“Thanks for the tip, Marco. I gotta go,” I quickly said into the phone, hanging it up and letting my fingers fly with lightning speed over my keyboard. I pulled up the IMDB website again, typing in the name “Alexis Mullins.” Her credits as a member of The Fenton Family popped up (back when she was known as cute little Alexis Grant), but alongside them were three new projects: a Lifetime movie, VH1’s Celebrity Sorority House, and an HBO TV series pilot produced by Tom Hanks. Not too shabby.

I chewed my pen top as I sat back in my chair. It was a long shot, but…

I grabbed Strawberry Shortcake and made for the elevator.

Unfortunately, as soon as I got there, the doors slid open to reveal Cal on the other side.

He looked down at my purse. “Going somewhere?”

“Jake Mullins’s widow.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Let’s just say I’ve got a hunch.”

Cal looked like he was about to protest. Luckily, he knew me better than that by now and, instead, shrugged, leading the way back into the elevator.

Half an hour later we were back in Echo Park, Cal’s Hummer stashed in the Ralph’s parking lot and the two of us knocking on Alexis Mullins’s front door. A few beats later it was opened a crack by the widow herself.

This time she was fully dressed, sporting a pleather miniskirt, thigh-high boots, fishnet stockings, and a lacy top that left little to the imagination. Either she was headed for the casting couch or a street corner somewhere on Hollywood Boulevard.

“Hi,” I said, doing a little wave at her. “Remember us?”

She wrinkled her forehead as if trying to. “Yeah. The writer, right?”

I nodded. “I had a few more questions about your husband. Do you mind if we come in?”

Her eyebrows drew together. Clearly, she did mind. But the allure of her name in print finally won out as she stepped back, allowing us entrance. “Sure. But I’m on my way to meet my agent for lunch, so if we could make it quick?”

“No problem,” I promised her.

This time she didn’t offer us coffee or a seat, instead standing near the door, antsy, shifting from one foot to another.

“So, what kind of questions?” she asked, biting a manicured fingernail between her two front teeth.

“You mentioned roles had picked up lately for you. When exactly did they start coming in again?”

Alexis blinked at me. “I dunno.”

“Was it before or after your husband passed away?”

Her eyes darted once to the door. “After, I guess.”

“Any particular reason things picked up for you?”

Again with the, “I dunno.”

“I bet people were very sympathetic when they heard what happened to Jake.”

She nodded. “Everyone has been very supportive.”

“Your friends?”

“Yeah.”

“Agent?”

“Sure.”

“Casting directors?”

She chomped down on that fingernail again.