A Death In Beverly Hills by David Grace Read Free Book Online Page B

email me the dates when you'd need me and I could talk with my boss and make sure I can get the time off."
    "Sounds like a plan. Hey, we'll have a great time. Who knows. This could develop into a nice little sideline for you. I know some cops who do two, three movies a year." Tom raised his glass and Steve, smiling, followed suit. After that, by imperceptible degrees, his memory of the evening slowly dissolved. At some point Travis switched to brandy. His stories became louder, his gestures more expansive. Finally, around eleven Lynn said something about work and scraped her chair back across the bricks. For an instant Travis's attention seemed to freeze then he gave them a sloppy smile, rose and engulfed Lynn in a long hug and short kiss on the lips. Steve got a hug too, but, mercifully, no kiss.
    Once on the street, the air seemed sharper and Steve felt a subtle wobble tilt his brain.
    "Sweetie, you mind driving? I'm not sure I could pass a Breathalyzer test right now."
    Instead of answering, Lynn gave him a long kiss. "Ummm, you don't taste drunk to me."
    "I guess we'll have to put that to the test when we get home."
    Lynn gave him a slow smile and slipped behind the wheel. "You're not going to work on the movie, are you?"
    "Without the actual shooting schedule . . . ." Steve let the sentence die.
    "You don't like Tom, do you?"
    "Was I that obvious?"
    "In his world he deals with professional phonies. You're nowhere near their league."
    "I'll take that as a compliment."
    "I meant it as one." Periodically in the distance below them white dots flickered on the PCH. "He's not that bad, you know."
    "I didn't say he was."
    "No, I mean he comes off like this self-centered, egoistical person, but underneath, he's really very sweet." Steve slightly reclined his seat and closed his eyes. "Some people in this town are very good at making themselves seem a lot better than they really are. Tom's just the opposite. The harder he tries to play the good guy, the worse he looks. It's sad, really."
    "That's a penetrating analysis. I thought you didn't know him that well."
    "Are you jealous?"
    "Of a Hollywood star and the most desirable woman in the world? You bet I'm jealous."
    "Good, then my plan has worked."
    "So, how well did you know him?"
    "He's ancient history. I wouldn't trade you for two Tom Travises."
    "But what about three Tom Travises?"
    "Hmmm, three Tom Travises? I'll have to think about that one."
    They made love through half night until Steve wondered if La Paloma's wines had been enchanted or drugged. It was only halfway through the following afternoon that he realized that Lynn never did explain how well she had known Tom Travis, and by then, he didn't want to find out.
    A Porsche Cayenne ran the yellow at Dover and, in a squeal of brakes, Steve snapped back to the present. That dinner was when? Like an American transplanted to Paris converting feet to centimeters, Fahrenheit to Celsius, Steve converted time to and from normal calendar dates as so many days and months BLD and ALD - Before Lynn Died and After Lynn Died. Dinner at the La Paloma. That was not long after they were married, about two and a half years, BLD. The intersection cleared and Steve accelerated on through.

Chapter Ten

    Steve spent another three hours reading reports and taking notes. So far the material in the files pretty much paralleled the details reported on the news. As he progressed it became increasingly apparent that Tom Travis was his own worst enemy. Not only had he failed to provide the cops with any other viable suspects or motives, but his personality pissed them off as well, a fact which he seemed incapable of grasping. And overshadowing it all was Kaitlen Berdue. Maybe she hadn't hurt Tom Travis as mortally as Monica Lewinsky had wounded Bill Clinton, maybe, but she was definitely a reef upon which his ship had disastrously run aground.
    It had been barely two weeks after Marian Travis had disappeared when Simon Katz looked up to find