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He took her hand and fixed her with an intense look.“I promise you, Odelia. I didn’t do this. Even though I may have been strung out on booze and dope, I would never kill a person, even one I hated with every fiber of my being,” he said, suddenly clenching his jaw.

All in all, as Odelia walked out of the interview room, she still wasn’t convinced that Jeb hadn’t killed his ex-wife. On the other hand, she believed that people were innocent until proven guilty, and decided to extend Jeb that courtesy, too. She also believed that Helena and Fae believed in Jeb. So what other choice did she have but to pursue this investigationand pursue it as if she really were the best private dick this side of Long Island?

Chapter 13

They were out in the parking lot, and Helena and her daughter started to walk away in the direction of their car. Odelia followed them.“If I’m going to do this I need to do it right,” she said.

“Right, like the professional dicks that we are,” Gran confirmed.

“What I mean is that I need to know if there’s anyone out there who might hold a grudge against Jeb.”

Helena laughed, and so did Fae.“Anyone? How about I write you a list?”

“That many, huh?”

“You don’t become an A-list actor without making a couple of enemies along the way.” She held up a hand. “Not that Jeb would ever rub anyone the wrong way or that he’s difficult to work with. On the contrary. Ask anyone. He’s a total sweetheart, off and on the set.”

“But he does have enemies.”

“There are colleagues who are jealous. Guys he started out with but who never reached the top. They could drink his blood.”

“Not literally, though,” Fae interjected with a laugh.

“Some could drink his blood, especially the weird ones,” said her mother. “Then there’s the directors he rubbed the wrong way by wanting to pursue his own creative vision when they felt otherwise.”

“Yes, but those are creative differences you’re talking about,” said Odelia. “That and petty jealousy. But this is murder. Someone who hates Jeb so intensely that he or she would murder another human being simply to get back at Jeb.”

“Or someone who hated Camilla so much and didn’t care if the blame fell on Jeb,” said Gran.

“Or both,” Fae said. “Someone who hated my daddy and Camilla and figured out a way to get rid of them both in one fell swoop.”

Odelia nodded as she thought this through. They could be looking for a person who hated Jeb or Camilla or both. At any rate, whoever this person was—if this person even existed—he or she needed to have been in the area last night. “Do you know of anyone who had a grudge against Jeb or Camilla and who is in town right now?”

Helena frowned and tapped her lips.“Well, there’s our neighbor, of course. Fitz Priestley.” She exchanged a look with her daughter. “He hates Jeb right now, doesn’t he?”

“Oh, yes. Fitz hates Jebso hard right now.”

“Fitz Priestley the director? I thought Jeb was his muse?”

“He was, but that was before Jeb’s name became synonymous with spousal abuse,” said Helena. “Now he’s box office poison and no producer or studio will come near Fitz.”

“Which means,” continued Fae, “that the movies Fitz made with Jeb are not being rented, not being downloaded or watched on Netflix. He’s losing a lot of money. Plus, his name is now tainted by association, which is never a good thing for an ambitious director.”

“But would he murder Camilla to get back at Jeb?” asked Odelia. “That seems unlikely.”

“Oh, but he hated Camilla, too,” said Helena. “He cast her as his leading lady in his most recent project, for a star turn along with Jeb, but with the divorce the project fell through. He’d put a lot of his own money in it, and he lost it all.”

It was perhaps a reason to hate a person, but murder? Then again, stranger things had happened, Odelia thought. She made a mental note to check out this Fitz Priestley guy. Especially the fact that he lived right next door and probably knew the ins and outs of Jeb’s life made this a potentially promising lead.

“Don’t forget about Jeb’s drug dealer,” croaked Gran, earning her twin scowls from Helena and Fae. “What?” she said, raising her arms, palms up. “The man is a druggie. And we all know every drug addict needs a drug dealer. And if Jeb is as broke as he claims he is, maybe he owed his dealer a ton of money. Drug dealers don’t like it when customers don’t pay up. They tend to get nasty. And some of them even get murderous.”

“Yes, but he would simply have roughed Jeb up if that was the case,” said Helena. “Besides, I don’t think Jeb has a dealer in town. He always carries his own stuff with him.” When her daughter shot her a look, she blushed. “Mrs. Muffin is right, honey. Daddy does love his nose candy. And that stuff doesn’t come cheap nor can you buy it at your local deli. I remember Jeb had a guy in LA, so he probably got a nice stash and brought it out here.”

“And past airport security? Doubtful,” said Gran.