said you don’t even have a detective assigned yet?” she asked, incredulous. He really was throwing her to the wolves.
“No. I thought I’d let you pick your partner for this one. Since HSS is a priority unit, I can pull from any station in the city if the need arises. Any detective not currently assigned to a case is yours for the taking.”
Jessie smiled despite herself.
“I know what you’re doing, Captain,” she said.
“What’s that?” he asked, feigning innocence.
“You’re hoping that by telling me I’m the only one who can handle this case and letting me pick who I work with, you’ll make it too tempting for me to say no.”
He shrugged noncommittally.
“That’s a scurrilous accusation,” he said mildly. “Did it work?”
She sighed. It was tempting. Her class didn’t start until next week. Hannah would be back in school tomorrow. If need be, she could have the nurse work full-time for a few days. And if things got too time-consuming, she could beg off and leave the case in the hands of someone she trusted.
“Two conditions,” she said.
“Go ahead.”
“First, I have to be home to take care of my family. That means normal hours—no running out in the middle of the night. Second, if it gets to be too much, I can bail without consequence. You can keep the detective for continuity but I’m not putting my home life on the back burner for any case, even one involving a billionaire. Deal?”
Decker scrunched up his face and she thought he was about to balk.
“What detective do you want?”
CHAPTER TWO
“Hello?” Detective Karen Bray said sleepily.
“Karen, it’s Jessie Hunt. Sorry to call so early but I need your help.”
“What time is it?”
“Six thirty.”
“Are you okay, Jessie?” she asked, sounding more alert.
“Yes. But I’m consulting on a time-sensitive case. Captain Decker gave me carte blanche to pick a case partner from any LAPD station and I thought of you.”
“What’s the case?” Karen asked. Jessie could tell the detective was fully alert now.
“I’ll fill you in on the way. Meet me at Hollywood Station right away. We can carpool from there.”
“Where are we going?”
“Holmby Hills,” Jessie told her. “So put on your nicest work slacks.”
Less than thirty minutes later, the two of them were driving west, approaching one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Los Angeles. Jessie had left her car at Hollywood Station and let Bray drive. It only made sense considering how well her new partner knew the area.
Jessie had only worked with Karen Bray once before but it had been a positive experience. Barely a month ago, the Hollywood detective had been instrumental in helping Jessie and Detective Trembley, who were based out of downtown L.A., steer their way through the murky world of studio politics while investigating the death of an actress on a film shoot.
Jessie remembered Bray saying that she used to work at West L.A. station, which had jurisdiction over the tony Holmby Hills neighborhood. For a case involving someone this rich in an area of town she’d didn’t know well, it made perfect sense to partner with a cop she respected who also knew the lay of the land.
It was already paying dividends. As Bray followed the winding curves of Sunset Boulevard, she pointed out various landmarks. There was the Beverly Hills Hotel on their right, with its famed Polo Lounge restaurant. They skirted the northern edge of the Los Angeles Country Club, a popular hangout for the rich and famous. She noted the Playboy Mansion, perhaps the most famous residence in Holmby Hills, though it was far from the most ostentatious.
“That title belongs to The Manor,” Bray said, sounding more like a tour guide than a detective. “It’s the former home of the late television producer Aaron Spelling. With over a hundred rooms and more than twenty-five bathrooms, it’s the largest home in Los Angeles County.”
“Why do I get the sense that you’ve given out-of-town family members this speech more than once?” Jessie asked.
“Is it that obvious?” Bray replied, then continued without waiting for an answer, intentionally using her best narrator voice. “By comparison, the Otis Estate is relatively modest. It has a mere forty-six rooms with nine bedrooms and twelve bathrooms. Otis bought it in 2015 for thirty-three million dollars.”
“How do you know all this?” Jessie asked.
Karen smiled sheepishly.
“I read it on Wikipedia while you came over to meet me.”
“Did you do a deep dive on Otis too?” Jessie asked.
“Yes, but I didn’t really need to. That guy’s more ubiquitous than most actual