Celebrity in Death (9 page)

“Anything else?”

“Yes. I need—”

“What you need has to wait because you have the right to remain silent. And I suggest you fucking do so until I finish Mirandizing you.”

“What are you talking about?” He looked genuinely shocked. “What is she talking about?” he demanded of Mira.

“Joel,” Mira began as Eve continued to recite. “Take a breath. Take a moment. Lieutenant Dallas has to do her job.”

“I have to do mine! Everybody involved in this production requires I give this incident all my attention, and make certain it’s handled properly.”

“Do you understand your rights and obligations?” Eve asked him.

“You’re not going to treat me like a criminal.” He folded his arms. “I want my lawyers.”

“Fine. Contact them. We’ll go down to Central and wait for them to get there. No problem.”

“You can’t—”

“Yes, I can.” Eve slapped her badge on the table. “I’m in charge here. This and the dead woman on the roof put me in charge. You can give
me a statement here or we can go to Central and wait for your lawyers. That part’s up to you.”

“You’re going to watch your tone or I’ll be speaking with your superiors.”

“Whitney, Commander Jack. Have at it.”

Steinburger let out a long breath. The color that had flooded his face cooled a little. “I want you to understand, this is my project, these are my people. I’m just trying to protect my project, my people.”

“And I’m trying to find out how a woman we all had dinner with a few hours ago ended up facedown in the lap pool. I win. Here or there, Joel. Your choice.”

“Fine. Fine. What do you
want?
None of us did anything to K.T. It’s obvious she had an accident. I don’t want the media snickering about her being drunk. I don’t want Roundtree and Connie suffering because she got drunk and careless in their home.”

“Were you on the roof tonight?”

“No.”

“Did you have any problems with the deceased?”

“No.”

“Now that’s got to be a lie. Are you the only person in this house who didn’t have one?”

He held up his hands, let out a long sigh. “I’m not saying she wasn’t difficult. She was an artist. Actors are children on some level, often on more than one level. K.T. could be somewhat of a problem child. I’m very good at managing people, dealing with the creative temperament and problem children or I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

“I hear she was a mean drunk.”

He sighed again. “That’s the kind of gossip I want to prevent. She didn’t handle drink well, and she had a temper. She wasn’t a very happy woman, but she could and did do fine work. I don’t want her smeared.”

“Did you and she have any altercations?”

“I wouldn’t call them altercations. She wasn’t happy, as I said, she had complaints about the script, the direction, her costars. I’m used to actors coming to me with complaints.”

“How did you handle them?”

“I smoothed them over when possible, was firm when it wasn’t. K.T. understood if she didn’t cooperate it wouldn’t go well for her career. She was good, very good, but not indispensable. I understand she blew off some steam tonight, and it was rude. It was inappropriate.”

He lifted his hands with a rise of shoulders in a what-can-you-do gesture. “I intended to discuss it with her tomorrow, and urge her to go into rehab, to take some anger management sessions. Otherwise …”

“Otherwise?”

The shrugging indulgence shifted smoothly to cold calculation. “There are plenty of hungry actors waiting for a break. I have another project green lit, and she wanted it. I wanted her for it. But, as I said, she wasn’t indispensable, and I would have made that clear.”

Eve released him, glanced at Mira.

“A position of power and politics,” Mira said. “One he uses and enjoys. He understood her value as a commodity, and would have no problem replacing her—or threatening to—if that commodity devalued.”

“Yeah. Plus, he’s pushy and excitable. You have to wonder what any one of these people would do if the vic had something that threatened their career—which equals ego and bank account—or this specific project. So far it’s clear nobody liked her, and none of them bothered to pretend otherwise.”

“She was particularly unlikable.”

“No argument. Being unlikable isn’t enough to earn you a slab in the morgue.”

“Did she have family?”

“I haven’t checked yet. We’ll run that down, notify next of kin.”

“Always difficult. Would you like me to start detoxifying Julian?”

Eve had to smile at the term. “Yeah. I’ll talk to Nadine while he sobers up. I appreciate the help. I imagine you and Mr. Mira would like to get the hell out of here.”

“Actually, he’s finding it all very interesting. So am I.”

“His socks don’t match.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Mr. Mira’s socks don’t match.”

“Damn it.” Mira let out an exasperated laugh. “I know he doesn’t pay attention, but that got by me.”

“It’s …” Eve searched for the word. “Sweet” was the best she could think of, and it made Mira smile.

“His mind’s always on something else. He’d live in a ratty cardigan, and he’s always worrying holes in the pockets of his pants. He can never seem to find his wallet or anything in the refrigerator. And just when you think he’s not paying any attention to what you’re saying or doing, he comes up with exactly the right answer or solution.”

Mira got to her feet. “People who expect perfection in a mate miss a lot of fun—and sweetness. I’ll go take care of Julian. Should I ask Nadine to come in?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

She thought of Roarke, imagined a lot of people looked at him and saw perfection. She knew differently, and decided she had a whole bunch of fun and sweetness in her life.

Even as she thought it he walked in with a jumbo mug of coffee.

“Where did you get that? I get these little girlie cups.”

“Which is why I asked the housekeeper for something more formidable.”

When he set it in front of her, Eve crooked her finger so he leaned down. She kissed him. “You’re not perfect,” she said.

“See if I bring you a giant mug of coffee again any time soon.”

“You’re not perfect, and that makes you just exactly right.”

“Being just exactly right has it all over perfection.”

“Bet your ass.” She lifted the coffee, took a long, lifesaving swallow. “Want to sit in on my interview with Nadine?”

“I would if you share that coffee. If you want an update, Peabody and McNab just finished up their end of interviews. Peabody didn’t want to interrupt yours, and asked if I’d let you know they’ve headed back up to the roof to check on the status of the sweepers. The body’s been removed.”

“Yeah, I got a text from the morgue guys. Undetermined. We’ll need her on a slab before they can rule it accidental or homicide. I’d say self-termination’s out, but you’ve got to keep it in the mix until.”

Nadine carried in her own coffee and a plate of cookies. She plopped the cookies on the table. “Now, look—”

“No, you sit, and you now look.” Eve grabbed a cookie, just in case Nadine got pissy and snatched them away. “You’re a witness to a suspicious death. I’m required to interview you, get a statement.”

“I’ll give you a statement,” Nadine said darkly. “I want my goddamn ’link, my PPC. You’ve got no right to—”

“Oh, knock it off.” Eve bit into the cookie—not bad. “You’re not getting either until I clear it because you’re damn well not contacting your producer or editor or whatever the hell so Channel 75 can throw up a big special bulletin that K.T. Harris was found facedown in Mason Roundtree’s lap pool—details to fucking follow.”

“I’m a reporter, and it’s my job to do exactly what you just laid out. I’m on the scene. I had dinner with the corpse.”

Tossing back her streaky hair, Nadine narrowed her cat’s eyes to slits.

“If you think for one hot minute I’m letting another reporter, another channel, another
anything
or anybody scoop me on this, then think a-fucking-gain. What are you smiling at?” she snapped at Roarke.

“I’m a man, and I’m sitting here having coffee and cookies while two beautiful women snarl at each other. Being a man I’m required to wonder—perhaps imagine—whether there will soon be physical contact. Clothing may be ripped away. Why wouldn’t I smile?”

“Not perfect,” Eve muttered. “Shut up for five seconds,” she ordered Nadine, “before we’re in his head naked, oiled up, and rolling around on the floor.”

“And my smile grows wider.”

“You’ll get your story,” Eve said after baring her teeth at Roarke. “You’ll have the jump on it, and my cooperation—as far as it goes.”

“Which means?”

“What it means. But you did have dinner with the corpse, and when there’s a body in the mix my job trumps yours.”

“I want a one-on-one with you, as soon as we’re done here.”

“I’ll give you what I can give you when we’re done here. You’re not bringing a camera in, not at this point. The longer you argue or try to negotiate, the bigger the window for one of the staff to get word out to one of your competitors. I need your eye, Nadine. Here’s what I know. K.T. Harris is dead. The three people in this room didn’t kill her or cause her to die. The Miras didn’t. Peabody and McNab didn’t. Mavis and Leonardo didn’t. Other than that? It’s up for grabs. So I need your eye, your impressions, and your catlike ear for gossip, innuendo, and bullshit.

“Now let’s get started.”

NADINE SLAPPED HER PURSE ON THE TABLE,
opened it, and pulled out a number of cocktail napkins. “Look what I’m reduced to. Scribbling with a pen on cocktail napkins. I told McNab I wouldn’t use the PPC to contact anyone.”

“And if he’d listened to you, I’d have busted him down to Traffic. Tell me this first—and this time it’s official and on record—are you and Julian Cross bumping nasties?”

“You have such a way. No, as I already told you, we’re not. He’s gorgeous, charming, fun. He’s rich, he’s famous. I figured we’d give that area a go. But he’s also just a bit dim. It’s kind of cute, but I like a man with some smarts. Plus, he’d bump nasties with anyone, anytime, anywhere. And I prefer someone more selective. He’s not pushy about it, the bumping or the polite refusal to bump. I enjoy him, but I don’t want to sleep with him. Unfortunately.

“Added to it,” she went on, “the promotion machine is pumping out that there’s heat between Marlo and Julian on- and offscreen. It’s a time-honored publicity angle. It seems to be working well enough, even though there’s just warm between them offscreen—as in friendship.”

“And because Marlo and Matthew have the offscreen heat.”

“They what? They do not. Do they?” Nadine shoved at her hair as she stared at Eve. “Where did you get that? I didn’t get that.”

“It’s my take.” Eve shrugged. “You’ll have to talk to them about it.”

“Shit. Shit.” Nadine pulled a pen out of the purse, scribbled on one of the napkins.

“Meanwhile,” Eve said mildly, “you’ve spent a lot of time on the set. Who’d want to kill K.T.?”

“Is homicide confirmed?”

“No. But.”

“Okay, my answer is who wouldn’t? I’ve been tempted to smash her over the head and drown her myself. Is that what happened?”

“No comment. Why?”

“Fine. Because she’s a bitch. Down to the bone, if you ask me. Selfish, whining, rude. She sulks, she explodes, she snaps, she snarks. She considered herself the superior actor on this project, and made that known at every opportunity. She came at me more than once about the Peabody character, wanting changes, more screen time. She wanted a love scene with Matthew, and pushed—hard—to have her character confront Dallas on investigative points. None of what she wanted worked, but Roundtree, Valerie, Steinburger, Preston—or some unfortunate assistant—had to deal with her nearly every day. She slowed production, and that displeases the suits.”

“Anything specific? Did you ever see her go at it with anyone?”

“Dallas, she went at it with everyone at some point or other. Then she’d settle down for a few days, and go at someone else.”

“All right, let’s focus on tonight. Besides her pissiness at dinner, did you see her argue with anyone else?”

“She argued with me.” Nadine examined the cookies, carefully selected one, then took a tiny bite.

“About?” Eve prompted.

“She only has a couple short scenes left, and wanted them both expanded. Insisted I need to sit down with Roundtree and work that out, using the changes she’d made to the scenes. I told her, as I had before, that the way she wanted to change it didn’t happen. She told me, as she had before, I didn’t understand the business or artistic license. I told her to write her own book, her own script, and leave mine alone. But not that politely.”

“Were you up on the roof tonight?”

Nadine smirked. “No, not tonight.”

“Did she get into it with anyone else?”

“I imagine she and Connie had words when Connie took her out of the room after dinner. And she had a couple with Andi. K.T. was way out of her league there and knew it, so she tended to keep those words short. I noticed she cornered Preston shortly before dinner, and he didn’t look happy about it. Otherwise, I admit, I wasn’t paying much attention to her.”