Hollywood Outlaw: A Hollywood Alphabet SeriesThriller (A Hollywood Alphabet Series Thriller Book 15) Read Online Free PDF Page B

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    Dole pinched the bridge of her nose. “Wow. I’m not sure where to begin.”
    “Maybe you should begin by telling us about the affair you had with him.”
    I glared at Darby and bit my lip. It was a common practice in police work not to provide a potential suspect with details pertinent to an investigation. Giving our interview subject enough rope to either hang herself or tell the truth was pertinent to our investigation. My co-worker had just violated a cardinal rule out of stupidity or arrogance, I wasn’t sure which.
    Dole smiled. “It sounds like you’ve already gotten the dirt.” She took a moment, sweeping her beautiful hair to one side. “Bert and I were involved a couple of years ago, before I became the agent for Lady and her daughters. It was a mistake and something that I confessed to Lady before I went to work for her. She said she understood and that she and Bert had an open marriage.”
    Darby smirked. “How long were you together?”
    “About six months, off and on. I realized he wasn’t the monogamous type and moved on.”
    “How did you come to represent Lady and her daughters?” I asked, before Darby could display more of his ignorance.
    “Lady and I actually became friends right after I confessed what happened between Bert and me. She confided that she wasn’t happy with the way Bert was handling their financial arrangements and asked if I would intervene. I eventually took over and made sure that the money Lady and the girls made from the show, their endorsements, and fashion lines couldn’t be touched by Bert.”
    “That must have made him angry,” Leo said.
    She nodded. “It did. We’ve had what you might call a hot and cold relationship since then.”
    “More like cold from what we’ve heard,” Darby said.
    She smiled. “It’s all been documented as part of the show. It’s actually made for some good drama.”
    “Maybe it’s been more than just drama. Maybe you had enough of Bert trying to control everything.”
    She laughed. “Really? You really think I shot the asshole.” Her gaze moved off. “He wasn’t worth the effort.”
    “Any idea who might have wanted him dead?” Buck asked, tugging at his shirt collar. I had the impression he’d also had enough of Darby.
    Dole massaged her neck and smiled. “I’m sure you’ve got a list of people he had problems with, but no one specifically comes to mind.”
    We spent another half hour with Dole. She gave us lots of names, most of them women, who had either business or personal contact with our victim. She added to our already lengthy list of subjects to follow up on, but nothing we got seemed very useful.
    Dole was about to leave when I said, “Just for our reports, we’re going to need to know where you were earlier in the day.”
    She stood up. “I spent most of the afternoon with my hairdresser, then took a nap. I was at a club when I got the call about Bert. I’ll give you the name and contact information for anyone who might have seen me.”
    We completed the remaining interviews and finished processing the scene before leaving Nirvana a couple of hours later. We hadn’t been able to complete our interview with Lady Prince because she was still sleeping off the tea her attendant had given her. By the time we left the estate, I decided Darby was right. We had a ton of potential suspects, but nothing definitive in terms of a motive. All I did know was that the case would take a lot of legwork, and the brass was already breathing down Lieutenant Edna’s neck about breaking something loose.
    I agreed to give Natalie and Mo a ride to our temporary staycation home at the Mission Bell Inn in the hills above Malibu. The refurbished inn had a spectacular view of the ocean, but was only about forty-five minutes from Hollywood. When we arrived I was still wound up over the night’s events, so I agreed to meet my friends on the outdoor deck for a nightcap.
    After settling in on the deck, Natalie, who considered