Chapter 30
“What’s that?” I ask as Rick brings at arm”s length a vase of red roses through the door and settles it on the console table.
“It was delivered just now at the gates. The courier used the buzzer, and I checked him out. The delivery truck and the floral company are legit. There’s a card attached. I already opened it, and it’s addressed to Ms. Rivers.”
I take the handwritten black card and open it. Asher approaches us in the foyer.
“What’s all this?” He asks but judges the severity of seriousness on my and Rick’s faces; he remains silent, standing next to me, reading the handwritten card with white ink.
“What the bloody fuck is this?” Ash remarks, his brows shooting skyward in a split-second reaction, stepping away, looking at the flowers and back at us.
“Get Eden down here,” I mutter angrily. Earlier, we found the camera in Eden’s room, Rick did a sweep of the entire house and didn’t find any further devices.
“Make a copy of this note and alert the authorities,” I tell Rick. He nods and takes out his phone, snaps a couple of photos, and steps outside the front door.
Fuck, this is getting dangerously serious, I swipe my hand over my brow in thought. We should be focused on arranging dates for recording our next single, instead, we’re chasing some sick fuck who’s making not just Eden’s life hell but ours too.
Whoever this asshole is, they know their way around security systems. Eden’s home in Bel Air was secure like a fortress. She mentioned that she was in the safe room, and he managed to find it, open it, and drag her out at knifepoint. He’s not playing games this time and upped his ante by taking the dog.
I watch Eden appear at the top of the stairs as she descends with Jagger and Asher behind her. Callum walks in from out back, the air around him has a sweet-smelling tobacco fragrance. He must have been having a smoke in the rear garden.
“What’s going on,” his eyes are drawn to us, and the concern on my face is evident. He gazes at the vase and picks up the card. His face immediately goes from curious to irritated, and tosses the card back on the table.
“Fucking gormless arsehole. I’m going to kill him.”
Intrigued and nervous, Eden hesitates for a moment but decides to pick up the card. I watch her brows narrow, and her expression drops as she reads the words. I’m assuming she’s reading it several times over as she stands there silently observing it for a good few minutes.
“Princess?” I ask, interrupting her. She hands the card over to Jagger.
“It’s a cryptic quest to find Storm,” she says.
“It could also be a trap for you,” Rick says, stepping back inside. “Can we have a word?”
I nod and step aside from the group.
“On the day of the dog abduction, the security system had been disarmed, and all camera footage was swiped clean. The perpetrators are pros, but there’s reason for me to believe the system was disarmed manually.”
“Someone knew the code?”
He nods. “I believe the camera was installed in the bedroom on the same day. The front door was wide open when I found Mrs. Mancini sitting on the steps.”
“You’re not suggesting….” I stop my words short.
“I’m suggesting I run a security check on Ms. Rivers’ employee.”
“I don’t think you’ll find much there,” even I will admit that’s really stretching it. “Catalina’s been employed by Eden for over ten years.”
Jagger told me earlier about his discussion with Eden and his suspicions that Catalina drugs her unknowingly with barbituates to probably ease her sleeping, which could render her in jail.
But this? It’s a little far fetched.
None of us are happy about Catalina’s playing with our girl’s health, and I’m one for dumping the old witch’s body in the desert, but this needs to be handled smartly. Eden’s loyalty to the woman is way too strong.
Catalina stuck around at Eden’s lowest point, which is why, while she drugs her to sleep better, I cannot for the life of me figure out why she would do everything else Rick suggests.
“It won’t hurt to conduct a search,” he suggests. “I have someone down at the central precinct who owes me several favors.”
I nod my head.
“Do what you have to do as long as she doesn’t find out. You don’t want to know what it feels like to have yourself strung up by your balls by that little vixen over there.”
I turn to Eden and register Rick leaving my side. There’s no doubt that she’s probably already working on a plan to follow this cryptic message around LA, and she’ll do so with or without us.
“Rick,” I call out as I watch him walk towards the front door. “Do what you have to do, we’ll be with Eden this evening so please coordinate the search with the authorities.”
He understands what and who I am referring to and turns back around to close the door behind him.
“What was that all about?” Eden looks up, and I think it’s time to bring her out of the dark.
I brush my hand through my hair, knowing this is going to be a sensitive topic.
“Princess, leave the card and flowers here, and let”s go sit down on the sofa. It’s time we let you in on some things.”
The three lads look at me, they know what needs to be discussed. Eden may not appreciate hearing the truth but keeping her coddled in wool isn’t the way to go about this.
“So you think Catalina is my stalker?” Eden looks at all four of us, casting a scorned look. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
We knew that Eden would reject the idea.
“No, I don’t think that,” I explain. “There’s no reason for her to be your stalker. But you told Jagger you’ve been like this since your ordeal with the stalker. It may just be that Catalina’s been putting you to sleep to ease your anxiety. As corrupt as her actions are, I don’t think she’s your stalker.”
“But we don’t like her anyhow,” Callum butts in, and I want to punch the bastard. “She’s creepy as fuck, for starters.”
If he doesn”t shut his trap, I will seriously wallop him one.
“That’s beside the point,” Jagger leans forward from his seat. “What would Catalina gain by being your stalker?”
“It’s impossible that Catalina is my stalker.” Eden doesn’t elaborate.
“My lab here analyzed the white powder residue we found in her handbag when she was here yesterday.”
“You searched through her bag?” She stares at me in disbelief.
“I didn’t like the way she spoke to me when I questioned her about it. Shoot me for not trusting the old bitch,” Callum explains, and maybe I would have been angry had the old witch spoken to me the same way, but my brother needs to shut his rage down around Eden, or I’ll do it for him.
“I got the lab results earlier this evening,” I add fast before Eden retaliates back at my brother. “The ingredients in the white powder all point to phenobarbital or Pink Lady, which is the street name and most likely how she acquired it. It’s normally used to control seizures, relieve anxiety, and treat insomnia. Enough dosage of it, and it can render a person unconscious for over twelve hours.”
Eden sits back with a mixture of shock and confusion.
“Rick’s running a background check,” I announce.
“On Catalina?” she looks at me painfully. “She’s not my stalker, for fuck’s sake, I told you my stalker’s a man.”
“How do you know that, Eden? You said the person wore a mask and spoke through a voice piece. Where was Catalina that day he broke into your home?”
“Rick suspects the camera in your bedroom was planted on the same day Storm was kidnapped,” I explain calmly. “He said there were no signs of a break-in, but the front door was open, and Catalina admitted she typed in the code to unlock the door.”
Eden’s face contorts into an incredulous expression as if she’s just learned that pigs can fly – a perfect blend of disbelief and astonishment.
“For fuck’s sake!” she exclaims, standing up abruptly from the sofa. “Catalina was in New York that entire week. She had to put her mother in a home and took a long weekend off to prepare everything.”
She eyes us with an accusatory glare.
“You all want to play detective but won’t listen to me. My stalker was a man. There is no doubt about it. He held me against his body.” Tears begin to fill her eyes. “Close enough to know he was male. He got a kick out of scaring me, as did the other two….” she abruptly stops talking.
I lean forward, questioning what she’s just revealed.
“What other two?” Callum beats us all to ask. There’s no missing the dark undertone of his voice. The bastard stalker was fucking aroused by terrorizing Eden.
She looks away as two tears escape her swollen red eyes. A shaky hand raises up to brush them off her cheek.
“I can’t,” she mumbles, barely audible.
“What did they do to you?” Asher says, and I think we all realize more happened that Eden has never spoken to anyone about.
“Please stop,” she looks at us, her teary face begging us to stop asking questions she doesn’t want to answer.
“You fled because they did something to you, didn’t they?” I say, dreading the answer because I know I will wreak havoc on the world knowing the unthinkable happened.
“Eddie?” Asher, who’s closest to her, stands up and wraps his arms around her in an embrace. She falls straight into his body and hides her face against his chest.
My gaze follows first to Jagger and then to my brother. Both geezers are ready to explode. Maybe Eden doesn’t have to tell us because I think all four of us already know.
“How many broke into your home?” I ask because I need to know what we’re dealing with.
Eden pulls up from Asher’s body and steps abruptly away from him. Her face is red, and her eyes are swollen, but every tear she has suddenly dried up.
“That’s a past I don’t want dug up,” she says firmly as if she’s gotten a second wind and taking control of the situation. “So now you can understand Catalina is not responsible for this. Her drugging me is something I will take up with her personally because that’s a whole lot of fucked up. But right now, the stalker has left me a clue, and I don’t give a shit if it’s a trap. I need to do something to find Storm.”
Without further words, she suddenly departs, grabbing her bag and keys from the console table in the hallway. We all chase her out, and I see the stalker”s card in her hand as she runs off to her truck.
“Follow us behind,” I snap at Jagger and chase after her, hopping into the passenger seat of her truck.
“Where are we going?” I ask, clicking the seat belt in place as she’s already pressed the security button in her visor to open the property gates.
She picks up the black card from the stalker and hands it to me.
“It’s such a lame cryptic message. As if it’s written by a child.”
“Hollywood Boulevard?” I ask, completely agreeing with her.
“Streets paved with stars,” she says confidently. “There’s no doubt in my mind that’s what it’s meant to mean. Is there an actress with my name or initials that have a star? The street is long, at least if we know where to start.”
I open the app on my phone and check it out. Thankfully, there’s an actual website with names in alphabetical order and will pinpoint where each star is located.
“There’s Ed Gardner?”
“Who?”
“No idea,” I mutter and keep scrolling. “Ed O’Neill, Ed Sullivan, Eddie Bracken—”
“Perhaps someone we’ve actually heard of,” she interrupts, and I keep scrolling.
“Evelyn Rudie, you both have the same initials.”
“Is she an actress?”
“I believe television.”
“I don’t see the relevance. There has to be meaning behind it.”
I agree and continue scanning through pages trying to find something that pops.
“Barbara Eden. Her surname is your first name.”
“Jeannie?” she asks, a little excited.
“Yup.”
Funnily enough, we both watched a couple of episodes of the black and white series as teenagers. Lazy Sundays is what I called it. We’d put the TV on and make out, watch some more, make out more ... and that’s what we did. Carefree, happy, and no arsehole stalkers in sight.
We’ll get our lazy Sundays back. I make her a silent promise.
“I still can’t see the connection,” Eden says, interrupting my thoughts.
Neither can I.
I sigh as I scroll down the list. This is like a needle in a bloody haystack.
“Ella Raines. She played in a film called Brutal Force. She played the wife of one of the prisoners who used to steal to keep up with his wife’s indulgences. It’s what landed him in prison.”
“What’s the movie about?”
“A group of prisoners plotting their escape, and they all tell their story. In every case, their love for a woman is what landed them in trouble with the law.”
“Charming.”
“Doesn’t have the best reviews,” I say and continue to scroll down the page. “What about Esther Ralston? She was allegedly blacklisted by a Hollywood bigwig when she refused to sleep with him.”
“Hmm.”
“Got something on your mind, princess?”
“You might be onto something with your last two clues.”
I get on the phone with the others, send them the location on the street where the first one is, and direct Eden where to park her car closest to the second location.
Eden looks up at us after reading the black card with handwritten white ink.
“Hollywood sign?” Callum suggests.
I gaze at the star on the ground before us, and the single red rose next to it.
“That sounds way too easy,” I say thoughtfully. “Let me see the card again.”
Taking it from her, I read it silently again.
“The words maze and labyrinth stand out,” I say, thinking out loud as I stare at the words.
“There’s a garden here in the city with the labyrinth. Peace Awareness or something,” Jagger says, and I think he’s onto something.
“But neon lights don’t fit,” Eden retorts.
“Chinatown has neon lights everywhere at night, especially the entrance,” Asher announces, and he and Eden share a glance with each other.
“TCL Chinese Theatre?”
“Not neon enough. Check any theatres in Chinatown that might be playing movies by Esther Ralston. Maybe her star here connects to the next lead,” Eden suggests.
Jagger and Asher get on their phones and start scrolling like their lives depend on it. Actually, an old German Sheppard’s life does, and I hope he’s still alive and well because Eden doesn’t need any more drama in her life.
“Fuck yeah! One’s having one of those silent movie weeks. Tonight, they’re featuring hers.”
“Which one?”
“Betrayal.”
“Of course, the bloody tosser must identify with that one well.”
“We’ll meet outside,” Jagger takes charge. “Make sure whatever we do, we do it together. We don’t know if he’s planning to abduct Eden on this wild goose chase. We’re better together in numbers.”
“Agreed.”