A perplexed look from Uma. "Um, Russell doesn't usually drive."

Of course not. He has a driver.

"And his driver's name is?"

"Lee. He dropped us here but then he left, so he never came in the house."

"But you did, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. And I remember that after we got home, Russell said he couldn't find his private cell phone, hadn't seen it all day. I found it for him. He'd accidentally left it in the car."

"And it's unusual for him to forget his phone somewhere?" I asked.

"No, not really. He's got so much going on." Uma licked her lips nervously. "I just remember that because when he checked the phone, he looked really weird."

"Weird?"

"Um...upset?" Uma paused. "Shocked, kind of."

"Did he tell you what was in the message?"

"No. I mean, I know now, but at the time, I didn't."

"Who else was around?" I asked.

Uma frowned. "I'm pretty sure Angie was here-"

Angie, assistant to Russell's wife, Dani. "So Dani must've been here," I said.

"Yeah. I don't remember seeing her, but she was probably around somewhere. She usually takes Angie with her if she goes out."

That Russell would have an assistant-or even more than one-made sense, given his workload. But it was hard to fathom what his wife would need one for. I supposed it was something everyone who was anyone had to have-like a Prada purse.

"Anybody else?" Bailey asked.

"Maybe Jeff? Yeah, I'm pretty sure Jeff was here."

Jeff, yet another of Russell's assistants. But one step below Uma, the main assistant. This assistant business was complicated.

"Did you see Russell again after he went into his study?" I asked.

Uma looked off to the right. Supposedly an eye shift to the right is a sign of truthfulness. Assuming the person being evaluated doesn't already know about those "secret" cues.

She slowly replayed the events in her mind. "Yeah. But it was later. He said he had to go out for a little bit and asked me to stay with Dani."

"Did he tell you where he was going?" Bailey asked.

"No."

"Did you see him leave?" she asked.

Uma paused for a moment. "I didn't see him walk out the door, but I didn't see him around the house for about an hour. Maybe a little more."

"And when Russell got back, how did he look?" Bailey asked.

"Kind of tired. Depressed."

"Did he say where he'd been?" I asked.

"No. He just went back in his study and closed the door. I wanted to ask him if I could leave, but he was in a bad mood and sort of out of it, so I decided it'd be better to wait. And I've crashed here before, so..."

"When did you see him again?" I asked.

"Maybe an hour before you guys got here. I guess Dani had been in the study with him, because they both came out and she was crying and he was wired, like he wanted to jump out of his skin. He'd sit down, then jump up, pace around, and leave the room. He couldn't sit still."

"Did he say anything to you?" Bailey asked.

"He asked all of us if we'd seen Hayley since Thursday."

"And had you?" Bailey asked.

"No. None of us had."

"Do you remember anything else he said? Or that Dani said?" I asked.

Uma shook her head. "I don't remember Dani saying anything to us. She just kept telling Russell to call, and I could tell she was upset with him but, like, trying not to show it. Because he was already such a mess."

"Who'd she want him to call?" Bailey asked.

"I guess the police. Because the next thing I remember is you guys showing up."

It seemed a fair guess. And a pretty complete rendition from Uma's point of view. We thanked her and let her go. After she'd left, I suggested we go fetch our next victim.

25.

Russell's assistant Jeff was really just a lowly runner-a gofer's gofer, who occasionally got to do the work of an assistant-but I could see that he had much bigger aspirations. He was a xeroxed copy of Russell. Same faded jeans, same baggy T-shirt, and the same worn-out baseball cap, emblazoned with the name of the same team: the Oakland A's. Jeff even walked with the same bouncing stride. And more important, he was almost an inch shorter than Russell. Clearly he was destined for greatness.

He even flopped down on the couch just like Russell.

"What time did you get here on Monday?" I asked.

"Let's see...I left the studio at six forty-five, so I had to have gotten here by seven thirty."

He enunciated with gusto, every word uttered as though he were savoring a new, delicious piece of chocolate, and he had one of those loud, booming voices that so often seem to come from small men. A six forty-five departure would put him out of the running, since Russell read the first kidnap message around six o'clock, and the ransom message came in not too long after that. But it was an easy enough thing to check studio records. I tossed out a question that would give me an idea right now whether he was telling the truth.

"You have security at the studio, some kind of log that says when you come in and when you leave, right?"

Jeff's eyebrows took wing. "You don't believe me? Why would I lie?"

You tell me, Jeff. But I restrained my Dragnet impulses. "I'm not saying I don't believe you. We're talking to a lot of people, and when you mentioned the studio, I wondered about security, that's all. Take a pill, Jeff. It's just a question."

He looked rattled, but he didn't dare refuse to answer. "We have security that logs us in and out. I know when I left because I had to pick up a package from Mila to bring to Russell."

"Mila?"

"A producer. It was a script."

Better and better. Now we could confirm Jeff's alibi with Mila. He didn't have any more information to add to what Uma had told us about the events later that evening, so we let him go. I was tempted to tell him to surrender his passport and stay close just as a joke, but I thought he might stroke out.

"A little high-strung, no?" I said after he'd left.

"He was practically playing a tune he was vibrating so fast. But I'd say he's off the list."

"Agreed. Time to move up the food chain."

Ian Powers affected an exaggeratedly imperious bearing that made me think of "The Emperor's New Clothes." He walked in slowly, with a studied casualness, then calmly settled into the love seat. The way he leaned back and spread his arms across the top of the sofa said "lord of the manor." I wondered whether the posturing was partly an unconscious effort to counteract the shadow of the "little Mattie" persona. Powers confirmed that he had indeed been Russell's manager since Russell was a co-producer on Brittany's show, Circle of Friends.

"Then you were representing Russell when Tommy Maher accused him of stealing his screenplay," I said.

Ian leaned forward, and for just a brief second, his features darkened. But just as quickly, they rearranged themselves into an expression of mild irritation. "It was tragic, really. I would've been glad to listen if Tommy had any proof to back up his claim-hell, I would've taken him on as a client." Ian gave a short bark of a laugh at his own semi-joke. "But he didn't. Just a lot of wind and noise. If you ask me, he saw his career tanking and got desperate, so he tried to horn in on Russell's screenplay. Maybe he thought Russell would pay him off with nuisance money. I don't know. But obviously, he was unhinged. You know he committed suicide-"

"Doesn't that work both ways?" I asked. "Some might say his suicide proved that he was telling the truth and no one would listen."

Ian nodded. "I suppose, but...I guess you had to be there. This wasn't the first time he'd claimed someone had stolen credit for one of his ideas. And he was a basket case. He even attacked Russell at one point. Did you know that?"

"So I've heard," I said.

"And now his sick, twisted son has killed Hayley." At this, Ian looked aggrieved. "I guess it's true that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Do you have any leads?"

"A few," I said. "Were you with Russell on Monday?"

"Not till after you two got here."

But it was within minutes of our arrival, as I recalled.

Ian saw my expression and nodded. "Russell called me. I can't remember exactly what time, but I do remember telling him to call the police." Ian shook his head. "I don't know what he was thinking. Why he didn't call immediately when he first got the message that Hayley'd been kidnapped..."

Interesting that he was taking the credit for telling Russell to call the police. According to Uma, it had been Dani, Russell's wife, who'd begged him to make the call. "And where were you when you got that call?" I asked.

"At home."

"And after that?"

He gave me a weary look. "The same. Until I called him a while later and found out he'd paid the ransom and..." Ian pressed his mouth closed and turned his eyes away.

That wouldn't usually impress me as far as alibis go, but we'd already heard from everyone who was present that Ian hadn't been in the house when Russell saw the first kidnapping note. I knew I'd have more questions for this guy later, but right now we were under the gun to find a killer who might at that very moment be headed for some country that wouldn't let us extradite. I looked at Bailey, who shook her head. We thanked Ian and let him go.

"Dani?" Bailey suggested.

"Yep."

Dani had that soft, angelic look many try to engineer but few can pull off. Delicate, natural-looking blonde curls framed a heart-shaped face with small features and wide blue eyes. For all that, she had a down-to-earth quality that probably made her a great friend. The kind who'd tell you the guy you'd fallen for was a shit heel, but still hold your hand when he proved her right.

"When did Russell tell you about the kidnapping?" Bailey asked.

Dani's brows knitted and she looked down at her hands, which were twisted around the ends of a silky fringed scarf. When she looked up, her eyes were filled with tears. "After he got the first kidnapping message. I feel so terrible. I told him to call the police right away, but he was scared. He thought the guy would kill Hayley. He kept saying he'd do anything, he'd be glad to just pay any ransom. But I should have made him call..." She shook her head and looked down again.

"Dani, we can't know what would've happened if Russell had called the police. Don't beat yourself up, okay?" She nodded but looked unconvinced. "So you were there when he got the ransom demand?"

She nodded. "I-it sounds stupid now, but we were actually sort of relieved. Russell could easily pay it, and we thought that once he did, we'd get Hayley back." There was a hitch in her voice as she said the name "Hayley," and she tried to take a deep breath, but it got stuck and I saw tears fall on her hands. "S-so, I went along with him paying the ransom and not calling the police."

"Dani, did you know Brian at all?" I asked.

"No. Hayley had only just begun really talking to me. When I first moved in, she wouldn't even be in the same room with me. I'd walk in, and she'd walk out. But after a couple of years she started to thaw, and in the past year, I have to say, we were really getting along. I think she saw that I truly liked and respected her mom and I knew what my place was in her life." Dani looked out at the fountain, her expression one of heart-twisting sadness. "Maybe she told Raynie about him. But not me."

"Did you know about the fight between Russell and Brian's father, Tommy?" I asked.

"That was before my time. In fact, I had no idea about any of it until this...but why would he kill Hayley because of something her dad did? Why not go to Russell, or a lawyer, show him the proof and see what he can get?"

"Maybe because he didn't have proof?" I suggested.

"Then how could he be sure enough to kidnap Hayley-and kill her, for God's sake?" Dani swallowed rapidly and struggled for control.

I couldn't tell her the truth, and I didn't want to offer her any useless platitudes. We thanked her and let her go with a promise to keep her posted.

"Any guilt about not telling her that we found Brian?" I asked Bailey after Dani had left.

"Nah. Can't see how that would make her feel any better."

"Is there any point in talking to Russell again?"

We'd spoken to him several times since Hayley's death, and although our conversations were of the casual, updating variety, we'd already asked all the questions we could think of.

"The only thing we haven't done is ask him about the fight with Tommy," Bailey said.

"But what's he going to say? 'Yeah, I stole his screenplay'? And even if he did say that, what difference would it make? He never knew who kidnapped Hayley. We saw those ransom notes. They didn't mention anything about Tommy or Brian-or anyone else for that matter."

The picture of Russell's grief-ravaged face flashed before my eyes.

"You're right. There's no point."