CHAPTER 6
Roy Houston fully expected to be turned away from the set of "Passion & Pride". He had walked up to the guard station and simply said, "Roy Houston here to see Ms. Natalie Wycomb." He was pleasantly surprised when the guard had issued him a pass and gave him directions to her dressing room.
The former CIA agent knocked on the door which was immediately opened by none other than Ms. Wycomb herself. He turned on the charm and told her that he was a big fan and was working for a magazine for senior citizens and wondered if she would grant him a few minutes of her time for an interview.
Ms. Wycomb's eyes lit up at the news. "Why, most certainly. Come right in!" Roy was ushered into a nightmare of pink and frilly everything. Everywhere he looked there were photographs of the aging star, each with a pink frilly frame. He gave her his most charming smile and started asking her questions, first about her role in the original "Don't Look Back", then bringing up her current role in "Passion & Pride". He took notes, but after hearing her prattle on about how she was certain that another good movie role was just waiting for her, he decided that Ms. Wycomb wasn't a murderer – she obviously couldn't think of anything aside from her desire to get back on the big screen. Roy gracefully ended the interview and was glad to finally get away from the actress.
Meanwhile, Hoyt had called Matt and told him what little they had learned from the lab. CJ had been right on the money when she told them that they were probably looking at black bacarra roses. No prints were found on the roses. The lab had also determined that the hair that Matt had found at the third crime scene was not human, but was synthetic hair from a wig. The DNA test on the blood that was with the hair was not back from the lab yet.
As Matt got off of the phone with Hoyt, Uncle Roy walked into the office. He sat down on the couch and heaved a huge sigh.
"Something wrong, Uncle Roy?" Matt looked at his uncle.
"Yes. I don't want to see anything pink and frilly for a VERY long time." He shook his head and chuckled. "I think we can rule out Ms. Wycomb as a suspect. She can't seem to think about anything other than the next possible movie role. And I don't think that's going to happen – ever."
CJ and Matt exchanged puzzled looks, then Matt brought Roy up to speed on the lab report. "So, it looks like we're pretty well at the end of the day, and we still don't know who the murderer is."
"Well, this senior citizen has a date with a most attractive and vibrant widow. You two kids stay out of trouble and I'll see you in the morning." With that, Roy got up and left.
"So, Mrs. Houston, what do you think about grilling up a couple of steaks and opening a bottle of wine?" Matt had walked up behind his wife and encircled her waist with his arms, pulling her to him and nibbling on her earlobe.
"Sounds like a plan to me. Then maybe we can work on cleaning out that closet." She looked back over her shoulder at Matt, who just wiggled his eyebrows and smiled at her.