“I take it you heard the news?” Agent Murphy asked.
“Yes,” the woman responded, narrowing her eyes at the agent. “No one called to tell us anything, which is why my boss sent me to find out what was going on.”
Agent Murphy took a half-step back to take in the middle-aged woman. Her suit was tailored, and her heels were expensive. Her outfit was not made for the wooden planks of the pier where she stood. Murphy pulled out her notebook and jotted down Alvarado’s name. “Can I get your title and phone number? In case I need to reach out to you later.”
Alvarado picked out a business card and handed it over to Murphy. Murphy jotted it down in her notebook before sliding the card into the breast pocket on her jacket. She didn’t care about this woman’s information, but she wanted to make it clear Ms. Alvarado wasn’t in charge.
“Thanks,” Murphy said. “So, when was the last time anyone from your company spoke to either of the victims?”
“Victims?”
“Yes,” Murphy responded, looking at Ms. Alvarado quickly. “You know they were murdered, right?”
The woman’s face blanched. Murphy watched, figuring out the woman was sent here with zero information.
“They were murdered?” Alvarado said as her smile faded. “I thought there was some kind of accident. I was told to come over here and find out what happened. Oh hell, this is going to stop production for at least a week. Fuck!” Alvarado pulled out her phone, found a contact and pushed the send button.
Murphy stood there, a bit transfixed, as Alvarado called someone and relayed what Murphy told her. When Alvarado told the caller on the other end that the murder investigation would probably delay production, a string of expletives was heard through the phone. The voice was so loud, Alvarado pulled the phone away from her ears.
“What’s going on?” Harper asked as he walked up behind Murphy.
“Woman from”—Murphy pulled out the business card and reread it—“Limitless Films. They own the TV show our victims were on. Apparently, someone isn’t too happy this little murder of ours will delay their filming.”
“God, I hate Hollywood types. It’s always about them. Fuck the corpse. What about me? What aboutmyneeds?”
“Tell me about it,” Murphy agreed.
Alvarado turned back around with an apologetic look on her face. “I’m sorry. As you can tell, the show’s director is heartbroken over the news,” Alvarado said through clenched teeth.
“Ms. Alvarado, this is FBI Agent Benjamin Harper.” Ben didn’t reach out his hand. He nodded in the woman’s direction. Murphy continued, “When was the last time anyone atNOLA Nightssaw the victims?”
“I’ll be candid,” Alvarado started. “I don’t know. We wrapped production around six p.m. last night, which was pretty early for us. We shoot a lot of night scenes. After all, we are calledNOLA Nights, so getting out before two or three a.m. is very early for us.”
“We’ll probably be around the set in the next couple of days to see if anyone on set knows anything. Who should we arrange that with?”
“Call my cell. I’ll make sure you have access to anyone or anything. Obviously, this is an enormous shock to the entireNOLA Nightsfamily and everyone who works at Limitless Films.”
Agent Murphy was amazed at how quickly Alvarado went from shock to public relations spokeswoman. Alvarado clearly knew how to do her job.
“Well, we’ll definitely reach out when we need your assistance,” Murphy said, clarifying their conversation was over. Murphy and Harper ducked under the police tape and headed back toward their dark brown sedan. Murphy climbed in the driver’s seat and turned on the air conditioner because she had practically sweated through her shirt. She was glad her black blazer hid her damp back.
“So, now what?” Harper asked.
“Now, we untangle this mess, but be ready for a shit show. Anytime we have Hollywood types involved, it’s going to be a mess.”
Murphy sighed as she turned the key in the ignition and headed back into town to the FBI Field Office.
Murphy pulled the car up to the curb and found a spot down from the main entrance to the NOLA FBI Field Office.
“Why don’t you go tell Jackson what we know so far when we get inside,” Murphy said.
“What are you going to do?” Harper questioned.
“I’ll call the Office of Public Affairs and give them a heads-up. This will be a media circus as soon as they find out we’re involved.”
“Too late,” Harper said, pointing to the camera and reporter staking out the front entrance of the building.
Murphy had barely thrown the car into park when the cameraman and reporter stalked toward their vehicle.
