Free Hollywood Prisoner: A Hollywood Alphabet Series Thriller by M.Z. Kelly

that’s involved, they’ll find him.”
    “I thought your department wanted you out of the picture.”
    I shrugged. “I’ll take a couple days, make sure the heat’s off, then get back to chasing the local killers.”
    “What about your sister?”
    I took a breath, told another lie. “We’ll just have to hope she’s found a way to separate herself from the group and that she’ll contact us.”
    Joe’s pale eyes bore into me. “You really think that’s going to happen?”
    “One can only hope.” I walked over and hugged him. “I’ll be in touch.”
    Joe reached out and took my hand, preventing me from leaving. “You sure about this, Kate?”
    Was he asking about our relationship, as well as about finding Lindsay? I wasn’t sure.
    I squeezed his hand, then released it. “I’m sure. See you soon, Joe.”

EIGHTEEN
    I got home after an all-night flight and picked up Bernie from Natalie and Mo’s place. My friends were out doing some PI work, and, since it was a Friday, I made a spontaneous decision to return to Laguna Beach for the long weekend before going back to work on Monday morning.
    I spent the next couple days taking long walks on the beach and thinking about Lindsay and my upcoming meeting with Jenson Moore. The coordinates that Moore had sent to my phone, showing where he wanted to meet, turned out to be Lake of the Shrine. It was a secluded spot, ironically just off Sunset Boulevard in the Pacific Palisades, a few minutes from Hollywood.
    I’d taken walks with Bernie on a couple of occasions around the small lake that was considered a spiritual sanctuary. I had no idea what the terrorist had in mind for our meeting, but I felt trapped, knowing that Lindsay would die if I didn’t keep my word to meet with him.
    On Sunday night, as my long weekend was winding down, I made my way back up Pacific Coast Highway to my brother Robin’s hair salon in the Melrose District of Hollywood. I remembered my friends telling me that I could use a minor makeover as I settled into Robin’s workstation.
    At five-eight, my brother was an inch shorter than me. We had the same color brown hair, but he had a short, spiky do, whereas mine seemed to forever have a mind of its own. It was something that I complained to Robin about for probably the millionth time as Bernie sniffed around the salon.
    “I’m tired of the frizzies, ready to try something new,” I said, after we’d taken a few minutes to talk about what had happened back east.
    Robin walked around my chair, holding out my wayward locks. “New—as in color or cut?”
    “Same color, just something shorter and more manageable.”
    I showed him a hairstyle on my phone that I’d downloaded. It was a few inches short of the model’s shoulders and had that tousled, windblown look that I dreamt about.
    “Instead of mousy and messy,” I said, “I’m aiming for casual and flirty.”
    He took my phone, examining the hairstyle for a moment. “I’ll do my best, but…”
    When he didn’t go on, I said, “What?”
    “It’s just that I can’t make any promises it’s going to stay looking like what’s on your phone.” He glanced at the screen. “This girl has a different hair texture, and…”
    When he seemed lost for words again, I took my phone back. “Just do your best.”
    While he trimmed my hair, he asked me about Lindsay. I didn’t want to think about my upcoming meeting with Jenson Moore and kept my comments short, then added, “We just have to hope she’s still working underground and will surface and come home soon.”
    “You really think she’s working against the Swarm?”
    I shrugged. “Time will tell.” I changed the subject, asking about his new boyfriend. “Are you and Adam still together?”
    He laughed. “Despite our family reunion, he hasn’t given up on me. We’re actually getting along really well.”
    Robin had brought Adam to the reunion my mother had arranged a couple months earlier. We’d all gotten together