Howard Fast - The Case of the Kidnapped Angel

“I have no idea,” Masuto said.

“Close-mouthed-ah, well, an officer in pursuit of his duty.”

“Did you leave the party before or after Mrs. Barton?”

“I really don’t know.”

“You mean with all your talk about a desert island, you didn’t notice whether she was gone or not?”

“She left before Mr. Hennesy did,” Mrs. Cooper told him. “I don’t think any of my guests were candidates for a kidnapping-Jack Fellows and his wife, more millions than they know what to do with, the Tudors-well, a star does not dash around kidnapping people-Kennedy, only the most successful director in town, the Butterworths and the Goldbergs and the Lees. Not a very large party, Mr. Detective, and no one who is a potential for your kidnapper. If you think that any of my guests walked out of here and went over to the Barton place and kidnapped Angel Barton, you are absolutely out of your mind.”

Masuto stared at her for a long moment; then he nodded. “We’ll be going now-oh, one thing. Which of your guests live here in the Colony?”

“The Lees and the Goldbergs. Are you going to grill them as well?”

“I haven’t grilled you, Mrs. Cooper.”

“The Goldbergs are four houses down, the Lees are the sixth house.”

“And, Congressman, when did you first learn about the kidnapping?”

“About two minutes before you arrived, Sergeant. I’ve been here about an hour, but Mrs. Cooper was upstairs doing her bath and things. I walked around to the beach side and made myself comfortable on the terrace. We’re old pals. And, by the way, I didn’t think you were serious about who left first, and I was rather put off by your questioning me. I did leave before Angel, if that matters.”

“Thank you,” Masuto said coldly.

Outside, Beckman let out his breath and shook his head. “They are a pair. She’s a normal Beverly Hills type phony. The congressman’s a fuckin’ pain in the ass. They almost had an indictment out on him once, and then it was squashed, and they go on reelecting him. You want to keep your hands in your pockets if you get too close to him.”

“What now?” Masuto asked him. “The Lees or the Goldbergs?”

“Let’s give the Goldbergs a shot.”

The Goldberg house was painted pink. Mrs. Goldberg was small, with dark hair, dark eyes, fiftyish, and had a schoolgirl figure and a good coat of tan. Her house was furnished in beach baroque, apparently de rigueur in the Colony, but with accents of pink. She asked them to sit down on the pink chairs on the terrace and poured Cokes for each of them.

“How exciting to have two real live detectives here. Wait until Joe gets home and I give him a blow by blow. Only poor Angel-”

“She’s safe, Mrs. Goldberg. She’s home, unharmed.”

“Oh? Then I’ll be bitchy and rescind my sympathy.”

“I take it you don’t like her?”

“Ugh! You see, I don’t hide my feelings.”

“That sounds like very strong feeling.”

“It is. You see, Detective Masuto-that is it, Masuto?”

“Yes, indeed. And this is Detective Beckman.”

“You see, I wasn’t born to this sun-drenched, orange-ridden, never-never land. Joe and I made it the hard way, and he’s just about the best producer in the business, so I don’t have to be a diplomat, or an ass-licker, whichever you prefer. Now this is not a place without its gonifs and stinkers, as I’m sure you know, but this Angel is a beauty. Yes, indeed-even for the film business.” She stopped and shook her head. “But I’m sure you’re not interested in Angel.”

“But we are. Please go on.”

“Where do I start and where do I stop? Don’t ask me to go into Angel Barton on my own. Ask me questions.”

“All right. We’ve just come from Netty Cooper’s house. She told us that you and your husband were at the party last night.”

“We were. Netty’s all right. She just keeps hurting all over with rejected-woman syndromes, three divorces-but since we’re a community-property state, she’s done brilliantly financially. Joe says she’s worth at least five million.”

She has fangs and she’s no one’s fool, Masuto reflected, asking her, “How did you find out about the kidnapping?”

“Sergeant, Joe, my husband, is producing Mikey’s new film. In this kind of trouble, he would tell Joe before he told his own mother. Mikey isn’t poor, but to put together a million dollars in a few hours is not easy. Joe always maintains a large liquid position, just in case he wants to tie up some literary property or a director. Joe was able to put his hands on two hundred thousand or so, and with Bill Ranier and Jack McCarthy pitching in, they were able to supply what Mikey needed for the ransom. But a million dollars for the Angel-ah well-”

“You keep saying Mikey,” Beckman put in. “You must be very close to Mike Barton.”

“He’s like a son to us. Joe ran into him over in West Hollywood one day, pumping gas. You see-” She paused. “You see, I want to tell you this because I just don’t like the smell of what’s happening here, and both of you look like decent men. But please don’t blow it all over town. Joe went to great effort to give Mikey a certain aura. So if this can be just among us?”

“I’ll try,” Masuto agreed. “We’re involved with a crime, so I can’t promise anything. But we’ll try.”

“Good enough. Mikey’s father had a grocery store in Flatbush. That’s in Brooklyn. We knew his father and we knew Mikey as a kid. His name then was Bernstein.”

“You’re kidding,” Beckman said. “You mean he’s Jewish?”

“What’s so strange? You’re Jewish, aren’t you?”

“I look it.”

“No law says you have to.”

“And what about this rumor that his real name was Brannigan and that he came from upstate New York?”

“If you read Gloria Adams, you’ll find a lot of rumors. When Joe and I were living in Flatbush and trying to make it the hard way, I saw Mikey every day, the sweetest, most willing, most decent kid I ever knew. The only kinkiness in him was that he wanted to be an actor. Then we came out to the Coast and lost touch with him, and then one day, about sixteen years ago, Joe met him at a gas pump. He brought the kid home, and we fed him and made him stay with us. Joe got him a part in a TV film, and he liked what he saw and got him an acting coach. From there on it was step by step, until he became the Mike Barton of today. We love Mikey, so I don’t want to put Joe on a pedestal as Mr. Good Guy, but without Joe he would be another of the ten thousand unemployed actors around town. I don’t say Joe didn’t profit. He made eight films with Mikey, and six were enormous money-makers. But that’s not why he did it.”

“He had already changed his name to Barton when your husband met him?”

“Yes. He wanted it that way, and Joe let it stay. They decided on a mysterious past, and it worked, for what it’s worth.”

“And how did he meet Angel?”

“That’s another well-kept secret-” She hesitated, studying Masuto and Beckman thoughtfully.

“But you’re going to tell me,” Masuto said deliberately. “You’re not a chatterer, but you’ve decided to tell me a number of things. May I ask why?”

“Is why important?”

“I think so.”

“I’m afraid. There’s something happening here ever since Mikey married her, and it frightens me. He’s changed. A lot of stars and semi-stars in this town cat around like they’re in competition. Mikey wasn’t that way. There were a few girls in his life whom he really cared for, but he didn’t marry until he met Angel. He lived with one lady for five years, and while they were together he never looked at another woman. He has one real weakness-one, maybe a dozen. Who hasn’t? Mikey wouldn’t win any prizes for smarts. He’s sweet and kind, but not too bright. But the one real weakness I’m talking about is gambling. It’s a sickness, and he’s a big loser. He met Angel in Vegas, where she was dealing blackjack, and he fell for her like a ton of bricks. She had been on the job only a few days, and already she had the reputation of wanting nothing to do with any of the studs around the place. She walked off the job with him the next day and they came back to L.A. together and she moved in-and it didn’t work, not one little bit. It was a rotten, screwed-up marriage from the word go.”