Swingin' in the Rain (22 page)

  “Oh my God, Jakes. This is a photo of W. C. Fields. I think this is Lulu next to him.” On closer inspection all the photos were of the greats from the silent era and beyond. Charlie Chaplin, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Even Bette Davis, Clark Gable and Joan Crawford. And there was Lulu next to all of them. “Who is she, do you think?” I asked Jakes.

  “I was a dancer in my day.” Lulu volunteered as she appeared in the doorway with a tray of coffee and cookies. “And those were my friends.” She sat the tray down on the coffee table and joined us by the piano. “Those were the great days of Hollywood.” She sighed. “Oh! The parties we had. What a time!”

  I was fascinated. “Did you dance in the movies?”

  “Oh my yes! I started on Broadway, you know. Then ended up moving to Hollywood in 1932. I was 16. I danced with Fred
before
there was a Ginger!”

  “You were born in 1916? That means you’re 95 years old?” I was incredulous. She looked amazing.

  “Actually, I just turned 96. But don’t let it get around.” She winked and smiled. “Come sit. It’s so nice to have guests!”

  We went over to the sofa and sat down as she poured us each coffee. “And what do you do for a living, dears?”

  “I’m an actress. On ‘The Bare and the Brazen’. It’s a soap opera.”

  “Oh, I dated an actor who was on a Soap Opera, back in the fifties for awhile. I believe it was called ‘Young Doctor Malone.’ Ohhh! It was live in those days. Very hard work. If you can act on a soap, you can act anywhere.”

  “You’re right, Lulu,” I said nodding and taking a bite of a delicious butter cookie. “I appreciate that.”

  “Thank you for being so brave. You really did save Alex’s life,” Jakes said.

  “I’m not one of those nosey neighbors who’s always prying into other people’s lives, I want you to know. But I do like to keep abreast of what’s going on around me. That’s how you get to be 96 years old.” She laughed.

  “We’re glad you do,” Jakes said as he took my hand in his. Lulu noticed.

   “Are you two a couple?”

  “Yes, we are, Lulu,” Jakes said, “and I want to find the man who put his hands on my girl.”

  Lulu leaned in close to Jakes and asked, “Are you gonna kick his ass?”

  He leaned in also and said, “Just between you and me, Lulu, I’m gonna do worse than that.”

  “Oh, good.” Her eyes sparkled. “He deserves it.”

  “But I need to find him first,” he said. “Can you help me with that?”

  “Well,” she said, sitting back, “I’m afraid I didn’t see his face. I tried to, mind you but he kept looking down. I did notice that he had on unusual shoes. I’m blessed with perfect vision, even at my age. I could see those silly boots he was sporting. They had blue tips.”

  “And his car? Did you see that?”

  “Oh yes,” she said, “it was a beautiful Lincoln.”

  “Continental?”

  “Town Car.”

  “What color?”

  “Black. I always wonder who would want a black Lincoln Town Car. They look like they’re either going to a funeral or the airport!” She chuckled.

  “You’re right, Lulu,” Jakes laughed, “one last thing. Did you happen to catch the license plate of the car?”

  She grinned at him, reached into the pocket of her floral housecoat, and came out with a piece of paper. “I wrote it down.”

  Jakes and I couldn’t believe our good fortune. I wanted to stay longer and visit with this wonderful woman but we both knew we had to find this guy. Now. We got up to leave but Lulu stopped us.

  “Do you have to go? It’s been so nice to talk with you.”

  I almost cried again. She was lonely. “We’ll be back, don’t you worry.” I took a pen and paper from my pure and wrote down my cell number. As I gave it to her I said, “Here’s my number. Give me a call. I’d love to come over and visit and hear more of your stories about the grand days of Hollywood!”

  She took the paper and hugged me. I gave her a kiss on her cheek as I thanked her again for saving my life. Jakes even hugged her.

  We went out the door and under the archway on the porch. Lulu watched from her window as we walked to Jakes’ car. She waved to us as we got in. I felt a little wistful. I guess I missed my mom.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  “Isn’t she amazing?” I asked Jakes. “What a life she’s had.” We were sitting in the front seat of Jakes’ car.

  “That’s a great woman. She wasn’t afraid to get involved. Thank God for her.” He squeezed my hand in his. “Thank God she’s so on top of it that she wrote down his license plate number.”

  “So now what do we do?”

  “I’ll get somebody to run the plate,” Jakes said.

  “Do you think it could be that easy?” I asked.

  “Probably not, but it doesn’t look like a rental plate. It’s got to be registered to somebody.”

  “What if it’s stolen?”

  “Could be, but I don’t think he’d take the risk of driving around in a stolen car.”

  “Where are you going, now?” I asked.

  “I’ll try to find out who the car’s registered to.”

  “Then what?”

  “I’ll go and talk to the owner. If it happens to be Carver, great. If it’s not Carver then maybe it’s somebody who knows where Carver is.”

  “I’ll just go with you.”

  “No,” he said, “if I come across this guy I can’t have you with me, Alex. I’m gonna have to be able to concentrate completely on him. I can’t be worrying about you.”

  “I can’t stay at the hospital forever, Jakes.”

  He looked at the clock on the dashboard. “It’s almost two o’clock. You have to go somewhere else for a few hours. Just ’til I get a lead on this. Do you feel well enough to drive?”

  “Yeah, I feel fine.” I thought for a second. “I guess I could go to George and Wayne’s place. What about Sarah? She’s probably safer not being with me right now.”

  “You’re right. Can she stay with Tonja for a few hours?”

“I’ll text her and ask. I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”

  “I’ll ask Harry to watch Tonja’s place just to be on the safe side.” Jakes said. “And I have an idea just to make sure no one follows you.”

  I sent the text and quickly got a response.

  “Okay,” I said, reading Tonja’s reply. “She says it’s fine for Sarah to stay there as long as I need her to.”

  I dialed George’s cell and got his voicemail. “Georgie, it’s Alex. Call me ASAP. It’s important.” I ended the call. “Okay. I guess I’ll head back over to the hospital. I want to check on Patti anyway, before I go to George’s. So what’s the idea to make sure I’m not being followed?”

  “Check in with Harry,” he said. “Tell him what we found out. Then I want the two of you to switch cars. I’ll call him and make sure he’s cool with that. I’ll follow you over there now just to make sure no one’s tailing you.”

  I kissed him goodbye and lingered close to his face. “Please be careful, okay? Don’t do anything stupid.” I kissed him again.

  “I could say the same thing to you. Once you leave the hospital, go straight to George’s and stay put.”

  Harry was sitting in a chair in front of Patti’s room. When he saw me he stood up. “That was pretty fast,” he said. “Find him?”

  “We found a witness and got a license plate number,” I said. “Jakes followed me over here and he’s checking out the plate now.”

  “Yeah,” he said, “If he finds him, you shouldn’t be there.”

   “Exactly.” I moved to the window and looked at Patti. “Any change?”

  “Nope,” he said. “Status Quo. You gonna be here awhile?”

  “No,” I said, “I have to go. Jakes wants me to stay at a friend’--just to be safe. He mentioned something about you driving out to Venice and watching over my neighbor’s house. Did he call you about that?”

  He nodded and pulled out his car keys from his pocket.

  “Yeah. And he wants us to switch cars.” He gave me his keys. “The wipers aren’t so great, Alex. But it’s not supposed to rain until tonight. Jakes will be back here to take over for me in a couple of hours, and than he wants me to go to your place after that.”

  “You have my address?” I asked as I handed over my car keys. He nodded. “Thanks so much. You’re the greatest. Hey, I can stay long enough for you to take a bathroom break,” I said. “Maybe get a cup of coffee?”

  “I’ll be real quick,” he promised. “If you see anybody just start yelling.”

  “Right.” I grimaced.

  He hurried down the hallway and then turned back. “Sorry about the mess in my car! I’ve been meaning to wash it.”

  “No problem, Harry,” I said.

       I spent a few minutes watching Patti. My cell vibrated. I walked away from Patti’s window and answered it.

  “Hey Georgie. Thanks for getting back to me.” Even though I was whispering, I was getting the evil eye from a nurse that walked by.

  “What’s up, Alex? What was the emergency this morning?”

  “Long, long story. I can’t talk now. I’ll tell you everything later. Listen, can I go to your place for a little while?”

  “Sure, honey. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I just need a place to stay for the evening.”

  “Wayne’s picking me up after work today and we’re going to Palm Springs this weekend so the place is all yours. You know where the key is, right?”

  “I do. Thank you so much, Georgie. I’ll tell you everything. Call me later. Love you.”

  I walked back to the window and saw that Patti was still unconscious. I sat down to wait for Harry, checking the halls every now and then for a killer.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  Harry wasn’t kidding about the mess. There were cardboard coffee cups strewn about his 1998 Camry and a plethora of empty Marlboro packs littered the floor. I even saw an old Dunkin’ Donuts box in the back seat. I guess those old cop habits were hard to break after all. Still, I was grateful for the decoy car.

  I kept checking the rearview mirror as I made my way down Beverly Boulevard. George and Wayne had a beautiful old home in Silver Lake, only about twenty minutes from the studio. Even though it wasn’t raining at the moment, the constant downpour from the last few weeks had wreaked havoc on the major thoroughfares. I was forced to take side streets to get there. I made a left on Highland and tried to take Franklin towards Silver Lake but it was flooded, too.

  I was turning right on Sunset Boulevard when I noticed the dreaded raindrops starting to fall on the windshield. I struggled to find the wipers. When I did, I flipped them on and saw they were pretty useless. Harry wasn’t kidding about them either. How did he drive this car in the rain? I turned left on Los Feliz Boulevard and after a few twists and turns pulled into George’s driveway. I looked around just to be sure no one had followed me.

  It was only 3 o’clock but clouds were moving in, making the sky dark. From what I could see, no one was behind me. I grabbed for my umbrella and realized I had left it in my car. Maybe Harry had one. No luck. I grabbed the Dunkin Donut box and flattening it out, put it over my head. Snatching my bag, I made a run for the porch, hoping not to get wet. I went to the front door and reached under the mailbox, feeling around for the hide-a-key.

  “Got it.” I muttered under my breath. I took out the key and opened the door, leaving the donut box on the porch.

  I loved their house. Wayne was a brilliant decorator. Hardwood floors, lots of oriental carpets and overstuffed furniture, an abundance of indoor plants and soft lighting. It was the essence of classy, comfortable living.

  I dropped my bag on the floor, locked the door behind me. “Now what?” I said to myself shaking off the wet. I figured I better check in with Tonja.

  She picked up after a couple of rings. “Hi, Alex. How are you?” she asked.

  “I’m good. How’s Sarah? You got her, right?”

“Oh, yeah. She’s fine. We’re just driving back from running some errands. What’s going on?”

  “Oh, I’m stuck at work for awhile.” I lied because I didn’t want to get into all the gory details. “Is there any way you can keep Sarah for the evening? I’ll get her later, probably around ten or eleven.”

  Tonja hesitated before answering. “Of course. Are you sure you’re alright? You sound kind of stressed.”

  “I’m fine. Can I speak with Sarah? And Tonja, thanks again. You really are a Godsend.”

  “Happy to help. I’ll put her on speaker. I heard her fumbling with her cell phone for a second.

  “Hi, Mommy! Where are you?”

  “I’m still working, honey. Tonja’s going to watch you tonight, okay? I’ll see you later. I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Mom. I miss you,” Sarah said.

  “You’re at the studio, huh?” Tonja yelled out. Hadn’t I just told her that?

  “Yes, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. Love you, Sarah!” But the connection ended before Sarah could say anything else.

  I don’t know if it was the rain, or all the drama, but something felt weird to me. I shook it off, chalking it up to the day’s events.

  I walked around George’s house and made sure all the doors and windows were locked. I walked into the kitchen and checked out the fridge. A bottle of Chardonnay looked very tempting but I decided I should keep my wits about me. Besides, Connie’s inference to me needing Celebrity Rehab was still echoing in my head. My cell rang but the caller ID said it was a blocked call. Maybe it was Jakes calling from a phone booth somewhere.