Chapter 1
Archie stopped me as I exited the locker room area of his gym on my way to the front door. He said, “What are you and Hondo doing today?”
I’d had a good workout and said, “Right now I’m digesting a healthy nutrient-rich beverage, and Hondo is bench pressing a Buick while the power lifters watch.”
Archie scrunched up his face as if he tasted something sour. “You chugged a whole pint of chocolate milk in about two seconds. I saw you.”
“A pint of chocolate almond milk. Huge difference, my friend, huge difference.” I tossed the empty milk carton into the trash basket beside the door. “It’s all about the health with me. My body is a temple.”
Hondo walked toward us as he used a small towel to wipe sweat from his face. He carried his tee shirt in the other hand. When he breathed, you could see his eight-pack. Several bullet and shrapnel scars showed as pale lines and dime-sized shiny spots on his tanned skin. A thin, one-inch scar just below his left pectoral muscle showed where the blade of a sword cane had exited. Under his left shoulder blade was the scar’s twin where it entered. I didn’t have to look to know it was there.
I said, “What’s your body fat today, about point zero zero zero one? You’re skin’s so thin I can see the cells dividing under there.”
Hondo grinned at me and said, “What’s up, Arch?”
“Finally, an adult to talk to.”
“Hey,” I said.
Archie raised his hand for silence, and Hondo and I listened. Archie said, “What it is, the daughter of an old friend is missing.”
Hondo said, “Fill us in.”
“She’s a handful, been in and out of rehab, gets into trouble sometimes. Several verbal altercations with police that resulted in jail, where she sat until her parents made bail for her. She resents authority, and has been running with some undesirable people, not all the time, but often enough.”
Hondo asked, “How old is she?”
“Twenty–three. Lives in an apartment in Venice.”
I asked, “What does she do for a living?”
“Her parents pay for the apartment and give her money. She tells everyone she’s working on a clothing line, or is an artist. She has some talent as an actor, but doesn’t pursue it.”
“Has she disappeared before?”
“My friend says no, that despite everything else she screwed up, she always left word with her mother if she was going to be gone for a while. She calls her mother at least once a day, regularly, until this time.”
I asked, “When did they report her missing?”
“The third day she didn’t call. They reported it to the police and Sheriff’s office. She’s been missing for five days now, and her father asked if I knew anyone who could find her. Law enforcement hasn’t turned up anything.”
I said, “No signs showing she left against her will?”
“The detectives said nothing appeared out of place.”
Hondo pulled out his iPhone and used his thumbs to type. “What’s her name?”
Archie said, “Bodhi.”
I said, “Like Patrick Swayze’s character in Point Break?”
“Yes.”
Hondo asked, “What’s her last name?”
“She doesn’t use her father’s last name. They’re friendly, but not talking much at the moment. She goes by Artell, her mother’s maiden name.”
Hondo looked up from typing. “Any relation to Sylvia Artell?”
“Her mom.”
I whistled and said, “Sylvia Artell’s worth, like, a bazillion dollars.”
“Probably. She followed Aaron Spelling’s example and everything she’s touched has been gold.”
Hondo asked, “How old is she?”
Archie said, “Her real age is fifty-one, but the trades and her agent say forty-four.”
I said, “How do you know she’s really fifty-one?”
“I met her when she and my friend first started dating, back when she was a personal assistant to Spelling.”
Hondo said, “Who’s your friend?”
“Derek Pozza.”
I said, “TCM.”
“What?”
“In some of the movies they show on Turner Classic Movies, he’s the big guy. A leading man type, but so large that he dwarfed everyone around him. Seems like I remember that’s the reason he faded out, because he was too hard to shoot with others.”
Archie said, “That’s him. Being a six-eight actor is hard enough today, but back then it was a major negative. Plus, he’s so muscular that anyone acting with him basically disappeared on the screen.”
“What does he do now?”
“Does voiceovers for animation, narrates audiobooks, sells spec scripts, and does some directing.”