Lights, Camera, Bones, page 8
“Robert Davis, but I go by RoDa. That’s going to be my professional name.”
“Just RoDa?” I couldn’t help it. I remembered when I was mulling over stage names and a million different aspects of my big dream to be on Broadway. I’d never achieved my goal, but I still had all the memories and joy of those heady years of dreaming.
“I want to be iconic. One name is enough.”
“I wish you the best of luck, RoDa. How about I get your phone number? I think Sheriff Nelson will want to speak to you.”
“I’m not sure about talking to the law. That’s why I sought you out.”
“If what you tell Nelson helps us find Marlon, then you’ll be a real-life hero. That could only help a film career.”
His brow cleared. “You’re right. I honestly want to help find Marlon. Not just because he’s helping me, but because he’s a decent guy. His word is good.”
RoDa’s testimonial touched me—something I hadn’t anticipated. My jaded view of movie stars and Hollywood almost tripped me up. Everything I’d learned about Marlon led to the conclusion he was a decent guy with a story he passionately wanted to tell. Had someone harmed him because of that story? There were questions I needed to ask.
I took RoDa’s information and texted it to Sheriff Nelson. When I looked down at the set, Tinkie seemed to have everything sorted. The film crew had disbanded with some of the cast and crew headed toward downtown Greenville. Mary Dayle and Lamar had been successful in blocking filming, at least for today. I joined my partner, who rolled her eyes.
“I didn’t believe Sheriff Nelson would actually stop the movie, but he did.”
“He might not have had a choice,” I pointed out. “Mary Dayle and Bilbo have some power in town, it seems.”
“Bilbo is a blowhard, but Mary Dayle has plenty of brains. They call her the boss of the Literary Mafia.”
I had to laugh. It was an unlikely juxtapositioning of words. “What? She whacks people who use adverbs improperly?”
Tinkie chuckled. “Always the clown, Sarah Booth. No, Mary Dayle seems able to get the biggest literary names to come to her store to do book signings. People have Bake-Offs and prepare cuisine to match the featured book and author. It’s a big deal.”
“But that’s a nice thing, isn’t it?”
“Not if you’re one of the other bookstores in the area. She snags all the bestsellers and big names. She sells all the books. She makes money and the other bookstores suffer.”
“Exactly how is it she manages to procure the big names?” I wasn’t seeing this as a crime.
“Blackmail and bribes, from what I’ve heard.”
“We need to prove that if it’s true. She wants to shut down the movie. Maybe we want to shut down her store.”
“Good plan,” Tinkie said. “I know just the person to ask.”
“Me, too. Mary Dayle McCormick. Evidently she had a fight with Marlon right before he disappeared.”
“You talk to Mary Dayle, and I’ll call Janet Malone and Sandra O’Day. If there’s been any funny business with booksellers having authors sign, they’ll tell us.”
“And all the juicy gossip to boot.” The two authors Tinkie mentioned were former clients. Janet was still dating our close friend Harold. I was all in for that relationship. She made Harold laugh.
12
The bookstore was not in the downtown area but on a tree-lined street of older homes. Solid, serene, perfect for those who indulged in reading. I parked and left Tinkie in the car still on the phone with Janet Malone. Mary Dayle was behind the counter, and that surprised me.
“So, a private investigator who reads,” Mary Dayle said. “How shocking.”
“A sarcastic bookseller. Equally shocking,” I replied. Despite her crankiness, there was something about Mary Dayle that I liked. She was sharp, and almost funny.
“Looking for a book on how to accessorize blue jeans?” she asked.
“I’m not really interested in fashion,” I said.
“Oh, do tell!”
I had walked right into that one. “I have some business questions for you. Since you’ve made it your job to oversee the filming of a movie, I thought I’d oversee your business as a bookseller.”
“Do go on.” She lounged against the counter.
“How do you get all the big-name authors to come to this store?”
“Let me see. How do I do that?” She held her pinky against her lips like Dr. Evil. She was having a blast with me. I looked out into the parking lot hoping Tinkie would come inside soon.
“Do you blackmail them?”
“Most of the time.” She smiled. “Sometimes I resort to physical threats.”
She was having way too much fun with me. “I’m serious, Ms. McCormick. There are rumors that your tactics are unethical and likely illegal.”
“And the spreaders of these rumors would be whom?”
I shrugged. “I’m not at liberty to disclose my sources.”
“And I’m not stupid enough to fall for that old tactic. What are you doing here?”
“Looking for leverage.” I put it out there.
“At last, an honest answer.”
“Why are you so opposed to this movie?”
“I’m opposed to the people of Mississippi being sold a pig in a poke.” She dropped her gaze, which made me wonder what her real motive was.
“And you’re certain that’s what Marlon Brandon is up to? Shooting a mega-million-dollar movie just to make the state look bad?”
“I love Mississippi,” Mary Dayle said. “And we’ve been on the receiving end of a lot of bad publicity for exactly the same things that happen in other places.”
I started to jump on that with both feet, but she held up a hand, stopping me.
“I’m not saying the things that happened here are right, but they happened in many other places. Those places have been allowed to heal.”
There was an element of truth in what she said. “Citing that bad things happened in other places is no excuse for what state and national elected leaders allowed to happen here. And you’re hanging out with a man who is the walking epitome of what’s wrong here.”
“No one controls who I associate with or what I do.”
Normally I would support that stance, but Lamar was beyond the pale. “Exactly how did you avoid being charged with your assistant’s death when the shark bit him in half?”
Mary Dayle turned white. I’d landed a well-placed blow. “How dare you?”
“You can dish it out, but you can’t take it,” I relentlessly pressed her.
“I had nothing to do with my assistant’s death. He was told to stay away from the tank. I have no idea what he was trying to do when he fell in. The situation was investigated, and I was absolved of all guilt.”
Those facts were true, as I understood the sequence of events. It was obvious that Mary Dayle still felt guilt, though. “Why did you quit your job and give up your work as a marine biologist if you were innocent?”
“Some bad things are so bad that the only way to survive them is to leave everything connected behind. That’s what I had to do, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.”
I unexpectedly felt for her. It was clear I’d ripped open an old wound. I couldn’t stop now. “Are you involved with that bull shark in the Mississippi River now?”
That took the wind out of her sails—for about thirty seconds.
“Absolutely not!”
“The law officers believe Jules Valiant was killed by a shark.”
“I heard that,” she said. “But it has nothing to do with me.”
“You were transporting a shark to Gulfport for an exhibit when your assistant died.”
“That’s true. That happened a long time ago, and I haven’t been back to the coast since then. I don’t even swim anymore. I was so disturbed by what happened that I gave up my identity, my career, a life that I’d worked hard to achieve.”
“You came home to be a shark in the world of books and authors.”
I thought it was a clever remark, but Mary Dayle laughed out loud. The color returned to her face, and she pointed to a chair. “Have a seat. I like you.”
“I’m not so certain I like you,” I said bluntly.
She waved me into the chair and went behind the counter to get two glasses and a bottle of Irish whiskey. She poured us each a shot and handed me a glass before she sat down across from me. “You want to know about my assistant?”
“No,” I said, sipping the whiskey. “I’m more interested in the shark now swimming around in the Mississippi River.”
“They have the ability to swim up from the Gulf,” Mary Dayle said. She was relaxed in her chair, as if she were enjoying the conversation.
“I know they can do this. But I don’t think this one did.”
“What exactly do you think brought this shark to Greenville waters?”
“Not what, who,” I countered. Before I could continue, the bookstore door opened and Tinkie came in.
Mary Dayle rose, fetched another glass, and handed Tinkie a libation. She took the third chair in the small reading cluster near the front window.
“Our hostess was just explaining to me how the shark got up here in fresh water,” I said to Tinkie.
“Excellent. I have lots of questions,” Tinkie said.
“Fire away. I don’t know what really happened but I’m happy to talk about the needs and behavior of bull sharks,” Mary Dayle said. “I’m what some would call an expert.”
“Are you actually bragging about the creature that likely bit Jules Valiant’s foot off and probably killed him?” Tinkie put into words the things I was thinking.
“I’m not bragging. I’m educated in marine science and sharks are part of that. I had nothing to do with that shark being anywhere close to Greenville, but I’ve heard people talking. That’s the thing about a small town. Nothing is ever forgotten. I knew this when I moved back home from the coast to a failing business and the reality of selling most of the family land.”
I’d walked a mile in those shoes. I came home from New York and faced a harsh set of financial facts. I’d sadly neglected my business in Mississippi, just assuming that somehow Aunt Loulane would take care of things. She did until she couldn’t. I almost lost Dahlia House.
“How did that shark get all the way up here?” Tinkie asked.
“Either it swam—and bull sharks have been spotted all the way to St. Louis before—or it was brought here and set loose.”
“How would someone bring a shark that distance?” Tinkie asked.
“Two possible methods. In a cage behind a ship or in a tank over land.”
“That doesn’t sound healthy for a shark,” I said.
“It isn’t. They’re wild creatures. They aren’t meant to be exhibited or on display. I think the practice should be illegal. I quit my work because of the death of my assistant, but I was already fed up with the way marine animals are exhibited and displayed. I couldn’t stand the idea of imprisoning these innocent creatures in tanks for the entertainment of fools. Believe it or not, I care about marine animals. It’s why I studied them. I made the mistake of going for a big salary in a job I grew to loathe.”
I wasn’t certain I believed her, but she did sound sincere. “What can you tell me about the shark that bit off Jules Valiant’s foot? And we do believe it’s his foot.”
“I saw the foot. My best guess is that this shark is a female, between eight and ten feet in length. She probably weighs in at four hundred pounds at least. If she’s pregnant, she’ll be even more aggressive, preparing her young for birth.”
“What else do they eat besides feet?” Tinkie asked.
“Smaller sharks, fish, turtles, birds. They’re aggressive hunters and will eat anything they sense is food.”
“How long can they live?” I asked.
“A decade or more. Fourteen is an old age for one. If this shark is pregnant, she’ll give birth in the summer. If her pups live, they will hunt in a pack.”
“We have to get her out of here,” Tinkie said. “If word gets out, you know every redneck with a gun will be trying to shoot her.”
I gave Tinkie a long look. I had a tender heart for animals, but sharks were predators.
“She may not be in this river by choice,” Tinkie said stoutly. “If someone brought her here to use her as a pawn, she doesn’t deserve to die, and I won’t let that happen if I can stop it.”
“She’s right,” Mary Dayle said. “The shark is innocent. It is only doing what sharks are designed to do. Swim and eat. It’s up to us to capture and remove it.”
“I had no idea they could survive in fresh water,” I said.
“There are several species of shark that do fine with less salt concentration. They adapt well to fresh water and are in numerous rivers around the world. Keep in mind they have fifty rows of teeth. When a shark loses a tooth, the ones behind move forward to replace it and then new teeth are grown.”
“Efficient killing machines,” Tinkie said.
And Coleman and his buddies were in the river with this bad girl. “Do they attack unprovoked?” I asked.
“Sharks aren’t moral or immoral. They swim and eat to survive. They don’t know the difference between a dolphin or a human. They shouldn’t be punished for doing exactly what nature designed them to do.”
“If we can’t figure a way to catch and remove that shark, they will kill it.” I wasn’t being dramatic.
“I know, but the mayor has asked us not to make a big issue about the shark until a plan has been put into action.” Mary Dayle turned slightly away. “They want to kill Betty and gut her to see if any human body parts are still inside.”
“Betty?” Tinkie asked.
Mary Dayle shrugged. “I named her. It helps to humanize her to the people who want to kill her.”
Mary Dayle knew a lot about human nature as well as sharks.
“Do you know who brought Betty upriver?” I asked.
“I know you think I might have hurt Marlon or that gaffer, but I didn’t. I will tell you, honestly, if I can find the person responsible for that shark, I would be happy to feed him or her to Betty.” She gave such a wicked grin that I wanted to check how many rows of teeth she had.
“Thanks, Mary Dayle.” I stood to leave. Tinkie was at the door before I could blink.
When we got outside, she looked at me. “Do you believe she’s innocent about the shark?”
“Hell, no. Do you?”
“Not for a red-hot minute,” she said. “If anyone brought that shark up here, she had a hand in it. She just knows too much and every fact she gave us was designed to make us more afraid of the river.”
“Yep. She’s working hard to destroy the film.”
“But why?” Tinkie asked. “That’s the only thing I don’t get. Why is this so important to her?”
“I don’t know yet, but I hope we find out.”
13
Tinkie had just called Oscar for directions to the Brandon plantation when my phone rang. Coleman. I answered breathlessly. “Are you okay?”
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Mary Dayle just gave us the lowdown on bull sharks, and I can’t help but be concerned that you’re playing Esther Williams to a shark.”
“We’re done for the day. That storm is slowly coming our way. I’m going back to Zinnia, so I’ll pick up the critters and take care of the horses. I’ll feel better if they’re in a stall if it’s lightning.”
“Me, too. As long as someone is there to let them out if the barn gets struck.”
“I can work from home. I’ve got reports to catch up on and I need to write that speech for the sheriffs’ association meeting. While I’ve got a minute, catch me up on what Mary Dayle said about the shark.”
I filled him in. When he didn’t react, I asked, “Did you see the shark?”
“No, but I did find something else.”
The way he said it made my ears perk up. “What?”
“A stainless steel cage. One that could transport a shark upriver. It’s designed to be hauled by a boat with the cage submerged.”
I swallowed back an outraged reply but finally said, “Someone did bring the shark up here. This is deliberate. Whoever did this is guilty of murder.” I knew it wasn’t that straightforward but, in my book, the person who released a killing machine in an area where a movie was being filmed was responsible for what the shark did.
“I can’t say for certain that the shark arrived in the cage, but it’s a ninety-nine percent probability.”
“Where’s the cage?”
“We left it in the river. The boat that hauled it is long gone.”
“Mary Dayle said the two ways to transport a shark are in a cage like that or in a tank like on an eighteen-wheeler.”
“This was the easiest and less obvious method,” Coleman said. “Someone is playing a very dangerous game. Who do you suspect?”
“Mary Dayle is the obvious answer. Maybe too obvious. Because of that, I’d say Lamar Bilbo. He has zero ethics, and he’d do anything to achieve his goals. I’m sure he’s familiar with all the marine people Mary Dayle knows. He acts like he’s nearly bankrupt, but I doubt that’s the truth.”
“Keep an eye on Mary Dayle, Sarah Booth. Did she mention she was down on the Gulf Coast a week ago talking to the manager of the marine entertainment center? Sheriff Nelson told me about it.”
“She did not. In fact she said she hadn’t been back to Gulfport.” And I hadn’t pressed her. Dammit. “She’s sly, isn’t she?”
“I don’t have any evidence, but she’s an authority on sharks. The good and the bad. Who else would have thought of using a shark to halt production on a movie?”
“Do you think she has Marlon hidden somewhere?”
“Sheriff Nelson is getting a search warrant to go over her home and the bookstore. We’ll know by the end of the day if he’s there.”
“Do you think you can catch the shark and take it back to the Gulf?” I was actually worried about the man-eater. I liked the shark a lot better than some people I’d recently talked to.
“We’re coming up with a plan. There are several agencies offering to help. Some of them want to take it captive and put it on display.”
