The Cinderella Killer by Simon Brett Page B

kill him, Lilith.’
    She nodded in mock-approval. ‘Good assumption.’
    â€˜But, as I say, you know a lot more about Kenny than I do. You’re more likely to be able to come up with a list of suspects than I am.’
    â€˜Maybe. But I wanted to ask you if he’d been antagonizing anyone in your
Cinderella
company. Any bust-ups there?’
    Charles shook his head slowly. ‘No, Kenny seemed to get on with everyone.’ He decided not to mention the brief confrontation the star had had with Jasmine del Rio. No need to cast suspicion on an incident that was probably perfectly harmless. Until he had worked out what Lilith wanted from him, he decided to play things cagey.
    â€˜Yup, good old Kenny,’ said Lilith. ‘Everybody’s buddy. The big star who doesn’t act like a big star, the regular guy who nobody gets pissed with. And if he does inadvertently upset someone, then he always sends in Lefty Rubenstein to clear up the mess, smooth things over, pay a little hush money if necessary. Good old Kenny.’
    â€˜Well, I can’t think of anyone in the
Cinderella
company who might have wanted to kill him.’
    â€˜You mean rehearsals have been completely harmonious?’
    â€˜That might be overstating it – I’m sure you know enough about working in the theatre to understand that – but the arguments that have come up … Kenny wasn’t involved in any of them.’
    â€˜And, knowing how keen showbiz people are on gossip … are there theories around the company about who might have topped him?’
    â€˜Well, the only
Cinderella
cast member I’ve seen since the murder is of the view that it was a Mafia hit.’
    Lilith Greenstone looked genuinely amazed. ‘What the hell would the Mafia have to do with Kenny? Not everyone who’s got an Italian surname is a “made man”. They don’t all qualify for
The Sopranos
.’
    â€˜Kenny suggested to me that he had substantial gambling debts …’
    â€˜That’s certainly true.’
    â€˜And the people trying to reclaim them were not necessarily the most salubrious types.’
    â€˜Go along with that too. But we’re still not talking Mafia. Kenny had these fantasies, saw himself as the big star. Bit of a Sinatra complex. He loved promoting the suggestion that he was tied up with the Mafia. Gave him some kind of macho kick.’
    â€˜But not true?’
    â€˜Totally untrue. The kind of thing he’d sound off about when he’d had a few drinks – or the odd line of cocaine – to anyone who’d listen. And Kenny could usually find somebody who’d listen … because of course he was Kenny Polizzi, star of
The Dwight House
. But nothing to do with the Mafia.’
    â€˜Do you mind if I ask you something personal, Lilith?’
    The magnificent shoulders shrugged. ‘What’s personal?’
    â€˜Why did you marry Kenny?’
    â€˜Ah.’
    â€˜I mean, given that since I’ve met you you’ve said nothing about him that wasn’t pure vitriol.’
    â€˜Charles, you say you haven’t been divorced, but surely you know enough about life to realize that what you feel when you’re coming out of a marriage is kind of different from what you feel when you go into it.’
    â€˜Yes, I can see that, but on our brief acquaintance you don’t strike me as a woman who has a lot of illusions about life …’
    â€˜We all still have a few illusions, Charles – even the most hardbitten of us. And the image of marriage for a girl like me, brought up as a God-fearing Southerner, kinda looms over one’s life. I’d done it twice and screwed up. I hoped the third time I could make it work. And Kenny was that much older, I thought he’d bring me a sense of security. I’m one of those lost girls whose daddy died young.’ She was silent for a moment. ‘He died of a heart attack just