“When Pearl told me that,” I said, “I realized that the cemetery would be the perfect place to bury a murder victim. The problem is, Hollywood Wonderland has thousands of graves. Carmichael’s final resting place could be almost anywhere.”
“Maybe they stuck him in a coffin with someone famous, like Bugsy Siegel,” Natalie suggested.
The former gangster was interred in the cemetery, but I doubted that he had a companion.
We listened as the famous actor began his talk about the movie. He ended the monologue, referencing the Lady in Black, who leaves a rose at Rudolph Valentino’s tomb every year.
When the movie began, Donovan took a seat next to the film projector. We decided to hang back in the crowd. I didn’t want Natalie going off again on the famous actor.
As the film rolled, we watched the movie star in his younger and considerably slimmer days, portraying the life of one of Hollywood’s most eccentric stars. The film told the story of Valentino’s early life in Italy and Paris before he came to the United States and starred in dozens of films. The actor had died suddenly at age thirty-one, causing mass hysteria among his female admirers.
The movie was nearing the end when Donovan stood and began heading to his car. A standing ovation rose up. Natalie gave the actor a Bronx cheer before I could cover her mouth.
I didn’t see Donovan drive away. I didn’t see the crowd begin to gather their belongings and head out of the cemetery as the film was ending. I only vaguely heard Natalie say something about Donovan being a backdoor pile of bab. I was busy watching as the final scenes of the movie flickered over the wall of the mausoleum.
That’s when I noticed it. At first, I dismissed it as my imagination working overtime. Maybe it was just fatigue?
I shook my head, saying out loud, “No, I’m sure I saw his name.”
I motioned for Pearl and Natalie to join me. We moved away from the crowd.
“This might sound crazy, but I think I know where John Carmichael is buried,” I said.
“With Bugsy?” Natalie asked.
I shook my head. “There was a scene in the film, just before the mystery woman left the rose at Valentino’s crypt. The camera panned over the graveyard, past the rows of burial vaults, and across the mausoleum wall.”
As the film ended, I motioned for them to follow me to the burial vault. I pointed to where I thought I’d seen the name. The wall was blank; nothing but ancient, dried cement.
“There was a scene in the movie,” I said. “It was on screen for only a second or two. It was a vault that showed a date of birth and death. I can’t remember the birth date, but I remember the date of death was September 16, 1984. The name on the crypt was John D. Carmichael.”
Natalie scratched her head. “I’m a little bumfuzzled on this. Why would the big ball of bloat put Carmichael’s grave marker in his movie?”
“Ego,” I said. “I remember Jack telling me that Cassie Reynolds said something to him about it all being right there for everyone to see. I think this is what she meant.”
“It would be the ultimate head trip,” Pearl agreed.
“Remember when we were at his estate?” I said. “Donovan said something about even if he’d put what he’d done right in front of everyone’s eyes, he could never be caught. He also said that things from his past would remain buried forever. I think Wolf Donovan committed murder, put the clues to that killing in his most famous movie for the world to see, and got away with it.”
“Until now,” Pearl said, as my phone rang. It was Charlie.
“I just heard a call from dispatch on that new phone app of mine,” Charlie said. “There was a call from somewhere inside Wolf Donovan’s estate. Somebody on a cell phone said there’s a guy with lots of guns holding people hostage. From the description, it sounds like Nathan Kane.”
We ran for the car, nearly tripping over the grave markers as we went.
Chapter Fifty
All the lights are killed, except those leading along the path next to the river running deep inside The Cavern. Nathan Kane follows behind his guests, offering encouragement in the form of a promise: instant death if they don’t do exactly as he says. There isn’t a single protest. His guests have already seen enough to comply with any demand.
It’s been a busy day. Kane has spent most of his time going down to the wine cellar. It’s fully stocked with a variety of expensive wines and champagne. He selects carefully, moving past the alcohol to the women being held hostage.
The sex is amazing. There’s nothing like a loaded gun to add a little spice in the bedroom. He’s used the weapon in a variety of ways.
After a few experiments, he finds his favorite activity is using the amyl nitrate he found in the actor’s bedroom along with the lethal sex toy. The drug gives the women a warm mellow feeling before sheer terror sets in at the realization they’re going to die. Kane decides he’ll have his own fully stocked cellar once everything is settled and he leaves the country.
When they reach the series of pools at the back of The Cavern, his guests are ordered to stop. They clutch their sides, not making eye contact, probably expecting the worst. They have no idea.
He despises the actor’s bloated son most. Bon Bon has spent the day trying to barter for his life. Kane would have killed the fat toad hours ago if he wasn’t Donovan’s son.
Even Ponytail has lost his bluster. The muscle-bound bodyguard doesn’t make eye contact, and seldom speaks. He’s been broken down like a little boy.
“I want every stitch of clothing off. Now,” Kane announces.
There is no protest. He watches as his guests strip down. In a moment, Bon Bon stands naked with the others, his belly distended like he’s swallowed a giant balloon.
Kane pokes the naked bastard in the stomach with his gun. “Ever think of going on The Biggest Loser?” There’s no response except sniveling.
When they’re all naked, he motions to the river of water. “In the water, now.”
They do as he says, some of them shivering and crying as they slip down into the ribbon of dark water.
Kane moves to the control booth at the side of the pool. He hits the strobe lights. The Cavern flashes and pulses with color. Then he selects the music. He needs a nice beat with lots of bass. He settles on Ozzy Osbourne’s “Shot in the Dark”. He hits a button, and The Cavern begins to throb with music.
As the strobes flash and the music blares, Kane strategically places his weapons, leaving one of the guns in the back of The Cavern, where the moving water dumps into a final chamber. He then removes his clothing and slips into the water. He waits, gun in hand, like a giant coiled snake, ready to strike.
In a few minutes, he sees the light. It’s shining down the walkway from the entrance to the cave. The light begins to grow brighter. As it moves toward him, he sees it dancing around The Cavern, illuminating the pool filled with naked bodies. Then the light stops, splashes back, and washes over the giant actor.
The Assassin grins in the darkness. The flickering light catches Kane’s long, sharp teeth for an instant. He is the bear, and the Wolf is in his den. The bear brings the gun up and roars.
Chapter Fifty-One
Charlie called me as we blasted through the gates onto Donovan’s estate.
“I’m on my way, Kate, but I just heard dispatch say the first responding unit was in an accident, broadsided in an intersection. You’re on your own until the other units get there.”
Bernie’s whine of concern turned into a harsh growl as I ended the call. We raced up the driveway toward the residence.
In the distance, we could see a black Mercedes stopped ahead. The driver opened the rear door, and Wolf Donovan began ambling toward The Cavern. He turned back for an instant, probably seeing our headlights. His blue-green eyes shone in the light like an animal’s. I saw there was a gun in his hand as he slipped away, disappearing inside the cave.
“T
he fat piece of sludge is headin’ for the shit bog,” Natalie said.
Pearl slammed on his brakes a few feet from Donovan’s car. We brought our guns out as we ran toward Donovan’s chauffeur. The man’s eyes were fixed on Bernie, who was now barking and straining on his leash—my big dog in attack mode.
“He’s in the cave,” the driver said, jumping on the hood of the car. “I don’t want any trouble.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Natalie reach into her purse and bring out something shiny. She waved a pistol at the driver.
“Run for your life and don’t leave a slime trail behind you!” she shouted.
The man sprinted down the driveway. Natalie had gotten at least part of her message across.
I thought about telling Natalie to put the gun away and wait in the car, but it was too late. We heard the music and saw the flash of lights coming up from somewhere inside the cave.
I knew it wasn’t just strobe lights we were seeing. The flashes of light were accompanied by a muffled popping sound. Someone was shooting.
We moved into the cave, following a trail that snaked along the river. Music rose up, a loud, pulsing beat. Strobes and flashes of gunfire illuminated the interior ahead of us.
I felt like I was on some crazy nightclub dance floor. Pearl was in front of me, his body moving in the flashing lights, creating a series of still images that burned into my retinas.
I caught sight of Natalie behind me for an instant when the path turned and I was struggling to control Bernie. She was holding what I guessed was Clyde’s pistol in both hands, swinging it from side to side, probably imitating something she’d seen in a movie. I prayed that she wouldn’t shoot me in the back. I heard her shouting, but only made out something that sounded like “motherfucker” and “blubber”.
A few yards from a large pool of water, we stopped. The strobe and gunfire flashes illuminated something out of a nightmare.
Nathan Kane was in the back of the pool, his body halfway out of the water as he casually fired at the naked bodies writhing in front of him. Between the beats of blaring music and gunfire, I heard screaming. I made out two of the victims, Donovan’s son and Zen.
We crouched low behind some boulders and saw Donovan moving forward, down a separate passageway. He entered a glass booth.
The music suddenly stopped, and the cave went dark. The shooting also stopped. The Cavern was deathly silent—except for the screaming and Bernie’s barking.
“I can’t see anything,” Pearl whispered.
I was about to answer him when something fell on top of me.
“Sorry ‘bout that,” Natalie said. “Lost me footin’. Think I stepped in some kinda bat shit.”
A dim set of overhead lights flickered on. Natalie was trying to pull herself off me. I realized that she had stepped on a dead body. My hands were slippery, covered in something sticky. I felt Bernie’s leash begin slipping away from me.
“Bernie, blieb!”
The German command was lost in the screaming. My partner sprang into the water, heading straight for Kane.
I dove in after him and began swimming frantically. My hand hit something in the water, probably a dead body, and my gun slipped away from me.
I grabbed for Bernie’s leash, turned and saw Donovan standing at the side of the pool. He was staring at me, grinning as he pointed his gun at me. He was about to fire when the actor’s giant head exploded. It flew apart and snapped back, blood spurting, the head almost severed from his body.
I turned and saw Nathan Kane swinging his gun around, moving it from Donovan to me. We locked eyes. Then the shooting began from somewhere behind me. I realized it must be Pearl—and Natalie! I held Bernie’s leash and pulled him down as I dove toward the bottom of the pool.
Above us, I heard bullets slicing through the dark water. When I couldn’t hold my breath a moment longer, I surfaced, also pulling Bernie up.
I saw Nathan Kane moving back, his huge naked body slipping over the waterfall as the river washed down into another pool, deeper into the cave.
I swam forward, reaching out and touching something floating through the water. It was huge and bloody. Wolf Donovan’s gigantic body rolled over like an enormous log, water gurgling from what was left of his face. His body then floated away from me.
I turned and saw Bernie. He was paddling, desperately trying to stay afloat. He was no longer barking and moving toward Kane. He seemed to be in some kind of distress. That’s when I saw the red stain flowing into the water.
Nathan Kane had shot my dog!
Chapter Fifty-Two
I grabbed for Bernie, snagging his collar just before he went under. I swam toward the edge of the pool, pulling him along as I went.
From somewhere above us, near the entrance to the cave, I heard voices shouting commands and making radio calls. I knew it was the responding officers, but I also knew they were too late to help.
I pushed Bernie up and out of the pool at the same time I saw fingers with perfectly manicured nails coming down into the water.
“I’ve got him,” Natalie said. She pulled Bernie up, removed her blouse, and used it as a tourniquet to stem the bleeding. She pushed her pistol into my hand, motioned toward the flowing river of water, and said, “I’ll take care of Bernie. No more faffin’ about. Stick this down the asswipe’s throat and blow his gob off.”
I took the gun, swam back into the pool, and found Pearl. We made eye contact and then pushed off, moving farther back into The Cavern.
The overhead lights faded as we were washed into the flowing water. The Cavern became a black pit. We swirled down before we were spit out into the final churning pool of dark water.
We tried to orient ourselves, but the cave was silent and dark. The only sound we heard was coming from the upper pool. It was the sound of voices, shouting in agony as the uniforms arrived.
I treaded water and felt Pearl push up against me. Kane seemed to have disappeared. Maybe he had been hit? Maybe he had drowned? Maybe not.
I felt Pearl’s hand on my arm. Then I realized it wasn’t Pearl. Something knocked my gun away and pulled me down, deep into the bottom of the swirling water.
I couldn’t see him, but I knew Nathan Kane had ahold of me. He had clamped onto me and was pulling me down. I was drowning. I fought back, pushing and kicking, but I was no match for the muscular madman who was sweeping me down to my death.
Water seeped into my lungs. Panic set in. The world began to spin. My consciousness began slipping away. I was choking, swirling deeper into the abyss.
I reached out as I was pushed to the bottom of the pool, my hands momentarily brushing against something. It was sharp and long. Then I felt the handle. I had ahold of a knife that Kane must have dropped.
My strength was almost gone, but I willed myself to sweep the knife up in a slicing motion. It hit nothing but water. Then I swung it again and again and again. The blade struck something solid. I felt resistance and pushed harder. There was a gurgling, screaming sound in my ears.
Above me I saw lights moving over the surface of the water. I said a silent prayer that I hadn’t stabbed Pearl. I found the last bit of energy somewhere in the deepest cells of my body and pushed off, madly swimming toward the surface.
It seemed forever before I finally broke through the water. I came up, choking and gasping for breath.
Light moved over my face.
I was blinded for an instant. The light moved off and swept across the water. I realized it was a flashlight being held by one of the responding officers. I frantically looked around, again searching for the madman, and praying Pearl was still alive. Then I saw it.
Nathan Kane’s body was floating face down in the pool of water. I moved forward and found Pearl. With his help, we rolled the killer over. His body was slack, the life force flowing out as blood streamed into the pool of water.
I turned to Pearl, who reached out for my hand. He he
lped me as I used my last bit of strength to swim over to the edge of the pool.
I looked up into the beautiful face of Natalie, who was cradling Bernie in her arms.
“Nice work, sistah,” Natalie said, as Bernie licked my face. “The ugly gump is tits up.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
A week after the slaughter at Donovan’s estate, I was back on duty. It took a dozen stitches to close the wound in Bernie’s hindquarters. The vet said the bullet had just missed an artery, but that he would fully recover, leaving my partner with a lengthy scar and enough bragging rights to end up with a Medal of Valor.
I’d left Bernie at home with Natalie the first few days after I’d returned to work. She was nursing him back to health on a steady diet of bones.
After sorting out the killing cave at Donovan’s estate, it was determined that twelve people, including Kane and the famous actor, had lost their lives in The Cavern, along with six others inside the residence.
Bon Bon had been wounded but had survived the slaughter. Zen wasn’t as lucky. The bodyguard had been killed in the shooting spree.
Donovan’s son was singing like a fat canary about the drug and sex trade his father had been involved in with Conrad Harper and Nathan Kane over the years. As we’d already figured out, Diamond was cooking the books and laundering the drug money through the porn business.
Bon Bon admitted that he had Zen put drugs in Robin’s car and called the police because he was jealous that Clark said he still had feelings for Robin. He also told us that Clark had been cheating on him with his father. It seems the famous actor’s appetite for all things–both edible and sexual–was voracious.
The charges against Robin had been dropped. My brother was back at work, trying to mend a broken heart.
I called Jack Bautista the day after our confrontation at Donovan’s estate and filled him in on everything. The DA had dismissed all charges against him.
Jack said that he planned to return to work as soon as he was medically cleared. He had asked me to dinner after he recuperated, but I was noncommittal. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the detective and needed some time to sort through my feelings.