be a motive. Weatherly had the list for years. Why would someone come after her now? And according to Reinhold, he always demanded the increased rate on her behalf. It’s not clear that any of these clients even knew she was the one blackmailing them. They might have thought it was an agency thing.”
“That’s right,” Trembley agreed. “And that may well have been partly true. Corinne’s new agent was a protégé of Reinhold’s named Jake Morant. He’s at CTA. It’s possible that she only got back to a power agency because she shared the list with them. Reinhold seemed to believe they kept the girls for hire operation going after they pushed him out. Frankly, the whole thing is a snake pit.”
“Okay. That definitely seems worth pursuing. Any other contenders?” Decker asked.
Trembley looked at Jessie, who took over.
“We have four legit suspects from the movie she was working on: the film’s director, her co-star, her assistant, and a lighting tech. We aren’t able to formally eliminate any of them yet. We’re hoping their phone data helps. But there are other folks we’re looking at too, at least one of whom might make you uncomfortable.”
“Go ahead,” Decker said. She could tell he was getting agitated.
“Miller Boatwright, the producer whose name was written on the mirror in her trailer. He was already on our radar before his assistant slipped us the name of a woman who may have reached a huge settlement with him—details redacted. Jamil Winslow’s still trying to find out what’s going on there. But clearly, it’s worth pursuing. Of course, we also have to consider that with his name on that mirror, he might be a target too.”
Decker’s normally narrowed eyes widened in frustration.
“So you’re telling me that at least two of your suspects, Boatwright and Reinhold, might just as credibly be future victims?” he demanded testily.
“Potentially,” Trembley said, seeming unsure whether he should continue.
“I can tell there’s more coming, Trembley. Just spit it out,” Decker ordered.
“Yes sir. Detective Bray is looking into the credibility of a story that Corinne Weatherly once berated a production assistant on a film so badly that the girl had a nervous breakdown and may have even attempted suicide. If true, that PA would have a real motive to get some payback.”
Decker looked skeptical.
“Has Bray verified this?” he asked.
“She’s working on it,” Jessie told him. “I anticipate we’ll hear something by tomorrow at the latest.”
Decker’s hawklike eyes bored into her as she spoke.
“Why do I get the impression that you don’t hold this theory in much regard, Hunt?”
Jessie shrugged.
“I’ve learned never to dismiss anything outright. It feels like a long shot to me but I’ve seen stranger motives for murder. I just don’t want to get my hopes up about a mysterious suspect obliquely referenced in an unverified secret Hollywood horror story.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she could tell that Trembley was irked. Apparently he was more willing to buy the theory and didn’t like her pooh-poohing so forcefully. She tried to smooth the waters a bit by pressing on.
“I also want to have another chat with her husband, Willem Struce. Not to be cruel but there’s definitely something wonky going on there. Weatherly was a big-time, sexy screen siren and she married a milquetoast CGI artist who has no discernible magnetism. The heart may want what it wants, but talking to him, even though he looked to be heavily sedated, I had trouble seeing why her heart wanted his.”
“So, almost solved then,” Decker said sarcastically, “apart from the unending supply of suspects, at least two of whom might be in danger themselves.”
“More than two, Captain,” Jessie said. As long as he was this pissed, she figured she might as well let it all hang out.
Decker looked like steam might actually shoot out of his ears.
“Let’s have it.”
“Captain, until we get a handle on the motive of the killer, we won’t know if this is a one-off murder or the start of something more. If somebody has a vendetta related to the film itself, the director could be at risk, along with her co-stars. We just don’t know.”
“Well, you better damn well find out,” Decker ordered. “I’ve got headquarters breathing down my neck. I don’t need to tell you that it doesn’t look great to have a murdered actress in the movie capital of the world. It scares off the money, as the chief told me about an hour ago. And now you’re saying this might not be an isolated incident, that