CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

Jessie didn't understand what they'd done wrong.

As they walked out of Adrienne Shaw's apartment building onto the downtown street, she tried to think back on what error they might have made. Concentrating was made more challenging by the garish hotel sign overhead that drenched the entire street in a kaleidoscopic rainbow that made her head hurt.

They had divided up their search after Jamil gave them Shaw's office and home addresses. Ryan had sent detectives Susannah Valentine and Sam Goodwin to her office after Jessie insisted on searching her apartment. She felt sure that the woman would feel more comfortable returning to her home base to finish what she'd started with Lila.

But after a thorough search of the place, with the help of four uniformed officers, they came up empty. Susannah had informed them that they too, didn't find any trace of Shaw or Warwick at the Wealth Consultants West offices.

So where would she have gone? As the officers who'd helped them pulled away in their squad cars, Jessie thought back on what Jamil and Beth had told them about Shaw in their conference call on the drive here from the Silver Lake house. Foremost in her head was the shocker that Jamil had shared just as they'd pulled up at the building. Adrienne Shaw's real name was Paulina Fitzgerald.

It had taken the computer a while reach that conclusion because of the extensive plastic surgery the woman had, along with changes in the color of her eyes and hair and the style of the latter. But eventually, the facial recognition program worked through the changes to shoot out the name of a woman who'd been missing and presumed dead for five years. Most people thought that she and her stepfather, who had also disappeared around the same time, had been abducted and murdered. But she at least she was still alive.

Jessie wondered what could have caused the young woman to make such a dramatic decision—to throw away her life of unending wealth and start fresh with a new face and name. In her experience, when someone made such a drastic choice, it suggested that there was something deeply wrong with the life they were abandoning. More often than not, it had to do with some kind of abuse that they were trying to escape.

If Jessie was were to hazard a guess, it would be that this had something to do with the woman's missing stepfather. His disappearance didn't feel coincidental. But that was just supposition for now. And unless it helped her find Adrienne and Lila, it wasn't of much use at the moment.

What might be more relevant was why Paulina had targeted her original victim, Chloe Baptiste, in the first place. It wasn't crazy to suspect that perhaps Chloe had somehow uncovered her financial advisor's fake identity and decided to use it against her. She had certainly proven that she was willing to manipulate people and that she was willing to cross legal lines with impunity. Was it possible that she might use Paulina's secret as a way to recruit her into the escort business? It didn't feel like that much of a stretch. Either way, that seemed like a pretty strong motive to shut her up.

"Let's go back to the station and regroup," Ryan suggested, opening the driver's door and getting in.

Jessie opened her door as well but instead of hopping in the passenger seat, she remained sanding, staring up at Adrienne's—or Paulina's—gleamingly expensive apartment complex.

"What is it?" Ryan asked, poking his head up again.

"I'm not sure," she told him. "I know we didn't find anything up there, but I can't shake the feeling that this is the right place. Paulina doesn't know that we know about her. She still thinks her identity is secure. She'd want to go somewhere that she could have privacy, where no one would stumble across what she was doing. The office is too public, and she doesn't own any other property. This is it."

"Maybe we should have more officers from West L.A. Division join the search at the Fitzgerald compound in Bel-Air," he suggested. "I know they didn't find anything there yet but it's a big place and that was her home for a long time."

"That would have made sense," Jessie agreed, "but it just doesn't fit. Remember, Jamil got authorization to check all the Bel-Air compound's surveillance footage and didn't see anything suspicious. Besides, Paulina's car was found parked on the street halfway between her office and this place. It has to be one of the two. And while I can't prove it, I just know it's here. "

"Okay then, Ryan said, "then let's figure this thing out. We don't have to go anywhere. We'll just sit in the car until we crack it."

Jessie nodded and joined him inside the vehicle. Truthfully, it was nice to have a little break from the lashing winter wind. She took several deep breaths, trying to clear her head. But before she'd even exhaled once, Ryan's phone rang. It was Beth. He put her on speaker.

"What's up?" he asked.

"The livestream started up again," she said. "I'm sending you both the link now."

A moment later it arrived and Jessie clicked on it. Her screen filled with the image of Lila Warwick, who was gagged and duct-taped to a chaise lounge chair. Her hair whipped violently across her face. It was hard to be sure, but it didn't look like she was bleeding or had any obvious injuries. There was still time to save her.

"Jamil, where is this?" Ryan demanded.

"Working on it," the researcher said.

Jessie heard someone off-camera off-camera talking, making no attempt to hide her voice. That was a concern. If Paulina was no longer trying to disguise her identity, it might mean she didn't care anymore whether she was caught. That made her not just dangerous, but unpredictable.

"You all came for an announcement," she said, the camera shaking slightly in her hand. "Well, I've got one for you, and it's a hell of a lot better than the release of some dumb perfume. What I'm here to tell is that after I list the crimes of Lila Warwick, I will pass judgment on her. And you, the viewing public, will get to bear witness to her live execution. Exciting stuff, huh!"

Jamil!" Ryan barked.

"I know, Detective," Jamil said quickly. "There's a little lag time in how long it takes for the GPS data to process. It's definitely downtown. I should have an exact block for you in the next thirty seconds."

That might be too late," Ryan growled in frustration.

As Jessie listened and stared at the screen, she tried to glean any clues about their whereabouts from Lila's surroundings. With the way her hair was flying everywhere, and with her constant shivering, it was clear that they were somewhere outside. The chaise lounge suggested they might be poolside. And then, a gaudy phantasmagoria of moving colors crossed over the girl's face .

Jessie looked out the car window up at the sign for the Paradiso Hotel. It had the same unsightly, shifting visual palette. The two women were nearby, within range of the sign. And then it hit her.

"Beth," she said quickly, ignoring Paulina's monologue as she detailed a litany of Lila's crimes, which mostly involved being too rich, "does Paulina's apartment complex have a rooftop pool?"

"Hold on," she said, "checking."

She didn't wait for her to answer, getting out of the car and jogging back to the building's lobby, with Ryan right behind her. They were just entering when the researcher replied.

"Yes, it does."