Page 112 of You Found Me
“Oh no, it’s better than that.” Annie smirked. “He was having a procedure that lifted and sculpted his butt cheeks.”
Ward snorted.
“Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase ass man,” Spencer deadpanned.
Annie beamed. “I love that this is something I know now.”
“Is that a rumor or verified?” Ward asked.
“It’s fact,” Spencer said. “I checked the surgical center records through a back door they really should have eliminated when they upgraded their servers. He arrived early that morning and remained overnight for observation. He was also on extensive pain medication for the first forty-eight hours, so Iseriously doubt he would have the physical coordination to work his way through a locked window.”
Ward crossed Ackleson’s name off his list. “Good. That leaves Vitali, Hume, and Mandel.”
“Diggs and I met with Mandel,” Annie said. “He’s currently working on one of those royal family docudramas in New York. Gorgeous gowns.”
She held up a picture of one to the camera. “I should send this to Della. It would make a great stage costume. Anyway, he knows Della, in a roundabout way. They were both at the screening for Blake and Piper’s animated release.”
“That’s the day Della punched Blake on the red carpet,” Spencer chimed in. “You remember our stalker mentioned that in the letter he left in her dressing room.”
“I remember.” Ward made a note on his list of potentials.Inciting incident…Della punching Blake?“Do we think that’s what set this whole thing off?”
“Maybe,” Annie said thoughtfully. “But he said he was disappointed, not angry, and that he understood. That doesn’t sound very inciting incident to me.”
“Were any of the others on our list at the red carpet that night?” Ward asked.
“Not that we’ve been able to figure out so far,” Annie said. “Mandel’s the only one I know was physically present. He did some of the costumes so he was working that night, and he remembers seeing all the sisters there.”
Ward nodded and jotted downloose connectionnext to the guy’s name. “Your take?”
“Not sure yet. That’s why I’m meeting with the president this morning. I need more background.” Annie looked doubtful. “Honestly…it seemed to me like Mandel was more impressed with Blake’s outfit than Piper’s, if you get my meaning, but that might not mean much since he’s a designer. He says he was at aweekend wellness summit during our concert window. We tried to verify, but the place was uncooperative.”
“They also keep their digital records on pretty tight lockdown,” Spencer said. “They have more security than the Pentagon.”
“Diggs is still foraging,” Annie said. “He might get lucky, but I have to admit it’s a long shot. Unless you want to spring for a weekend for me to get pampered and snoop onsite?”
He gave her a deadpan look.
Annie shrugged. “Can’t blame a girl for asking.”
Ward checked his notes. “What about the stunt guy?”
“Hume’s been in Greece setting up stunts for Blake Ryan’s new action movie,” Spencer filled in. “Both Blake and his mother gave Hume a glowing recommendation. He’s known as one of the best in the field, and he’s worked with just about everybody, although Piper couldn’t remember if she or Della had met him personally. You might check with Della. She could have met someone while Piper was busy.”
“We couldn’t find anyone who would say a bad word about him,” Annie said, “other than one of the low-level staffers. She said he was rude to her once during one of the shoots forUltimate Redemption. But several others hinted that he rejected her attempts at a hookup and she was just an angry bitch. Their words.”
“Are they right?” Ward made a note.
“Until I meet him in person there’s no way to know,” Annie said. “He’s missing in action. He’s either in transit to Portugal, or on location in Greece, or he’s taking a break on a beach somewhere. Behind-the-scenes guys don’t post online the same way the stars do, and we can only be in so many places at once. Unless, of course, you change your mind about taking on some extra help.”
Ward shook his head. “No. Keep it tight. We already have too many ways for information to leak out. Besides, we don’t have any solid evidence that our stalker isanyof these guys.”
“Hume isn’t totally clear,” Spencer said. “He was back in the country for a couple of days surrounding the second concert, according to TSA. He had opportunity.”
“Not much of one,” Annie pointed out. “He was in meetings for his next gig. If he was our guy, his window was incredibly tight. And during the first concert, he was on location in Arizona. I mean, it’s one state over but that’s still quite a distance to cover.”
Ward tapped the pen on the desk as he visualized. “He could have flown to LA.”
“It’s only a six-hour drive,” Spencer said, nodding in agreement. “But there’s no way to track him if he used a company car.”