Brett Halliday - Kill All the Young Girls

Oscar said softly, “Sweetheart, you are going to find yourself sued.”

“I didn’t say it was true, just that she was claiming it was true. There were similar things with the others. A lot of work and thought went into all this. So why wouldn’t she go one step further and make it seem that she’d been murdered? She bruised her own shoulders before she got in the tub. She splashed water around the bathroom so it would seem she’d put up a struggle. But Evie found her, and she and the studio publicity people took care of all that.”

“Shayne,” Painter objected. “You’re not serious. How could they suppress that kind of evidence?”

“By paying money. Only one part of Keko’s plan really worked. Both Marcus and Larry Zion had to know about the bruises, and each one was sure the other killed her. It made for bad feeling in the family… I have to start skipping now. Kate Thackera knew who had been with Keko that day, and she did a little mild blackmailing. It worked for a while. Then she wanted a part which Larry wouldn’t give her. I thought she was reasonably sane myself, but it’s clear now that Larry really thought she was crazy enough to kill him if he didn’t do what she wanted. And Larry wasn’t going to be stampeded into doing anything to risk the success of that picture. Too much was hanging on it. Now we come to something that may sound complicated, but it’s really very simple. There are three main stock holdings: Larry’s, Oscar’s, and Marcus’s. Any two in combination would win. The only reason Oscar took on the fight in the first place was because Marcus promised him his support. All of a sudden, Larry began to get unlucky. Things happened. I haven’t looked into it yet, but I’m sure it’s going to turn out that most of these things were arranged by Marcus and Oscar. They even tried to sink Gasparilla’s ship tonight.”

“I thought you said it was going to be simple,” Evie said. “More scotch?”

“Thanks.” He drank and handed her back the flask. “I was talking about Marcus. He had to have a story to justify his defection. From his own point of view, it made sense. It would be very satisfying emotionally to kick his father out in the street after all the years of humiliation. But Hollywood is the sentimental capital of the world. He couldn’t betray Larry just for money and personal satisfaction. But the insiders could point to the Brannon case — Marcus loved the girl; Larry killed her; and now, with the help of outside money, he was finally able to give his father the punishment he deserved. I hope you’re with me this far.”

He clearly had the full attention of his audience.

“The point to remember,” he said, “is that none of this was really secret because of the various spy systems. Larry’s girlfriend, Alix Hermes, was keeping Marcus posted; and I’m really sorry that Larry isn’t still around to hear it. Larry learned from Mandy Pitt that his son and Oscar were working together and that if he didn’t do something, he was sure to be beaten. It seemed to him he had to kill Kate Thackera. As long as she was alive, he couldn’t ever relax. But he wanted to kill her in a way that would solve his other problems. This is a man who spent a good part of his life in story conferences. In the great days, all the murder pictures had a first twist, a second twist, and finally a stinger. Kate’s murder had to look as though Oscar’s people did it. Not only that — fasten your seat belts — but did it in such a way that it would look at first as though Larry did it… I’ll say that again.”

“Slower,” Painter suggested.

“I didn’t expect you to get it, Petey,” Shayne said. “But these people are loyal Consolidated stockholders, and they go to the movies. Like this. Larry was gambling for two things. His life, number one, because he was convinced that Kate was determined to kill him. Control of the company, number two. Now imagine that Oscar was being blackmailed by Kate in connection with the Brannon killing. Blackmailers have never been considered good insurance risks. Imagine that he decided it was necessary to kill her. But how? She’d been threatening Larry, and that was the obvious place for the cops to look. You understand that without the testimony of Mandy Pitt to tell us which of these two connivers actually gave her the bottle to deliver, no one can be convicted for the killing. But Larry wasn’t going for a conviction. All he wanted to do was convince the insiders; and after that, there was no way his son could desert his father and ally himself with a scoundrel who had not only killed an ex-star but had tried to saddle Larry with the crime. It’s a great twist; and up to a point, it worked. Larry sent Kate an old copy of Oscar’s magazine, with the famous nude photograph of Keko Brannon. A lily was growing out of Keko’s buttocks. The body had Kate’s face, saying something like, ‘I wish I’d known when to stop.’ I knew the minute I saw the lily that Oscar’d had nothing to do with it. He wouldn’t joke about a girl’s buttocks, especially that particular pair, Keko’s. He’s built his career on buttocks. They’re too important to him.”

“Goddamn libel,” Oscar snarled.

“And while we’re on the subject of Oscar,” Shayne said.

“Watch yourself!” Oscar threatened.

“He didn’t kill any of these people, but that’s because somebody else got to them first. I woke him up a couple of times during the night, and he finally realized that Larry had outflanked him. Marcus was going to have to vote with his father, and that meant it was time for a deal. Alix passed this on to Marcus, and Marcus scuttled for cover. That’s about it. What do the bylaws say? Who takes over the meeting when the chairman falls down?”

A nondescript man, one of the blur of faces along the platform, came forward to take the gavel. One of the gadflies was immediately on his feet protesting. A period of confusion followed, during which Larry Zion was carried off the platform; Shayne remained where he was, swinging the mike at the end of the cord. He and Evie killed the second flask. She continued to knit, but no well-groomed dog would ever consent to wear that sweater.

Oscar approached. “I didn’t like that remark about buttocks.”

“Would it ever occur to you to use a lily that way?”

“Of course not.”

“That’s all I was saying. You weren’t threatening Kate unless she stopped blackmailing you, because she wasn’t blackmailing you. The tone was wrong.”

“Appalling. And speaking of taste, did you have to let the public in on that sick business about Keko being my daughter? That’s going to hurt me in the Midwest, and I’m going to make you scratch for those thousand shares.”

“What are they worth today?”

“Off seven at the opening. I hate to think what’s happening in New York now.”

The lawyers wanted him, and he moved off.

“Alix has a short position in the stock,” Shayne said. “Lucky girl.”

“So have I,” Evie said. “They were all so sure of themselves. I didn’t believe any of it for a minute.”

“You were going to tell me what happened to Alix.”

“She has a two-picture deal with Twentieth Century. It was part of Marcus’s package.” She sighed. “Marcus will have to marry her, I’m afraid. She learned her lesson with Larry — no more of these unofficial arrangements. She’ll eat him alive. But I’m not bitter.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“You were wrong about one thing. I don’t mind telling you now that it’s over. But there’s too much noise here.”

When she stood, she lost her balance and knocked against him, jabbing him accidentally with one of her knitting needles. He straightened her out. Confused, she touched her hair.

“All that warm scotch.”