"Was she all right when you left her?"
"She was fine; she cooked dinner, and…"
"How late were you there?"
"I guess I left a little before eleven."
"You'd better talk to the cops, I guess."
"I suppose so, though I can't really tell them much."
"Did Vanessa give any hint at all about who her friend, the witness, might be?"
"No; in fact, she went to the trouble of avoiding mention of even the gender."
"It's bound to be a woman; Vanessa doesn't… didn't have men friends, except for me."
"Do you know who her female friends were?"
"She ran around with a group that hung around with Charlene Joiner. I don't know who the others were. You think you could look into that?"
"Sure, I'll be glad to."
"I've got to go; what with Vanessa's affairs to handle, I've got a lot on my desk this morning."
"Thanks, Marc; I'll get back to you if I find out anything." Stone hung up and wolfed down the rest of his muffin, while dialing Rick Grant.
"Captain Grant."
"Rick, it's Stone Barrington."
"Morning, Stone; what's up?"
"I've just heard from Marc Blumberg that a woman I was with last evening died in a fire last night."
"That thing in the Hollywood Hills?"
"Yes; Vanessa Pike was her name."
"Looks like a murder, from what I hear."
"I thought I should talk to the investigating officers."
"Yes, you should. Hang on a minute."
Stone waited on hold while he finished his coffee.
Rick came back on the line. "You know where the house is?"
"Yes."
"Meet me there in, say, forty-five minutes."
"All right."
They hung up, and Stone went to his desk and signed the checks Louise had printed out, then he got into his car and drove to Vanessa's house.
* * *