L.A. Dead

"If it's all right," she said, "I'd like to leave by the front door."

"I'll tell Manolo to bring the car around front," Stone said.

She grabbed Stones hand, and they made their way through the crowd of press. He passed Dino. "Follow Manolo in your car," he said. Dino nodded and, with Mary A

"Mrs. Calder will have a statement on the front steps of the courthouse," Marc shouted over the din, and the press dutifully followed them outside. Microphones were set up on the steps, and Marc shouted for silence.

He faced the reporters, apparently relishing the moment. "Justice has been done," he said. "Arrington Calder is a free woman, and I only wish the police and the District Attorney's office had done their work earlier, instead of waiting for us to do it for them. Now Mrs. Calder would like to say a few words."

Arrington stepped up to the microphones. "I want to thank my attorneys, Marc Blumberg and Stone Barrington," she said. "But I have no thanks whatever for the media, who have made my life a living hell these past weeks. These are the last words I will ever speak to a camera or a reporter. Good-bye!" She stepped back.

Suddenly, a reporter in the front of the group held up a tabloid newspaper. "Mr. Barrington!" he shouted.

Stone, who had been about to lead Arrington away, turned and looked at the paper. What he saw was himself and Betty Southard quite naked, covering half the page. Both were looking at the camera, and black bars covered strategic areas of their bodies.

"Oh, shit," Stone said, involuntarily.

Chapter 61

Arrington took one look at the paper and stalked off. Stone followed her as quickly as he could, with reporters shouting questions at him from both sides. He got Arrington into the rear seat of the Bendey, but before he could climb in, she slammed the door and hammered down the lock button. Stone was left on the sidewalk, surrounded by cameras and screaming reporters.

Marc Blumberg grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the curb as Dino and Mary A

"You can drop me at the garage entrance around the corner," Marc said.

Dino glanced back at him. "Congratulations; you sure nailed Beverly Walters. How did you know she and Vance had an argument?"

"I figured he dumped her. Everybody dumps Beverly, sooner or later, and I figured she didn't like it. At least, she admitted to an argument." Marc turned to Stone. "By the way, I had a call early this morning from my attorney friend in Milan, about the possibility of divorce."

"And?" Stone asked.

"The news isn't good. In order to get a civil divorce in Italy, the two of you have to appear before a magistrate and mutually request the action."

"Can't I sue?"

"Yes, but in a contested divorce, you'd have to subpoena her, and you can't do that in the United States. You'd have to serve her in Italy."

Stone winced. "Good God."

The car stopped at the entrance to the garage, and at that moment, there was a ringing noise.

Marc took a small cellphone from an inside pocket. "Yes?" He smiled broadly. "Sure, I'll see her. I'll go right now." He closed the phone and stuck it back into his pocket. "That was my office," he said. "Beverly Walters has been arrested for Vance's murder, and she wants me to represent her."

"Are you going to?" Stone asked.

"Sure, why not? Since the charges against Arrington were dismissed with prejudice, there's no conflict. Anyway, it's an easy acquittal."

Mary A

"Sure. My guess is that, since she wasn't a suspect, she was never Mirandized, so everything she told the police and everything she said in court is inadmissible. The only testimony against her is Cordovas, and he's already admitted that he couldn't distinguish between Beverly and Arrington in the robe."

"What about Vanessa Pike's murder?" Stone asked.

"There's no evidence against her," Marc replied, "or they would already have arrested her. Anyway, she may not have murdered Vanessa."

That was true, Stone thought, and the other possible suspect was in a mental hospital.

Marc opened the car door and offered Stone his hand. "Thanks for the fun," he said. "Now I've gotta go see my new client."

"And thank you, Marc. I'll get you a check tomorrow."

Dino drove away and pointed the car toward Bel-Air. "Hey, what was all that crowd of reporters after you about?"

Stone sighed and told them what had happened.

"Did Arrington see the paper?" He nodded.

"I'm afraid so."

They arrived back at the Calder house to find Manolo loading suitcases into the Bentley.

"Manolo," Stone asked, "is Mrs. Calder going somewhere?"

"Yes, sir," Manolo replied. "But you better ask her about that."

"She certainly packed fast," Stone said.

"Oh, she packed before we went to court," Manolo said. "And on the way home, she called Mr. Regenstein from the car. The Centurion airplane is waiting for her at Santa Monica."

Stone went into the house, followed by Dino and Mary A

"I don't think we have anything to talk about," she said. "I'm going to Virginia to be with Peter and my mother, and I don't know when I'm coming back. Why don't you join Betty Southard in Hawaii? The two of you were made for each other. Or, perhaps, you could move in with Charlene Joiner."

He took her arm, but she snatched it away.

"Good-bye, Dino, Mary A

"Don't worry about it," Dino replied.

"Something I want to know," Stone said. "The amnesia: Was it real?"

"It was at first. After I came home from the clinic, everything gradually came back to me."

"So what happened that evening?"

"I don't think I'm going to tell you," she said. "You still think I might have killed Vance, don't you?"

"No, I don't."

"Sure you do, Stone. Anyway, you'll never know for sure, will you?" And with that she turned and walked out of the house. A moment later, the Bentley could be heard driving away.

Isabel came into the room. "Lunch is served out by the pool," she said.

Dino took Stone's arm. "Come on, pal. You could use some lunch, and probably a drink, too."

Stone followed him outside, and the three of them sat down. Isabel brought a large Caesar salad with chunks of chicken and served them.

"You did very well this morning, Isabel," Stone said. "Thank you very much."

"All I did was tell the truth," Isabel replied. She opened a bottle of chardo

They chatted in a desultory way about the events of the past weeks, and Stone felt depressed. He finished his salad and tossed off the remainder of his wine. "Excuse me a minute," he said, getting up. "I have to make a phone call."

"There's a phone," Dino said, pointing at the pool bar.

"This one is private," Stone replied. "I'll go inside." He went into the living room and looked around for a phone, but didn't see one, so he went into Vance's study and sat at the desk. Someone had left the bookcase /door to the dressing room open. He got out his notebook and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Betty, it's Stone."

"Well, hello there. I heard about the court thing this morning on the news. Congratulations."

"Thanks, but Marc Blumberg carried most of the water. Listen, I called about something else, something you have to know about."

"Dolce's dirty pictures? I probably saw them before you did; it's earlier here, remember?"