Background
A member of the crime team is drawn into a diabolical scheme by an ex-con, Vito Moretti, who spent eight years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Upon his release, he set out to get revenge.
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Thomas returned with the wig and script, grinning from ear to ear. Tango extended his hand, and after a slight hesitation, the young man handed over his precious treasures to the FBI.
“Let’s go join my boss. I think he’ll be interested in your find.” Tango laughed. “He outranks me, so maybe you can con him for something better.”
“Cool! You think he’d part with his badge?”
“I wouldn’t shoot that high, but I’m sure he’ll come up with something good.” Tango dropped his voice an octave and whispered, “Bet we could get him to make you an honorary agent, especially when he sees the clues you found.”
Thomas straightened his posture, brushed off his apron, and smiled. “Let’s go, Agent Tango. We’ve got work to do.”
Tango couldn’t conceal his chuckle as he followed the proud young man toward Garth and Selene.
“What you got there?” The red wig caught Garth's attention.
Tango handed the wig and script to Garth. “Thomas was quite observant the night the filming took place. He found this wig and a movie script in the dumpster.”
Garth read the character list and raised his eyes to Tango. “Did you see this?”
“Sure did, boss. I told Thomas you might reward him with an honorary agent certificate for doing such good work.”
“Awesome work, Agent Thomas.” Garth shook the young man’s hand. “We need more men like you.”
Thomas looked at Selene, making sure she’d heard what they’d said about him. His chest puffed out with pride.
“Do either of you know this director guy? Or maybe you have a credit card receipt for the rental?”
Selene answered first, “He had a carrier deliver the money. He paid the $5000 in cash. I never got to talk to him.”
“I was dying to get a closer look at the set. Didn’t think it was fair that Mary Beth got to be in the movie.” Thomas scowled and then smiled. “I went outside with my binoculars and stood in the doorway across the street. It was cool until a guy with a badge came and told me to move on.”
“A police officer?” Garth raised an eyebrow
“To tell you the truth, I was so busy trying to keep my binoculars hidden, just in case he tried to confiscate them, I didn’t get a good look at him. I’m sure he wasn’t wearing the usual brown uniform like the cops wear. I think it was blue, but I’m not sure of that.”
“Did you see anything or anyone on the set?”
“Yeah, a girl sitting at the table. And a man was talking to her. I only got a minute or two before the guy with the badge chased me off.”
Garth pulled a picture of Jaz from his pocket. “Could this be the girl?”
“Could have been, but she’s got straight hair, not wavy like the wig.”
Selene leaned over and looked at the picture. “I didn’t see her that night, but I believe she was at Caleb’s a few weeks ago.”
“Who’s Caleb? Got a last name?”
“I don’t know his last name, but Caleb throws a dance party every other Wednesday night in this warehouse over on Market Street. He calls it the place to be discovered because every agent in town, every starlet, and everyone who’s anyone, is hanging out, trying to make connections.”
“Your friend, Kay, might be able to help them. She’s the club hostess and decides if you get in or not.” Thomas looked for confirmation from Selene.
Garth could see Selene was hesitant, so he broke the ice. “Can you connect me with Kay or Caleb?”
Selene wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know about that. Caleb runs a tight ship and doesn’t like cops hanging around. I’m sure there’s more than dancing going on, but I know nothing specific.”
“I understand. Maybe you can give me an address, and we can go from there. No one will know where we got our information.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” Selene paused and then added, “If this is the girl I saw at the club, she was partying on the edge that night. The group’s tab had lots of champagne and caviar. Kay told me that one guy had promised the redhead a starring role in his movie. I admit I was jealous.”
Not to be left out of the conversation, Thomas spoke up again. “I just remembered before the badge grabbed me, I had zoomed in on this guy’s hand. He had an awesome ring. It was gold with a black serpent head with a yellow eye. Like topaz or something.”
“I saw that ring too, but it wasn’t the night of the filming. A distinguished-looking man came into the restaurant a few nights ago and sat at the bar. I needed a glass of Perrier, and I remember commenting on the ring. I thought it was strange that he didn’t even say thank you. Instead, he asked me to take a glass of wine, and a single rose to a beautiful woman sitting alone by the window. A few minutes later, I noticed he had joined her.”
“Did they stay long?”
“He didn’t because she waved to another man standing near the entrance, and he came over to her table. Three’s a crowd because the first guy vanished.”
Garth reached in his pocket, pulled out two business cards, and handed them to Selene and Thomas. “Here’s my card. If you think of anything else or the guy stops by again, please call me.”
Tango shook Thomas’s hand and nodded to Selene, “You have been a great help. We appreciate it very much.’ Turning to Thomas, he added, “I’ll take real good care of the wig and the script. A deal’s a deal.”
They exchanged goodbyes and generous thank-yous and then headed back out onto the street. Garth stopped outside the window and looked back inside. “That business card was no accident. This guy wanted us to come here.”
“It sure resembles Francesco's, but we saw that in the video. I think he figured someone might discover the wig and the script, but I doubt he knows how smart these young kids are.”
“Thomas with his binoculars, honing in on the ring and Selene remembering the ring on another visit. Exceptional information.” Garth started walking toward the car. “Come on, Tango. We’ve got a lot of work to do. First, I want you to set up a twenty-four-hour detail on both kids. It’s possible if this guy thinks one of them might know something, he won’t hesitate to harm them.”
“I’ll get the team working on this Caleb guy and see what information they can dig up. It sounds like Jaz was hanging out there, but I’m not so sure about the restaurant.”
“Me either. I think our guy used a stand-in actress and then tossed her body in the bonfire, making us believe it was Jaz. My guess is today’s body is Mary Beth Jacobs. Our director felt she was a danger to him, or maybe it was always his plan to use her as a pawn.”
“This guy is sick.” Tango shook his head. “You know Allie isn’t safe until we get this creep. I can’t imagine what she could have done, but it sure made him crazy.”
“Let’s dig a little deeper into Sheriff Welcher, too. When Thomas said a badge chased him off, I felt a shiver run down my spine. I don’t trust that guy.”
“I agree. How about we go check on Allie and see if Hank left us any of those pastries? We need to gather everyone together and fill them in. If everyone does their job, maybe we might get a little closer to this guy.”
“Thanks to two young people, we might have gotten a break.” Garth sighed and looked back down the street toward Francine’s. “Maybe we should train Thomas to be an agent. He sure did a better job than any of us so far.”
They climbed inside the car and then headed back to the rental. Both men were quiet as they rolled their recent discoveries around in their heads.
Garth broke the silence as he parked in front of the rental. “Remind me to notify Sheriff Welcher his victim might be Mary Beth Jacobs. I’m sure he’ll love hearing it from me.”
Author Notes
Characters:
Vito Moretti - a black-hearted ex-con with vengeance in his blood
Charles (Charlie) Dubois - a childhood friend who enjoys living luxuriously
Marian Carrington - a star in her own mind and suffers from dementia
Henry and Tina Pagani - an elderly couple living on St. Simon Island
Cheryl - Personal maid to Lady Marian
Angel Bearrows - a wanna-be actress in the wrong place at the wrong time
Alyssa Shelton (Allie)- Investigative Journalist and unofficial FBI Agent
Jasmine Shelton (Jaz) - wanna-be-movie star and living on the edge of life
Garth Woodman - FBI Agent and Allie's love interest
Hank and Emmy Armato - retired detectives and current Private Investigators
Sheriff Ortiz - Hayden - Napa Valley Police Department
Sheriff Welcher - Savannah, Georgia Police Department
Tango and Poppa - FBI agents who work closely with Garth
Thomas and Selene - Employees at Francine's
Samantha Withers - femme fatale and entrepreneur
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