The Porno Set Mystery Ch. 02

Lisa said that she helped Callie clean up and get dressed, then walked with her to the front room. As she left the back room, she saw Connie setting down the bowl of 'goop' near the makeup table, but did not notice Jay at all. Yes, she had gathered the plates of food and went into the back room, and found Steve lying there on the bed with a knife sticking up like a cock from his groin.

She said she saw no one else in the room that she could remember. She did not have any recollection of who came up behind her after she screamed, including Jay, and only after thinking about it did she remember the plates of food, saying she'd dropped them when she saw the body. She repeated that Steve and Jay seemed to work well together.

"So you worked on all of Steve's films?" I asked.

"For the past year, yes." Lisa said. "I'm a contract star for Steve West Films. I can only work with him, but I was guaranteed paid work. If I wasn't an actress in front of the camera, I was doing makeup or other work behind the scenes at the same pay rate."

"Any idea of who might want to harm him?" I asked.

"Let me say this." Lisa replied. "Working with Steve could be very good, or very bad, or both. The good was for contract stars like me, and his crews: he paid us on time, he kept his promises to us, he made sure we got fed properly. The bad is that Steve was a perfectionist, and could be very hard on the women, especially in the gangbang and BDSM films. That's part of the industry: the sex is a lot harder, a lot rougher than what you see when you pop in a DVD and press play. Some of those films can be very... very... rough, Officer, very... abusive."

Lisa looked hard at me as she said that last part. I was about to ask her to elaborate, but then realized she might be trying to give me a clue without speaking too directly.

"How did Steve get along with Jay and Betsy and the non-actors?"

"Good." Lisa said. "He was head over heels in love with Betsy, and I think he wanted her to marry him and start a family."

"How did Betsy feel about that?" I asked.

"I don't think she was ready for a family yet, that's for sure." Lisa said, then caught herself a bit: "She went out with Steve, they were having sex, but I don't think she was nearly as in love with him as he was with her. She's been fucking other guys, too, especially Rod. I think she and Rod would be a couple if she weren't milking Steve's infatuation with her."

"Okay, Lisa, thank you." I said.

I was saving Callie and Betsy for last; I thought they might have the most to tell: Callie was the most observant, and Betsy was the Manager, the person who essentially ran the show behind the scenes, not to mention the recently acquired knowledge of her love life with Steve and Rod. But things got interesting when Betsy was brought in.

"I want to help you guys," she said before I could even say a word, "but I need protection."

"Do you want to talk with your lawyer here privately, first?" I asked. The lawyer answered for her, insisting upon doing so. I used the five minutes to use the restroom and get a '5-Hour Energy', knowing I needed the energy boost for what was going to be a long, long night. Then we were invited back into the interrogation room.

"My client has a request." said the lawyer. He then nodded to Betsy.

Betsy said "That big fat cop, the one who came in after the SWAT teams and made the bust, the one you bitched at about a Union grievance? I've seen him before. He and Steve West met yesterday when we got into town."

"Hold it right there, ma'am." I said. I turned and pointed to the one-way glass, which looked like a mirror inside the room. A second later, Cindy Ross poked her head through the door.

"Lieutenant, call Internal Affairs, right now. Get someone over here, ASAP." I said. Cindy's head disappeared as I turned to Betsy and said "I'm going to wait a few minutes and ask our Internal Affairs to be present. I want you to talk to them about this situation. And yes, I will protect you if I have to personally guard you myself all night."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Oh my God, it was awful." said Claire Michaels. "He was pissed at me." She took a long swig of her drink.

"Well, at least he didn't reprimand you in writing." said Hugh Hewitt. "He just gave you a written order not to cooperate with Sharples." They were at the Cattleman's Club, having a drink at the bar. Claire had told Hugh of her dressing-down by the Police Commander.

"Yeah, it wasn't formal, but he lit into me pretty hard." Claire said. "And I heard that he jumped down Sergeant McCombs throat so hard that it shocked everyone there, even if McCombs did back-talk him. He must be under some really serious pressure."

"I'm sure he is." said Hugh. "He's only in his early 30s and he's Acting Chief already. And someone burned his house down, tried to kill him and his whole family, and some of those perps may still be out there. He's got a lot on his mind."

"You're right." said Claire. "Think we should talk to the new Sheriff and let him know what's going on?"

"Won't be me snitching on a man who carries a crowbar around, not to mention three 'Crowbar's Angels' that love that man and will do anything for him." replied Hugh. "Let's wait and see what happens. If the Sheriff appoints a new Chief pretty soon, then that'll take a lot of the pressure off Don."

"Wonder who they'll make Chief?" asked Claire. "Sergeant Charles thinks his dad is going to retire soon, so he won't be taking the job. God help us all if it's Captain Brownlee or Captain Forsyth."

"Might be a woman." said Hugh. "Councilwoman Malinda Adams is already making noise about that, and State Senator Woodburn... Senator-to-be, that is... said the same thing in a speech the other day. Might be Captain Harlow or even Precinct Captain Weston."

"The Commander will never accept Weston." said Claire. "She got into it with Perlman, and the Commander jumped down her throat about it. From what I hear, the Commander will probably only accept Charles or Benton in the Chief's chair over him. And yes, he pretty much has veto power over that..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lieutenant James 'Curly' Goodwin, chief of the Internal Affairs Department, sat next to me as the interview with Betsy commenced. From photographs presented to her, Betsy identified Sharples as the person who had been in contact with Steve West.

"Yesterday morning, when we got to the warehouse, that guy was the one Steve talked to. Steve said he was the guy who we were renting the building from." Betsy said.

"Does Steve normally handle rentals, or do you?" Goodwin asked.

"Something like this, Steve does." Betsy answered. "I found the building while we were in California, but Steve handled all the arrangements of it. I made the hotel reservations, paid for those with a company credit card, but Steve handles the cash transactions. I usually do the hiring of the actors for the films, but Steve pays them in cash unless they're a contract star. And so on."

"What hotel are you staying at?" I asked as I typed into my iPhone. I was texting Cindy to get Myron to check and see who owned that warehouse. Goodwin looked surprised at me over my verbal question.

"The La Quinta, south of Town." Betsy answered. "We're booked through tonight."

"So did any money beyond the rent get paid to the guy?" Goodwin asked.

"I don't know." Betsy answered. "Steve paid him in cash. I don't know how much."

"Thank you, Betsy." said Goodwin. "Commander, I'm going to go follow up on this, with your permission." I knew that he was realizing that he would not get more from Betsy, and that this was likely going to be a dead end in pursuing Sharples, despite our initial hopes.

"Get with Ross and Milton." I said. "They're already running data on the warehouse." I then dismissed Goodwin, who left the room.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Betsy," I said, "let me ask this: what kind of man was Steve West, and why would anyone want to harm him?"

The lawyer whispered something to Betsy, who nodded. "I'm speaking in general terms here." she said. "Steve was a good guy. He took care of me and he took care of his people. He was a really good filmmaker, and he drove the actors hard to get quality scenes. As to enemies: it's a rough and tumble business, absolutely cutthroat, and I don't know what issues Steve might have had with the Mob, with other filmmakers..." She let the sentence hang.

"He and Jay got along?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, Jay was really good on the cameras for Steve; he really knew what Steve wanted and just did it. They got along very well."

Those words struck me, so I asked "Think Jay might have wanted to go into business for himself, as Steve did when he was a cameraman?"

"Maybe, but he never said anything to me if he did." said Betsy. "But Jay didn't seem like the entrepreneurial type. Steve had to talk to people, raise money, hire his crew, put his systems in place... that's not easy to do, and I don't think Jay was interested in all that. He liked to shoot film, though, and he was good at getting the best and hottest angles."

"You said Steve treated you and his people well, but what about the actors?" I asked. "Are they part of that group? Or were they different?"

Betsy replied "Let me explain: First, Steve actually employed quite a few people. Me, his cameramen, his A/V people, his editors, and he contracted with a distribution company in California that he had a part ownership in. However, the only actors that were in his employ were contract stars. Lisa is one of those; she's bound by contract to Steve West Films, and only to Steve West Films. Cassandra, Callie and Bobby Steed are all independent, and are paid by the job, which usually is one film at a time, though we sometimes contract for three being shot all at once."

"And he treated those contract stars well, as opposed to the others?" I asked.

"Look, Officer," said Betsy, her eyes boring into me, "I'm tryin' to tell ya: the porn industry can be rough. It's not the loving sex or even the cookie-cutter sex the final film product tries to show. The hours are long, the guys are on viagra and maybe other stuff... which I won't elaborate on... to stay hard, and the girls have to take a sexual pounding for hours at a time. We go through tubes of lube like you wouldn't believe. And the BDSM and other rough films Steve was making... those girls really get worked over. Those films are even rougher to make than what you see in the final product."

"I understand." I said, my eyes meeting Betsy's. "I'm sure it's not an easy life, either."

"Yes... it's hard, Officer." Betsy continued. "Girls are used up like kleenex. They are making two films a week, if not more, and after six months, they're physically damaged to the point they can't go on. If they last a year, they're lucky. They can make $50- to $100-grand, but it's a limited window, and they know it. Some girls, like Callie, are lucky: they get some name recognition, some stardom, they're not contracted, and they can pick and choose a bit more, make more money, get more rest, and last longer. A girl like Callie will leave because she meets a sugar daddy and marries him, or she'll start producing her own films like Jill Kelly did. But most girls are just pieces of meat, and when they're used up, it's all over for them. They go back to the streets and the poles."

"I understand. But back to the present: so you're the casting agent, so to speak?" I asked. As Betsy nodded, I asked "So how did that work for this job in Town here? How did you hire them, how did you all arrive, what did you do from the time you got here?"

"I put together the cast weeks ago, mostly on Steve's instructions. Everyone had plane tickets to the City from their various homes, and we arranged a shuttle bus to drive them here yesterday, Friday morning. After checking into the hotel, we went to the warehouse, where we did some setting up. Cassandra shot a scene with Bobby Steed, which was really hot because Cassandra was really horny and wanted to get fucked. Then Callie, Lisa, Connie, Rich and Rod, two of the security guys, all came in. Rich and Rod were actors in the rough films sometimes, and behind-the-scenes help or security sometimes. I was a bit surprised at Connie and Rod being here, as they weren't scheduled to work, but that happens all the time."

"What do you mean?" I inquired.

"Steve will schedule people and forget to tell me. We had the hotel room space for them, so it wasn't a big deal. Rod was asked to do security, and Connie helped me and Lisa out; she was a good 'extra'."

"And Steve approves it when you schedule people for jobs?" I asked.

"Yes, if he's not running around like a chicken with his head cut off, trying to get something out to meet a deadline. He generally trusts me to go with things, too. I've been with him since he started the company, and it's gone pretty well." Betsy replied.

"So please continue: what was the rest of your time here in Town like?" I asked.

"Well, we planned the shots for the night at the University dorm, knowing we had to get in there, shoot, and get out before someone called the cops. Someone always calls the cops; can't just mind their own business and leave us alone to get our business done. We went over there, got several hours of shooting done, then we got the scatter alert, which means the cops were on the way. We ran, found places to eat, then came back to our hotel rooms over time. This morning we all were brought back to the warehouse, and you know what happened there."

"Okay, Betsy, let me ask this." I said, having saved the best for last. "What was the nature of your personal relationship with Steve West?"

Betsy's eyes showed her understanding, and that I must've known, so she did not try to lie. "We were dating."

"How seriously?" I asked.

"Let me put it this way." Betsy said. "Steve took me out a lot, he wanted us to live together, even talked of getting married and starting a family. I told him I wasn't ready to go that far. So we went out, we had sex, a lot of sex, and that was all it really was."

"And Rod?" I asked, hoping to make a hard impact upon her.

"Seems people are talking out of turn." Betsy said with some asperity. "But I won't lie to you; I've been having sex with Rod, and with other men, too."

"And any other guys with this cast or crew?" I asked.

"I fucked Bobby Steed a bunch of times while I was acting, before I became the manager of Steve West Films." said Betsy. "I've never fucked Jay or Rich or the others, though."

"And Rod, you were fucking him behind Steve's back?" I asked.

"I didn't exactly announce it to Steve," said Betsy, "but I don't consider it cheating on him. It's my body, I can fuck whoever I want with it."

"I see. One last question." I said. "Are all your rooms at the La Quinta in one block? All together?"

"Uh, yeah." said Betsy.

"What floor are they on?"

"The top floor, the third." Betsy replied. The lawyer's face was one of being flabbergasted at the question. I turned to him.

"I'm going to let your clients sleep in their rooms tonight, Counselor." I said. "They're still detained, they won't be allowed to leave those rooms, I'll have officers on duty guarding the rooms and hallways, but they'll get to sleep in their beds tonight."

"They should be out on bail- on their own recognizance." the lawyer sneered. Sheesh, not a shred of gratitude, I thought.

"Thank you, Officer, that's good of you." said Betsy. Okay, at least someone understands that I'm trying to make it a bit easier for them...

Part 6 - The Long, Hard Night

I left the Interrogation Room and starting giving instructions. Paulina Patterson had gotten my text, and had gotten warrants to wiretap the rooms of the crew. We were going to listen in on their conversations this night.

To Captain Charles, I ordered that a detail of officers be assigned to transport the crew to their hotel, escort them to their rooms, and to have two officers in the hallway between their rooms and the elevators, two officers on the stair landing nearest them (the rooms being between the hallway officers and stairs), and two officers on the stair landings above and below. Two officers would also be outside watching the guest room windows, though I did not think anyone would try escaping from third floor windows.

'Jay' was not going to be afforded such luxury; he was to be retained in solitary at Headquarters this night, I made sure to add while giving the instructions.

I then made one more phone call, and then addressed the porno set crew: "Ladies and gentlemen, you are going to be taken back to your hotel rooms. You may not leave your rooms unless escorted by a police officer, so don't even try. Don't pull a fire alarm, because if you do, the officers will handcuff you behind your backs before taking you out of the building. Food will be provided."

I continued. "I also have a request from one of our University's professors. She specializes in sexual studies, and wants to interview all of you, especially the actors, for her work. You do not have to do this, and anything you do say to her is privileged and cannot be used by Police, so you may speak freely to her. She'll be interviewing you at all hours of the night; however, she's paying $200 each in cash for any inconvenience, if you cooperate." Their eyes lit up at the mention of the money.

"Okay, I have one interview left, with Callie Carrington." I said. "The rest of you can go with the officers." Everyone filed out, except Callie.

"Miss Carrington," I said, once she was alone with me and Cindy, "would you like a tour of our Police Station? And I mean that in a good way, not a bad way." Cindy smiled at Callie, who had been looking at Cindy with starry-eyed lust.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Wow, nice office." Callie said, looking around at my office as I led her in, Cindy following us and closing and locking the door. "Oh... student of the Trojan War?" Callie had noticed the painting and the matchstick Trojan Horse behind my desk despite the fact that it was dark outside, and only the light of my desk lamp bathed the room in a warm but relatively dim glow.

"Just some mementos of an old case." I said, sitting down, and having Callie sit down in the chair in front of my desk, Cindy in the other chair but at an angle that gave her an advantage should Callie try something 'extraordinary', which I did not expect. Callie turned and peered at Cindy again.

"It has been bugging the shit out of me," Callie said, "but I finally remembered where I've seen you... you were in those 'Miss Physical America' fitness competitions, weren't you?"

"Busted." Cindy said, smiling politely.

"Oh, I am such a fan of yours!... and all of those women." said Callie, smiling her beautiful smile. "You're all so fucking hot!"

"I'm a big fan of yours, too." Cindy said, and I knew that wasn't just politeness; Cindy meant it. Callie had made some very hot lesbian films as well as mainstream hetero porn, and I could imagine that Cindy and Jenna used them in their 'repertoire' of sexual pleasure.

"Mmm, I'd love to get you into a film with me." Callie said invitingly. "You could be a star, like Chyna coming over to us from the Wrestling TV industry. We really have to talk- er, after your Commander's business, of course." Callie said, knowing that I'd brought her here for a reason, and I was ready to get to it.

"Yes. And stop trying to steal my officer away from me." I said with a smile, leaning back in my comfortable 'Command Chair', as I called it. "Callie, I brought you here because it's obvious you're a damn sight sharper, more observant, and smarter than the rest of that group, no offense to them. Everything here is essentially off-the-record, I can't use it as evidence since we don't have a lawyer here to represent you. But I'm hoping you'll work with us and help give any clue to who committed this murder."