Sexy Girls (12 page)

^{“I remember Red from Andi's wedding. She's did the photos.”}

^{“That's right.”}

^{I then explained the Sexy Girls to Edie and Red's subsequent move to Florida.}

^{“Wait a minute, something doesn't make sense,” Edie stated.}

^{I asked, “What don't you understand?”}

^{“It seemed like Red had a good thing at the Grayson Agency. I can see her getting mad at Robert, he's a creep, but is it only a coincidence that Red left the Agency after the blackmailing?” Edie asked.}

^{“I don't know.”}

^{“Why did Andi go visit Red in Fort Lauderdale?”}

^{“I don't know and neither does Cyn. I want to talk to Red.”}

^{Edie asked, “You haven't spoken to her yet?”}

^{“No, Cyndie doesn't know how to get a hold of her.”}

^{Edie thought for a minute and answered, “I don't need to be back in L.A. for over a week, Stevie. Why don't we go to Florida? Let's track down Red in Fort Lauderdale.”}

^{“Sure, why not, let's talk to Cyn about it.”}

^{Edie then asked, “Did Cyndie have any other people in her life?”}

^{“Besides Red, Andi and me, the only other person I know about is her photographer friend, who lives near the Penn campus. I think Cyn had a relationship with him a year or two ago.”}

^{Edie asked, “Who's that?”}

^{“Cass Kylie. Cass taught Cyndie a lot about photography. He helped her with her new digital camera, the Leica. I've met him and he's now with a young Goth model, named Christie, or something like that. She works in center city and I see her around from time to time in the Liberty Place.”}

^{Edie said, “Is this Cass weird?”}

^{“No, he's really cool.”}

^{Edie then said, “Okay, but tell me more about Red and the Sexy Girls thing.”}

^{“Sure, but I want to tell you more about Andi and the other things I learned from Cyn.”}

^{Edie responded, “Okay, but give me your summary of Red and Andi and Cyndie, just so I have it clear.”}

^{I put my thoughts in order and said, “Red and Cyndie were lovers first. Then, they invited Andi into the Sexy Girls and they became a threesome. Next, Cyn and Andi fell in love and had a wild affair, and did crazy stuff in public. The Kimmel Center night happened and Andi got blackmailed, but Red and Robert were out-of-town. Finally, Red quit the agency and moved to Florida.”}

^{Edie answered by asking me, “Did Red and Cyndie have a big fight when Andi moved in on Cyndie?”}

^{“I don't think so… You know, I'm not sure. We need to ask Cyn about that. Maybe that's why Red never got in contact with Cyndie after she moved.”}

^{Edie then asked, “Do you think Red was pissed off enough at Andi to screw her out of her prenup?”}

^{“I just don't know. Why would she?”}

^{“I'm not sure about that. It sure sounds like she had motive. She was dumped by Cyn and Andi so they could have their own affair.”}

^{“It just doesn't sound right, though. Edie, we're still missing something. Maybe our Florida trip will provide the answer.”}

^{Edie responded, “Okay, Stevie, now tell me about Miss Andi's other adventures.”}

^{I spent the next half hour going over her affair with Fred Conarto.}

^{“That guy was scary. He would really freak me. Yet, he sounds like ancient history,” Edie responded. “Plus, what would be his motivation?”}

^{“Money, I guess.”}

^{Edie said, “Sure, but who would know that Andi and Cyn were going to the Kimmel Center and who could film them there having sex?”}

^{“I don't know.”}

^{“Wow, Stevie, Andi and Cyndie lived a pretty wild life!”}

^{“I agree; too wild for me.”}

^{Edie said, “Well, I guess my times with Sid were pretty risqué too, but my life's been a lot calmer since then.”}

^{“Tell
me about it. How are things with you and James?”}

^{“I broke up with him a few months ago.”}

^{“Really?”}

^{She answered, “Yes, it got to be too hard, being together in the series. We never got a break at work or play. James is a nice guy and always good to me. But, our relationship wasn't advancing. I really want to be married and James doesn't. It would be, I don't know, too much trouble for him, and he didn't think it would work out right. So it got to the point that I didn't know what I was doing or should do with him. It wasn't going anywhere.”}

^{I replied, “Edie, I never knew that. I'm sorry.”}

^{Edie said, “It's not that bad. I shouldn't complain. Most women would be so jealous of all I have. For me, it's just not enough.”}

^{I stayed silent as I could tell she wanted to say more. “Stevie, I don't know. James and I just drifted apart. I'd really like to start a family, but James doesn't want children.”}

^{“I want to be married and have a family, too.”}

^{“You do?”}

^{“Yes, some day soon, I hope.”}

^{“Me too.”}

^{Edie became silent, looked at me a long time, reached over and held my hand, then broke her eye contact. She was embarrassed. This conversation was awkward, in a way, but, actually, it was exactly what I wanted to hear from Edie. I decided to leave that for now.}

^{“Umh…what about your TV show, Lightning?”}

^{“It's weird. Lightning was cancelled by the network after only one season. They really messed us up, too, broadcasting shows out of order, showing the last three shows months after we were cancelled, giving us a tough time slot. We thought we'd last at least a second season, so the story was left hanging, unfinished.”}

^{“Yeah, that's too bad.”}

^{“But, wait, that's not the end of my story. People protested and wrote and called the network complaining. The producers looked for another network without luck. Then, they got a company interested enough to make a movie so they could end the story properly, or at least better than we left it. I learned a few months ago that it's going to happen. We begin filming soon.”}

^{“Hey, that's great.”}

^{“It is, Stevie. The whole cast is coming back, so that's good. I've seen the script and I like the story.”}

^{I said, “Cool. I watched the first season and liked it. But, I'd watch for you even if I wasn't into it.”}

^{“Thanks. It sure made my finances better, too.”}

^{“Do you have other things in the works?”}

^{“Yeah, I've been offered a role in Cosmo Door. We'll see what happens.”}

^{“That's good, too. You'll be a space girl forever.”}

^{Edie said, “I'll try to take that as a compliment.”}

^{We laughed and I said, “You should.”}

^{A few minutes later I thought about another subject, a tough, personal matter; Edie's father.}

^{I spoke softer, “So, how's your dad doing?”}

^{“Well, he's getting out of prison in three months.”}

^{“Really?”}

^{“Yes, we'll see how that goes.”}

^{“How do you think it'll go?”}

^{She answered, “I don't know. It's hard to say. He says he's better. But, he's moody still; sometimes when I visit he's happy, other times he's sorry for what he did, and from time to time he gets mad at wasting his life and the choices he made.”}

^{“Sure, it's tough. What's he going to do?”}

^{“He wants to live in Tucson, his home town. He knows an old friend, a woman who runs a homeless shelter and soup kitchen in the downtown area. She's invited him to come and work there.”}

^{I said, “That actually sounds like a good idea.”}

^{“Yes, it does. This place would also have some counseling available for him.”}

^{“Will he live there?”}

^{“I think he could, but he also talks about living in my cabin, too.”}

^{“Oh, that's right. I forgot that he was going to move there nine years ago.”}

^{“Right…”}

^{Edie stopped talking, turned and looked out the window.}

^{I asked, “What are you thinking about, Edie?”}

^{“Oh, Stevie, it's just such a nightmare. My father helped kill Sid! It bothered me for a long time. I've gotten some help; it's such a terrible thing…”}

^{“Edie, I know.”}

^{Edie began to cry. Her tears flowed and she began to sob. She tried to control herself but lost the battle. I pulled the SUV side of the road, turned off the engine and held her for a long time. Finally, she was calm.}

^{“Thank you, Stevie. We should go. Cyndie will think something's wrong.”}

^{“I don't care. I'll go when we're ready.”}

^{She looked up into my eyes and smiled.}

^{Then, she kissed me and said, “I'm ready, Stevie, thank you.”}

 

 

^{As we approached Rehoboth, traffic picked up and I caught up to Cyndie. I steered our conversation to Andi's beach house. Andi purchased the cottage for her mother in her modeling superstar days, before she married Robert. Then, her mother died two years ago. I explained the value of the beach house and that it was by far Andi's largest asset.}

^{Edie said, “Wow! That's a valuable piece of property, isn't it? And, now, we own it?”}

^{“That's what Andi's attorney says. But, I think we might have a probate fight with Robert. We've asked Andi's attorney to represent us.”}

^{I explained that Cyndie and Aprella, her model friend, had stayed at the beach cottage the summer before, in August 2004, with Andi. Andi and Aprella did a photo shoot for a lingerie company and a fetish-clothes designer, and they planned to do it again. Cyn appeared in a few of the fetish photos too. Robert Grayson did the shooting and gave free lessons to Cyn and his daughter, Jill. Jill had just started with the agency as she graduated college a few months earlier and wanted to be a photographer too.}

^{Cyndie said the weekend was a little tense as Robert and Andi were fighting and Jill acted bitchy toward Andi. Jill was also a poor student and got bored with her father's photography lectures. Fortunately, Robert and Jill didn't stay they weekend; they arrived Saturday morning and left after dinner, Saturday night.}

^{“I wonder if I'll recognize the cottage. Cyn and I visited Andi one weekend, but that was eight years ago.”}

^{Edie answered, “Andi told me she decorated it with classy light-colored furnishings, but Andi told us she didn't change too many things since her Mother's death.”}

^{I changed the subject. “I really look forward to some beach time. I hope you'll join me because Cyn isn't in to it. I'm not sure why.”}

^{“Well, I'm not sure, but any suit she wears would provide an eyeful, with her tattoos and her hair. Goth and fetish don't mix well with the beach crowd. I'd love to join you, Stevie, but I need to get a swimsuit.”}

^{“Edie, that shouldn't be hard, there are lots of stores on Rehoboth Avenue, plus the outlets. If I remember correctly, Andi's cottage is near a private beach. Not many people will see us.”}

^{Edie smiled and I changed the subject again. We talked about the boardwalk and the shops and fun things we wanted to do. I couldn't wait to walk the boards with these two gorgeous women. I wanted to visit
Funland
and ride the Sea Dragon, the Gravitron and Chaos - long time amusement scare rides.}

^{Edie's wishes surprised me. She wanted to get fudge and salt water taffies. She challenged me to miniature golf. Of course, we would shop at the outlet stores - hundreds of them in the shopping centers on both sides of Highway 1 just north of the entrance to Rehoboth. We would have a busy four days.}

 

^***

 

^{The beach at Rehoboth is being eaten slowly by the Atlantic Ocean. The city and the state have been trying to save it for years. They've built jetties out into the Atlantic about every 300 yards. These jetties have created separate beach areas that attract their own unique crowds. Some beach sections are in front of the boardwalk and mobbed with the guests from the hotels and motels and from the day-trippers.}

^{Our beach was three jetty sections north of the end of the mile-long boardwalk. During my only previous visit with Cyndie, in the height of the summer season, Andi's special beach had about ten people on it in mid-day. At the same time, the beaches a half mile south were swarmed with over 1,000 people.}

 

^***

 

^{We entered a busy town as we took our left off Highway 1 onto Rehoboth Avenue. We beat the weekend traffic rush as Delaware public schools were not yet closed for summer. If we did this same trip the next weekend, we would have crawled the final ten miles to the resort. I appreciated the smooth ride.}

^{Unlike most Delaware, Maryland or New Jersey beach resorts, Rehoboth is a real town. Those other beach towns look like thin ladders from an airplane, with long north-south roads and thin side roads between the ocean surf and the back bays. Rehoboth Beach, in contrast, is a large rectangle, about two miles wide and four miles long, with many interior streets. Rehoboth Avenue bisects the town east to west, with its terminus right at the middle of the boardwalk.}

^{Andi's cottage is on the north side of town on Oak Avenue. Charming - that was my impression when I pulled into the driveway of the cottage. This little house is on an upscale block, surrounded by much larger homes.}

^{The lower level has a white screened porch across the front, two steps up from the semi-circular drive. The yard is enclosed with a white picket fence, with openings for the in and out of the driveway. A large, full-leaved twenty foot tall maple tree dominates the semi-circular plot of ground between the street and the driveway. At the base of the tree an untended annual and perennial flower garden sat, calling my name for help. Inside the fence a hedge of hydrangea, coming into big purple and pink blooms, wrapped around the yard. The yard is small, with a tiny ten-foot deep, forty-foot-wide back yard. Six beach pines provide a screen of privacy for the back of the house.}

^{I parked the SUV all the way in the driveway so Cyndie could fit the Miata behind us. We stepped out of our vehicle as Cyn fished out the keys from her shoulder purse.}

^{We followed Cyndie up to the door and into the living room. As we entered, Cyndie screamed, “Oh my God, we've been robbed!”}

^{I looked around and saw the living room only had a stuffed white couch and a matching side chair. There were odd pieces of furniture here and there, but all walls were bare and no other decorations were present.}

^{Cyndie held my arm and said, “What's going on, Stevie?”}

^{“I don't know.”}

^{I called out “hello” and there was no answer.}

^{We walked to the back left of the house towards the dining room and the table was there, but there weren't any chairs and it looked like a chest or china closet was missing too. Crossing the back of the house we passed the small laundry area and the powder room, tucked under the back of the stairs. The washer and dryer were still there and looked untouched. The back door was in this hall in the middle of the rear wall. The kitchen was in the back right downstairs. We noticed that the cabinets had been rifled and were nearly empty of dishes, cups and silverware. Only some old food stuffs, the stove, the refrigerator and an old toaster remained.}

^{I returned to the living room and ran up the extra-wide staircase that was in the middle of the cottage across from the front door. Upstairs the master bedroom ran across the front of the house. The bathroom was in the back center and the two small bedrooms were in the back left and right. The master bedroom was similarly stripped bare, except for the bed and one bureau. Even the bedding on the queen-sized brass bed was gone.}

^{I walked into the bathroom and found the first of two solid clues. There on the mirror, written in lipstick, was this message, “Take that you witch.”}

^{I came downstairs to find Cyndie sitting on her couch with tears rolling down her face. I went over, sat down, hugged them and said, “I'll call the police and have them come over right now.” I explained the message upstairs and Edie asked, “Who would write that?”}

^{“I'm not sure.”}

^{Cyndie's mood suddenly changed, yes, she was hurt but I saw some steel come into her eyes. She was determined to do something about this.}

^{I walked back to the kitchen. The phone was gone from the wall, but, amazingly, the local phone book was one of the only things remaining on the counter. I use my cellphone and called the police to report the robbery.}

^{I rejoined Cyndie and Edie and told them an officer would stop by within a half hour. In the mean time, I said we should make sure we don't touch anything else.}

^{While we waited I got up and did a second, slower walk through the small home. Whoever stripped the place didn't do it in a hurry. I didn't see any scars or damage to cabinets, walls or floors. The very heavy things were left behind; beds, bureaus, tables, big appliances and the couch. Most things taken would not have much re-sale value. In fact, having just gone through this with my divorce, most items taken would have no value, like everyday dishes and glasses, old rugs and sheets.}

^{It looked like the robber wanted to make a point. But, I wasn't sure what that could be.}

^{I had just finished looking in the master bedroom when I saw a Rehoboth Beach police cruiser pull up to the curb between the driveway's entrance and exit. Cyndie and I greeted Sergeant Jim Jester at the front door.}

^{Jester was attired in his grey-blue uniform and Smokey-the-bear hat, with holster, clipboard and walkie-talkie.}

^{He was six foot three and a few inches taller than me, but he made us relax with his big smile and easy going manner and a hint of a southern accent. I guessed Jester was in his late forties. He immediately took off his hat to reveal a tanned, bald head.}

^{I introduced myself and the two ladies.}

^{Edie said she'd take a walk in town to find a swimsuit as she knew the least about the cottage and its possessions. We agreed that was a good idea and Edie exited.}

^{Jim Jester asked, “How long have you owned this beach house?”}

^{“Just a few days. We inherited it from our friend.”}

^{I spent the next three minutes giving Jester a summary of Andi, her death and our relationship. I even let him look at Andi's will. We showed him our IDs. I gave him Detective John Morelli's information in Philadelphia, and Andi's attorney's name in Wilmington, in case he wanted to verify our story.}

^{Jester asked, “This place looks bare. What was taken from the home?”}

^{Cyndie answered with a sigh, “Almost everything.”}

^{Jester instructed us, “I'll need an inventory of what's missing. It would be a good idea if you could put together the list today and turn it in to me tomorrow.”}

^{I answered, “We'll try, but we were only here a few times before.”}

^{Jester responded, “How long are you in town?”}

^{Cyndie replied, “We intended to stay for a four days, until Sunday afternoon. But, I'm not sure now.”}

^{“Okay, what's your phone numbers?”}

^{We gave him the local number, but since the phone was missing, we also gave Jester our cellphone numbers.}

^{“Besides yourself, who has keys to the house?”}

^{Cyndie thought for a moment and then answered, “The housekeeping company,
Beach Property Management
, they're in Lewes. They're supposed to come by a few times in the off season to check on the place. Other than them, we're the only ones.”}

^{Jester wrote that down. “Okay, I'll check with them to see if they saw anything unusual. This happens too often, I'm afraid. When was the last time your friend was down to visit?”}

^{Cyn looked at me and answered, “Last year, in October, Andi and I came down for a weekend and she set up the contract with
Beach Property
, as it was easier. Andi inherited the cottage from her mother in early 2002. That first year, she came down about three or four times during the winter, but it was inconvenient. She thought this would be better.”}

^{Jester than said, “I'd like to take a few prints to see if I can get a match.” He looked at both of us and said, “Can I take yours to eliminate you two?”}

^{We said sure, and I told him I'd be on record since I was a private investigator. I showed him my Pennsylvania and Delaware licenses.}

^{Over the next hour, Jester took our prints and found some more on doorknobs, the refrigerator, the stove, windows and mirrors. Then he walked around the house and said we should check local resale shops for any of Andi's possessions or for anyone giving them business from Andi's home.}

^{Once Jester saw the bathroom message, he returned to Cyndie and asked her, “That's a terrible thing on that mirror. Do you know anyone who ever called your friend that?”}

^{I answered, “I'm not sure.”}

^{“Do you know anyone who'd be mad at her for any reason?”}

^{The way Jester asked that question sprung an old memory. “Holy shit! Maybe it was Fred.” I said with a gasp.}

^{Jester looked at me. “Who is Fred?”}

^{Cyn and I spent a few minutes describing Andi's old boyfriend, Fred Conarto. Bottom-line, the guy was creepy and made me rethink everything, including Andi's murder. Cyndie said Fred called Andi a witch when he was mad. And, he was very unhappy that Andi, and not him, ended their relationship.}