Not Wanted in Hollywood (7 page)

“Trudie, where are you?” barked Alistair.

“
I’m grabbing
something to eat,” I said. “I’ve spoken to Denise Pollard and she
has agreed to temporarily allow you to continue filming, as long as
there aren’t any unfavorable incidents with the girls.”

“
That’s good,
very good,” said Alistair in that rushed way he had of speaking.
After working for him for a month I was very much aware that the
only words he heard me say was ‘continue filming’. I could see I
was going to be busy trying to keep Alistair and Denise from
rubbing each other the wrong way.

“I have meetings with that new lawyer of mine
all afternoon. He has just gone through the proposal for this shoot
and he is concerned about some of the legal ramifications.”

Color me surprised. The lawyer was concerned
that there may be legal fallout from videotaping men in a strip bar
without their knowledge. I did not see that coming.

“
I need you
to finish transcribing some of the footage as well as my notes,”
Alistair said. “Hugh has gone home so the office is closed for the
day. You can work from home and I expect that transcribing to be
done immediately.”

After being given my orders I tucked my phone
in my bag. I did not see this job going well. It seemed to be
unraveling. There was a part of me that hoped that Alistair’s new
lawyer was so horrified by the project that he would bury it under
piles of paperwork.

My plate of
food was placed in front of me and I looked up to thank the
waitress, only to be faced with my own special brand of
torment.

Dominic
Caldwell slid into the booth opposite me and gave me that smile
that only he seemed to be able to do. A smile which brought to mind
a combination of innocent puppy dog in pet shop window and
alligator just before attacking its prey and dragging it into the
swamp. I looked around desperately, evaluating the exits and how
soon I could get through them, into my car and out of the
state.

“
Don’t
panic,” Dominic murmured. “You’re perfectly safe.”

I think I was going to take that statement
with a pinch of salt. Dominic Caldwell had, during a previous
encounter, kidnapped me. Twice. For most people that kind of
background to a relationship might lead you to expect it to be
strained. Dominic was not most people. For some reason he thought
we had bonded. The thinking processes of some people absolutely
amazed me. He confused me and frankly he scared me. If Griffin was
mad at me for being friends with Travis, he was going to be
apoplectic when he discovered that I was having lunch with Dominic.
Because he would find out, that was just the way that my life was
going.

“What are you doing here?” I croaked.

“
I thought it
would be useful for us to have a conversation,” Dominic said. “But
please, eat your lunch. I wouldn’t want it to get cold.”

I looked down at the burger and fries sitting
on the plate. They seemed a lot more appetizing when I ordered
them. Of course that was before they were delivered by my own
personal spawn of Satan. Admittedly I may have been exaggerating
the perceived evil of the man sitting across from me. The problem
was that Dominic Caldwell both scared and unsettled me. I firmly
believed in the benefits of civilization. Everybody is supposed to
work within the rules of the law. Dominic has his own
interpretation of what those laws are and how they apply to him.
Usually they don’t. I had been made acutely aware of this when I
found myself arguing the strict definition of what a kidnapping
actually was.

I picked up the burger and took a bite out of
it. If I was going to be kidnapped again I may as well have it
happen when I had a full stomach.

Dominic watched me quietly as I ate the
burger. The silence seemed to stretch out uncomfortably and I could
feel my entire body tensing up.

Finishing the burger I wiped my hands with
the napkin and sat back.

“What do you want Dominic?” I was pleased
that my voice didn’t shake.

“
Just a
chat,” said Dominic. “I have so missed our chats.”

I hadn’t. I was quite happy with a life that
did not include chats with Dominic Caldwell.

“What exactly did you want to chat about?” I
asked. “I wouldn’t have believed my thoughts on any topic would be
relevant to you.”

“
Oh Trudie,”
said Dominic. “I thought I had made myself clear that I treasure
the time we have together. I find your insights into certain
matters to be invaluable.”

“
And what
insights are you looking for at the moment?” I asked, because there
was no way that I was ever going to believe that this meeting
between the two of us was coincidental. Even I’m not that
unlucky.

Dominic sighed. “I believe that you found
Hamish Pollard’s body.”

I nodded wondering why that would mean
anything to Dominic.

“Mr Pollard and I had a business
relationship.”

“What kind of business relationship?” I
asked.

“
Mr Pollard
was a frequent customer at several of my establishments” said
Dominic.

That
explained it. From what little I knew about Dominic he owned
several casinos in Las Vegas. Considering the level of interest
shown in him by both local and federal law enforcement agencies, I
am sure there was far more to his empire but I was only aware of
this small area.

“
I’m guessing
he owed you money,” I said.

“
As usual
your insight astounds me,” said Dominic.

I was confused. “What are you doing here
Dominic?” I asked. “Whatever Hammy owed you could not possibly be
worth you coming to LA yourself and chasing up the money.”

Dominic smiled. “You are correct or course. I
would usually not be dealing with this issue myself but I heard of
your involvement and it did pique my interest.”

I did not
want to pique his interest. I had never wanted to pique his
interest. Dominic Caldwell was a handsome, rich and powerful man,
but he had a way of doing business which was slightly left of
completely legal. All of a sudden I had a very frightening
thought.

“
You haven’t
sent one of your colleagues to talk to Denise Pollard have you?” I
asked, the dismay obvious in my voice. I had met two of Dominic’s
colleagues. The first one stuck a needle in my neck, rendering me
unconscious for nine hours. The second kidnapped me from a
drugstore. I started to get out of the booth.

Dominic placed a hand over mine on the table,
effectively trapping me in place.

“Where do you think you are going?” he asked
quietly.

“
I’m going to
rescue Denise from whatever thug you sent after her.”

“
Mrs Pollard
is in safe hands. My colleague has been informed that he is to
treat her with the utmost respect. My instructions were made very
clear in this regard,” Dominic said.

I stayed standing. “I don’t have the greatest
confidence in your communication skills.”

Dominic smiled. “I do like you.”

I wasn’t particularly fond of that sentiment
either.

“
Trust me,”
he said, indicating that I should sit down again.

I almost choked on those words. I was as
likely to trust Dominic Caldwell as I was a politician’s promises.
Dominic obviously knew where my thought processes were going and I
saw his features tighten.

“
I would
suggest you accept my word in this,” he said grimly.

I sat down because I could tell that I didn’t
really have a choice.

“
Why are you
here?” I asked, pulling my hand back from where he was still
holding it.

He let go grudgingly. “Mr Pollard’s death is
quite inconvenient. We had been discussing a possible business
relationship.”

I couldn’t
help the look of distaste that crossed my face. “You were looking
into owning strip clubs?” I know that Dominic Caldwell was many
things but I hadn’t realized that he was involved in that
industry.

Dominic’s
face matched mine. “Of course not, but that land that the club sits
on is quite valuable. Mr Pollard owed me a considerable amount of
money and he was considering providing me with the land as
compensation.”

“For what?” I asked.

“
For
development. I am an honest businessman and I saw an opportunity to
expand into certain areas of Los Angeles. I have found lately that
this city holds some attraction,” Dominic said to me, his gaze
holding mine.

I swallowed. Dominic Caldwell made me
nervous, very nervous.

“
Why do you
want to talk to me?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

“Having Mr Pollard pass away like he did, at
such an important part of the negotiations. I find that concerning.
I am curious as to what happened.”

“Why are you asking me?” I said. “Why don’t
you just go to the police or a private investigator or anyone else
but me.”

Yet again Dominic looked at me as if he was
having to explain things to a child. “I just want to know what you
saw and any thoughts you may have regarding Mr Pollard’s
unfortunate demise.”

I truly had to stop myself from sighing in
exasperation. “I don’t know anything. I was one of the people who
found the body last night. I’ve been working at the club for the
last couple of weeks. During that time I have found Hammy to be a
thoroughly disgusting human being. The fact he was murdered does
not surprise me at all. He was strangled with a whip that was used
in the dominatrix’s act. I have absolutely no idea who did this. If
you are looking for the killer the list could be a mile long.”

“Your boyfriend has no problem with you
working in a strip club?” Dominic asked in what I felt was a
totally unrelated question.

“
It’s not
like I was stripping,” I said tightly, refusing to answer the
question.

Dominic studied me carefully. “He didn’t know
did he?”

“
I am pretty
sure that my personal life is none of your business,” I said. “In
fact, there is no part of my life that is any of your business. If
you have issues with Hammy or if he owed you money then I would
suggest that you sort it out with his estate.”

“
That is the
thing,” said Dominic, as usual completely ignoring the fact that I
very obviously wanted to get away from him. “The wife with the old
will, it seems a little too convenient. It was my understanding
that Mr Pollard had developed a relationship with a young lady
recently and had been planning to change his will to leave her the
club if something unfortunate happened to him.”

“
Really,” I
said and wanted to kick myself. Unfortunately Dominic knew that I
had an insatiable curiosity. Already my mind was racing trying to
work out who the young lady in question could have been. I was
assuming that it was one of the girls from the club but maybe Hammy
had a hobby that I didn’t know about. People sometimes have a habit
of surprising you. For all I knew Hammy could have belonged to a
book club. I was doubting it, but I’d been completely wrong about
people before.

“
I prefer to
ascertain as much as I can about a situation before making my next
move,” said Dominic. He pulled a card out of his pocket and pushed
it across the table towards me. “My understanding is that you are
continuing to work at the club. I would be very appreciative if you
were to contact me if any further information should come your
way.”

I reluctantly picked up his card and looked
at it carefully. I knew I was being paranoid but a part of me was
concerned that there could be a tracking device embedded in it.
Based on what I knew about Dominic Caldwell, I wouldn’t be
surprised.

Turning over the card I looked up at him.
“Why me?” I asked. “There are so many ways that you can find out
the information that you want. Why did you come to me?”

Dominic
smiled. “It is true that I am following other lines of inquiry.
Getting this land is important to me. Still, I find I value your
insights into these matters. You have a refreshing way of looking
at life. If you were available I would be interested in offering
you a position on my staff.”

For a moment I forgot to breathe. I was being
head hunted by a man who, depending on which rumor you listened to,
may or may not perform that activity literally.

“
Thank you,”
I said, remembering to breathe again, although I did find that my
voice was pitched a little high. “At this time I don’t think that I
am looking for another position. I’m quite happy where I
am.”

Dominic stood
up, picked up my hand and brushed a gentle kiss across the back of
my knuckles. “Until we meet again,” he said.

I started breathing again when he walked out
of the door of the diner.

Closing the door
to my apartment, I leaned back against it and closed my eyes. Here
I felt safe.

“Did you want to tell me what you’ve been
doing?”

My eyes flew open and I stopped a scream when
I saw it was Griffin.

“What are you doing here?” I was smiling. I
couldn’t help it. Griffin had come back. We were going to discuss
our issues like adults and sort them out. Our relationship would
survive and we would come out of this stronger. Griffin would
realize how much he loved me and everything would be perfect.

“
You were
having lunch with Dominic Caldwell,” Griffin accused.

I raised my eyes to the heavens. I could not
catch a break. “How on Earth did you know that? I only left him
about twenty minutes ago.”