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I tugged Jack's sleeve. "Who's the man giving orders?" "Property master and studio manager." "Is he Lester Sanford?" I asked. "No," Jack said.
Just then, the property master turned, saw us, and gri
"Hi there, Be
"Who's the little lady?" Be
"New secretary," Jack declared. "Just hired her. Ain't she a looker?"
"I'll say." Be
Settled down? My eyebrows rose at that one. From all the wild stories the ghost had told me, I just couldn't see the living Jack Shepard smoking a pipe in the suburbs with his feet up. Even in death, the expired gumshoe was climbing the walls of my bookstore, eager to glom onto the merest hint of excitement in our "cornpone" little town.
"I'm sure Jack's happy as a bachelor," I told Be
Jack loudly cleared his throat, shutting me up with a pointed stare. Obviously, he preferred that I refrain from speaking during this particular meeting.
"So how've you been, Be
"Good, good… things around here could be better, though. You know about Irving?"
Jack glanced at me. "Yeah. I read about what happened in the not-so-fu
"We can't believe it around here. Pierce Armstrong arrested for murder?" Be
"Yeah, Be
"Are you here for Pierce then?" Be
"No." said Jack. I'm looking for a guy named Lester Sanford Know him?"
"Sure, I know Sandy. He's been with us almost eight months now. He's not here at the moment though."
"What's his title?"
"Title?" Be
"Which translates to?"
"Transportation manager, truck driver, and senior grease monkey."
Jack stepped closer. "Does he own those two gull gray Lincoln Cabriolets in your parking lot?"
Be
Jack quickly backed off. "Oh, nothing important. It's just that I need a favor, see? I'm on a divorce case, and I'm trying to find a witness. I spotted one of Sandy 's cars at the scene, and I thought if maybe I talked to him, he'd help me out with a lead."
Be
"A shoot of what?"
"Movie's called East Side Serenade. We're wrapping it next week."
Jack's jaw worked silently. "Then anybody at the studio could have used those vehicles?"
"Oh, no. Not anybody." Be
"You wouldn't mind if I took a quick look at Sandy 's log book, would you?"
Be
Jack nodded. "I'll ring you inside of a week. And that's a promise."
"Good enough for me." Be
Be
Jack pulled out a slender notebook from inside his jacket pocket, riffled backward through some pages.
"First date I'm after is April sixteenth."
Be
Jack frowned. "You let actors borrow these vehicles?"
Be
"Who's the actor that signed it out?"
Be
"Check another date for me, would you?" Jack asked.
"Sure."
"May sixth."
Be
"Who?"
Be
Jack frowned. "But it couldn't have been. Armstrong was taken into custody the night of Vreen's stabbing, which was May fifth."
"That's odd," Be
"Then you didn't witness the sign-out yourself?" Jack asked.
"Not when they're on location. You'd have to talk to Sandy or the director, young guy named Delahunt." Be
"What about Sandy?" Jack asked. "He out on Long Island,
too?"
"Yeah, but not for the same reason. His wife just had a baby girl. He'll be off work for a few days at least."
Jack nodded. "Okay, when will Delahunt be back here then?"
"Tomorrow morning. But I doubt he'll remember what happened that day with the car." Be
"Everyone's pretty frazzled right now with Irving dead and Pierce arrested, and when you're trying to wrap a picture one day just melts into all the others. That's why we keep logs and lists." Be
"I understand," said Jack. "But I'd like to talk to the man anyway. Oh, and one more thing, Be
"Sure, Jack."
"Is Hedda Geist on that picture, too?"
"Of course. She's under contract. Every film she's been in has been a hit for us. No way we'd make a movie without her in a leading role."
"So she's out there on Long Island, too?" Jack asked.
Be
"Guess I'll come back tomorrow." Jack smiled. "That is, unless you've got another case for me tonight? How's the security around here since I solved your little problem a year
ago?"
"Tell you what, Jack, you did me a real favor finding that Larry Lightfingers on my staff. Put the fear of God into everybody. We haven't had one more disappearing prop since. The only thing's gone missing in months is a piece of wardrobe, and I'm pretty sure it just got misplaced."
"What was it?" Jack asked.
Be
Jack's eyebrow arched, he glanced down at me. "Sounds a little like Hedda herself."
We exited the building and headed back toward Jack's Packard.
"Okay," I said, as we walked by a line of row houses. "What was the DA's mistress doing wearing Hedda's gown? Who gave it to her? And what was Pierce Armstrong doing in a car outside the girl's hotel? Was he sleeping with her, too? Do you suspect this Delahunt character of anything? Or Lester Sanford? And can you trust Be