so it had the standard gorgeous view stretching out over Hollywood, but the home itself was unassuming. It topped out at one story and looked like it had been built in the Brady Bunch’s 1970s heyday. There were missing shingles and the driveway had multiple wide cracks.
Jessie got out of the car and tried to ignore the sharp sting as her back peeled off the car seat. She rubbed her sore shoulder, hoping to tease out the stiffness that had set in as her body clenched up on the perilous uphill drive.
“Looks like Corinne really needed this Marauder movie,” she noted, only realizing how unkind she sounded when the words were already out of her mouth.
“They probably spent so much on the location and the view, they didn’t have much left for upkeep,” Trembley said more charitably.
He was about to ring the bell when Jessie stopped him.
“If Struce really did marry up, this might be one time where some ego-stroking is in order. This guy may not be too chatty, so if waxing rhapsodic over his special effects work gets us in the door, feel free.”
Trembley nodded his understanding and pushed the button. The bell was a series of chimes comprising part of a musical score.
“It’s the love theme from Petals and Petulance,” Trembley whispered.
“Of course it is,” Jessie muttered back.
The door was opened by a slim, innocuous-looking man in his early forties, wearing slacks, a button-down yellow dress shirt, and no shoes. He was about five foot eight, with thinning brown hair and round, wire-rimmed glasses. His brown eyes were tinged with red. It was clear that he’d been crying.
“Mr. Struce?” Trembley asked cautiously.
“Yes,” the man replied in a soft, quavering voice.
“Hello, Mr. Struce. My name is Alan Trembley. I’m a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. This is Jessie Hunt. She’s a consultant for us. We’re here about your wife.”
“Yes. They told me she died.”
Though Jessie had never heard the man speak before, he sounded weak and foggy to her. She wondered if he’d taken something.
“Yes sir,” Trembley said gently. “We heard that you were informed of her passing. That’s why we’re here. If you’re up to it, we wanted to ask a few questions in the hope that it might help us with the case. May we come in?”
Struce looked at them with a slightly lost expression.
“I…are you sure it can’t wait?”
“The sooner we speak with you, the more helpful it is in our investigation,” Trembley said politely but insistently.
“Yes, of course,” Struce said and turned back into the house. His bare feet padded softly on the wooden floors as he led the way back into the house. Jessie followed close behind as Trembley shut the door behind them.
“Are those production stills from An Unfamiliar Land?” the detective asked when he caught up, pointing at several framed images on the hallway walls.
“Yes,” Struce answered, truly focusing on Trembley for the first time. “Do you know the film?”
“Do I know it?” he replied, amping up the fanboy vibe to a notable but still respectful degree. “I’ve probably seen that movie half a dozen times. I love how the effects were so matter-of-fact. You didn’t call attention to it. You just showed it.”
“Thank you,” Struce said as they arrived in the living room. “That’s among the work I’m most proud of. We computer geeks don’t get much attention so any time we’re noticed is flattering.”
Jessie saw an opening and jumped in.
“Clearly Corinne thought you were worth noticing as well,” she said. “It’s not every—as you say—computer geek who wins the heart of a famous actress.”
Struce motioned for them to take seats on the well-worn leather sofa across from the rocking chair he sat in.
“Cory used to always joke that we were beauty and the beast. She said that no one knew that on the inside, I was the beauty and she was the beast. It’s a sweet sentiment, don’t you think, even if she was unduly hard on herself?”
“It sounds like she cared about you very much,” Jessie sympathized. “And it’s clear that you felt the same way. That’s why we’re hoping you can set aside your grief long enough to help us.”
“Of course,” he said. “I’ll do whatever I can. However, an officer already came by earlier to inform me and ask some questions so I’m not sure what more I can add.”
“We like to start fresh,” Trembley told him. “So please forgive us if we cover some territory you’ve already addressed. Shall we begin, Mr. Struce?”