“It wouldn’t matter,” I said. “If he left before Tiffany, he’s had plenty of time to get home.”
“You know,” Gertie said, “we’ve been assuming Tiffany was talking to a guy, but what if it was a girl?”
I groaned. “Let’s not add more to this already convoluted mess.”
“I agree,” Ida Belle said. “Until we know differently, we’ll assume she was talking to another man. So, NOLA?”
I nodded. “Might as well, but can you get one of the Sinful Ladies to do a little reconnaissance for us?”
“Sure,” Ida Belle said. “What do you need?”
“In about twenty minutes, I’d like someone to see if Tiffany is at home,” I said. “At least that way we’d know that she was meeting that person here and there wasn’t another assignment.”
The last thing we needed was more people in the mix.
Because we had some hours to kill and also because we were starving, we had lunch when we arrived in New Orleans, then set out to look at some hot tubs. I had zeroed in on the one that I thought I wanted but figured since we had the time, I might as well check out the competition. We made it to the place that I figured I would buy about 4:00 p.m. and I located the salesman I’d talked to on the phone. The hot tub was everything I hoped it would be and even better, they had it in stock and could deliver it as soon as I had the proper base and electrical wiring for it. Ida Belle assured me that was all a simple matter and could happen in a couple days, so I scheduled delivery for the following Monday.
The way this week was going, I figured the sooner, the better.
When we finished at the hot tub place, I called Carter to set up the whole ‘we’re sticking around for the salesman’ alibi and was relieved when he didn’t answer. I left the message and we headed off to do a short review of the buildings surrounding the parking lot where Gil was killed. We had an hour to kill before the actors showed up for rehearsal, and I was hoping rehearsal hadn’t been canceled because of what had happened to Gil.
We talked to several people exiting the buildings surrounding the parking lot, but none of them were at work past five or six, so wouldn’t have seen anything. One building had a night security guard, but the day guard told me he mostly slept, which corresponded to what the police report said. By the time we’d walked the block, talking to everyone we could get a hold of, the parking lots had emptied but a couple cars were parked in the theater lot.
“Looks like we’re on,” I said.
“How are we going to play this?” Ida Belle asked. “I mean, we’re not cops, and now that this is a murder investigation, Casey will probably be back over here going over their statements again.”
“We’ll tell them we’re friends of the family and trying to get some closure for Gil’s son,” I said.
Gertie rolled her eyes. “You hate words like ‘closure’ and I doubt Liam would like it much better than you.”
“None of them know that,” I said. “And it’s not like we have to worry about Liam coming to talk to these people or them to him.”
Ida Belle nodded. “I think it’s a good ploy. It will be hard to say no to helping when they think it’s for the victim’s child, even if he’s grown.”
As we headed across the parking lot for the back door, a man parked next to the entrance, opened the back of his SUV, and began to struggle with a door. I hurried over and grabbed one end and he looked up in surprise.
Midfifties. Six foot even. Two hundred ten pounds. Couldn’t lift a fifty-pound door without help. Zero threat.
I indicated he should walk and apparently, he was so surprised that he simply did as I instructed.
“Are you one of the acting troupe that rehearses here?” I asked as we walked.
He nodded. “I’m Paul Easton. This door is for the play. A neighbor has been making it for us. Are you three here to audition—because we’ve had all the actors in place for months now.”
“Nothing like that,” I said. “My name is Fortune Redding. I’m a private investigator and these two ladies are my assistants. I’m looking into what happened to Gil Forrest for his son. He’s having a hard time with all this and thought I might be able to bring him some closure if he just had a better understanding of his father’s last day.”
He glanced back at me and frowned. “I can’t imagine how hard that must be. But I didn’t think Gil and his son were close.”
“They weren’t,” I said. “Which sort of makes it worse rather than better.”
“Ah.” He nodded his head in understanding. “No more chances to right old wrongs.”
“Something like that,” I said.
Ida Belle ran ahead and opened the door so that Paul and I could go in with the door.
“I was hoping you guys wouldn’t mind talking to me about Gil,” I said as we stepped inside and started down a hallway. “Maybe there’s nothing to be learned, but maybe there’s something that would help the situation.”
“I don’t mind speaking with you,” he said. “The others, of course, have their own opinions, but you can ask. We won’t all be here tonight though. Just the ones that run things, so to speak. We have to figure out what to do about Gil’s part.”
“You don’t have an understudy?” I asked.
He shook his head. “It wasn’t a major role. We have a couple people in mind who could fill in but we have to see if they can match up their availability to our travel schedule. We were due to start touring in two weeks.”
“What happens if no one can cover?” I asked. “Do you have to cancel?”
“No. We can’t do that or we risk never getting to book those venues again. If the guys we have in mind can’t cover, then we will rewrite the role to make the character a woman. That way, our director can fill in.”
“It’s good that you have options,” I said.
I heard women’s voices carrying down the hallway and stopped talking so that I could listen in.
“Are we going to use the Driscoll emeralds for the play? Since they haven’t been on display in years, I’m sure they’d generate a lot of buzz.”
“I’m not sure yet. I have to check with my insurance agent first. There was some concern.”
“We can hire some off-duty policemen for extra security. It’s not too expensive. I think the door take will be a lot higher if we can have them part of the show. And you know Prescott being a former jeweler absolutely loves when he can get close to fine pieces with historical significance. He’ll advertise to everyone he knows.”
“As I said, I have to clear it with my insurance agent, but I’ll find out.”
We stepped into an auditorium and three women on the stage stared down at me, clearly curious.
First woman fortyish. Five foot seven. One hundred thirty pounds. One of those thin bodies with very little muscle. It belonged on a runway or a stage. Zero threat as she probably couldn’t lift more than her purse or sprint more than five feet.
Second woman, midthirties. Five foot five. One hundred fifty pounds and not enough muscle. Didn’t exercise regularly and was either shy or guilty because she wouldn’t look me in the eye. No threat to anyone, ever.