessa get together."

"So maybe that
sets her off? Assuming she's got a thing for Rock, of course," Archer
commented. "Anything come back on Natalie?"

Nathan nodded, "We're
trying to run down more details. But there was an incident a couple of years
back. A harassment complaint against her in college. She filed a counter
complaint. Natalie was persuaded to leave the university and the guy
transferred to another school so both complaints were shelved."

"That's it?"
Archer asked.

"No. His
complaint states that she was obsessed and was stalking him and making threats.
She was referred to the campus health clinic to talk to a shrink and refused,
so the college told her to take a hike. The guy relocated of his own volition,
apparently looking to create more distance between them."

"What kind of
threats?" Laurel asked.

"According to the
complaint, she threatened to kill herself and suggested that he might die, too."

"Fucking college
dropped the ball," Archer spat.

Nathan shrugged, "The
kids both went away. They figured it wasn't their problem anymore."

"Have you tracked
down the guy?" Laurel asked.

"I've got
somebody running him down, but it feels legit."

Archer nodded, "A
college sides
against
a female in a harassment complaint, you can bet it
was bona fide."

Nathan smiled.

"You've got more?
Spit it out, Miller. You can bill by the hour, but
we
gotta work for a
living," Archer said.

Nathan looked at
Archer, "
Hypothetically
," he said.

Archer glanced around
for any potential eavesdroppers and finding none, nodded to Nathan, "Okay,
hypothetically
."

Laurel interjected, "
Sorry
.
Why the hypotheticals?"

Nathan replied, "Some
things are public record. Other things are kept private, or protected
by law
."

Laurel replied, "I
see."

"You want to take
a powder?" Nathan offered.

"No. We're only
talking in hypotheticals, after all," she replied.

Nathan nodded and he
looked pleased, "Let's
suppose
that Natalie has a history of drug
prescriptions."

"Crazy pills?"
Archer queried.

"Multiple scrips
at a time. But the drugs are getting stronger, suggesting
maybe
they
aren't working so well."

"That wouldn't be
good," Archer said.

Nathan asked, "You
talked with her the most, Laurel? What do you think?"

And Laurel took a
moment to think about it, then replied, "She seems a little wound-up. I
just figured it was on account of the murder and everyone being on edge. Did
she seem
crazy
? No. Anxious? Yes."

"Alright, I want
to get in the same room with Natalie and get a read on her. Not a direct
interview, mind you— I don't want her or anyone else to know that we're looking
at her," Nathan said.

"But we need a
confession," Laurel said.

Archer agreed, "Even
supposing we get those hypotheticals admitted, we've got no direct evidence.
Our witness, the physical stuff, it's all window dressing."

"I know. And I
intend to get that confession. But remember, everybody
knew
that Jaqui
was a suspect, so there was no hiding the nature of our questions. Same thing
with Vanessa. But with Natalie, she doesn't
know
that we suspect her.
That could give us some indirect options. And we may very well need them.
Understand that ruling out suspects is far easier than getting the actual
killer to confess."

Archer replied, "She's
fairly young. On meds. Might break the old-fashioned way."

Nathan gave her a
queer look.

"Not the
old-fashioned
way. You know, the non-psychic way, is all."

Nathan relaxed, "
Maybe
.
Or maybe she lawyers up and pleads diminished capacity and winds up in a
hospital instead of a prison? Forget that! I want a shot at her. I screw it up—
Fine, then you can have a go."

Archer nodded, "I
can live with that, Miller. But, I've yet to see you fail."

"Rare as it is,"
he said with a faint shrug of resignation.

Laurel smiled, "So
we'll need some kind of con? But what's the angle?"

Nathan nodded, "I've
got some ideas. Most feature you. But I want to get more intel on the mark."

Archer replied, "So
we go back to Jaqui's. Silverman said they were going to be filming again so
Natalie should be there, too."

"Yeah. I'm
thinking that we can use Laurel's big debut as part of our play," he
replied.

Laurel was both
intrigued and concerned that she would be in such a pivotal role. She was
almost certain that Nathan would give her little, if any time to prepare. He'd
come up with the big idea, but it would be up to her to execute it on cue.
Still, it beat working a desk any day of the week.

"So, Miller,"
Archer said in an obvious segue, "The patrol unit on Franklin's place?
They logged you visiting the house
yesterday evening
."

Nathan returned to
Jaqui's home without them?
Laurel
looked to Nathan for an explanation.

"Yep," he
said.

"And?"
Laurel and Archer asked in unison.

Nathan shrugged, "Rachel
called, burnt out. They're trying to sort out arrangements for Rock, but his
people aren't talking to Jaqui on account of her being the prime suspect. They
were hoping I could intercede, reassure his folks. I figured it would all work
out soon enough, but it doesn't hurt to maintain good graces with the victim's
family."

"Good graces,
huh?" Archer replied.

"That was very
kind, Nathan," Laurel said.

Archer added, "Okay,
I get talking to the parents. But why go back to Jaqui's?"

Laurel hadn't thought
of that, but wondered, too.

"Vanessa took a
walk on Jaqui. And that got Jaqui thinking about things that she shouldn't,"
Nathan said.

"I don't know,"
Archer mused, "If Jaqui and Vanessa have a big row, it could provide us
with a nice distraction while we give Natalie a closer look."

"Not if Jaqui
blames us for keeping her in the dark and turns hostile. Or their blow-up
shutters production altogether," Nathan countered.