Murder 42 - A Thriller (Sarah King Mysteries Book 2) by Victor Methos

the city that looked completely different from what Sarah had seen: Malibu. This was what she pictured when she thought of Southern California: a glimmering ocean, green shrubbery and trees, and houses on the hillside.
    “I’m starving,” Stefan said.
    Gio said, “This first.”
    Stefan shrugged. “Just sayin’. You hungry, Sarah?”
    “I could eat a horse.”
    “Well, I don’t have any, so you’ll have to settle for an awesome seafood restaurant on the beach. Destin. You been, Gio?”
    He shook his head. “First time in Malibu.”
    “No shit? I loved coming up here as a kid. Rich people always get the best beaches.”
    Gio turned the car up a small winding hill and stopped in front of a house with a circular gravel driveway. The gravel crackled as they rode over it up to the front door. Gio turned the car off. “Porn certainly does pay.”
    “Anything sinful pays,” Stefan said, stepping out of the car.
    “Sinful? Don’t tell me you’re a bible freak.”
    “Bought and sold, brother.”
    Sarah said, “Should I wait here?”
    “No,” Gio said. “Come with us.”
    Sarah stepped outside and followed them up to the front door. The door was massive, at least ten feet high, and made of a thick wood. Gio pounded on it and then rang the doorbell.
    “You sure you don’t want to call his PO?” Stefan said. “He might be more agreeable in a jail cell.”
    “No, I don’t care about the violation. That’s not what I want.”
    A moment later, California Bill answered the door. He was now wearing a robe like an aristocrat and rolled his eyes. “What the hell do you want?”
    “Justin here?” Gio said.
    “Yeah.”
    Gio pushed the man aside and forced his way into the home. “Justin’s a registered sex offender, and so are you. You’re not allowed to live together.”
    “Whatever. His PO knows all about it and don’t give a shit.”
    “His PO will do what the fuck I tell him to, as will the Department of Corrections once I give the Attorney General’s Office a call and tell them that you’re both in violation of the registry. You might not get prison, but I’d bet my ass you get at least six months jail.”
    California Bill folded his arms. “What you—”
    Before he could finish his sentence, he noticed Sarah. He smiled widely and said, “So you with them, huh? Too bad. You coulda been a star.”
    Gio poked him in the forehead with his finger. “Hey, asshole, I’m talkin’ to you.”
    Bill stepped close to him. “Touch me again and see what happens.”
    Sarah could tell Gio was about to hit him. She stepped forward and said, “He just wants to talk to you. Five minutes.”
    Bill snorted and stepped back. “Five minutes, huh? All right, G-man, what you need?”
    “I want that list of actors and actresses in your films. And then I want you to tell me if something looks familiar.”
    “What?”
    “A video.” He pulled out his phone. Logging into the server, he brought up the video. He held it in front of Bill’s face and pressed the play button.
    Bill’s smile went away. He watched with a curious mix of what looked like disgust and fascination. The entire video played before he mumbled, “Holy shit.” His eyes darted up to Gio’s. “I’ll pay you a hundred thousand dollars for that video.”
    Gio leaned back against the wall, his hands on his hips. “I take it you haven’t seen that before, then.”
    He shook his head. “That was fucking… wow. I thought my shit was sick. Two hundred thousand, man.”
    “The child on that video’s probably ten.”
    “Where’d you get it?”
    “Sold to someone we know from a store called Naughty Nancy’s.”
    “In Scottsdale?”
    “You know it?”
    He nodded. “Shit yeah, I know it. They order our most fucked-up videos all the time.”
    “Like what?” Stefan said.
    “Whatever we have.” He chuckled. “The dude once asked me if I had any videos of chicks on fire.”
    “What dude?”
    “The owner. Jay, I think.”
    Gio glanced at