Текст книги "Directing Disaster"
Автор книги: Kate Kane
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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 11 страниц)
Chapter 4
God how tiring
Mick drove Lane back to her office. He knew he should strike while the iron was hot. Bellini seemed to be out of the picture, Lane was pregnant. She needed a man and he wanted to be that man.
“Look, I understand that you’re pregnant and not helpless, but let me follow you home. You fainted.” He smiled. “It’s my duty to protect and serve. Let me make sure you get home all right.”
She smiled back at him. Hadn’t he said something like that months before? She’d had a migraine and he’d insisted on not only driving her home, but staying with her until Ben arrived. The headache business made sense. His wife, Gloria had died of a brain tumor, and Lane’s headaches had brought the memory of Gloria’s death front and center for him. The pregnancy though, she didn’t know what was making him act all grouchy and protective over her pregnancy. But, what could it hurt if he followed her home.
She smiled at him. “That’s thoughtful of you, Mick.”
He’d followed her home and walked her into the house to be sure she was safely inside and looked around. Just as he thought, there was no sign that Bellini had been near the place.
Lane turned toward him. “Thanks, Mick. I appreciate your help today. I think I’m just going to change and have a nap.”
She was giving him the bum’s rush toward the door. Fine, she needed a nap. He’d come back this evening. His window of opportunity was open and he wasn’t going to give up easily.
Lane called her doctor’s office as soon as she’d gotten rid of Mick. She’d left a voice mail message on the nurse’s line saying she was pregnant and asking for names of obstetricians who specialized with pregnancies in women over 40. She’d changed into her jeans and was sitting in the family room in a recliner with her feet up waiting for the call back. She had her laptop and was searching the internet for anything and everything she could find about pregnancy after the age of 45. There were mixed reviews. Her favorite was the item that said it was virtually impossible to get pregnant with your own eggs after the age of 45. Well, virtually wasn’t literally and she was living proof. There were several websites that discussed issues around pregnancy for “older” women, and she surfed from site to site.
The phone rang. The nurse from her doctor’s office had some names. She said she could e-mail them to Lane if it was easier. Lane agreed that e-mailing was probably best. She gave her personal e-mail address and was soon going through the names. She selected one and called the office taking the first appointment they had, which luckily was for late the next morning. They asked if she’d taken a home pregnancy test and she explained that she’d fainted, was taken to the ER in an ambulance and the ER doctor had told her she was pregnant.
She was still sitting in the recliner with her laptop when Jamie came home from football practice.
“You look tired, Mom. Are you okay?” What is she doing home already? Jamie thought.
“I’m fine. I don’t feel like cooking tonight though, let’s order pizza. Okay?”
She needed to tell the kids, but it would have to wait. She knew she couldn’t tell the boys without telling Jess, and she knew Jess was very busy right now. Jess had won the coveted starring role playing identical twin sisters Kate and Kit Hart, in the movie adaptation of the Harts in Time trilogy. Since then, she had been making the rounds of talk shows and doing other appearances since the announcement was made.
The first book told the story of sisters who were identical in appearance, but as different as night and day in disposition. Kate Hart was old fashioned, kind and introspective while Kit Hart was modern, edgy and an extrovert. It began when the sisters were in Europe vacationing. They’d both kissed a stone that superstition said when kissed would grant your wish. They had stood on opposite sides of the stone and making a wish, each pressed her lips to it. Kate wished for true love and happiness. Kit wished for power and wealth. Kate backed away from the stone formation and found herself in a parallel world 100 years in the past. Kit found herself in that same parallel world, but 100 years in the future. The first book followed the sisters through figuring out how to survive and thrive in their new reality and it ended when they were just as inexplicably brought back to the time and place where they had started.
The second book, Broken Harts told the story of them exchanging tales of their time apart and of them kissing the stone again in the hope of getting back to the lives they had landed in; Kate the past and Kit in the future, but as they kissed the stone a second time, they had exchanged time periods.
The last book well, we don’t want to give it all away. Who’d read the books or go see the movies?
Chapter 5
A proposition
At five o’clock, when his shift was over, Mick drove to Lane’s house. He called her from the driveway, making sure she was awake. Her son answered the phone. What was his name?
“Hello, this is Detective McGuire, is your mother home?”
“Yes, sir. Let me get her,” Jamie responded.
Jamie had just hung up after ordering the pizza. He looked out the window in his room and could see the Ford Explorer in the driveway. What was that guy doing at the house?
Jamie walked into the family room and extended the phone toward Lane. “It’s Detective McGuire.”
Lane took the phone. “Hi, Mick.” She sighed.
“I’m in the neighborhood, and I thought I’d drop by.”
Jamie answered the door when Mick rang the bell. He showed the Detective into the family room and looked questioningly at his mother. She didn’t seem to notice as she motioned Mick toward the sofa.
Mick said, “Thanks, Kid.”
It was like he was dismissing Jamie. But this was Jamie’s house and he wasn’t going anywhere. At least until he had to leave to pick up the pizza anyway. Jamie sat in the chair next to his mother. He hadn’t liked this guy when Ben had brought him home for dinner a while back, and he didn’t like him now. He especially didn’t like that he’d shown up while Ben and his mother were taking a break. He might be only 17, but he knew trouble when he saw it.
Lane looked at Mick. “You remember my son, Jamie.”
“Sure. Jamie, good to see you again.” How was he going to discuss his proposal with Lane while the kid was in the room? Didn’t he have something to do?
“Jamie just ordered pizza for us. He’ll be going to get it in a few minutes. You’re welcome to stay for dinner.”
Great the kid was going to go pick up pizza. That would give him a perfect opportunity to talk. “Sure, I’d like that,” Mick replied.
Jamie wanted to tell his mother they didn’t have enough for the detective to stay, but it wasn’t true and besides, he knew she’d disapprove of any rude behavior. So, he’d sit here and do everything he could think of to discourage the guy in the meantime. Where was Jess when you needed her? She’d know what to do about this guy.
Lane was always a good hostess and asked, “Mick, what can we offer you to drink?”
Mick nodded toward Lane’s tea. “As I recall, you make a great iced tea.”
“Jamie, would you refill my iced tea and bring one for Mick?”
Great now he was waiting on the guy. He should call Ben. He had no idea what was going on between his Mom and Ben. Ben hadn’t been around for weeks now. He and Jake had said that if Ben hurt their Mom, they’d make him pay. Jess had told them that everything was fine and the boys should hang tight, but Jess didn’t know about Dickhead McGuire.
Jamie got up, took Lane’s glass, and went to the kitchen.
Lane leaned toward Mick. “I haven’t told my family yet, so I’d rather not talk about anything in front of Jamie.”
Lane thought Jamie had been out of ear shot, but he’d heard what she’d said. What hadn’t she told her family and why was she talking about it with Dickhead McGuire?
He brought the tea back into the room. He put one glass on the coaster by his mother’s chair and handed the other to the Dickhead.
“I need to go pick up the pizza. Shall I get anything else while I’m out?”
Lane shook her head.
“Okay, I’ll be back in ten to fifteen minutes,” he said as he walked toward the garage.
They’d ordered Minsky’s to go and Jamie knew it would take all of the time he’d told his mother he’d be gone to drive there and back. When he got to Minsky’s, he called his brother.
“Jandy. What’s up?” Jake answered, using the nickname he’d given his younger brother when they were kids.
“Hey, I’m just picking up Minsky’s. You want to come over? Maybe you could bring Meg and Abbey.” The more people that are in the house, the better to keep Dickhead McGuire in his place.
*****
When Lane heard the garage door close, she looked at Mick. “Did you want to talk to me about the Rochelle Jones hearing?”
Mick shook his head. No, it really had been just an excuse to see her. If the DA wanted her at the hearing, he’d contact her.
“Lane, tell me truth. Has Bellini abandoned you?”
She blinked. She still wore her engagement ring. What on earth gave Mick the idea that he had any right to ask that question? Even if it were true, he had no right to ask her about something so personal.
“Mick, why would you even ask such a question,” she asked, incredulously.
She picked up her glass to take a drink, and Mick could see her hand shake. His experience as an observer of body language had been honed by 25 years on the police force. Something wasn’t right. He reached out to take her hand. “I want to help. Lane I care for you. If he’s left you, let me take care of you and the baby.”
She pulled her hand back. “Mick, you’ve no right to talk to me this way. I told you, Ben’s very busy with the trial.”
She lowered her voice. When Lane was really angry, she always lowered her voice and carefully enunciated every syllable. “Maybe things would have been different if we’d met a year ago, even six months ago. But we didn’t. You see this?” She pointed to her engagement ring. “It should tell you everything you need to know. As long as this ring is on my finger, Ben Bellini is the only man who…”
Before Lane could finish her speech the garage door opened and Meg Kelly’s two year old daughter, Abbey, came running into the family room followed closely by Jake and Meg. Abbey ran to Lane and crawled into her lap.
Lane looked up. “Jake, Meg, have you met Detective McGuire? I’m afraid he was just leaving. Jake would you please walk him out? Good-bye, Detective,” Lane said, as she turned away from Mick and busied herself talking with Abbey.
Jake, who was six feet four inches tall and weighed a well-muscled 200 pounds, stood by the sofa, waiting for Mick to stand and then walked him to the front door.
As Mick walked to his car, Jamie pulled into his garage stall. Neither one acknowledged the other.
Jamie carried the pizzas into the house and put them on the breakfast bar. Jake followed him into the kitchen. He was wondering what was going on. First, Jandy had called and invited him for pizza. Then, Mom had him escort a guest to the door. He couldn’t remember his mother ever using that icy tone to a guest in their home. “So who’s Detective McGuire and what was he doing here,” Jake asked his brother.
“He’s supposed to be a friend of Ben’s, but if you saw the way he looks at Mom, you’d know what he was really doing was putting moves on her. What happened?”
Jake shook his head. “That’s why you called isn’t it? Whatever happened, it was over before we got here. Mom introduced him and had me walk him out. I don’t think he’ll be back. Mom was talking in that quiet mad tone when we came in.”
“Good, I didn’t trust him the first time I met him, when he came with Ben, and I sure didn’t like that he was here without Ben tonight. Something’s going on. I’ll call Jess later.”
Lane had lifted Abbey and carried her as she walked into the kitchen. “Do we have enough pizza for everyone?” She and Abbey sat on a counter chair and watched as Meg and the boys gathered plates and silverware.
The boys looked at each other and laughed. There were two large pizzas and wings. As usual, there was enough to feed a small army.
Chapter 6
Off the merry go round
Jess was 20 years old and had been thrust into the white hot spotlight. It was what every actor dreamed of, the opportunity of a lifetime. The announcement that she’d won the roles of Kate and Kit Hart had been made in the trades three weeks ago and she’d had a personal appearance every day, sometimes appearing as a guest on a morning talk show and a night time show (which by the way were filmed in the afternoon) on the same day.
Jess was five feet four inches tall, had blonde hair and big blue eyes with unnaturally long eyelashes. She’d been in Kansas visiting when she’d gotten the call about the audition. It was a starring role and an opportunity she couldn’t pass up, so she’d cut short her visit and returned to L.A. It was the right thing to do, especially since she’d gotten the role. But what is it they say? Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it.
She’d gotten it all right, and she really wasn’t complaining. Except now there was some weirdo leaving presents for her outside her condo. For the last week, every time she’d come home from an appearance there was something left by her door with either the name Kit or Kate Hart on it. So apparently there were fans who were already seeing her as the twins. Her agent thought it was a good thing, but her agent was a 45 year old man and he wasn’t the one coming home alone at one o’clock in the morning to find little love letters or hate letters addressed to him.
The producers had given a dinner party as a way for the cast and crew to get to know each other. They’d sent a car service to take her to and from the party. It had been a long day and she was tired as she climbed into the back of the limo to find a note addressed to Kit. Why did fans sign things “your greatest fan” or “your most devoted fan.” For crying out loud, she thought as she opened it. Maybe opening it was her first mistake. “You’re the mean selfish sister. You don’t deserve Prince Augustus.” Oh for God’s sake, it’s a book, I’m not Kate or Kit and whoever this is needs to get a life.
She laid her head back and tried to relax as the Limo made its way to her condo near the UCLA campus. She knew it was going to be a two hour ride and it would be 3:00 a.m. before she got home. She had an early morning tomorrow doing an appearance on a local L.A. morning talk show.
To her surprise, she’d fallen asleep in the limo and the driver woke her when they’d arrived at her condo. She walked in barefoot, carrying her Loubouton Carlota shoes. Ben had bribed her with them last summer. The bribe was to be nice to some idiot who thought she should be falling all over him. Well not be nice exactly, it was more a bribe not to kill the guy. She smiled. She’d gotten some of her most favorite shoes from her mother’s boyfriend. She’d told him several years ago that anyone wanting to get next to her mother had to deliver three pairs of very specific shoes. He’d sent them to her as an announcement when he started dating her mother. They were shoes that weren’t even made any more. How Ben had gotten them, she didn’t know, but they were lovely. Each with platforms and a five inch heel; one pair in Black, one pair in Red, and one pair in Electric Blue, all handmade in Italy.
She dropped her shoes in the living room and went straight to bed. The next morning, she rushed around getting ready, making it to the interview with only seconds to spare. It was another round of questions about her eyelashes.
“No, they really are mine,” she said as she tugged at them. “My brother has eyelashes just like them, but we don’t put mascara on his,” she said and laughed. It was true, her older brother Jake and she both had eyelashes to die for.
She finished the interview and went home. It was nearly four o’clock in the afternoon, but finally, she’d be able to rest for a while. There was nothing more going on for the rest of the week.
When she got home, the door to her condo was slightly ajar. She cautiously made her way in, looking around as she made her way toward the bedroom. Something was wrong. Her closet door was open and she knew she’d closed it. There was a note on her bed addressed to Kit Hart. She left it where it lay against her pillows, grabbed a Louisville Slugger from under her bed and her gun from her nightstand. She went into the master bathroom and locked the door. She climbed into the bathtub and dialed the phone.
“Jams. Hi. How are things,” she said far more calmly that she felt.
“Hey, Sis. How are things in L.A. now that you’re a big star,” Jamie responded.
“I have a stalker. And someone’s been in my condo. Other than that, everything’s great.”
“Let me make the call,” he said.
Chapter 7
Truce?
There was a recess and Ben had found a corner where he could stand without the press or anyone else bothering him. His cell phone buzzed. He looked at the caller id.
“Bambino. What’s up?” He had called Lane’s youngest son, Jamie, Bambino since their first meeting. Back then, Jamie had been 14 and was tall, gangly, and awkward and seemed to be feeling lost after the move to Kansas. It was Ben’s way of helping him through the transition and the nickname had just stuck.
“I’m sorry to bother you. I know you and Mom are having a time out. Jess called me from L.A. She’s in trouble. There’s some nutcase fan stalking her.”
Ben looked at his watch. He needed to be back in the courtroom in about five minutes. “Don’t worry, Bambino, I’ll handle it.”
The Parker kids had been calling Ben with their problems since just weeks after their move from Nebraska. His response was always the same. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.” And he always did. Jake had been the first to need Ben’s help. Jake was a student at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. He’d been out with friends. He was driving and they’d been pulled over. One of the idiots in the truck had an open container of beer. They’d all been hauled in. Jake had used his phone call and called Ben. The Lawrence police were surprised when one the best criminal defense attorneys in Kansas City had walked in. Ben talked to everyone and got the charges against Jake dropped.
The second call had come from Jess, just days after the incident with Jake. She’d called because a guy she’d gone out with a couple of times wouldn’t take “get lost” for an answer. He was hanging around, following her to and from school. Sitting in his car at all hours of the day and night, just down the block, watching the house. She’d called Ben and he’d taken the little twerp out for lunch. Ben was Italian, the whole city thought his family was mobbed up, and he wasn’t above using that paranoia to his advantage. He’d intimidated the kid by taking him to Bellini’s. Making sure the kid knew he was one of “those” Bellinis. He’d told the kid that Jess was a friend of his and he’d be very unhappy if anything or anyone upset her. The kid had almost wet himself, but he’d never bothered Jess again.
Ben hadn’t spoken to Jess in nearly six weeks, not since he’d told Lane he needed a break. He knew she’d gotten the role. You’d have to live under a rock not to know that Jess had gotten the roles of Kit and Kate Hart. He had exchanged angry words with Jess just before he had proposed to Lane. Jess was still pissed and she wouldn’t call him directly for help the way she’d done in the past. No, she had called Jamie knowing that he would call Ben. Ben scrolled though his contacts and hit the call button.
“Jess, where are you? Are you all right?”
“I’m in the bathtub. I have my Louisville Slugger and my gun.”
“Have you called the police?” Why had he even asked, he knew the answer. They never called the police, they just called Ben.
“No.” And much to his amazement, he heard her sniffle. There were several things Jess Parker just didn’t do; unless it was written in a script and crying was one of them.
“Stay put. I can have someone there in a couple of hours. Can you hold tight for two hours, Jess?”
He was sure that he heard her sniff again, but she said, “Yes.”
He pushed the end call button and dialed again. “I need a favor.” He gave the address for Jess’s condo. “Lane’s daughter’s in trouble. She’s barricaded herself in the master bath.” He paused. “She’s family. Call me when you have her.”
