Chapter 9 #2
Heck, relieved not to be talking about himself, said, “When we were together, she had a couple of friends. Ashley was one, don’t recall the other. Maybe something with an M. Don’t know their last names.”
As Milo copied, Bel Geddes huffed. “You don’t even know her friends yet?”
Milo ignored her. “Do you have numbers for them, Mike?”
“Nope, sorry, it wasn’t like that.”
“Like—”
“Hanging out with them. I just met them a couple of times, both when Sophie and me were having drinks and they came in. Sophie told me they were her friends and they sat down and had drinks with us and I got to know them a little. Ashley’s a flight attendant.
For…Southwest, I think. The other—Maria, I’m pretty sure that’s it, she does something in the industry. ”
Milo said, “Films and TV.”
Bel Geddes huffed again. Like there’s another industry?
Milo said, “Were they by themselves?”
“The first time, yeah,” said Heck. “The second time they were with guys but I couldn’t tell you their names because they just talked to us for a few minutes then went to their own table.”
“Double date.”
“Guess so.”
Bettina Bel Geddes said, “This is drifting far from any content I can see as relevant.”
Milo said, “Mike, how long had you and Sophie been apart when she died?”
“Month and a half,” said Heck. “About.”
“So fairly recently.”
“Yeah, but that was the formal time. When we actually discussed it and decided to just be friends. But we both knew, it had been happening for a month or so before that.”
“Drifting apart.”
“Yeah,” said Heck. “You know. You can like someone and you think maybe this is the one but then you realize the friend thing works better.”
“Did you have contact with Sophie after you became just friends?”
“Nope,” said Heck. “I mean on the phone, yeah, but after we had the talk I wasn’t at her place and she wasn’t in mine.”
“How long did you guys date?”
Before Bel Geddes could interrupt, Heck said, “Couple of months.”
“May I ask where you met?”
“Cocktail lounge at the Mayfair in Beverly Hills. That’s where her friends showed up so it was probably a regular place for them. I just happened to be there for a business meeting. Then that was over and I stuck around to have a couple of beers.”
“Got it,” said Milo. “Are you aware of who Sophie dated before you? And after you broke up?”
Bel Geddes fidgeted with her hair. Itching to find an objection but unable to do so.
Wendy shot me another collegial smile. I smiled back.
“I know she was married before and that he died in a crash,” said Michael Heck. “But that’s about it. We never talked about exes and once we broke up we didn’t stalk each other.”
Milo said, “I’m asking because someone tried to set you up by getting hold of your cigarette butts and planting them.”
“Yeah, it’s crazy. Scary. No one ever broke into my place, sir. I’ve got an alarm and it was never tripped.”
“I’m assuming you tossed your butts out with the rest of your trash. What’s the garbage-collection situation at your condo?”
“You put your crap in a couple of dumpsters and some private service takes it away.” He paled. “You’re saying someone was spying on me and saw me dump my garbage? That’s fucked.”
Milo said, “Another possibility would be you were smoking outside and left the butts on the sidewalk.”
The color returned to Heck’s face. More pink than before. Rose-colored highlights on bronze. “I guess I do that sometimes.”
“Any particular place?”
“Work. I guess. You can’t smoke in the office so you go outside. You think someone was spying on me there?”
“Don’t know, Mike.”
“Why would anyone want to fuck me over?”
“The million-dollar question, Mike. Do you have any theories?”
“No,” said Heck. “That’s the thing. Been racking my brains but I can’t come up with anything. You think it could’ve been some new guy Sophie was seeing who got jealous? Because like I said, Sophie and me stayed friends and we called each other but I have no idea who she was dating.”
“How often were the phone calls?”
“Every so often…maybe, couple a month? She was a really nice girl. You think some jealous asshole got hold of her phone and saw my number on it and traced it? That’s so fucking twisted.”
“We’ll check out every possibility, Mike.”
Bel Geddes huffed.
Heck said, “Hope you do, man. This is freaking me out.”
“Incarceration can do that to you,” said Bel Geddes.
“That’s not what I mean. The whole thing of spying on me when I had no idea.” He turned to Milo. “You got me totally wrong, sir, but I can see it, you had DNA. But now that we know it was bullshit you need to find out who did it. To Sophie and to me, ’cause it’s obviously the same person.”
“We’ll do our best,” said Milo.
“The royal plural?” said Bel Geddes.
“Anything else you want to tell us, Mike?”
“Can’t think of anything.”
“If you do—”
“He’ll notify me and I’ll notify you,” said Bel Geddes.
Heck’s lips tightened. Not happy being treated as a dependent.
“Okay, then,” said Milo. “That’s it. Thanks, Mike.”
As he began to rise, Heck said, “There is one thing but it’s probably nothing.”
Bel Geddes gave a start. “We need to discuss anything substantive, Michael.”
“It’s no big deal.”
“Michael—”
“I’m not a two-year-old.”
His voice had taken on a hard edge that Bel Geddes didn’t challenge. She looked chastened, even a bit frightened, and I wondered if the lawyerly aggression was a thin veneer.
Milo said, “We’re listening, Mike.”
Heck said, “You know what I do, right? My career.”
“Administrator at a law firm.”
“Exactly. I oversee the basics at Rifkin, Wolfram and Sapir, over in West L.A. Fifteen lawyers, little bit of everything. Before that, I worked for Spitz, DeMarzio, Duncan and Baggs in Century City, they did workman’s comp.”
He leaned forward. “But. Before those two, I worked for Darren Alberts.”
Bel Geddes said, “Be careful, Mike,” but her voice lacked conviction.
Heck said, “I am being careful. I did nothing wrong, why should I be ashamed to talk about it?”
“It’s best, Mike, not to hand bait to a poacher.”
“Huh?”
Bel Geddes contented herself with an eye-roll once Heck’s back was turned.
Milo said, “Darren Alberts.”
“Total dirtbag,” said Heck. “But I guess you know that.”
“What’d you do at Alberts’s firm?”
“Just what I do anywhere. Organization, making sure files are in order and bills are paid promptly. Sometimes they throw in some marketing—contacting media. But not for Alberts, he did all that stuff himself. Loved the attention. I was there for three years and never gave what they were doing a thought. Then calls began coming in, then people started talking, you know? Once I smelled what was going on, I said I’m outta here and gave notice. Thank God it was just before.”
“Before what, Mike?”
Bel Geddes said, “I think what Michael’s alluding to is patently obvious—”
Heck said, “Before the whole thing went tits-up. Even with that, I was questioned by you guys. And I had no problem saying exactly what I knew. Which was zero—nothing. But you guys kept at me. But no big deal, when you’re telling the truth, you’re mellow.”
Milo glanced at me.
I said, “What made you think about the Alberts firm with regard to Sophie?”
Bel Geddes’s eyes widened.
Before she could speak, Heck said, “I really don’t know.
Just searching. Grasping at straws. Someone tried to ruin my life.
So I guess I could see someone at Darren’s possibly being pissed at me.
Because A, I quit just before all the problems, and B, maybe they found out the police talked to me even though I had nothing to tell the police but thought I did. ”
Milo said, “Who, specifically, do you think might be pissed?”
“That’s the thing, I really can’t think of anyone.
Darren ran that place differently from a normal firm.
Basically he was the emperor and everyone else was like…
his peasant. Or serf, whatever you want to call it.
So normally, I’d say if it was anyone it would be Darren but he’s senile. So that’s what’s confusing me.”
“Any employees in particular we should be looking at?”
“Racked my brains and couldn’t think of anyone.”
“One-man show,” said Milo. “But the little I know about Darren’s case says some of the people doing the serious lifting might not have been office folk. Like the doctors he relied on.”
Heck said, “Doubtful. Stuff like that would never be at a desk.”
“You never saw any sketchy people come into the office?”
“Sure I did,” said Heck. “What I assumed were the people Darren was representing. But I didn’t pay attention—Oh man, should I be scared?”
“I can’t tell you that, Mike, but seeing as someone tried to frame you, you might want to be careful.”
“Oh shit,” said Heck. “Here I am, wanting to put it out there because I really want to know who killed Sophie. And not gonna lie, I want to know why he set me up. But now I’m thinking it’s not over.” His cheeks puffed as he exhaled.
Bettina Bel Geddes said, “I’m assuming you’re talking about criminal types, Michael.”
“Why not, takes one to know one,” said Heck. “Darren was a really bad guy so makes sense he’d hang with really bad guys. But I had no contact with them. Not ever.”
He rubbed his brow, kneading the spot between his eyes until it pinkened. “You know, this has really got me thinking. I’m going to get the hell out of Dodge. At least until you can tell me something that makes me feel better, Lieutenant.”
Milo said, “Whatever you need to feel safe, Mike.”
Bel Geddes muttered, “Gee, thanks for granting permission.”
“The thing is, Mike, even if someone was out to get you, can you see them sacrificing Sophie just for that?”
“Sacrificing.” Heck’s lower lip trembled, causing the soul patch to bounce up and down. “That sounds horrible. Oh man, I hope I didn’t cause her—”
Bel Geddes said, “Oh no. Do not go down that street, Mike.”
She looked at Wendy. Then back at Heck.
“All this is nothing but pure pie-in-the-sky supposition and you are already dealing with enough stress, Michael. So we’ve got much to accomplish in order to restore your sense of well-being.”
“Yeah, sure, great, whatever,” said Michael Heck, rising. “Meanwhile, I’m still getting the hell out of Dodge.”
He left the room quickly. Bel Geddes took a moment to recover before hustling after him. Disoriented by having to follow.
Wendy was the last to leave. She wanted to say something but was smart enough to keep her mouth shut.