Chapter 17
"Idon't even know where to start," Joel said. "I mean, we can throw names in a hat. You can pick them out. Vivian was a tough lady. Tough, but fair. If she liked you and believed in you, she could make you a star."
"We’ve got to start somewhere. Let's start with the most powerful and influential people that she made enemies of."
Joel thought for a moment. "Irving Roth. After the merger, he’s the head of the largest studio in town.”
"What kind of dirt did she have on him?"
"She never told me specifics. She kept those cards close to her chest. But knowing Vivian, it was a secret that could have brought him down or landed him in jail."
"What did she say to you?”
"She didn’t have to say anything. It became obvious after a while.
She could push him around like he was a nobody.
He caved to all of her demands, however ridiculous they were.
It was truly remarkable. I’d never seen anything like it.
She just told me she knew where the skeletons were buried.
” Joel paused. "If I was Irving, I'd want to get Vivian out of my life as soon as possible.”
"Who else?”
“Damien Stone comes to mind."
"Who's he?”
"You don't watch much TV, do you?"
"When would I have time?”
"True. For a while, he was the biggest thing since sliced bread. For a few seasons, he was on top of the world. Every teenage girl in the country wanted him. He was on the Crimson Chronicles, that vampire show that jumped the shark in season four. Damien increasingly became more and more unmanageable as he spiraled into drugs and alcohol. He developed a bad reputation, and there were questionable allegations about underage women. Vivian dropped him as a client. The last I heard, he was back to waiting tables at some restaurant on Melrose.”
My brow knitted with confusion. "How does a guy like that go from hero to zero? What did he do with all the money?”
Joel scoffed. "I don't know if you've noticed, but the celebrity lifestyle is expensive. Mix in drugs, women, and shady accountants, and half these nitwits are broke within a few years after their star has faded.”
"That's gotta be devastating," I replied.
"A lot of people can’t handle fame. And few can handle the aftermath. I think it's harder for the has-beens than the never-was-beens.”
"Who else?" I asked.
"Well, there was this up-and-coming talent that she refused to sign.
He called, made threats, sent nasty letters, even came up to the agency one day and demanded she take another look at his work.
Threatened her. She had security remove him.
" Joel sighed. "Sadly, that kind of thing happens all the time.
People come out here with hopes and dreams. They can't get into the casting office without an agent.
They see us as gatekeepers. People in this town have a long memory, and these wannabes burn bridges fast." Then he added, "You need to be careful during this investigation.
If you ruffle the wrong feathers, your career is in the dumpster. "
"Thanks.” My career was entirely accidental.
It wasn't something I pursued. I didn't play Hollywood games.
Still, I got some nice paydays out of the whole thing.
It was looking like there were more paydays to come, so I didn't really want to light the dumpster on fire. "What's this wannabe actor's name?"
"Kai Mason.”
"Know where I can find him?”
"That's your area of expertise, not mine."
“Anybody else I should look into?”
Joel hesitated for a moment. "Well, I hate to say this, but she was grooming a junior agent, Stephanie.
Now, I don't have any proof of this, but you know the way my mind works.
I think of everything. All the angles. You have to in this business.
It's cutthroat. With Vivian out of the way, we will need another agent to take her place.
But that's something nobody can do. There is only one Vivian.”
"What’s Stephanie's last name?"
"Harlow." Then he added. "There's somebody else you should look into. Rachel Langford. She's a talent agent at a competing firm. There's always been bad blood between the two. I don't think she would murder Vivian. But I’d put her on the list.”
I took notes on the pad on the bar counter. "Was Vivian married?”
"Widowed. Harold died 10 years ago. Heart attack. There was no one else for her."
"What about the guy the West Beverly PD pinned this on?”
“Lucas Reed. Committed suicide before the cops could arrest him. A neighbor ratted him out. Seth Porter. They said ballistics from his gun matched the slugs pulled out of Vivian.”
"That sounds pretty solid," I said.
"That's the official story. But I'm hearing through the grapevine that the results are inconclusive.”
"Where are you getting your information?”
Joel hesitated a moment. "If I tell you, you’ll go talk to him. He'll get spooked, and he'll never tell me anything again."
"You want to find out who killed your friend, or do you want to preserve your contact?”
"Both. Let me see if I can get some more information out of him.”
I sighed. "Look, I've gotta run down a lead on another case, then I'll hop on this.”
"Thank you. I really appreciate this. I'm sorry to ask you to do this. It’s just that… Vivian meant a lot to me, and the official story is bullshit.”
"It’s my pleasure. I just hope I can get somewhere with it."
"If anybody can, it's you."
I appreciated the vote of confidence. “Where did Vivian live?”
“In one of the most desirable neighborhoods in West Beverly. Classic Hollywood. I’ll send you her address.”
I said goodbye and ended the call.
After catching Jack up to speed, we told Vincent to tell Scarlett we had errands to run.
We borrowed her red Ferrari Spider and headed to Marina Del Ray to catch up with Brooke’s mother, Holly.
Jack may have neglected to tell her we were taking the car.
I’m sure she heard us leave. The sound of the engine was unmistakable.