Not Wanted in Hollywood Read Free Page B

become
very familiar with the backstage area of Hammys. Between calming
down women who wanted to kill Alistair for his interviewing style,
and stopping the cameraman from doing another impromptu shoot in
the dressing room, I had pretty much found all the quiet and
private areas in the place. My preferred area was one that
unfortunately the cameraman, Hugh, had shown me. It was a little
alcove, not far from the dressing room. It was kind of hard to find
and I really did not want to know how Hugh had found it, or what
exactly he had been doing in it, but for now it fulfilled my
requirements.
    “ Where
exactly are you taking me?” asked Travis as the area got quieter
and more secluded. “I’m not complaining but I really think that I
should point out that I am not that kind of guy.”
    I choked on the laugh that came out. “Who are
you trying to kid? You are exactly like that kind of guy. I would
bet a lot of money that you have led many a wayward young lady into
a secluded part of a building.”
    Travis smiled and I turned back to make my
way through the dimly lighted area. Finding a light switch, I
flicked it, glanced back at the alcove and froze.
    “What?” said Travis, instantly on alert.
    I pointed down. There lying on the floor of
the alcove was Hammy Pollard with a whip that I remembered from
Amber’s dominatrix act wrapped around his neck.
    Travis instantly squatted down beside the
body and checked Hammy’s pulse. He looked up at me and shook his
head. I wasn’t surprised. I really didn’t think that the shade of
blue on Hammy’s face was a natural hue. Travis fished his phone out
of his pocket.
    “ I’m going to
have to call this one in,” he said regretfully, which confused
me.
    Of course we had to call it in. Dead man on
the floor, you instantly called the police and they called in
Homicide. All of a sudden I could see why Travis was looking at me
with some pity. Even if Griffin was not working this case, I knew
how the police worked. He would be told that his girlfriend, once
again, was at a murder scene, at a strip club where I had been
working for two weeks without telling him. I was so screwed.

Chapter Three
    That really horrible feeling you get in your
stomach when you know that you have messed up badly, continued to
grow as the strippers and bar staff realized that there was
something that had gone horribly wrong.
It amplified as I had to deal with Alistair and Hugh and explain to
them that filming a murdered man as a money making exercise, could
be construed by some as bad taste. It became even worse when the
police and the paramedics turned up. By the time Griffin strode
into the building, his eyes searching everywhere, I felt so sick I
thought I was going to embarrass myself right there, in front of
the stage where the police had gathered everyone. When Griffin’s
eyes met mine, I saw relief. That didn’t last long though. His eyes
flicked sideways and saw Travis standing next to me and fury
momentarily washed over his features. He then settled into the cold
cop face that I knew and really didn’t like, especially when it was
pointed in my general direction.
    If I didn’t know that he was mad before, I
would have realized it when he and Ramos spoke to every single
person in the building, before heading towards Travis and me. By
this stage fatigue had overtaken fear as my number one concern and
I was yawning widely as Griffin and Ramos walked up to us.
    “ Are we
keeping you up?” said Ramos sarcastically. Usually I am quite
understanding with the way Detective Liza Ramos feels the need to
subtly point out, that I am not one of her favorite people to see
at a crime scene. I understand our relationship is based on the
whole familiarity breeds contempt mentality. Tonight though, I had
spent the last few hours in a state of heightened anxiety. I felt
sick and I was really tired.
    “How long is this going to take?” I asked,
possibly a little harsher than I should have considering