CHAPTER 12

For the first time since the death of Devon Collins the crowds that had stood vigil outside the home of Ramona Landers had been dispersed and sent away by the police officers who themselves were now gone from in front of the lavish home. All was quiet as life in the Beverly Hills neighborhood seemed to get back into its normal rhythm. Inside the home, the lights went out one by one as Ramona and Kelsi made their way up to their bedrooms about midnight and all was quiet save for the faint sound of traffic on the nearby streets and the splashing of the fountain out in front of the house.

Inside the home Matt along with Detective Nakayama waited in one of the upstairs bedrooms. That afternoon he had placed several critters around the perimeter of the home and was now watching the feed from the cameras. "From what Worrell and Larson said they left through the sliding glass door in the den the night that Devon was killed. I doubt that they'll try to come in the front door here so I deactivated the alarm on the side gate and all of the doors on the back of the house." The PI looked over at the detective who nodded. Both were quiet as the minutes drug into hours measured by the steady ticking of the grandfather clock down in the main hallway.

A little after 3:00AM Matt punched a dozing Nakayama in the arm and pointed to one of the monitors that he had set up. "Bingo." It clearly showed two men dressed all in black with masks entering the side gate of the property and making their way up to the house.

CJ's voice came through the earwig. "I seem them, hon."

"Okay, Babe. We're going to move into position. Keep us updated."

"Gotcha." Back at the ranch CJ was sitting at Matt's desk watching intently as the two men neared the back of the house. They stopped momentarily and a disagreement ensued with one of the men pointing back toward the gate and the other shaking his head no and motioning toward the house. The lawyer jumped as she heard someone behind her and stifled a squeal as Sheila put a hand on her shoulder. "You scared the crap out of me!" Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned her attention back to the monitors.

"I couldn't sleep. What's going on?" The nanny leaned forward and looked at the monitors. "Oh, my gosh!" She pointed to where the two figures were now picking the lock on a door. Quickly, she rolled the chair from CJ's desk over and had a seat.

CJ nodded. "Matt, they're going to be entering through the kitchen door."

"Thanks." He pulled the pistol from his holster and nodded to Nakayama who entered Kelsi's bedroom, quietly closing the door behind him as Matt did the same in Ramona's room. In a couple of minutes a slight noise could be heard as the two intruders worked their way up the stairs and began going through the bedrooms, slowly nearing the two men who lay in wait for them. Matt stood in the doorway to Ramona's closet with a clear view of the bedroom door. Slowly the door was opened and the intruders paused, one nodding in the direction of the actress' bed and practically pushing the other toward it. As the man advanced on the bed he raised a pistol in his hand and fired four shots into the form in the bed, the silencer on the end of the barrel muffling what would normally have been quite loud.

"Hold it right there…" Matt had his pistol pointed at the pair as he eased out into the room. The second man brought his pistol upward but halted the movement abruptly as he felt a gun against his back right between his shoulder blades.

"Drop it." Nakayama grabbed the man and pinned him against the door as Matt directed the shooter to drop his weapon as well. When the detective turned on the bedroom light, the man seemed shocked that instead of a body in the bed there were only pillows. The second man began cursing as Nakayama placed him in handcuffs and began reading him his rights. Matt similarly cuffed the shooter before going up to the attic of the home and informing Ramona and Kelsi that it was all over.

Back at the Beverly Hills Police Station, the two men had been put into separate interrogation rooms. Dennis Worrell was staring blankly at his hands that were shackled to the table as Houston and Detective Nakayama entered the room. He didn't bother looking up.

"I'll remind you of your rights again…" The cop rattled off the Miranda warning as the stuntman began shaking his head. "Now…" He took a seat across from the man. "I want you to tell me why you killed Devon Collins."

"I want a lawyer." The words sounded choked coming from the man's mouth.

"Do you have a lawyer or do you want a public defender?"

"I don't have one."

"Sure, you can go with a public defender..." Matt paused for a few seconds and then walked toward the suspect. "But a public defender is like a crapshoot. You may get a wet-behind-the-ears kid straight out of law school with three hundred grand of student loans hanging over his head like the sword of Damocles..." Pausing again, he leaned against the wall of the interrogation room. "Or you might get some hack who barely passed the bar on his third try, keeps a bottle of vodka in his desk drawer, and is just marking time until he can retire. It's your choice: do what you want." It had the desired effect; Matt watched as the man began shaking from head to toe.

"I want a deal." Finally Worrell looked up, his eyes landing on first Houston and then Nakayama.

"Everybody wants a deal." The cop leaned back in the chair. "What makes you think we'll give you one?"

"Because I can tell you who ordered us to do it."

"To do what?"

"Kill Devon...and Kelsi...and Ramona Landers."

"Alright. Start talking."

Worrell swore he didn't know why Ronnie Titus had wanted Devon dead, but said that he threatened to keep the two stuntmen from ever working on another film if they didn't take care of it for him. He had also wanted Kelsi dead and Ramona would just be collateral damage.

An hour later after his statement was typed up and signed and Nakayama and Houston had wrangled a confession out of Stan Larson as well, the PI was heading out the front door of the station when a voice halted him.

"You coming along for the fun?" Leon Nakayama was just steps away and had three uniformed officers with him.

"Nah, I'm going home." Yawning, he turned to face the detective and held out his hand. "It was nice to work with you."

"Same here." The five men stepped out into the early morning sunlight. "So I heard you were involved in another shooting." He watched as the rangy PI nodded. "Keep yourself safe out there. I might just need some more help one day."

Matt once again nodded and went down the steps to his truck, beginning the drive back to the ranch. As he waited in traffic on the PCH his phone rang. "How's it goin', George?"

The balding Texan was behind the wheel of his car and heading north. "I'm headed up to Dallas."

"Find out anything?"

"Not exactly. But I've got a source there that I think might be able to give me some information. Just wanted to keep you up to date."

"I appreciate it. Be safe."

"Sure will. Talk to you later." McSwain tossed the phone down onto the front seat of the fifteen year old Buick LeSabre and lit another cigarette. A conversation with CJ earlier had informed him that the younger man had once again been nearly killed. Their profession could be dangerous and Houston wasn't afraid to ruffle feathers with the truth if he felt the need. Over the years he had run afoul of several influential people that George knew of and from what he had heard the same had happened in California. He rolled down the window of the car and dropped ashes on the pavement of Interstate 45 as he passed an exit for Conroe.

Back in the Santa Monica Mountains, Matt turned off the engine and slid down out of the truck. He was met at the kitchen door by Tilly who was very glad to see him. In less than a minute the kids came to greet him. He picked up all three and carried them into the den, plopping down on the couch as they crawled on top of him, knocking his phone out of his pocket and under the couch just as it started ringing. After a few moments of unsuccessfully fishing blindly around for it, he picked up the end of the couch and had Catey to retrieve it for him. Detective Nakayama's number was showing as a missed call. "Easy now. I've got to make a call. Y'all go play." He punched the number and went toward the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

"Houston, just wanted to let you know what's going on. We've got Titus in custody and I sent some officers to bring in Tyler MacDonald for questioning as well."

"Sounds good." Matt was rummaging around in the refrigerator.

"Not really. MacDonald was dead in his car - looks like a nine mil to the chest."

"Not good." He closed the refrigerator, retrieving a plate of cinnamon rolls.

"So just when we think we've got the whole deal wrapped up all hell breaks loose again."

"Well, good luck with that. I believe I'll sit that one out."

"Sure wish I could. Talk to you later."

Matt took a sip of the coffee and looked out the window toward the barn as a pair of arms encircled his waist. Turning he pulled CJ into a hug and the pair shared a kiss. He told her about the phone call as they sat down at the table.

"So do you think it was Titus?"

"Don't know - but he seems like the most likely suspect."

"Well, your girlfriend Tamara Placer may have exposed the reason that Titus wanted Devon taken out. The studio thought that Titus was getting too old for all the action roles and they were looking to send the next one Devon's way. Oh, and I took a look at his phone records. MacDonald was blowing up his phone for the last month or so. And a look at his financials was very interesting; looks like he might have been paying off Tyler."

"Not surprised. But…" He gave her another kiss. "That's not my problem anymore. Kelsi is off of the suspect list and I've got a class to study for."

"We'll be heading back to Texas tomorrow I guess." CJ sat down at the table with him as he took a bite of the cinnamon roll. She really hated the thought of being away from him, especially since they had been separated for most of the summer while he was in Quantico. "Oh, I almost forgot. Dave Rossi called earlier. He's going to send me some files to look through. They may have a lead on Perrier."

"That's some welcome news." Reaching across for her hand he spoke again. "I'll come down on the weekends if it's where I can."

"Or I can come here."

"You could."

"Might even let the kids stay in Texas…." She gave him a smile.

"Gonna help me study, huh?" He grinned the crooked grin.

"Bet it won't have anything to do with the class you're taking." The couple shared another kiss as the kids ran whooping into the kitchen followed by Tilly, stopping the kiss and conversation but not the look that passed between the pair.