Текст книги "Directing Disaster"
Автор книги: Kate Kane
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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 11 страниц)
Chapter 17
that’s not funny
Jamie finished off half a dozen pancakes and put his plate and glass in the dishwasher.
“Keep an eye on her, will you Joey? She acts tough, but she’s so little, you know? I know she can be prickly and she never lets anyone in, but I know she was crying when she called me the other day and Jess never cries. Never. Just keep an eye on her.”
Joey nodded. “Yeah, kid. I got this, you go to school.” He sat at the breakfast bar drinking coffee. He didn’t know how much longer he could stay in K.C. He had a casino to run.
Jamie ran back into the kitchen. “You better come out here. Someone left something for Jess. Or should I say Kit and Kate?”
Joey followed Jamie outside. Sure enough there were two packages outside the garage door where the Escalade sat. Joey walked around them. They were each about the size of a shoe box.
He looked at Jamie. “I told you, Jamie. I got this.”
Jamie nodded and walked toward his truck. “You gonna call Dad?” If Joey wasn’t calling Ben, he was.
“Already dialing, kid. Already dialing.”
“Joey?”
“I know you have court this morning. Someone left packages at the Parkers’ for Jess.”
“For Jess or for the characters?”
“The characters. A package for each of them.”
“Do they look safe? Lane’s already driving the Navigator home. Do I need to call and divert her?”
“They aren’t ticking, and they look safe enough. The paparazzi know where you live too, so that’s not safe. I think we’d all better stay at Uncle Sal’s for a few days. No one’s getting close out there. You know?”
“Yeah, I know. Wake Jess. Wait for Lane. Help them pack up some things. Have Lane call me when she gets there, but don’t tell them about the packages. Hide the things. Push them behind those thorn bushes, put them in your bag, whatever. Neither Jess nor Lane sees them.”
“I get that you want to protect them, but the kid, Jamie. He found the packages and got me. Won’t he say something?”
Ben laughed. “You have a lot to learn about the Parkers. He won’t tell either his sister or Lane. And it goes without saying, we don’t call the police on this. Jess doesn’t need, nor would she welcome, this kind of publicity.”
Ben ended the call. He’d worked out at the hotel gym this morning, showered and woke Lane. She’d dropped him at the courthouse before taking the SUV to go home so she could get ready for work. He wasn’t sure how much to tell her so that she’d understand that they had to stay at Sal’s and yet not frighten her. Being frightened couldn’t be good for either her or the baby.
Uncle Sal had an estate near Parkville, Missouri. It sat on 10 acres and had advantages. It was well away from the city, was defensible and the paparazzi didn’t know where it was. The question was, how was Joey going to get Jess there without alerting the paparazzi? Because what the paparazzi knew, the stalker would soon know too.
Joey walked around the house, securing the perimeter, before he picked up the packages and went in. He would hide them in his duffle bag. He knew Lane would be home soon and he went back outside to wait. She pulled into the drive and he met her and opened the driver’s door.
“Welcome home. Ben wants you to call him,” Joey said as he helped her out of the Navigator.
“Thanks, Joey. I’ll call him while I change. Is everything okay?”
Joey smiled. “I think he just misses you.”
Lane went into her bedroom, closed the door and dialed Ben’s cell.
“Red.”
“Hey, Joey said you wanted me to call.”
He hadn’t decided what to tell her yet
“I just wanted to say I love you, Mrs. Bellini.”
Ben had called her Mrs. Bellini last night as he held her, but she still wasn’t used to hearing it. She looked at her left hand. Her ring finger now held not just the enormous engagement ring, but an eternity band encrusted with diamonds. She smiled, wondering how long he’d had her wedding ring and his. They were the kind of rings that had to be custom made.
“I love you. Now, I need to get ready for work.”
He couldn’t avoid it forever. He had to prepare her for Joey packing them up. “There is something else. You know the paparazzi caught Jess and Joey outside the church last night and think they got married. He’s going to take her to Uncle Sal’s acreage near Parkville. I think maybe we should all go.”
“Ben, is there something you aren’t telling me?”
Sure there is. He thought. “It’s just that if the paparazzi know where she is, then the crazed fan might show up. I’d rather err on the side of caution, you know? Uncle Sal’s house sits on 10 acres. It’s out of the way, he doesn’t stay there a lot, and there are two master suites. There’s a lot of room.”
“Okay. Do I need to pack some things now or can I do it later?”
“It’s probably best if you do it now and give the suitcase to Joey. You and I can go tonight after I get out of court and you leave work.”
Lane shook her head. If there was a stalker after Jess, the first priority was to keep her safe. Lane just wondered why he thought the stalker would come to Kansas. Unless he was already there. Hmmm.
“Okay, I love you. Now, I really need to change for work. Call me later if you get the chance.”
Joey knocked on Jess’s door.
“Jess?”
Ugh. Was she ever going to get more than six hours of sleep at a time?
“What?” She groaned.
“Can I come in?”
Well, at least he had knocked this time. “Sure.” Like she could stop him anyway.
“Look, here’s the thing. Since the paparazzi have found Ben’s house and this house, we need to find another place to stay. Uncle Sal has an acreage. We’re going to stay there for a while.”
Jess narrowed her eyes and looked at him. “Who is we?”
“All of us. You, your mother, your brother Jamie, your brother Jake if he wants, Ben, me. It’s a big house.”
There were many reasons for her to argue, and just as many to go along with the suggestion. She was tired, there was a crazed lunatic stalking her. The paparazzi had followed her and they had broadcast her trip to Kansas City on the web and the small screen. Her powers of deduction told her it wouldn’t be long before the stalker was in Kansas. Staying here could put her pregnant mother and the rest of her family in danger.
Since acquiring her own crazed fan, she’d done some research. Most weren’t dangerous, just annoying. But then there were the ones who killed the celebrity, someone else or even themselves. You could never be too careful.
“Fine. I’ll go. As long as staying at Uncle Sal’s doesn’t call in my favor.” She said as she got up and headed toward her bathroom.
Joey shook his head. He couldn’t believe his ears. He had expected an argument. He stood outside her bathroom door. “No, I’ll owe Uncle Sal for this, or Ben will. We’ll work it out. Your mother’s packing a few things. You should too,” he said as he left her room and closed the door.
She hadn’t brought much with her, and all she had in Kansas was winter clothes, things she didn’t need in L.A. She was going to have to go shopping for real, as opposed to the pretend shopping they’d done yesterday for the paparazzi’s benefit.
Lane had finished changing. She walked into the hall, meeting Joey as he exited Jess’s room. She motioned to the suitcase in her bedroom, telling Joey that he could take it with him.
“I have to get to work. Ben’s going to call me later. I imagine we’ll see you tonight.” She looked at Joey. No one had actually told her, but she was certain Joey’s only purpose in Kansas was to guard her daughter. “You’ll keep her safe, won’t you Joey?”
Joey looked at Lane. She looked tired and worried. “As if she were a part of me.” In other words, with his life, but he didn’t want to phrase it that way to Lane. No sense in making her worry more than she probably was already.
It was 10:00 a.m., and Jess had showered and dressed before she left her room. She found Joey in the kitchen. “Okay, wise guy, let’s go. I’m ready, but first I have to go shopping.”
Joey looked at her in disbelief. Only a woman would want to shop while a crazed fan was stalking her. He carried her duffle bag to the Escalade and threw it in the cargo area with his and Lane’s bags. He opened Jess’s door and helped her in before going to the driver’s door.
Chapter 18
retail therapy
Joey drove to the mall. It was no surprise to find they’d picked up a tail. At least one of the paparazzi was following, as Joey pulled into the parking garage on the east side of the mall.
They made their way into the mall. She’d dragged him through Macy’s, and Nordstrom’s before she finally picked up several pairs of jeans, underwear and some tops at H&M. The sales associate was looking at them with eyes as big as saucers. First, there was a Bellini man in the store, then there was a movie star and last there was the entourage of paparazzi that followed Jess. Jess apologized for the circus atmosphere as the sales associate totaled the purchases.
Jess looked at Joey and smiled. “You’re buying.”
He reached into his jacket for his wallet. “And why am I buying,” he said as he handed the sales associate a Black American Express card.
“It’s your fault I barely packed anything.”
He leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Next time a crazed stalker is after you, I’ll remember to give you more time to pack.”
She just smiled as he signed the receipt and picked up the bags. “We finished now,” he asked.
“Yes, that’s everything,” she replied.
He held the bags in his left hand and put his right hand at the small of her back as he guided her through the store, out of the mall and into the parking garage.
There was a man standing near the Escalade. He didn’t move as Joey and Jess approached. The man was short, maybe five feet five inches tall. He was skinny and had longish, stringy, dishwater blonde hair. He was wearing shades in the darkened parking garage. Joey had the keys in his pocket. He took his hand away from Jess’s back, pulled the keys from his pocket and handed them to her. They were still 20 feet or so from the SUV.
Joey tugged at the back of the shirt Jess wore. “Slow down. I don’t like the look of that guy.”
The man turned toward them. “Kit you are such a slut. You dragged Kate here so you could be with your boyfriend there.” He pointed toward Joey.
Joey stepped in front of Jess. “Hey, bud, we’ll have no name calling here.”
He was a wiry little guy and he’d pulled the knife before Joey could drop the packages. It was a lucky shot, but he’d stabbed Joey in the groin area and pulled back the blade as he continued to yell at Jess.
As Joey bent forward, Jess stepped around him. “Hey, slime ball. Who are you calling a slut?” She pushed the blade from his hand cutting the palm of her left hand as she kneed the guy in the balls, grabbed his head and slammed it on her knee. He went down and she turned to Joey. He was lying on the ground bleeding. She pulled out her phone and dialed 9-1-1 as she put her bloody hand on Joey’s bleeding groin.
“It’s gonna be okay, wise guy,” she whispered as she pulled something from the bag of new clothes and used it to stanch the blood. “Come on, it’s little more than a flesh wound. Stay with me,” she said as she patted his face with her right hand.
“Everyone out of the way, I’m a doctor.” Rang the familiar voice of Dr. Paolo Raffaele Bellini.
Jess looked at him as he walked toward them. “What are you doing here?”
“You’re all over Twitter.” He looked at her hand and pulled off his polo shirt to wrap around it, leaving him in his khaki’s and a wife beater t-shirt. “You watch that little ass hole. Keep him down until the police get here.”
She smiled. “It’ll be my pleasure.” She walked to where the slime ball was doubled over holding his family jewels and put the five inch stiletto heel of her shoe against his throat. “In case you’re wondering, that’s your carotid artery. Move and I’ll show you what a real stiletto can do.”
“Freeze, Police.”
Jess turned her head to see Detective Lila Crane standing a few feet away, gun drawn and pointing in her direction.
“Detective Crane. I never thought I’d be glad to see you.”
Jess moved her foot from the stalker’s throat. He rolled over to look at her. “You married him. You don’t get to be happy, Kit.”
She’d had about all she could take. She wasn’t Kit Hart and she wasn’t Kate Hart and she wasn’t married. Jess looked at the little slime ball lying on the ground. She stomped her foot. “For the last time, I did NOT get married. My mother married Ben.” She said in a low voice that was barely controlled.
Lila looked at Jess.
“Your mother married Ben?”
“Yeah, last night. We told the paparazzi last night, but they still broadcast that I got married.”
The paparazzi were still taking pictures at a frantic pace, and now an audience who had gathered had cell phones out and were all taking video.
“No, that can’t happen. I broke them up.” Lila shook her head. She still had her gun out but had pointed it at the stalker.
“A little hard to do. First of all, he loves her and secondly, they’re having a baby.”
Lila pointed her gun toward Jess again. “No, if anyone’s going to have his baby it’s going to be me.”
God, this chick was a nut case. And the murder investigation from last month was suddenly crystal clear to Jess. Carol Anne Woods was an ex-girlfriend of Ben’s and she’d been killed. Jess and her brothers had found out that Carol Anne was in town to get someone to be a sperm donor.
“So, I’m guessing you killed Carol Anne so she couldn’t have his baby.” Jess shook her head and laughed. “Carol Anne wanted Ben’s brother Tony to be the sperm donor, so you killed her for nothing. You’re not a very good detective, Sherlock.”
Jess knew she should shut up. She knew you should never antagonize crazy, but she’d been running and hiding from crazy for days now and she wasn’t going to run or hide any more.
“In fact, Sherlock, I’d make a better detective and all I’ve ever played on TV cop shows is the dead person.” She laughed again.
“Then life really does imitate art, because now you can play a dead person in real life,” Lila said as she took aim at Jess. “Your mother gets to have my baby so I’m taking hers away.”
Yes, Jess knew that she shouldn’t antagonize crazy and antagonizing a crazy person who held a gun on her was crazy itself, but she couldn’t stop herself.
“Yeah, right. You had to use a golf club to kill Carol Anne. You probably don’t even know how to use that gun.”
Someone yelled for Lila to drop her gun, but she pulled back the slide to chamber a round. It was the last thing she did. Her partner, Adam Hunter, fired twice and Lila fell to the ground just as the ambulance skidded to a stop.
“Over here,” Pauli said. “Start an IV and get him loaded.”
Joey looked at Pauli. “And the old man brought me here to protect her.”
Lila Crane lay on the ground blood pooling around her. Jess looked around. The stalker was gone. She looked to Detective Hunter. “Where’d he go?”
“Who?” His concentration was completely on his fellow officer.
Pauli looked at Detective Hunter, as he grabbed Jess by the elbow. “She needs stitches. You can meet her at Shawnee Mission to get her statement.” He pushed her into the ambulance behind Joey and followed her in.
“Don’t worry, Bro. You’re going to be fine. I’m pretty sure the asshole missed everything important, but I need to get you to the hospital to be sure.”
Jess pulled out her phone and called Lane. If Pauli was right about the incident being all over Twitter, then she’d better call her mother before Lane heard it from someone else.
“Mom? Can you meet me at Shawnee Mission? I’m all right. Joey was stabbed. Pauli’s with him. And Lila Crane is dead.”
“Jess, you aren’t making any sense. What are you talking about?”
Jess took a deep breath. “Just meet me at the ER, Mom. I’ll explain everything there. I’m okay, though, don’t worry.”
Chapter 19
wasn’t I just here
Lane walked through the maze of paparazzi, who weren’t allowed inside the hospital, and into the ER. Wasn’t it just two days ago that she was here?
Detective Adam Hunter approached her. “Mrs. Parker?”
She nodded, “Mrs. Bellini now. I’m here to see my daughter Jessica Parker.”
“I’ll take you.” He motioned for her to follow him down the hall.
“She said something about Joey being stabbed. Can you tell me what happened?” She was calm. No matter what emergency the kids had over the years, she was always calm – at least until it was over.
“I understand your daughter had been bothered by a stalker in L.A. and that the stalker followed her here. Apparently he was waiting for her and Mr. Bellini in the mall parking lot. He attacked them, stabbing Mr. Bellini.”
He stopped outside a curtained area. “Your daughter’s hand was cut, but she’s fine. When my partner and I arrived at the scene, the assailant was on the ground and your daughter was standing over him. Mr. Bellini was on the ground with his brother, the doctor attending to him. I’m still going to need statements from everyone, but go in.”
Lane thanked him and pulled the curtain back. Jess was sitting on the gurney holding her hand out, while the same doctor Lane had seen earlier in the week finished wrapping it.
“Hi, Mom.”
Lane smiled. “Hi yourself. Dr. Bohnam, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”
“I imagine not. I’ll leave you alone to talk,” the doctor replied.
Lane hugged her daughter and nodded toward Jess’s hand. “That doesn’t look fine to me.”
“No big deal. Just a couple of stitches. Joey’s in surgery.”
“Adam Hunter told me some of it, but why don’t you start at the beginning.”
“Joey and I were at the mall. I only grabbed a couple of things when I left L.A., and I needed clothes. When we came out, Joey was carrying the bags; and as we approached the car, the stalker was standing there. He called me Kit and started in by calling Kit, me, a slut. Joey stepped in front of me and told him not to call me names. That was when he stabbed Joey. Well, that really pissed me off, so I pushed the blade out of his hand, kneed him in the balls and slammed his head into my knee. I think I broke his nose.”
Lane laughed and shook her head. That was her daughter, always jumping into the fray. Thank God Ben had convinced her to enroll Jess in those self-defense classes years ago.
“Then Pauli showed up, and was taking care of Joey while I stood over the nut case. That’s when Detectives Hunter and Crane showed up.” Jess looked at her mother and gave a half smile. “The slime ball said I married Joey and I lost it. I said I didn’t get married, that you married Ben.”
Lane shook her head. “Let me guess, Lila didn’t like that.”
“Not at all. And I know it wasn’t my place, especially in front of the cameras, but I told her you’re having Ben’s baby. Mom, she killed Carol Anne, and she was going to kill me. Detective Hunter had to shoot her. The paparazzi were there. It’s all on film, so I imagine the cat’s pretty much out of the bag. It’ll be all over the news tonight.”
Lane looked at her watch. “I need to try to reach Ben.” As she pulled out her phone, it rang. “Ben?” He’d done it again, called her just as she was going to call him.
“Is Jess all right? It’s all over the internet.”
“She’s fine, but Joey’s in surgery. Apparently Paul showed up right after the stabbing.” She looked at Jess. “Where’s Paul? Is he in surgery with Joey?” Jess nodded. “She says Paul’s in surgery with Joey. We’ll go there and wait. Is your mother on her way here? You need to know that Jess announced my pregnancy to the media.”
Ben laughed. “Yeah, I saw that. Like I said it’s all over the internet. I’m on my way to see the judge to ask for a recess until morning. If I can’t get a recess, then Uncle Sal will take over here. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I love you.”
Ben knew he would have some fast talking to do when his mother got her hands on him. He’d allowed everyone to be in danger and his wife of less than 24 hours was pregnant. Mama wouldn’t have to wait to do the math.
The prosecution, Uncle Sal and Ben met the judge in chambers. Ben explained that he planned to finish presenting his case tomorrow and to his relief, the judge agreed to recess until 9:00 in the morning.
It was less than an hour later when Ben walked into the surgery waiting area. Both of his parents were there. They were talking Italian in low tones. Lane knew that Italians yelled when they were mad, maybe this was a good sign. She still had no idea what they were talking about and once again made a vow to order Rosetta Stone as soon as she got home.
Pauli came into the waiting area and they all sat down. “Joey’s fine. The stab wound was to his groin. It missed his femoral artery. Jess stopped the bleeding right away. He’ll have a scar, but it’s pretty small. He’ll be awake pretty soon.”
Mama was patting Pauli’s cheek and smiling at Ben. “Bella, come here.” Papa motioned to Lane and Jess. “We’ve seen the news. The little one was so brave.” Both Mama and Papa Bellini were hugging Jess. Mama patted Lane’s abdomen as she looked at Ben. “Un Nipote. I am so happy.” She pulled Lane into an embrace and kissed both her cheeks.
Jess smiled, yeah seventeen years ago you became a grandmother. She still needed to get DNA from Ben and Jamie.
Adam Hunter came into the waiting room and nodded to Ben. “I need to talk to Jess.”
Ben stepped next to him. “Questions or statement?”
“A little of both, I guess. A statement about the stabbing. Some questions about Lila. About the stalker, in the confusion with Lila, it seems he got away.”
Ben couldn’t believe his ears. “You let him get away? He stabbed my brother, he’s been following Jess around. He was caught and you let him get away?”
“He was the least of my worries at the time. I was busy shooting my partner and saving Jess’s life.”
Ben nodded. He’d seen that online too. “We can meet you at the station later if you want.”
Adam nodded. Both he and Ben knew that he’d be on desk duty or administrative leave as soon as IAD got their hands on things.
“Yeah. Meet me at the station. Call me when you know what time you’ll be there.” He handed Ben a card with his cell number. “I’ll need a statement from your brother too.”
Ben took the card and nodded. “Adam? Thanks for saving Jess.”
