When the Night Bird Sings Read online

  A federal charge of fraud was filed three years ago by an Edward Fillmore but Kane had been acquitted of all charges. There was no mention of any lasting relationships with any women other than Candy. Not exactly an all-American boy, but a huge success with an eye for the oldest profession.

  Candy was listed as the wife of a doctor and a socialite charity fundraiser.

  Her name and her mother’s name were as she said. A marriage license to Ashton Kane revealed her maiden name and a rap sheet on her mother’s prostitution and drug charges, but Candy had never been booked on any charges.

  I heard a door close, looked up and saw Verves and the ladies coming my way. I stuffed the contents back in the envelope and followed them back into Verve’s office.

  “Have a seat,” Verves said.

  We sat down and waited for him to speak.

  “Mrs. Kane, you said you were in Dallas when your husband was murdered and we have nothing to prove otherwise. But that doesn’t mean we can dismiss all interest in you until we confirm other people had the motive and opportunity to kill your husband. We will also have to explore your past in more detail before we can conclude our investigation.”

  “Chief,” Darcie said, “you have personal information and will certainly obtain more in your investigation that we don’t want in the press. I want to request you give us the opportunity to prevent private matters from going public.”

  “That depends,” Verves said. “I may be able to do that, but if my boss says they have to be made public there’s not much I can do.”

  “I understand that, but I also know we can sue for invasion of privacy if the information is not relative to the case.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind. We can talk first,” Verves said. “Mrs. Kane, again, let me express my sympathy for the loss of your husband. We will keep you posted on any developments in the case.”

  “Thank you,” Candy said. “Chief Verves, I’ve come a long way from my old life. My background would damage my status now if it is made public. Please consider that for me.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” he said.

  “May we go now?” Candy asked.

  “Yes. Here’s a parking pass so you won’t have to pay,” he said and handed me the pass.

  I stood up and shook hands with Verves. “Thanks, Chief,” I said, gesturing toward the envelope. “If you find out who was trying to kill us, let me know please.”

  Verves nodded. Darcie and Candy said goodbye and we left.

  We stopped at Brogans on the way home. The chef was familiar with Tibetan Highland Asian Chicken and prepared Candy a gourmet dinner to go. He said DeMax was fired for trying to seduce the manager’s wife.

  We headed back to the lake house. Candy poured some wine, ate about half of the dinner and retreated to the bedroom with a fresh bottle, saying she was going to get drunk and not to bother her.

  Darcie and I found a steak TV dinner. We finished it off and sat down in the living room after feeding the fish.

  “Well, Sherlock, what do we do now?” Darcie asked.

  “Verves gave me a bio and autopsy of Ashton Kane,” I said. “The crime scene picture looked like there may have been some sex going on when Kane was murdered. He had a record of arrests when he was in college for sexual perversions; and one prostitute claimed she was hypnotized by Kane. Sound familiar?” I opened the envelope and handed Darcie the picture.

  “Yeah, it does look like he was in a compromising position. The spots on the bed could be semen.” She shuffled through the other files. “He wasn’t allowed into any fraternities, either. Looks like he worked his way through college. Must have been a loner; maybe some mental problems himself.”

  “They don’t have a normal husband/wife relationship, that’s for sure.”

  “Check the airlines for a round-trip ticket to New York in Candy’s name the same night her husband was murdered. I’ll have a look at the car. It’s supposed to have a bullet hole in the window.”

  “I’ll check the phone calls,” Darcie said.

  “We need something. We keep running into blank walls.”

  I picked up the keys to Candy’s car but I gave Darcie back the keys to the Kanes’ penthouse and his office. “I’d hate to break in.”

  “I’ll go check,” Darcie said.

  “I’ll call DeMax and get him to stay with you while I’m gone,” I said. “I’m sure he could use the money. Just make sure he stays away from Candy.”

  “I’ll tell him something like, ‘You bother her and I’ll shoot your balls off,’” she said.

  “That should do it,” I grinned. “I’m going by the house to clean up and check my machine to see if the kids called. Run a bio on Fillmore for me and send it to the house.”

  “You got it, Sherlock,” she said.

  “We’ll have to go to the funeral with Candy tomorrow. It’s the perfect place for an ambush.”

  Chapter 10

  After taking a shower by myself I put on a blue pullover sweater and a pair of Dockers Darcie bought me. I was buckling my Glock holster when I noticed something off…my roll of quarters was gone from the dresser. Darcie may have stuck them away somewhere and deprived me of a legal weapon.

  I checked the machine. No messages from Emily or Morgan. I called my daughters to let them know I was tied up for a while but had the money to get them what they wanted as soon as I finished my case.

  Emily suggested I send the money to her mother and let her help buy the car and then they would take Morgan to Disneyland. I told her I would think about it, although I knew I had no intentions of letting my ex-wife’s new boyfriend play daddy.

  Darcie called before I could call her. She told me to check my computer; she had sent me the bio on Edward Fillmore.

  Looking over it, I read he resided in one of the more upscale buildings and was the CEO of a financial firm. He was forty years old and a Harvard grad with a PhD in Economics. Fillmore also had two kids but was divorced because he was unfaithful to his wife with Candy Kane, according to the divorce papers.

  The only note listed on his medical treatment was, “Patient escapes into numbness to forget unpleasant events he has no solution for, and is best served by medical hypnotism to prevent further mind-altering thoughts.”

  So that explained why he was being hypnotized.

  He had filed a lawsuit against Ashton Kane for ten million dollars, claiming Kane hypnotized him to transfer ten million dollars from his account. The case was thrown out of court due to lack of evidence.

  I checked the marquee outside the building, this was the right place.

  Inside, I stepped into the elevator with a group of well-dressed white-haired men who were probably executives of companies in the building. I got off on the tenth floor and saw a brass sign across the hall with an arrow pointing to my left.

  When I walked in, a redheaded secretary was sitting at the desk next to a door labeled ‘CEO Edward G Fillmore.’

  “May I help you?” she asked.

  “Yes, I need to talk to Mr. Fillmore,” I said and handed her my newly-printed business card.

  “Is Mr. Fillmore expecting you?”

  “No ma’am, but I think he will want to see me. It’s about the murder of Ashton Kane.”

  “I don’t think so, Mr. Mecana. He gave me instructions not to let anyone in if it concerned Mr. Kane.”

  “I’m not leaving until I do.”

  She stood up and stepped in front of the door to his office. “I’ll call the police. You’re trespassing.”

  “I could also push you out of the way and go in before they get here.”

  She stared at me and didn’t move.

  “Wait here,” she finally said, quickly opening and closing the door as she went in.

  Seconds later, Fillmore burst out of his office looking at my card, jumpy as a bullfrog.

  He was a tall, good-looking man wearing an expensive blue suit and red tie. He had thick black hair, dark brown eyes and a mustache.

  �
��Mr. Mecana, take your ass outta here,” he said. “I know about Kane’s murder. I have an iron-clad alibi. He accused me of trying to fuck his wife and used his profession to take advantage of me. The emotional problems I have could never lead to murdering anyone. Now get out of my office before I have Miss Wingate call the cops.”

  “She’s already threatened to do that,” I said. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Mr. Fillmore. I have no desire to cause you further trouble, but I need the truth.

  You better make damn sure that’s what you’re telling me.”

  He rubbed his hands together and grimaced like he was in pain. “Okay. Come in my office.”

  He motioned for me to go through the open door. I walked in and he followed and sat behind his desk. I sat down in a chair in front of his desk.

  “I was in London attending a business meeting when he was murdered,” Fillmore said. “Lots of witnesses. I may be glad someone killed him but it wasn’t me. His wife tried to recruit me to obtain information on several of my clients for market deals, using herself as the reward. I admit I thought it over but changed my mind. Nothing happened. He’s an evil mental case and she’s an evil whore. I think they’re the perfect pair for the devil. That’s the truth as I see it. Now get out.”

  He got to his feet, hurried to the door and opened it, waiting for me to leave. He had been so blunt it seemed to be the truth. I got up and walked out the door.

  “Another time,” I said to the secretary as I left the office.

  I still had the keys Darcie gave me so I decided to check out Kane’s office for another look.

  When I arrived and opened the door the alarm didn’t go off this time. The office was in a state of disarray. It had been ransacked after I went through it the first time.

  I noticed some of the things I remembered had been moved; like the replica Maltese Falcon from one of Bogart’s movies was sitting on a table now instead of the marble desk, and a bottom desk drawer now open that I didn’t leave that way, and a painting that looked like an original Picasso was gone from the wall behind his desk. Vandals, murderers, or both. Maybe someone who knew what they were looking for found it.

  All the files were gone and either the sneaks or the police had them. I had been through the files before they disappeared but didn’t remember anything suspicious, except for the fact there wasn’t a file on Fillmore. Probably destroyed by Kane to keep it from the courts. Fillmore had denied any involvement with Candy but seemed too nervous for it not to have happened.

  The only interesting tidbit I found was an index file card file on Kane’s desk with the words ‘Song for Pons, Turkey soon.’ Turkey was capitalized; did he mean the country?

  I was getting a headache and decided after I checked the car I would skip the penthouse until tomorrow. I stuck the index card in my pocket, locked the office and left.

  I remembered the parking space number because she said it was the same as her age - 28. But it wasn’t there. Someone must have towed it away. Or, on second thought, maybe she drove it away. Most people have two sets of keys. But she’d been with us since we took her case.

  I scouted the hotel for info about the car. No one knew anything about it. Called all the local towing companies but none of them knew anything, either.

  Would need to have another talk with Candy about the damn car. My headache was getting worse.

  As I drove back to the lake house I thought about the index card, Fillmore, the doctor’s funeral, Candy, and her car for a while; then decided I needed a thought break and switched to my girls.

  I was most worried about what Emily said. I wondered if that was what she really thought or if it was her mother putting thoughts in her head so she could take her scumbag of a boyfriend with them to Disneyland in Emily’s new car.

  I thought about calling Emily but decided it wouldn’t help and called Darcie instead.

  She said, “DeMax was there but said he didn’t make a pass at the manager’s wife, she was just mad at him because he didn’t.”

  “Not sure I believe that,” I said.

  “Lots of calls between Kane and a Landon Fritz about everything from golf to Candy,” Darcie said. “Sounded like they’re buddies. In the Candy discussion they were talking about her mental and hypnosis status and about a song for an Alonza Pons from Turkey. No idea what they meant by that. Only info I found on Pons is he is the head of an executive committee to the UN from Turkey.”

  “That’s interesting,” I said. “I found an index card in Kane’s office with the words song, Pons and Turkey on it. That’s a match. You got an address on Fritz?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “I’m beginning to think Kane was using his profession to take advantage of people and Candy was using her former profession to help make it happen.”

  “I’ll ask Candy about Fritz,” Darcie said. “She said the three of them had spent a lot of time together visiting foreign countries.”

  “I don’t think Candy is telling us everything. And Fillmore had a good alibi but it really doesn’t matter,” I said. “He could have hired the goons who came after us. He’s a pretty sick puppy. I’m on my way back to the lake house now. I’ll be there in about thirty minutes.”

  DeMax met me at the door.

  “Hey Mecana,” he said. “They’re in the bedroom. The pretty lady drank herself to sleep so Miss Darcie is watching over her.”

  “How long has she been out?” I said.

  “About two hours,” DeMax said. “I offered to stay with her, but Miss Darcie said she would.”

  I walked into the bedroom. Candy was lying on the bed in silk pajamas, her legs drawn up into the fetal position, her closed eyelids flickering rapidly; must be having a bad dream.

  “Hope you didn’t hypnotize her,” I said and grinned.

  “You’re not as funny as you think you are,” Darcie said. “She’s been making gurgling noises in her sleep.”

  I glanced at two large empty wine bottles on the bedside table. I picked up one of the bottles and looked at the label.

  “Just paying for two bottles of this would make me drunk,” I said. “I’m having to deal with my two daughters. They’re being brainwashed by their mother with the help of her dumbass boyfriend. Might have to go kick his ass.”

  I didn’t realize DeMax was standing behind me in the doorway until he spoke.

  “Just give me a name and I’ll make the motherfucker wish he was somebody else, Mecana.”

  “I appreciate the offer but I need you here,” I told him.

  DeMax nodded and walked away.

  “Never thinks about his language,” Darcie said.

  “Hope I didn’t hurt his feelings,” I said.

  “DeMax is a martial arts expert,” Darcie said. “Saw it in his records.”

  “No shit? Maybe I’ll change my mind.”

  “Kind of sneaky,” Darcie said.

  “I don’t care,” I said and sat down on the corner of the bed. Candy moaned, turned over and flipped her hand on my crotch.

  “She better be asleep,” Darcie said.

  “She is…I think,” I said and moved her hand.

  “You resent the boyfriend because he replaced you, don’t you?” Darcie said.

  “I resent him because he’s an asshole.”

  “You still care for her?”

  “I thought you were a lawyer, not a psychologist.”

  “Just trying to help.”

  “Well, you’re not. What kind of martial arts expert is DeMax?”

  “I don’t know, Mecana, it just said martial arts. Once you get your mind on something it never leaves until you’re satisfied with it, does it?”

  “Nope.”

  “The insurance guy called me,” she said. “I told him we would send his money back, we didn’t have time to work on his case. He was pretty pissed.”

  “Changing the subject?” I said.

  “I am,” she said. “I like the clothes you have on.”

  “An
inquisitive lady bought them for me.” I stood up and struck a pose. “Did you see my roll of quarters on the dresser?”

  She smiled. “No. I think it’s time to wake up Candy and escort her to the shower,” she said. “You can’t come.”

  “Party pooper. I’ll go talk to DeMax,” I said.

  DeMax was watching reruns of Hap and Leonard in the living room when I walked in. I sat down on the couch beside him.

  “Thanks for offering to take care of the boyfriend but I think I’ll let it go for now. Darcie told me you were a martial arts expert. I never knew.”

  “Maybe not an expert, but I have a black belt.”

  “I don’t remember you using any martial arts stuff when we arrested you as a suspect in The Mutilator case.”

  “Would have got me in more trouble for kickin’ your ass,” DeMax said.

  “Not to mention my broken bones. The guy’s a jerk but I’m going to need you for a lot of other things, if you want to stick around.”

  “Fine with me,” he said. “Got nothing else to do.”

  “Okay, you can help us solve this case.”

  He smiled. “You mean that?”

  “I do,” I said. “I’ll even pay you.”

  “How much?” he asked.

  “Two thousand a week,” I said. “Until we solve the case. Won’t be long I hope.”

  “Room and board, too?”

  “I can do that, plus a bonus when we solve the case.”

  “Sounds fair.”

  “Good,” I said. “We agree then?”

  “We do.” DeMax stretched out on the couch and went back to watching TV.

  The name Landon Fritz kept popping up in my head. Maybe he could shed some light on what the hell was going on with the ‘song’ shit.

  I glanced at the TV. “Two good ol’ Texas boys getting their due.”

  Chapter 11

  The next morning I was waiting for Candy to wake up so I could get more information on Landon Fritz. I had also been trying to learn as much as possible about hypnotism on the internet. It all kind of ran together for me. I always thought of it as entertainment, and never took it seriously until I found out doctors had been studying hypnotism for over two hundred years to treat emotional, physical and mental illnesses. Some even claimed they could improve intelligence with hypnotism.