Milo said, “Bedford Drive cosmetic surgeon named Straub. They got hitched three years ago. No kids, coupla big careers, no joint vacations on Instagram.”
“Not-so-true love, L.T.? That would give Heck an opportunity. Is he an old flame she reconnected with?”
“All we know so far is she repped him on Alberts and is doing the same thing now.”
Moe said, “Any criminal liability for him on Alberts?”
“Not that we know of.”
Alicia said, “Seven years between the cases, plenty of fun in between.”
Milo said, “She also does some entertainment law. I can see her imagining a megabucks suitanda film deal.”
Alicia said, “Hey, that’s exactly what happened with Alberts when everyone thought he was a hero.Kaching, kaching.”
Binchy said, “She may be smart but she slipped up in that parking lot. Careful enough to wear a wig but she misses the camera.”
Alicia smiled. “The wig might just be a bit of kink, Sean.”
Binchy blushed.
Milo said, “Legal work’s all about preparation and Bel Geddes convincing Heck to endure brief jailing in order to file a false-arrest suit constitutes serious planning. However, we don’t know if it actually says anything about Heck’s involvement in any of the murders—”
“Heck,” said Binchy, “he could’ve handed his own DNA over to a hired bad guy. Get away with murder and make a bundle.”
Nods from Alicia and Moe.
Milo said, “If the stars align, it’ll go down that way and subpoenas will go a long way in proving it. But we can’t eliminate that Heck had nothing to do with the murder and when he was arrested he and Bel Geddes saw an opportunity to profit.”
“No offense, Loot,” said Sean, “but that sounds kind of iffy.”
“With millions of dollars in damages at stake?”
“Hmm.”
I said, “Whatever the specifics, Milo and I noticed something during the meeting we had with both of them. It was subtle but Heck seemed to be moving away from Bel Geddes emotionally. Asserting his independence—just a bit, nothing dramatic. But the fact that it happened at all might turn out to be relevant.”
Alicia said, “Opportunity to get a wedge in between them.”
“Maybe he just got tired of being dominated,” said Reed. “The video, she’s always out in front of him, does that toe-tap thing while he’s looking for his keys.”
Alicia said, “Yeah, he’s total whipped cream.”
Sean said, “So now we’ve got an opportunity to divide and conquer.”
I said, “Exactly. Which is why I think they need to be approached separately. And I’d start with Bel Geddes. Confront her when she’s alone and do it without warning.”
“No opportunity to prepare.”
Reed said, “Okay, how exactly do we go about that?”
Milo said, “Glad you asked.”
Chapter
32
It began with surveillance.
