Avast ye, mateys! Ahoy ahoy! So good news - the Interwebs is coming! The Interwebs is coming! The Internet should be here tomorrow, friends, and you have no idea how very very happy I am with this prospect. Without further ado, I present you the next chapter in our tale of murder and mayhem!
III.
The next morning, Hollywood was ready to go. Thanks to Marlowe, last night’s dinner had been quite enlightening, with the frog learning more about the people he was investigating and working with. Marlowe didn’t really have anything on the boy lawyer Hess, other than corroborating what he had told Kermit in the car and he could only state that Piggy Vane had of course been seen around town, as the obvious heiress to her father’s fortunes.
Count Gonzolo did have a bit of a past though and that’s what sparked Kermit’s interests. Apparently, the Count was a notorious gambler and enjoyed his share of legal and illegal gambling joints throughout the country. In fact, that was one – rumored – reason as to why he joined up with Horace Vane for their business venture; Gonzolo could drop thousands on the table or even the ponies, so much so that it started to hurt his finances.
It was a rumor, but an interesting one at that. If the rumor was true, that meant Gonzolo did have reason for killing Vane. It was looking as though Piggy might be right on her accusation.
However Hollywood was a professional and he wouldn’t have felt right if he didn’t make sure for himself that what the pig was saying was on the up and up. That was why he had arranged to go over to the home of Vane that morning with Hess. Hess knew of a safe that was in Vane’s home and he was pretty sure that’s where the missing will would be. Even with the late business pig’s lawyer with him, Kermit still managed to get an okay from Marlowe, who knew some of the boys that had first gone to the scene of the crime.
Another interesting tidbit was what the police thought – like the count, they thought this was a simple accident. Vane tripped and fell out the window. Others thought it may have been a suicide, where Vane had himself jumped to his death. Of course, Kermit was getting paid to discover if there was actual foul play, which it seemed both Hess and Piggy thought.
That morning, Kermit had arranged to meet Hess at the former home of Horace Vane, a two story loft that was located in the heart of the business center of Los Angeles, around ten o’clock and then he was going to a little investigating of his own, starting with Gonzolo.
[hr]
About a quarter to ten, Kermit made his way to the two story loft style house that was the home of Horace Vane. Despite being a multimillionaire, the deceased lived on modest means, at least that’s what Kermit had discovered before he headed over.
Calling on Marlowe again, he learned more about the elder Vane, though it was more on what the police knew of his business life than that of the actual business pig; however, Hollywood wasn’t completely out of options just yet. This meeting with Hess would hopefully be his chance in learning more about the pig, both professionally and personally.
The personal aspect the frog knew he would need to sit down and discuss that with the pig’s beautiful daughter. In any normal circumstance, Kermit would keep a separate hold on both business and pleasure, making sure that neither intersected; even from his initial meeting with her, the detective couldn’t help but notice the soft curves, the seductive tilt of the voice, and the beautiful baby blue eyes.
Shaking himself from the image that he had brought up of her, Kermit stepped out of the taxi that brought him to the home before paying the driver and watching the cab roll away. The cottage was quaint and pretty much unassuming to the naked eye, unless you knew the person or people that had lived there. The police tape was still up around the home, however there was no police to stand guard for the moment.
Hess was already there, leaning against his car and nodding to the frog as he came up the driveway. “Glad you made it,” the red head replied, pushing away and pointing to the home. “There’s about two police officers that patrol the area; I basically made them an offer of coffee and donuts if they could give us an hour or so.”
“Good plan,” Kermit replied.
The two started up the drive as it led up to the side of the walk as it headed towards the direction of the door. “Have any information on the house?”
“Horace bought it about three years ago,” Hess replied, taking out a key and placing it in the lock, opening the door into a large living room area. “He wanted to have a quiet place to work when not at the office, as well as just having a place to sit and be at peace.”
“Miss Vane doesn’t live here?” asked Kermit.
“Piggy has her own place,” Hess replied. The lawyer led the frog upstairs, towards the scene of the crime; the staircase they traveled ended at a hallway decorated with a few pictures, degrees, and certificates. “She’s really never here. To be honest, Horace didn’t really invite that many people over; as I said, this was to be a place where he could be left alone, away from the busy lifestyle of a business pig.”
The two walked down the hall a short way, to the second door on the right, where Hess stopped before the door. “This is where…” he started, before getting a little choked up.
“Hey,” Kermit whispered, putting his hand on the man’s shoulder. “If you want, I can check this by myself. There’s no reason you should have to go through this when it pains you.”
Hess shook his head. “I’m alright,” he nodded. “I want to know the truth, Mr. Hollywood; I want to know what really happened. I know Piggy thinks the Count murdered him and maybe…well, I don’t know, but I do know something is more than what it seems.”
Kermit nodded at the lawyer, surprised and admired in the depth of his convictions; frankly, it reminded him a bit of the very blonde they had been speaking about earlier. Displaying a boldness and confidence that he wasn’t particularly feeling, Hess grabbed the knob of the door and opened it.
Behind the door was a makeshift office, complete with an oak desk that was situated near the window – desk pad, pens, a phone, and a lamp sat neatly on it – along with a chair on the other side. On the opposite side was a cot, which Kermit could only guess was for the days when Vane worked at night and needed a quick nap or sleep before hitting it again.
“What kind of business was Vane in?” the frog asked.
“Primarily he was working in communication,” Hess replied. “He was a part of one of the leading telephone companies when he first started in the business. And well, as the world changes, as does business. Horace was the kind of person who could see into the future, I think; he seemed to know what the next big thing would be.”
Kermit looked around, not really noticing anything out of the ordinary, and to be truthful, that disturbed him. “This was the last place he was seen?” he asked.
“Well,” Hess replied, walking towards the windows. “The police surmised that he had fallen out of the window. His body was found below, just there.”
Hollywood walked over to the window and looked out, easily seeing the set up the police had done, making sure to cordin off the area in order to preserve any evidence. Once again, he looked around, taking in everything he could.
And that’s when he noticed two things.
The first was of a small scrap of fabric that seemed to have been snagged on a rusty nail from the window. Turning, he began to view the room again, this time pointing his gaze to that of the floor; that was when he noticed the small spot of blood that was hidden through the color of the dark carpet.
“It seems that you and Miss Vane aren’t off,” he muttered.
“How’s that?”
“Horace Vane didn’t kill himself,” Kermit began. “Nor did he accidentally fall out a window. Horace Vane was murdered.”
“Murdered?” Hess asked, floored.
Pointing to the scrap of fabric, Kermit replied, “Unless this little scrap belongs to Vane, I have a feeling this belongs to his killer.” The detective moved towards the desk, where the phone was, and began to dial. Noticing that Hess was about to reach for the scrap, he cautioned, “Don’t remove anything. I’m sure the boys at homicide will want…hello, operator? LAPD, fourth precinct please. Thanks.”
“Do you…do you really think this is from the killer?”
“Not sure,” Kermit shrugged. “But I’m almost positive that…yes, Det. Marlowe, please. Hello, Sam? You owe me one, I think I might have found you some evidence on the Vane case. Think you can send some of the boys over? As a matter of fact, I did. I think there’s something here that might be from the killer, but more importantly, I have a feeling that Vane’s blood is still on the carpet.”
[hr]
Thirty minutes later, several officers of the LAPD were once again standing at the apparent scene of the murder of Horace Vane; those officers included that of Officer Fozzie Bear and Chief of Police, Link Keulen. Chief Keulen was not a fan of any kind of detective and he most definitely was not a fan of Kermit Hollywood.
“It figures that I’d find you at the scene of the crime,” he said upon seeing the frog.
“And once again,” he retorted. “You have yet to find me as the murderer. How about you try to do the job you’re assigned and find out what happened?”
“One day, Frog,” the chief replied. “One day. Alright boys, let’s see what this gumshoe actually managed to find. And someone get a statement from that lawyer!”
[hr]
Three and a half hours later, Kermit found his way back to his office, tired, but somewhat satisfied at what had been found. He would of course still need to find out who the actual murderer was and despite the ridiculous claims from Keulen that what he had found meant nothing other than it was extra evidence, Kermit was convinced that there was something there.
Thankfully he had Fozzie on his side, even if the bear had to obey his boss at the moment. However, it also meant that he had to sit through an interrogation by the police chief on what exactly he was working on and Hess had to give testimony on why he was there and how he managed to get in. Through it all however, the red head was able to maintain a perfectly logical story, which apparently didn’t include the real reason they had arrived.
When the law had left with the evidence, it left Hess and Kermit once again in the home office of Horace Vane. “You didn’t tell them about the safe,” he stated.
“Did you want them here longer than needed?” Hess asked. “Piggy hired you to find the answers she seeks, Mr. Hollywood. If she wanted the police involved, she would’ve gone to them and not you.”
“Point taken.”
The two had then proceeded to look around the office for the hidden safe that Hess was sure had to be somewhere in the room. On a hunch, the red head began tapping on the walls, trying out a technique he had seen in countless movies; his hunch paid off, when hitting a section in the wall opposite the window responded with a muted sound. “Mr. Hollywood,” he said. “I think I may have found it.”
Hess waited until the frog had joined him before knocking around the wall, the section hosting a picture of one of Vane’s many office buildings. Removing the portrait revealed what appeared to be an unpainted section of wall, matching that of the hanging image; pushing against revealed a false section, that was easily removed to showcase a hidden steel safe.
“You don’t happen to know the combination, do you?” Kermit asked.
Pulling on the level, Hess responded, “Apparently, I don’t have to. It’s open and empty.”
The inside of the safe was dark, but not completely empty, as Kermit reached in to pull out a white laced handkerchief. It was dainty and obviously feminine by the feel and sight of it and it was monogrammed with a single name; even if Hess hadn’t remarked on the handkerchief’s owner, the frog would’ve known who it could only belong to, not only based on the type but by the name embroidered in the bottom right corner.
Piggy.
Hollywood had taken the object, much to both his and Hess’ surprise; he wanted to ask Piggy about it himself, as it could mean nothing or it could mean everything. After that discovery, Kermit had headed back to his office, his head spinning from the amount of evidence he had found. And that was the problem. The office had been too neat, too clean for the scene of a murder, even that of a suicide or accident; by all accounts, Horace Vane was a career workaholic and had ideas running rampant at all hours of the day. His office should’ve looked like a tornado had blown through it.
Perhaps Kermit was pegging the business pig wrong and that’s where he would need to speak to Piggy in regards to her relationship with her father. Those were the questions and answers he would need in order to proceed with the right course of action and in order to do that, he would need to speak with the pig’s daughter.
As he walked in, he was greeted with a rare treat – Wanda, his secretary, was actually at her desk. She wasn’t doing work, naturally, instead she was leaning back in her chair and filing her nails. “Hard at work, I see,” he muttered, only giving her a passing acknowledgement as he walked in and past her desk.
“That pig called,” she called out, stopping him from entering his own office and turning to her.
“Gonna have to be a little more specific there, doll,” the frog quipped.
“That lady pig that was in here yesterday,” Wanda said. “She called right before you came in.”
“You take a message?”
The brunette looked up in annoyance. “Yeah,” she sighed. “I just told it to you. She called, end of story.”
“What would I do without you?” he asked, sarcastically. Shaking his head in bewilderment, Kermit continued on to his office, entering it and closing the door behind him. He didn’t know why he kept her on, but he was too interested in why Piggy had called him. Just as he was going for the phone, his intercom went off. “Yeah?”
“Thought you’d like to know that she called from the Kit Kat Club.”
“That would be helpful, yes,” he retorted. “Thanks.” Now, with an actual message and location to call to, Kermit continued with his task of calling back the blonde.
“Kit Kat Club.”
“I’m looking for a Pigvian Vane,” he said. “Could you get her to the phone?”
“One moment, sir.”
Kermit waited on the line until he heard the whispery voice of Piggy on the other end. “This is Miss Vane.”
“Miss Vane, I got your message.”
“Oh thank goodness!” she exclaimed. “Kermit, do you think you could come down here? I think there’s something here that will help with the case.”
“I’ll be right down.”
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