Alice Kimberley - The Ghost and the Femme Fatale

I answered that one. "I'll bet that letter, and those memos, are part of what was stolen from Dr. Lilly's bungalow. More evidence could have been included in Dr. Lilly's missing manuscript, too. After all, Maggie Kline told us that Pierce Armstrong gave the woman extensive interviews.

"But any allegations made in this book should have been proven in this book!" Brainert replied.

"Says you," Seymour cut in. "If you recall, the press showed up to see Dr. Lilly's talk. The doctor herself invited them, which meant she probably did have the evidence. She probably wanted to make news by showing the reporters the memos and letters first. Then she could have published all that stuff in her second book. That way, she could sell two books to the public: the first book about Hedda's life story and the second with Pierce Armstrong's version of how the murder went down."

"Only she conveniently died in an accident," Fiona said. "And then her bungalow was robbed. If there's nothing to this story, why all the mayhem?"

"Dr. Lilly's death could easily have been an accident," Brainert argued.

"And I guess her manuscript, tapes, and notes were accidentally stolen, too," Seymour said. "Face it, Brainiac, you're resisting reality because Hedda Giest-Middleton is your business partner."

Brainert arched an eyebrow. "Reality? I'll give you reality, mailman. In my opinion, Dr. Lilly wrote a sensationalistic attempt to cash in on a very public tragedy. She only dished up enough dirt to hurt a gracious old woman-and hustle a few dollars for herself. I hate to say such things about a fellow academic, but I'm afraid everything I've said is true."

"Come on, Brainert," said Seymour. "Dr. Lilly wrote a lot of books. Why would she need money now?"

"No one gets rich writing academic film studies, Seymour. And I know for a fact Dr. Lilly was no wealthier than you or I. But if she published a sensational book about a Hollywood crime-well, that kind of trash always sells."

"It's true," Fiona said. "I'm sure Dr. Lilly would have gotten Hollywood interest with a book based on this story-an original cable-channel movie at the very least."

Brainert nodded. "How many books of fiction and fact have been based on the Black Dahlia murder, for instance?"

"Sure," Milner said, bobbing his head. "I loved Ellroy's Black Dahlia. That's a great Hollywood mystery."

"Yeah," Linda agreed. "And didn't Dominick Dunne write a novel about the Dahlia murder, too?"

"Wrong Dunne," said Brainert. "The novel you're talking about is True Confessions. It was written by John Gregory Dunne."

"Hey, I saw that movie!" Bud said. "De Niro and Robert Duvall played brothers, one a priest, the other a cop. It was okay, but no Godfather-"

"You see what I'm saying?" Brainert broke in. "Dr. Lilly stood to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars-perhaps millions." "Which doesn't make her wrong," Fiona insisted. "I agree with Fiona," I said.

I let my comment end there, because I didn't want to insult Brainert. He might have been an expert on all things literary, but Fiona was the expert where true crime was involved.

Still, Brainert sensed my snub. Stung, he tossed Lilly's book on the seat next to him, then folded his arms. "Okay, fine. I'll play along. Let's pretend Hedda did commit this heinous crime sixty years ago. Who would want her dead now? And why would that person try to destroy evidence of the original crime at the same time? Seems like the killer is working at cross-purposes."

"Maybe we're approaching this from the wrong angle," Seymour suggested. "What if Hedda herself was the one who unlocked the trap door in order to kill Pierce Armstrong? He's the only other person I can think of who knows the truth about Vreen's death, besides the late Dr. Lilly, who's already on a slab in the morgue."

Brainert vehemently shook his head. "I saw Hedda enter the theater, and I watched her the whole time she was there. She didn't have a chance to go under the stage and tamper with a door."

"Which would be pretty tough to do for an old woman," Bud agreed.

"Why?" Seymour demanded.

"Because she'd have to climb a high ladder, then wrestle two dead bolts open." Bud shook his head. "I doubt she could do it."

"Okay, okay," Seymour said. "Then what about Harmony? She's spry enough to manage a ladder. Maybe she's helping Granny off her enemies."

"It's possible." I nodded, telling them about the black onyx earring I found under the stage and Harmony's showing up at the party sans any earrings. "She could be helping her grandmother- and Randall Rubino could be helping them both."

Bud blinked. "Dr. Rubino? The new medical examiner guy?"

"Yes. Rubino is friendly with both Hedda and Harmony, and I saw him near Dr. Lilly's bungalow shortly after it was burglarized. He claimed he was fishing near the Charity Point Lights house. But he could have run down to the beach when he heard the maid come to the bungalow's door-and since the steps up the cliff are the only way to get off that beach, he would have been trapped there until the police left."

Bud shook his head. "What would be his motive to risk everything?"

"A big payoff maybe," I said. "Eddie Franzetti told me his divorce wiped him out. And one more thing: He claimed he was fishing, but I didn't see him with a fishing pole, only a backpack. So what was he really doing there? And why did he lie about fishing?

Bud shrugged. "I sell collapsible fishing poles in my shop that are small enough to fit in a backpack-they only cost a hundred bucks."

A C-note?! For a fishing pole! Jack yelped in my head. In my day, a twig and some twine did the trick.

"Maybe a crazy fan is helping Hedda," Milner suggested. "There are a lot of people who'd do anything for a beautiful film star."

Linda gave him a sidelong glance. "Is that why you're always dragging me to Angelina Jolie movies?"

"Don't even go there." Milner rolled his eyes. "You're the one who has a thing for George Clooney."

"Wait a minute!" I said. "Barry Yello was taking photos of people as they arrived at the block party. If we look at them, maybe we can determine who was wearing an earring that matched the one I found. Hedda had her hair down, so I don't even know if she was wearing earrings. But Harmony may have been wearing one earring before I got to her. If I saw a photo-"

"It's a good idea to look at Harmony," Fiona said. "But I think you're off track in thinking she's in league with Hedda. I still think Hedda Geist is the target. One accident is coincidence. Two accidents is something else… something that smells a lot like attempted murder."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Seymour cleared his throat. "I hate to say it, but the only guy with a really strong motive to off Hedda is the Fisherman Detective himself: Pierce Armstrong. His leading-man career was ruined by Vreen's death, and on top of that he went to prison."

Brainert turned to Seymour. "My god, man, it must have hurt you to say that, seeing as Armstrong is your personal hero and all."

"At least I can look at the evidence objectively-something you academic types are incapable of doing. You guys always have an agenda."

"We do not! And I don't appreciate you lumping all academics into one muddy pile."

"Muddy pile is the perfect metaphor, Parker. 'Cause you know what they say PhD stands for…"

After a few more minutes of "spirited" discussion, it was generally agreed that Pierce Armstrong had the most powerful motive to kill Hedda. His motive to kill Dr. Lilly, however, wasn't as clear, but Brainert once again suggested that her death really could have been an accident.

"You forget the burglary of Dr. Lilly's room, which occurred within an hour of her death," Fiona noted. "Again, it's too much of a coincidence. Find the thief, and you'll find your killer!"