Chapter 2 Roses for Juliet

Chapter 2

Steve followed the road to Nick's house. The monolithic structure towered over him as he pulled into the circular drive. The house always reminded him of a monument or a museum. Someplace to lead tour groups through, not something you actually lived in. Who needed all those rooms anyway? It wasn't like the actor actually had any hobbies that required space other than his party games, and those mostly took place outside his home or in the bedroom. Everything else was just a pass through. Like Nick, it was a pretty, empty shell.

Steve smiled tightly to himself as he noticed Nick's car pulled to the side of the driveway and the garage door open wide for him. A section of the perfectly manicured lawn was torn up and one of the landscape features had been completely decimated, giving validity to Nick's claim of feeling no pain the night before.

Steve's memory called up a peaceful arrangement of stones and carefully placed desert flowers where the tire tracks and wreckage now lay. Steve pictured Nick's gardener, a small compact man named Jimmy who hummed to himself as he worked. Steve helped Nick hire him and knew Jimmy worked just as much for the love of plants and the beauty they created as the money. He made a mental note to talk with Jimmy at some point and smooth some of the soon to be ruffled feathers.

It was the third time to Steve's knowledge that Nick had damaged some part of Jimmy's work and a little talk, as well as a little extra cash, might both soothe the intense Japanese man and keep him from potentially leaking information to the press about Nick's drinking. Nick was being considered for a role in a family film and stories like that weren't good for business.

Steve pulled a little past the door and then backed into the waiting garage. Nick was nowhere in sight but Steve hadn't really been expecting him to be. He killed his engine and climbed out of the car, popping his trunk along the way. He reached over and pressed the button for the garage door with his elbow to deter finger prints and closing himself off from the outside.

Transporting bodies was a tricky business. Steve didn't know too much about science but he had watched enough of those CSI shows to know DNA found in his car was usually a good indication of guilt. He walked around to the open trunk and pulled out a box of heavy-duty garbage bags. He had planned on doing some work in his yard this weekend. Unlike Nick, he actually enjoyed being outside and doing some light manual labor. He hadn't really planned on spending his Friday dealing with a corpse, but that's showbiz.

He opened the box of garbage bags by punching out the perforated triangle and pulling the first bag through the hole. Carefully he lay the bag down on the inside floor of his trunk. He pulled a second one from the box and heard the door to the inside house open. He didn't bother turning around.

"Do you have any duct tape? He asked over his shoulder.

"Duct-tape?" Nick asked. "There might be something over there. What do you need the tape for? It's not like she is gonna put up a fight." The edges of the words wore a little slurred and Steve looked up to find Nick taking a healthy swig from his full glass. The ice clicked together as the glass tilted.

"You might want to slow down on those today, " he suggested as he walked over to the tool bench. Nick snorted but his comment was lost as he mumbled into his drink. Steve didn't ask for clarification. The workbench was picture perfect, like a display model. There was a light coating of dust on the tools as if the cleaning service didn't routinely make it out here or Nick found the dust to be manly.

Steve found a roll of duct tape and returned to his trunk. He used short pieces of tape to secure the trash bags to the edges of the inside of his trunk, making sure they overlapped so nothing could slip through. Within a few minutes the entire trunk had acquired a shiny black coat. He pulled two remaining bags from the now empty box and placed the box in the large trashcan. He put the roll of duct tape back where he found it.

"Wow, man. That's cool you know, " Nick said, peering over his shoulder. "Real slick."

"Thanks, " Steve replied dryly and gestured towards the door. Nick stared at him blankly.

"The girl." Steve said with a sigh.

"Oh, right. Juliet." Nick turned and led the way back into the house. Steve followed him through the kitchen and the living room. Both rooms looked picture perfect, exactly the way the decorator had laid them out. They climbed the stairs and finally entering the actor's bedroom, Steve could see some sign that the house was indeed occupied by more than a cardboard cut out of a family. Clothes were scattered across the floor in little heaps. A woman's high-heeled shoe was lying in the center of the room on its side. It looked lonely and abandoned. For some strange reason Steve found himself staring at it.

"You know, I was pretty drunk last night, " Nick said. Steve blinked and looked away from the shoe. His eyes kept picking out pieces of the girl's clothing scattered in bright feminine randomness in the masculine room.

"Well, my performance might not have been up to, you know, my usual standard." Steve turned to look at the actor. Nick was gazing abstractedly at the bed. "I'd just, you know, hate to think that she died thinking I was a lousy lay." Steve took a deep breath and counted to five.

"Just pick up all her clothes and put them in this. Anything that is hers goes in the bag." Nick snapped out of his haze and took the bag from Steve.

"Okay yeah, " he replied and began scooping up the woman's things. Steve walked over to the bed and looked down at the woman.

"Shit!" Steve jumped back from the bed with a yell. Nick backed towards the door.

"What. What's wrong?" he asked, scrubbing the back of his hand across his mouth.

"She was shot?" The words came out as a half question, half accusation.

"Yeah, " Nick said.

"I thought she was another OD." Steve said. His breath was still shaky but he was starting to get pissed.

"I've never had a chick OD on me."

"Not you. Another client, " Steve replied still staring at the girl.

"Really, who was it?" Nick asked, curiosity bright in his voice. Steve felt the muscle in his cheek jump as his teeth clenched.

"What happened." It was more a statement than a question.

"I told you, man. I don't remember much, I mostly crashed."

"How did she get shot Nick?"

"I don't know. I swear I don't."

"Where is your gun?"

"I don't have one."

"What?"

"I don't keep a gun, man."

Steve sighed and rubbed his temple. It wasn't really his concern how the girl had gotten killed. His concern was getting rid of her and all evidence that she had been here.

"I don't care if you shot her Nick. I don't care why either. I just need to get rid of the gun with the girl."

"I know, man. I get it. But I didn't do it." Steve looked Nick in the eyes.

"So with all this high-tech security in this place, someone just walked in and shot the girl in bed with you and then just walked out?"

"I must have forgotten to set the alarm. I do that sometimes." Steve looked back at the girl. The bullet wound was small and ruined a cute, pixie-like face. The girl had short brown hair cut into some sort of bob and she wore an odd pendant kind of necklace. She was delicate and Steve could easily see why Nick had taken her home.

He hoped Eric would still take the job. He was a peculiar man and Steve didn't know if a bullet wound would sour the deal. The bullet wound was small though and didn't do too much damage. There wasn't even a lot of blood on the girl's face. There seemed to be a lot of blood on the pillow under her head though. Steve gently turned the girl's head and saw immediately where all the blood had come from. The bullet may have gone in small but it made a big mess coming out. It looked like it had exploded inside her head and taken the back of her skull with it. Luckily the pillow had absorbed most of the mess.

"The sheets will have to go too, " he said out loud. Nick started to protest about the waste of expensive sheets, but something on Steve's face stopped his arguments cold. Steve slipped the garbage bag over both the girl's head and the pillow, glad that he had bought the large heavy-duty bags. Absently he wondered why Nick was worried about the sheets.

The girl wouldn't fit entirely in the bag, but at least the bloody parts would be covered. He took her down to his prepared trunk and placed her inside. Nick followed with the sheets and the second bag filled with the girl's possessions. Steve arranged the sheets over the girl's lower body and took the bag from Nick. He looked inside. Two shoes, underwear, dress.

"No bra?" Steve asked.

"She wasn't wearing one."

Steve nodded. "What about her purse?"

Nick looked blank for a moment. "It wasn't there."

"Wasn't there?"

"No I looked."

"Are you sure she had one?"

"Yeah, " Nick closed his eyes in thought for a moment then looked back at Steve. "Yeah one of those multicolored small backpack looking things. Like the granolas sometimes use. Didn't match the rest of her, ya know. That's why I remember it. The rest of her was all glossy and shiny. The purse didn't match."

"And it isn't there?"

"No man, I said I looked."

"Look again." Nick went back upstairs while Steve finished arranging the sheets.

"It's not there, " Nick said, returning as Steve shut the trunk. Steve sighed. He hated loose ends.

"Keep looking and if it turns up let me know. Don't try to get rid of it on your own. Don't take anything out of it. Just call me and I will come get it. Okay?"

"Okay, " Nick said looking relieved.

"Now what do you say if someone asks about the girl?"

"I took her home, but she was gone when I woke up."

"Good, " Steve said as he walked around the car and opened the driver's side door. Nick looked pleased that he had gotten something right.

"Now, just go about your day as if none of this ever happened. Got it?"

"Got it, " Nick said heaving a sigh of relief. Steve got into the car and shut the door. He seriously doubted Nick would even bother remembering the incident in a few hours. Once it was no longer his problem the actor would exercise his selective memory and go right back to his normal life.

"And remember, no elaboration." Nick nodded and pressed the garage door opener. He waved as Steve pulled out of the garage and clicked the button to close the door again as soon as the car was clear. Steve sighed and shook his head as he pulled out of the driveway and on to the main road.

He didn't like this. There were too many variables. The gun, the shooter, if he could believe Nick, and the missing bag were all elements outside of his control. He turned at the stop sign and headed towards the Freeway.

It was time to see exactly where Eric drew the line.