“As do I,” Jessie said, sensing that he could if he really wanted to. “We will need verification of that alibi, Mr. Boatwright. And it would be helpful if you could give us access to your phone data without a court order. Time is of the essence here and the sooner we can eliminate you as a suspect, the better it is for everyone.”
“I have no problem with that,” Boatwright said. “Can I assume you’ll dispense with that press release you mentioned? Am I safe from being dragged down to the station in cuffs?”
“For now,” Jessie told him. “But I can’t make any promises about later. You should expect that we’ll be back at some point with more questions.”
“And you should expect to turn up the same pile of nothing,” he said, standing up, pushing a button on his phone and barking into it, “Lanny, our guests are ready to leave.”
“We can see ourselves out,” Jessie said.
“Don’t be silly,” Boatwright said a little too forcefully. “That’s what she’s here for. And Ms. Hunt, don’t forget that if you change your mind about those life rights, I can make you a very rich woman.”
“I’m already a very rich woman,” Jessie told him.
“No, you’re well off. I’m talking ‘roll around in a tub of cash then burn it just for fun’ rich.”
The door opened, revealing a slightly winded Lanny, who had apparently run down the hall to meet them. Jessie looked back at Boatwright and replied simply before leaving.
“I take showers.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
To Jessie’s surprise, Lanny didn’t just escort them to the door to the inner office. She also opened the main door of the waiting room and walked them down the hall to the entrance of the Fairbanks Building. The awkward silence was only broken by the sounds of their feet echoing on the marble floor. When they got to the exterior door, Lanny opened it for them and extended her hand to Jessie.
“Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance,” she said.
As Jessie shook her hand, she felt the young woman press a piece of paper into her palm. As they let go, Jessie closed her hand into a fist to hide the paper.
“We’ll be in touch,” she replied.
Lanny smiled nervously and retreated into the building, leaving Jessie and Trembley alone in the grassy park.
“What now?” Trembley asked.
Jessie decided not to mention what had just happened until she had a look at what was on the paper.
“Let’s see how things are going with getting the crew back for interviews,” she said. “You mind checking in with Detective Bray?”
While Trembley made the call, Jessie stepped away where she could inconspicuously look at the paper Lanny had given her. On it were two words: Tara Tanner. The name didn’t ring a bell for her. Before she could ponder it further, Trembley hung up.
“She says it’ll probably take another hour to get everyone in. We could start now but if we want to talk to them as a group, it’ll be a bit longer.”
“That’s okay,” Jessie said. “As much as I worry that Boatright is just trying to distract us, he’s right. We should go see the husband and see if there’s any ‘there’ there.”
“That sounds good,” Trembley said, pulling up the case file on his phone. “It looks like they live pretty close, just up Beachwood Canyon. We could be there in ten minutes.”
“Let’s go,” Jessie said, leading the way back to their car. “You can tell me what you know about him on the way.”
At first glance, there wasn’t a lot to tell. Corinne had met her future husband, Willem Struce, while working on the Marauder sequel. He was a CGI artist she’d hit it off with while eating at the commissary on the very lot they’d just left.
“That doesn’t seem like a very movie star-ish pairing to me,” Jessie commented.
“It is a little unusual,” he agreed. “But I remember reading in some celebrity magazine that he won her over with his kindness and old-school charm or something like that.”
“Why am I dubious?”
“Because you’re a damaged person who has trouble believing that love can come in many forms,” he replied casually before adding, “sorry.”
Jessie smiled despite herself.
“You know, Trembley” she said, trying to be diplomatic. “You could stand to use some of that caustic directness with the people we interview. After all, you are a detective with one of the LAPD’s most celebrated units. You barely said a word to Boatwright. I feel like maybe you should