Page 56 of Close Up

“Probably,” Nick said. “I think someone must have gone through his pockets. They’re empty.”

“I can tell you for certain if it’s him,” she said.

“You’re not going to want to take a close look. He’s pretty cut up and... broken. There’s some glass. Must have been hit by a car.”

“I’ve done a lot of crime scene photography, remember? I’ve seen bodies before.”

“I doubt if they were bodies of people you knew,” Nick said. “It’s different.”

“I have to be sure it’s him because if it is—”

“Stop right there. Whatever happened here, it’s not your fault that this man is dead. The person who murdered him is the one responsible.”

Vivian did not respond. She walked toward the doorway. Nick could tell that she was having to make herself go through the ordeal. When she got close, he leaned down and tugged on the deadweight of one shoulder, turning the body just far enough to give Vivian a view of the victim’s face.

“Yes.” Vivian wrapped her arms around her midsection and quickly turned away. “It’s Toby. And you’re right—it’s different when it’s someone you know. Dear heaven. So much blood.”

“Hood ornaments will do that,” Nick said. “One of these days they’ll probably outlaw them. I’ll call the police from the phone booth. And then I’ll call Luther Pell.”

“At this hour?”

“He operates a hot nightclub. Trust me, he’ll be awake.”

Chapter 26

I can’t imagine how Toby managed to find me,” Vivian said. “My sister is the only one who knows I’m here in Burning Cove. I called her shortly after we arrived because I knew she would worry if she saw the reports of the fire that burned down the cottage I was renting in Adelina Beach.”

It was nearly three o’clock in the morning. She and Nick were back in the living room of the villa but this time they were not alone. Luther Pell and Raina Kirk, the sophisticated, enigmatic woman who was obviously much more than a friend, had joined them.

Nick had mentioned that Pell had served in the Great War, which meant he was probably in his late thirties or early forties. There was some silver in his dark hair and a host of secrets in his eyes. It was obvious he had come directly from his nightclub. He wore an elegantly cut evening jacket, a crisp white shirt, and a black bow tie. His trousers were perfectly creased and broke at the precise angle over his gleaming shoes. There was a gold watch on his left wrist.

Raina Kirk was an equally intriguing mystery. Pell had introducedher as a private investigator but she did not fit the Hollywood image of someone in that business. She was cool and poised in a midnight-blue evening gown that swirled around her ankles when she walked. Her hair was pinned up in an elegant chignon. When she spoke, there was a polished East Coast gloss on each word.

“Did Toby Flint know you have a sister in San Francisco?” Nick asked.

Vivian realized that Luther and Raina were waiting expectantly for her response. She got a queasy feeling.Should have thought of that myself.She sighed and looked at Nick.

“You know,” she said, “sometimes your habit of leaping to the worst possible conclusion is a little depressing.”

“Sorry,” he said. “I can’t help it. Character flaw, I’m afraid.”

Luther snorted softly, evidently amused.

“If it’s any consolation, it appears to be a family trait, Miss Brazier,” he said. “It’s why his uncle was so useful to me in the old days.”

“I see,” Vivian said. “The answer is yes, Toby Flint did know that I have a sister and that she lives in San Francisco. He showed up at my place on the beach one weekend when Lyra was visiting me. I introduced them.”

“Did Flint visit you often?” Raina asked.

“No,” Vivian said. “Only when he wanted to try to talk me into giving him some film or flashbulbs or when he was desperate for gas money. He was always going to pay me back, of course, but he never did. His finances were precarious, to say the least. He is... was... a good news photographer. His pictures sold well. Editors liked them. But he was a gambler. The kind that loses.”

“Which means he was probably in deep with some very rough people,” Luther said. “I should be able to verify that with a few phone calls, but for now I think we can assume he had a financial motive to track you down here in Burning Cove, Miss Brazier.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You mean the killer may have paid him to find me?”

It was Nick who answered. “That sounds logical.”

“But that means the killer knew Toby had some knowledge of my personal life,” she said.

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