Free Hollywood Notorious: A Hollywood Alphabet Thriller Series (A Hollywood Alphabet Series Thriller Book 14) by M.Z. Kelly

conference room down the hall from Chief Bradley East’s office. Mel, as she preferred to be called, had worked at Section One for a brief period of time before she’d been promoted. At that time, the department was looking into possibly opening an investigation into the death of Jean Winslow and reopening the murder case on my love-dad. While that decision was being reviewed, Peters had befriended me and asked a lot of personal questions about my dad’s life and death. I was convinced that she’d used our friendship and what I’d told her to help kill the investigation before it started. It was a betrayal I would never forget.
    After a little small talk, Miles told us why we were there. “I’m going to brief the press on your case this afternoon and want an overview of our crime and the investigation.”
    Leo and I took a few minutes going through what we knew, touching on the way our victim was posed and painted, the injuries she’d suffered, the horrific nature of her cause of death, and the possible ties to Day of the Dead rituals.
    I finished up by saying, “We have a probable photo of the victim that was left at the crime scene, so a decision needs to be made on whether or not to release it to the press in the hope of identifying her.”
    “We already know who she is,” Peters said.
    Miles’ new assistant was tall, with dark hair and sultry eyes. If I was being generous, I’d have to say Peters was an attractive woman. If I wasn’t feeling generous, I’d have to say she was a skanky bitch. I wasn’t feeling generous today.
    I looked at Miles, ignoring the bitch. “What can you tell us about her?”
    Miles was short in stature, with a solid build that gave her an air of power and confidence. “A reporter has been in contact with a woman whose daughter went missing in Long Beach. She could be our victim.”
    “What makes you think that?” Leo asked.
    “She saw the video clip on the Internet and says it’s her daughter.”
    “Because of the eyes,” Peters added. “Even though the victim was painted, she’s sure it’s her daughter because of her eyes.”
    It seemed like a stretch to me, but I’d worked cases where the parents of murder victims had identified their children’s remains with very little physical evidence, so I couldn’t discount it.
    Commander Miles ignored her new protégé and went on, “We’d like you to meet with…” She checked some paperwork in front of her, “…Gloria Lacroix and the reporter this morning, and show her the photograph before I talk to the press.”
    I glanced at Leo, then back at the commander. I was about to agree to the request, when Peters said, “Just so you know, the victim’s mother is with Carmine Feckle.”
    I groaned, something that caused Miles to chuckle. “I know Mr. Feckle can be difficult. That’s why I’m sending Detective Peters with you.”
    “Why don’t you just bring a guillotine into the office and cut off my head.”
    ***
    The truth is, I was fantasizing and hadn’t asked to be beheaded, but an hour later I wished I had. As it turned out, Leo had forgotten about having to appear in court on an old case. That left me at the mercy of Mel Peters as she drove Bernie and me to Long Beach to meet with Gloria Lacroix and Carmine Feckle.
    “Maybe the victim’s mother knows who attacked her daughter,” Mel said as we turned off the freeway in Long Beach. “We might even be able to break the case open before the commander meets with the media.”
    “Maybe,” I said, at the same time knowing the odds of that were about the same as me winning the lottery and taking a spaceship to Mars on the same day.
    Peters went on. “The truth is, I kind of miss working the streets.”
    I glanced at her. “Then why did you take the promotion?”
    She looked at me, displaying a mouth full of white teeth that looked like Chiclets. “I plan to be running this department someday. It’s a step up the ladder.”
    I should have kept my big mouth