Stevie Garrett is a young business investigator looking forward to a short vacation. When Stevie's phone rings, he's told a Hollywood celebrity has been murdered and his ex-lover, model Andi Anderson, was found lying next to the dead body holding the smoking gun - and apparently he's Andi's only hope.
Overwhelmed by Hollywood, his inexperience and the women of a gentlemen's club named Modern Girls, Stevie tries his best to remain true to his heart and himself while sorting through the ill-fitting pieces of murder, love-affairs, kidnappings and a seemingly smoking gun.
_________________
Prologue
This mystery was unique. It didn’t come my way from a corporate client. It wasn’t the usual hunt for money or a dispute over an investment gone wrong. No, it was totally different. This case involved girls, beautiful girls. The kind of women you never forget. But, these sexy girls had issues, unusual issues. Their issues soon became my problems to deal with. During the case I killed someone in self defense and it took a long time to get over it. I solved the mystery and managed to keep myself alive. Yet, I don’t call this investigation concluded because those ten days started everything.
These girls came into my life and never left. From then on, I’ve always had one of them in my dreams or in my arms.
I never fully understood why. And, it tormented me. So, I decided to write the story of the Modern Girls. I reinvestigated everything, including the contributing events before those brief days in Los Angeles. I used my memory and notes, excerpts from Andi’s diary journals, and conversations with many eyewitnesses. Writing this book helped me. Now, eight years later, I realize better what began that summer.
This is how it happened.
***
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 16th & Chestnut Streets, Two Liberty Place, 44th Floor, August 25, 1995
My name is Stephen Garrett. I’m a business investigator who works in Philadelphia and lives in the State of Delaware. I’d just finished my first year at Center City Investigators in The Liberty Place, the great blue sky scrapers of center city Philadelphia. Center City was hired by our clients to solve their frauds and other problems. I was the new kid and the financial man. I was twenty-eight years old and single.
On a warm morning, I was counting the hours before my day and week would be over and my late summer vacation would begin. I planned to paint the entire outside of my recently purchased home. It was located in Delaware, just south of the Pennsylvania state line, and was a bit of a fixer-upper. It was priced well, and I liked its location - close to the freeway, in my home state, and away from the big city that I lived and breathed during business hours. I counted on some fun too; a few rounds of golf, a day at the beach in Rehoboth, at least one Phillies game, some long rides in my new blue Mazda Miata, and a few dates with my new girlfriend, Dee Dee Cho. Dee Dee was my hair stylist at a shop in the Liberty Place, called Smart Looking Men. All the stylists were young, beautiful women, and Dee Dee was no exception to that rule. I also planned to invite Dee Dee to my home for the first time after my outdoor work was completed. My week off was right before the Labor Day weekend, so I wouldn’t need to be back in the office until the following Tuesday. Plus, no investigations were red hot right, and I would only need to do a little follow up work over the next 10 days. It looked so good, I couldn’t wait.
Then, my phone rang. It was my friend, Cyndie Myst, who had recently started working at a Philadelphia modeling agency.
“Stevie, can we meet for lunch today. I need to talk to you, it’s urgent.”
“What’s the matter?”
“I need to tell you in person. Can you make lunch?”
I opened my calendar and saw that my lunch and afternoon were open, and said, “Sure, Cyn, where would you like to meet?”
“The Devon Grill, I’ll meet you there at 12:30.”
***
So, that’s how this unusual and unexpected mystery began. My fashion model friend and I met three years earlier when we were both living and working in New York City. We never dated, but it crossed my mind, from time to time.
Cyndie Myst’s one big modeling break was a spread she did in an alternate life-style magazine. It was for a Goth clothing designer and Cyn totally got into the part, from lipstick, to makeup, to hair, to clothes - she went all black. She looked terrific. With her natural dark brown hair, dramatic stares, and well-proportioned body, she was a natural for the Goth look. After her years of struggles in New York, she got an opportunity at the largest modeling agency in Philadelphia and it changed her life. One of the Grayson Agency’s specialties was to provide models for the Goth and Fetish industry. Apparently it was an interest of the modeling agency’s owner, and Cyn fit right in.
***
The Devon Grill is a curbside seafood bistro serving the business and up-scale, residential crowd. People go here to be seen and to see others. It’s located on the east side of Rittenhouse Square and is a prime viewing spot of Philadelphia’s beautiful people. The seafood is terrific, but the talk, sights and drinks are the real attraction. The Grill is also a short walk from the modeling agency.
It was a warm and breezy Friday lunchtime. Cyndie was seated at one of the outside tables when I arrived. She looked great. She was wearing a short black dress, black calf-high boots and a silver necklace with a large cross that rested between her large breasts. Her hair was dyed black and longer than I ever saw it before, going down below her shoulders. Her dramatic make-up included black eye liner that emphasized her large brown eyes. She reminded me of a witch, a hip, sexy, provocative witch. She stood as I approached and gave me a kiss and a tight hug.
We ordered and exchanged a few comments about our lives, and then Cyndie got right to the point. “Stevie, a friend of ours needs help. It’s truly crazy!”
At that moment, the waitress arrived and brought our drinks. I asked, “Who needs our help?”
Twenty minutes later, Cyn had finished the story. I stretched out my legs to the side of the table, closed my eyes, exhaled a long sigh and said, “Poor Andi.”
Andi Anderson had been accused of murdering her agent. Before I made any commitment, I told Cyndie that this investigation would be very hard, because, first, I had never investigated a murder. Second, I didn’t know the area or Andi’s life in Los Angeles. I’d be starting at square one. Plus, my feelings about Andi rushed through my brain. I had always found Andi hard to resist but didn’t know how to act on it. And, it wasn’t just because she was beautiful. No, that doesn’t come close to describing Andi, she was gorgeous! It was something else, too. We always had this connection, this electricity between us. It was that way from the moment we met in New York City. I had true lust for Andi and this feeling we could really hit it off, completely! And, that would be a huge, potentially dangerous distraction in a murder investigation. Cyndie’s next comments heightened my anxiety.
“Cyndie, I’m not sure I can do this…”
“Why not?”
“First, I’m going on vacation.”
Cyn asked, “Where?”
“No where, I’m staying home and painting my house and…”
I stopped talking when Cyn softly said, “Stevie, Andi has always wanted you.”
“Really? Well, I wanted her too, who wouldn’t? She’s so hot. But, we’re just acquaintances, not real friends.”
Cyndie answered, “Oh no, please don’t tell her that. You are very special to her.”
“Come on, Cyn. Why didn’t she tell me?”
“Stevie, she’s shy about that kind of thing. But, Andi would be very hurt that she didn’t make a big impression on you.”
I said, “Well, she did - she’s incredibly beautiful, but, God, Cyn, I’m not in her league. She’s a super model and I’m just an investigator.”
Cyndie was smiling. “That’s funny, that’s what Andi says - she feels so dumb around you because she’s a high school dropout. But, she thinks you’re so handsome, so kind and gentle, but a real man too. As she says, ‘you’re irresistible.’”
I answered, “Oh, come on, are you sure?”
“Absolutely!”
“God, I never guessed that.”
“Well, it’s true. Stevie, Andi wants you. She asks about you every time we talk. Now, Andi needs you. Please go.”
“But, what am I going to do?”
Cyndie simply said, “The police think she did it and aren’t looking for anyone else. We both know she couldn’t, didn’t kill her agent. Find out who did do it. You’re Andi’s only hope. She wants you to help her. She thinks you’re a great private eye, ever since you solved her stolen bikini case.”
“Oh, Cyn, that case was a farce. You set her up and she fell for it, twice. I didn’t solve anything.”
“No, you figured out it was a practical joke in minutes. And, you made her laugh, and not feel embarrassed. She’s never forgotten it. Plus, she really opened up to you.”
I thought about that. I guess it was the unfulfilled lust and the connection I felt with Andi, because I blurted out, “OK, I’ll postpone my vacation and go out for a few days and see what I can do. But, don’t be optimistic.”
Cyndie said, “Thank you, Stevie.”
Before I expected, we were done lunch. I paid the bill and stood. Cyn got on her feet too.
As we strolled back to her office, the Grayson Modeling Agency, I asked her, “Oh man, are you sure you won’t come with me?”
Cyn answered, “No way, you know I don’t fly - at least not yet. I need to get psyched for that and this is too disturbing.”
I just nodded.
Cyndie said, “Call me after you get to L.A.”
I kissed her and walked back to Two Liberty Place. My mind tried to digest this tragic story.
Why did this murder happen? How did Andi get involved? I prayed for answers.
Overwhelmed by Hollywood, his inexperience and the women of a gentlemen's club named Modern Girls, Stevie tries his best to remain true to his heart and himself while sorting through the ill-fitting pieces of murder, love-affairs, kidnappings and a seemingly smoking gun.
_________________
Prologue
This mystery was unique. It didn’t come my way from a corporate client. It wasn’t the usual hunt for money or a dispute over an investment gone wrong. No, it was totally different. This case involved girls, beautiful girls. The kind of women you never forget. But, these sexy girls had issues, unusual issues. Their issues soon became my problems to deal with. During the case I killed someone in self defense and it took a long time to get over it. I solved the mystery and managed to keep myself alive. Yet, I don’t call this investigation concluded because those ten days started everything.
These girls came into my life and never left. From then on, I’ve always had one of them in my dreams or in my arms.
I never fully understood why. And, it tormented me. So, I decided to write the story of the Modern Girls. I reinvestigated everything, including the contributing events before those brief days in Los Angeles. I used my memory and notes, excerpts from Andi’s diary journals, and conversations with many eyewitnesses. Writing this book helped me. Now, eight years later, I realize better what began that summer.
This is how it happened.
***
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 16th & Chestnut Streets, Two Liberty Place, 44th Floor, August 25, 1995
My name is Stephen Garrett. I’m a business investigator who works in Philadelphia and lives in the State of Delaware. I’d just finished my first year at Center City Investigators in The Liberty Place, the great blue sky scrapers of center city Philadelphia. Center City was hired by our clients to solve their frauds and other problems. I was the new kid and the financial man. I was twenty-eight years old and single.
On a warm morning, I was counting the hours before my day and week would be over and my late summer vacation would begin. I planned to paint the entire outside of my recently purchased home. It was located in Delaware, just south of the Pennsylvania state line, and was a bit of a fixer-upper. It was priced well, and I liked its location - close to the freeway, in my home state, and away from the big city that I lived and breathed during business hours. I counted on some fun too; a few rounds of golf, a day at the beach in Rehoboth, at least one Phillies game, some long rides in my new blue Mazda Miata, and a few dates with my new girlfriend, Dee Dee Cho. Dee Dee was my hair stylist at a shop in the Liberty Place, called Smart Looking Men. All the stylists were young, beautiful women, and Dee Dee was no exception to that rule. I also planned to invite Dee Dee to my home for the first time after my outdoor work was completed. My week off was right before the Labor Day weekend, so I wouldn’t need to be back in the office until the following Tuesday. Plus, no investigations were red hot right, and I would only need to do a little follow up work over the next 10 days. It looked so good, I couldn’t wait.
Then, my phone rang. It was my friend, Cyndie Myst, who had recently started working at a Philadelphia modeling agency.
“Stevie, can we meet for lunch today. I need to talk to you, it’s urgent.”
“What’s the matter?”
“I need to tell you in person. Can you make lunch?”
I opened my calendar and saw that my lunch and afternoon were open, and said, “Sure, Cyn, where would you like to meet?”
“The Devon Grill, I’ll meet you there at 12:30.”
***
So, that’s how this unusual and unexpected mystery began. My fashion model friend and I met three years earlier when we were both living and working in New York City. We never dated, but it crossed my mind, from time to time.
Cyndie Myst’s one big modeling break was a spread she did in an alternate life-style magazine. It was for a Goth clothing designer and Cyn totally got into the part, from lipstick, to makeup, to hair, to clothes - she went all black. She looked terrific. With her natural dark brown hair, dramatic stares, and well-proportioned body, she was a natural for the Goth look. After her years of struggles in New York, she got an opportunity at the largest modeling agency in Philadelphia and it changed her life. One of the Grayson Agency’s specialties was to provide models for the Goth and Fetish industry. Apparently it was an interest of the modeling agency’s owner, and Cyn fit right in.
***
The Devon Grill is a curbside seafood bistro serving the business and up-scale, residential crowd. People go here to be seen and to see others. It’s located on the east side of Rittenhouse Square and is a prime viewing spot of Philadelphia’s beautiful people. The seafood is terrific, but the talk, sights and drinks are the real attraction. The Grill is also a short walk from the modeling agency.
It was a warm and breezy Friday lunchtime. Cyndie was seated at one of the outside tables when I arrived. She looked great. She was wearing a short black dress, black calf-high boots and a silver necklace with a large cross that rested between her large breasts. Her hair was dyed black and longer than I ever saw it before, going down below her shoulders. Her dramatic make-up included black eye liner that emphasized her large brown eyes. She reminded me of a witch, a hip, sexy, provocative witch. She stood as I approached and gave me a kiss and a tight hug.
We ordered and exchanged a few comments about our lives, and then Cyndie got right to the point. “Stevie, a friend of ours needs help. It’s truly crazy!”
At that moment, the waitress arrived and brought our drinks. I asked, “Who needs our help?”
Twenty minutes later, Cyn had finished the story. I stretched out my legs to the side of the table, closed my eyes, exhaled a long sigh and said, “Poor Andi.”
Andi Anderson had been accused of murdering her agent. Before I made any commitment, I told Cyndie that this investigation would be very hard, because, first, I had never investigated a murder. Second, I didn’t know the area or Andi’s life in Los Angeles. I’d be starting at square one. Plus, my feelings about Andi rushed through my brain. I had always found Andi hard to resist but didn’t know how to act on it. And, it wasn’t just because she was beautiful. No, that doesn’t come close to describing Andi, she was gorgeous! It was something else, too. We always had this connection, this electricity between us. It was that way from the moment we met in New York City. I had true lust for Andi and this feeling we could really hit it off, completely! And, that would be a huge, potentially dangerous distraction in a murder investigation. Cyndie’s next comments heightened my anxiety.
“Cyndie, I’m not sure I can do this…”
“Why not?”
“First, I’m going on vacation.”
Cyn asked, “Where?”
“No where, I’m staying home and painting my house and…”
I stopped talking when Cyn softly said, “Stevie, Andi has always wanted you.”
“Really? Well, I wanted her too, who wouldn’t? She’s so hot. But, we’re just acquaintances, not real friends.”
Cyndie answered, “Oh no, please don’t tell her that. You are very special to her.”
“Come on, Cyn. Why didn’t she tell me?”
“Stevie, she’s shy about that kind of thing. But, Andi would be very hurt that she didn’t make a big impression on you.”
I said, “Well, she did - she’s incredibly beautiful, but, God, Cyn, I’m not in her league. She’s a super model and I’m just an investigator.”
Cyndie was smiling. “That’s funny, that’s what Andi says - she feels so dumb around you because she’s a high school dropout. But, she thinks you’re so handsome, so kind and gentle, but a real man too. As she says, ‘you’re irresistible.’”
I answered, “Oh, come on, are you sure?”
“Absolutely!”
“God, I never guessed that.”
“Well, it’s true. Stevie, Andi wants you. She asks about you every time we talk. Now, Andi needs you. Please go.”
“But, what am I going to do?”
Cyndie simply said, “The police think she did it and aren’t looking for anyone else. We both know she couldn’t, didn’t kill her agent. Find out who did do it. You’re Andi’s only hope. She wants you to help her. She thinks you’re a great private eye, ever since you solved her stolen bikini case.”
“Oh, Cyn, that case was a farce. You set her up and she fell for it, twice. I didn’t solve anything.”
“No, you figured out it was a practical joke in minutes. And, you made her laugh, and not feel embarrassed. She’s never forgotten it. Plus, she really opened up to you.”
I thought about that. I guess it was the unfulfilled lust and the connection I felt with Andi, because I blurted out, “OK, I’ll postpone my vacation and go out for a few days and see what I can do. But, don’t be optimistic.”
Cyndie said, “Thank you, Stevie.”
Before I expected, we were done lunch. I paid the bill and stood. Cyn got on her feet too.
As we strolled back to her office, the Grayson Modeling Agency, I asked her, “Oh man, are you sure you won’t come with me?”
Cyn answered, “No way, you know I don’t fly - at least not yet. I need to get psyched for that and this is too disturbing.”
I just nodded.
Cyndie said, “Call me after you get to L.A.”
I kissed her and walked back to Two Liberty Place. My mind tried to digest this tragic story.
Why did this murder happen? How did Andi get involved? I prayed for answers.
