Blood and Fire

Page 7

“Precisely.” Kelly sat back and crossed her legs again, as if she’d made her point.
Maybe she had. Ryan’s answer was evasive, and Kelly thought they were hiding something—which they were. How the hell were they going to handle this? And why was Ryan looking at Ari? Surely he didn’t think she’d be any better at deflecting Kelly than he was?
OK. She’d give it a shot. It usually felt best to meet suspicions head on. “You think there’s something we haven’t told you. Exactly what do you suspect?”
Any hope to disconcert Kelly with the abrupt question failed.
“My brother didn’t have a heart problem, and his death wasn’t accidental. I can’t imagine why you won’t tell me what happened.” She paused, but Ari didn’t offer an explanation or denial. “My brother was a charming guy. He also made enemies, including many of the people he worked with. Half his crew resented him. His extravagant lifestyle, his star billing, his insistence on getting his own way. And the other half was sleeping with him. Then, there’s the money. Jase was worth millions, maybe billions, and his so-called partner thinks he’ll take over the business now that Jase is gone.”
“Won’t he?” Ryan interjected.
Kelly cut a glance at him. “Our lawyers are working on it. There may be some technical irregularities that would affect the transfer of ownership.”
“Now that’s interesting. Does Carmody know?” Ari pictured the confident man who had taken over as group spokesman at their first meeting. He hadn’t acted as if there was any doubt.
“Not yet, but he’ll know soon enough. I won’t let him be the only one who profits from the risks my brother took. Jase’s children will need their inheritance.”
“I didn’t realize he had children.” Ari considered how this news might impact their case. “Is there a wife?”
“No. Never has been.” Kelly sighed. “That didn’t keep my brother from fathering and doting on two darling children. A boy, age eight, and a girl, six. The mother and Jase are still good friends, and he’s been an active father, supported them financially, visited regularly. I’m very close to my niece and nephew, and I’ll see their future is secured by proceeds from the business.”
“As you said, that’s something for the lawyers.” Ryan gave her an assessing look. “You’ve made some interesting comments on his crew. Can you be more specific?”
“You want all the dirt, huh?” Kelly lips quivered with amusement. “I’ll try to keep it to facts, but you should be aware there are rumors beyond the things I’ll repeat. Jase led a colorful life.” She began to tick off the concerns on her fingers. “In addition to the fights over ownership of the business, Max Carmody and Jase were forever bickering over filming and production issues. Max held the title of director, but Jase never relinquished any power over his films, including who, what, and where. Max threatened to pull out of the partnership on numerous occasions, but his greed always won out.
“As for Cole, he filed a formal complaint with the network and the actors union that he wasn’t getting enough on-screen time. He whined that Jase was cutting out his best parts. Which was probably true. Jase didn’t like to be upstaged. Cole told anyone who’d listen that Jase was killing his career.”
Kelly paused while a clerk brought in a small tray with three Styrofoam cups of coffee.
“Sorry about the plastic stuff.” Ryan handed each of the women a cup. “Do you need sugar or cream? We might be able to find some.”
Ari enjoyed watching Ryan’s awkwardness. Obvious chemistry there. Too bad Kelly Falk was married. Kelly might or might not care about that little obstacle, but Ryan would.
Kelly turned her socialite smile on Ryan. “This is fine. Let’s see, who’s left? Tom, the photographer, was dating Bev, of the innocent blue eyes and designer breasts. I heard it was hot and heavy until Jase decided he wanted her. Bev is probably the only one on the crew who didn’t have a current reason to want him dead. She would have, in time. His love affairs never lasted for long. As Sara, the PR rep, should know. Their word-slinging breakup a year ago even made the tabloids.”
“I think I remember a friend mentioning that.” Ari suppressed a grin. “She reads one of the celebrity exposé mags.” In fact, Claris read all of them, laughing her head off.
“Oh, yes, Sara called him a pervert and a deviant. Those were the repeatable words. I won’t bore you with the rest of the lurid details, but I can’t imagine why she came on this expedition.”
“Or why he allowed her to come,” Ari added. “Since he was the boss, couldn’t he have said no?”
“Sure, he could, but that’s Jase. When something’s over, it’s over. He never looked back, never held a grudge.” Her eyelids glistened with moisture. “That was part of the charming side.”
“I’m sorry. I know this must be hard.” Ryan softened his tone. “But we appreciate you being so candid.”
Kelly straightened her shoulders. “He was a good big brother to me. I will miss him…a lot.” She took a sip of her cooling coffee. “But I understand why others might not feel that way. He was cocky and had such a strong belief in himself.” She blinked the tears away. “Anyway, enough of that. The two cavers…their dispute with Jase was over money. They found out the other crew members received shares in the company. When Jase and Max wouldn’t make a similar deal, the cavers tried to quit. It was Jase who held them to their contract.” Kelly waved off the implication. “Probably not enough of a reason to commit murder.”
There, she’d finally said it. Murder. The word that had hung over the entire interview, its presence coloring everything Kelly said. Were any of these disputes strong enough to demand the payment of a life?
Ryan brought Ari’s thoughts back to the conversation. “The only crew member you haven’t mentioned is Dyani.”
“The Native American girl. That’s because I don’t know anything about her. She’s a new addition to the crew. Never heard of her before a couple of weeks ago. If anyone knows about the treasure, I’d say it would be Dyani. Jase hired her specifically for this site.”
Wasn’t that interesting? The young woman hadn’t indicated she had any special knowledge, but Ryan hadn’t pressed her either. Until now, nobody had mentioned she was new. Taking a look at her background might be worth their time. Hadn’t the man at the historical society mentioned local Indian legends?
Kelly was talking again. “About 10:30. He was fired up, anxious to get started, but he didn’t want to talk about it until he was sure. He said this could be his biggest find.”
Ari leaned forward, realizing she’d missed part of the conversation. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch that last question. What happened at 10:30?”
“It was the last time I talked with Jase. He called me that night just hours before he died.”
“And he was excited about the treasure,” Ari repeated to clarify.
Kelly’s face lit with a soft smile. “More than excited. Really revved. At least I can keep that memory…how happy he was, how much he loved doing what he did.”
Cold comfort when that same career was most likely what killed him.
Ten minutes later, after receiving assurances her brother’s case would continue to be investigated as a suspicious death, Kelly Falk was gone. She was flying back to New York early the next day, but Ryan had promised to keep her updated.
Would those be daily or hourly updates? Ari didn’t tease him; he’d just be embarrassed.
Ryan closed the door behind Barron’s sister. “Neither of us suggested black magic as a cause of death. What do you think she would have said?”
“She wants answers. She might accept it, if we decide to give her the details, but I don’t think we should, at least not yet. She acts cooperative, level-headed, but what if she went to the press or made a careless slip?” Ari gave an emphatic shudder. “We’d have all hell break loose.”
“Yeah, I thought she was pretty solid, but you never know.” Ryan tapped his pen on the desk. “What do we do with all the information she gave us? Carmody and that PR woman seem to have pretty big gripes against the victim.”
“Well, yes, but you know this wasn’t a human killing. Barron wasn’t shot or stabbed, and he didn’t die from being shoved off the cliff. His body reeks of black magic. Unless one of the crew hired a wizard or witch, which would be a really weird way for a human to kill someone, their motives for disliking the victim are interesting, but probably unimportant.” She watched his face deflate. Given a choice, Ryan would much rather find an ordinary, human answer. “Still, it is significant that they lied during their interviews. They didn’t want us to know about the disagreements, which could be a normal tendency to appear in the best light to police—or it might be someone covering up. I not only want to know why, but I wonder what else they’re hiding. One of them must know something that would help us.” She set down her coffee cup and stood. “And no matter how remote the possibility, we still can’t discount a murder for hire. Let’s talk to the entire crew again, especially Carmody, Sara, and Dyani.”
Ryan grabbed his keys, ready to follow her out. “The whole lot of them lied by omission.” Ryan squared his jaw. “Maybe I’ll give them a lecture about impeding a death investigation.”
“OK, but I get to watch.”
* * *
Barron’s crew was still booked into the local River Vista Inn. Ryan had wrangled an agreement from the company lawyers for the group to stay in town until the end of the week. Ari listened to Ryan’s side of the conversation as Ryan called ahead and arranged to use one of the business conference rooms. She cocked an eyebrow at him as he hung up. Carmody had agreed to gather the crew, although not without an argument. Ryan filled her in on their way to the inn.