Free Flipping Out by Marshall Karp

backed up, took the stethoscope from
around his neck, and pointed it at me. 'Don't worry, pal, this thing is out of
bullets.'
    Five of us ran
up the white marble steps. Big Jim had left the front door open about eight
inches. Terry and I stood on either side of it. He looked up at the two
towering geometric stucco columns. 'Rather phallic. I think they're art dicko,'
he said. Then he crashed the door open and bellowed, 'Police. Come out with
your hands up.'
    There were
bloody footprints on the floor. I signalled for one cop to go left, and pointed
the other two toward the stairs. Terry and I turned right and followed the
footprints toward the living room.
    And there was
Nora, face down on the beige rug, wearing pink sweatpants and a white T-shirt
soaked with the blood that had poured out of the back of her skull. I didn't
need the paramedic to verify my father's statement. Nora Bannister was very
dead.
    Terry gestured
for the two of us to split up. He went right. I went left.
    Thirty seconds
later, he yelled from down the hall, 'Clear.'
    The living room
had an arch that led to the dining room. I walked through it and did a
three-sixty, gun extended. 'Clear,' I yelled, heading toward the next room.
    The cop who had gone
to the left called out from Nora's office. 'Clear.'
    One of the cops
checked in from upstairs. 'Clear.'
    And then, from
the kitchen, I heard Terry. 'Shit. Get the medic in here.'
    'For Julia?' I
yelled.
    'No, goddammit.
I cut myself on a chunk of broken glass. The medic is for me. Julia's gonna
need the coroner.'

Chapter
Twenty

 
     
    Terry was
standing in the kitchen, gun in his right hand, blood oozing out of his left.
Julia was lying face up on the floor, a tiny red hole in the centre of her
forehead. He holstered his gun, flipped open his cell phone, and speed- dialled
a number.
    I didn't have to
ask who he was calling. Three of Marilyn's partners had been murdered.
    'Shit,' he said,
hanging up. 'My wife is the only person in LA who turns off her cell. Call
Diana. The two of them are together.'
    The book launch
party was at the flip house. Diana had read an advance copy of Nora's book and
was excited to finally get to see the house in real life. I remembered the last
thing she said to me this morning: 'I'm looking forward to a night of murder
and mayhem.'
    Be careful what
you wish for. I dialled her number.
    She picked up on
the fourth ring. 'Hi. Where are you?'
    'Diana, are you
all right?'
    'I'm fine. I'm
drinking champagne, and I finally heard from my long-lost boyfriend. I love
this house. Would you buy it for me?'
    'Are you with
Marilyn?'
    'Yes, but I'd
rather be with you.' The champagne was working.
    I gave Terry a
quick thumbs up, and he exhaled loud and hard.
    'Listen
carefully,' I said. 'I need you to be calm, and I need you to do exactly what I
say.'
    Diana is a nurse
in a paediatric oncology ward. She knows the sound of an emergency, and she
knows how to respond. The giddiness was gone in an instant. 'What's the
matter?'
    'I have bad
news. Someone shot Nora and Julia. They're dead.'
    'Oh my God.'
    'Don't say
anything else. I don't want people at the party to know what's going on. I need
to get you, Marilyn, and Marisol out of there now.'
    'Are they after
us too?'
    'No. It's just a
precaution. Is Tony Dominguez there?'
    'Yes. I saw him
a few minutes ago.'
    'Give the phone
to Marilyn. Then find Tony for me.'
    I handed the
phone to Terry, who repeated the bad news to Marilyn.
    He spoke calmly
in that soothing, reassuring, practically hypnotic voice of his. I'm sure he
used it all four times he proposed marriage and a thousand times in between. He
was using it now to keep Marilyn calm.
    'You'll be fine.
Tony is gonna bring you here. No, I don't think the girls are in any danger,
but just to be on the safe side, why don't you call Sarah and Emily and tell
them to go to a friend's house till they hear from me. Honey, I don't think you
have to call Rebecca in St Louis, but whatever makes you feel