Star

by Steel, Danielle

  I told her that. I'm going to see who I can find to defend her.

  You can do that from here. Her voice was tight as she stubbed out the cigarette.

  But Spencer shook his head. No, I can't. And he knew he had to be there. Just to see her. She had called him in desperation, and he wasn't going to let her down. It was his one chance to help her. Her life was on the line, and no matter what it took, he was willing to do anything for her, even defend the case himself if he had to. I'm leaving tomorrow morning.

  I wouldn't do that if I were you. There was a thinly veiled threat in her voice as she looked at him. But he was immovable on the subject.

  I have to.

  Her voice was strangely calm. If you go, I'll divorce you. It was what he had wanted a year before, and now she was offering it as a threat. But no matter what she did or said, Spencer knew he was going.

  I'm sorry to hear that,

  Are you? She was every moment more frigid. It's what you wanted anyway. And what about Miss Wyatt? The name was etched in her mind forever. How would she feel about that?

  The only thing she feels right now, Elizabeth, is terror. His palms were damp as he faced his wife. They had finally reached the turning point. And it had been a long time coming. I don't know how long I'll be gone.

  I meant what I said, I don't want to be publicly embarrassed by you making an ass of yourself out there.

  We can talk about it when I get back. The divorce was no longer as crucial.

  I don't think so, Spencer. You'd better give it some serious thought before you go. The silence in the room was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. I get the feeling you're developing political aspirations, and a divorce won't help you much in that direction.

  That sounds like blackmail.

  Call it what you like. It's something to think about, isn't it?

  I don't have any choice. He ran his hands through his hair, and there was silver at the temples. He was thirty-five, and he had been in love with Crystal for eight years, and now she needed him. He wasn't going to let her down, no matter what Elizabeth did to him, or threatened. Elizabeth ' she needs me.

  Are you in love with her? But she knew from the look in his eyes that it was a foolish question.

  I was. For the first time, he was honest with her. It was too late not to be. Their marriage had been a mistake from the start. He had never stopped wanting what they didn't have. What he had had all too briefly with Crystal.

  And now?

  I don't know. I haven't seen her in a long time. But that's not why I'm going. I'm going because she has no one else to turn to.

  How touching. Elizabeth stood up and walked to the stairs that led to their bedroom. Think about what I said. Before you go. I suggest you call another attorney for her.

  But when she was gone, he called the airline and made reservations. He walked upstairs slowly, wondering what would happen to them. But they weren't important now. All that mattered to him was saving Crystal. This was nothing to fool around with. Her life was on the line. But at least she was rid of Ernesto Salvatore. But at what price. He knew she could get the death penalty, or at the very least, a life sentence.

  He went upstairs and packed his things, and called his boss to tell him that he had to go to California on a personal matter. He was understanding, and Spencer said he'd call as soon as he knew where things stood, and then he walked into the bedroom, and saw Elizabeth quietly reading the paper. She glanced up at him with a strange look, and as he looked at the newspaper, he saw that she was reading the story of Ernie's murder, and just above it there was a huge publicity photograph of Crystal. She looked far less beautiful than she really was, but she looked striking anyway, in a big hat, and a low-cut dress, and her long pale hair fanned out across her shoulders. Her eyes looked straight out at you, and after a long moment, Elizabeth looked up. There was a strange look on her face. She had seen those eyes before, and she remembered her perfectly as she looked straight at Spencer.

  It's the girl in the nightclub, isn't it? She had remembered her. It was part of Crystal's appeal. Once one saw her, one never forgot her. And he nodded slowly. The truth was out now. He had lied to her about Crystal right at the beginning, but that had been when he was still telling himself he was in love with Elizabeth Barclay. He nodded slowly as he looked at her, feeling sorrow and regret and guilt. But the marriage had been wrong from the start, and they both knew it. Funny, Elizabeth mused, I always thought she was the one. I still remember your face that night. You looked as though you had been hit by lightning.

  He smiled then. They were exactly the words he had used so long ago, talking about what he wanted. He had been thinking about her even then, when he had said to Elizabeth in Palm Beach that he wanted to hear thunder and lightning.

  You're going? She eyed him again.

  Yes.

  She nodded and turned off the light. And as he lay in bed beside her, all he could think of that night was Crystal in jail in California.

  The gate opened inexorably, with a hideous clanking sound and he was led into a small room with a large window, a battered wooden table and two chairs, and the guard locked the door behind him as he left him. It was a terrifying feeling just being there, and he was momentarily stunned into silence when Crystal was led in, in a blue smock, her arms behind her, locked in handcuffs. Her eyes were wide with terror as she looked at him, and his heart almost broke as they turned the key, freed her hands, and then left her with him. But as her attorney, he didn't even dare to kiss her. All he could do was look at her and feel the same surge of love he had always felt for her, and as her eyes met his, he didn't doubt for a minute that she loved him. The past year seemed to melt away, and he felt powerful beside her.

  But he also suspected that the room was bugged and he kept his voice low as he looked at her, and reached for her hand, without telling her any of what he was feeling. She clung tightly to him and her eyes filled with tears. She had missed him so much, and the last year had been a nightmare.

  Are you all right?

  She nodded and sat down, still holding on to him, and he waited a few minutes before asking her any questions. They went over everything, and he was horrified by the story. Salvatore had kept her like a slave, well protected, in the proverbial gilded cage, but she had been his prisoner in recent months and she could only do what he allowed her to. The movies, the parties, the public appearances, the outings. The rest of the time he kept her at home, under careful supervision. And she had fought constantly with him about it. She posed no real threat. There had been no other man in her life since Spencer.

  Did anyone ever see you fight?

  The maids, she nodded. The chauffeur.

  Any of his friends?

  Some. He took most of them to Malibu. He kept his own doings to himself. And she also suspected he saw other women. He had abused her sexually several times in recent months, and given her a black eye that forced her to stay off a movie set for two weeks, and word of it had hit the papers. They had said she had an accident, and her face was too bruised for her to work. She had worked on the sound track instead, now that she had started singing in her movies.

  Spencer looked agonized at the tale. Why didn't you call me?

  He told me he'd kill you if I ever called you again. He knew who you were that time when he saw you. That's why ' she hesitated, I called you last year and told you it was over. I was afraid for you. She looked at him sadly, knowing the pain she had caused, but his heart soared. She had loved him then, and she had ended it to protect him. His eyes were warm as he smiled at her then and she told him that Ernie had threatened to kill her, too, more than once, particularly recently when she fought him constantly about her contract. All the money went to him. Everything. All I got was money to buy clothes, like a prostitute with a pimp, but Spencer didn't say that, he just sat and listened, and took notes when she said something he thought was important. He asked her about dates and events and people and places. It had been a terrib
le time for her, a life built on nightmares. I used to think I owed him so much. I never understood then what he was doing. She looked up into Spencer's eyes and his heart melted again as he listened. Even more so now that he knew why she had told him not to come back to California. I guess he always thought he owned me. I was )v-ot an object to him. Something he'd bought cheap and made a lot of money from, like a good investment. And at first he always let me think he was doing everything for me. She looked at Spencer bitterly. I used to feel that I owed him something. But he took everything I had to give, even you. Spencer remembered it only too clearly.

  And then what?

  We had a lot of fights.

  Publicly?

  Sometimes. She was honest with him. I told Hedda once that I was going to break my contract, and find an agent. He almost killed me for that. I think maybe someone else was in on the deal with him, and he was afraid of their reaction. But I never knew, because I never saw my contract again, and I was too stupid to read it the day I signed it. She had even lost touch with Harry and Pearl. Eventually, Salvatore had cut her off from everyone. She was only allowed out to work, and she was getting bigger and better pictures. His investment had done well. Like a prize-winning racehorse '

  Did you have a fight with him the night he died?

  Just the one on the beach I told you about. But that time I hit him back. Hard. I think his ear was bleeding when I went back to the house, but I didn't give a damn. I hated him, Spencer. He was an evil man, and I think he really would have killed me.

  Did anyone see him bleeding? Or see you hit him?

  A neighbor, I think. He was walking his dog on the beach. And he told the police he had seen me attack Ernie with a stick. But I didn't, I had a piece of driftwood in one hand, and I hit him with the other one. Spencer nodded and made a note, listening to her as a guard walked by the window.

  And then what?

  I went back to the house, and when he came in he hit me.

  Did it leave a mark?

  She shook her head. No, not this time. Most of the time he was careful about that. He didn't want to put me out of work. If I were out of work he and his friends might have lost money.

  Who were they? Do you know? But she only shook her head. Then what happened? He was building the story, carefully. He wanted accurate details when he called an attorney to defend her. He wanted the best there was and it worried him that he had never handled a criminal case before. She needed a lot better than that. And he was going to get her the best.

  Crystal sighed and blew her nose on the clean white handkerchief he offered, and she looked up at him gratefully, and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and tried to remember. I don't know ' I walked around in the house ' we argued for a long time. I broke a lamp.

  How?

  I threw it at him.

  Did it hit him?

  No, she smiled ruefully through her tears, it missed. And then the smile faded. And then he told me he was expecting someone and he wanted me to go back to the house in Beverly Hills.

  Did he say who?

  She shook her head. He never did.

  Did anyone see you leave? ' a neighbor? A servant?

  There was no one there. We were alone.

  What time did you go?

  About eight o'clock. I had to be at work the next day. I'd had the day off. But I wanted to get to bed. He said he would spend the night in Malibu. And then ' I never heard from him again. I thought everything was okay. I left for work at five, the driver took me as usual. She choked on the words then. And the police came to the set at nine ' they said ' they said he was dead. He had been found with five gunshot wounds in his head, and they thought he had died around midnight.

  Did they find the gun?

  She nodded again, looking frightened. Yes ' it was washed up on the beach. Someone had tried to get rid of it, but they hadn't thrown it far enough, I guess ' and there were a woman's footprints on the beach ' and Spencer ' She began to sob. I swear I didn't kill him.

  He squeezed her hands in his own. Had you ever seen the gun before?

  She nodded. It was Ernie's. I saw it in his desk a couple of times, but I think eventually he was afraid I'd use it, and I never saw it after that, until ' until the police showed it to me yesterday morning.

  Isn't there anyone else you know of who could have had it in for him?

  I don't know ' I don't know ' She had certainly had ample provocation over the past year, but Spencer knew that didn't mean she had killed him. And with the kind of connections he suspected Salvatore had, it could have been anyone. Someone he'd burned in a deal, a woman he had dumped, a man he had cheated at cards, an underling who hated him, or even his bosses. But Spencer also knew that whoever it was, if they were part of any underworld, it would all be carefully covered up, and the real killer would never be discovered. They had left Crystal to take the rap. And the noose fitted around her neck to perfection.

  Her voice was a whisper in the ugly room. What do you think will happen?

  He hated to answer her question. If they didn't get her off, she could get life, or worse. He didn't even want to think about it. All he knew was that he couldn't let that happen. I won't lie to you. It's going to be a tough case. You had the opportunity and the motive, and no alibi. That's a stinking combination. And too many people knew about your troubles with him, hell, anyone would have hated the man. I only wish someone had seen you leave that night, or arrive at the house in Beverly Hills. Are you sure no one did?

  I don't think so. I can't imagine who.

  Well, give it some thought. And we're going to need a hell of a good investigator on this case. He had already decided to pay for all of it. He knew she didn't have a dime. Salvatore had kept everything from her.

  What are you going to do now? She looked at him with frightened eyes. She had to go back to her cell, and it terrified her. All the guards had stared at her, and several female inmates had shown considerable interest in their little movie star, as they called her. Crystal Wyatt was big news in the L.A. jail, and Spencer wanted to get her out as soon as possible. But all his attempts to stand bail for her that afternoon were fruitless. He tried to get the charges reduced to manslaughter, but they called it murder one, and she would have to stay in jail until the trial. She just had to try her best to hold on, he told her, and then he went back to the hotel to make a dozen phone calls. He called two friends from law school, and was given the names of the best criminal lawyers in L.A. But most of them weren't anxious for the case, it sounded open-and-shut to them, and more than one of them implied that a mobster and his babe were just a little too sleazy. He was furious by the time he hung up, and he stood staring around the room. The decision had been made for him, he wouldn't have trusted her to any of them. He was going to take the case himself, he only prayed he would do her justice. They had everything at stake. Her life and their future.

  And that night he called Elizabeth and the government office where he worked, and told them he was staying for the trial. His boss was less than pleased, and Elizabeth was furious. He remembered all too clearly the threats she'd made before he left, but none of that mattered now. Crystal's life was on the line, and he was determined to defend it.

  And just exactly how long will that be, Spencer? she had asked him when he told her he had become the attorney-of-record.

  I don't know yet. She has a right to come to trial in thirty days, and the trial could take weeks. I think I'm here for at least two months, maybe longer. He sighed and stretched out on the couch as they talked. It had been an endless day, and other than getting Crystal's story from her, he had gotten nowhere.

  But Elizabeth was furious over the length of time he was planning to stay in California. I don't imagine you're planning to come home for Christmas. It was only a month away, and as usual, they were supposed to go to Palm Beach with her parents.

  I didn't think I was still welcome.

  You aren't, but what the hell do you think I'm going to tell my p
arents? So that was it. Saving face was still desperately important, rather than saving the marriage. But they had no marriage to save and now he knew the truth about Crystal.

  I don't think you'll have to tell them anything. It's going to be all over the papers for months. Several reporters had flashed his picture when he left the jail, and he expected to see himself in the papers by the next morning.

  Terrific. And your job? I don't suppose you've thought of that. Her father had gotten him that too. It would seem as though he owed him everything, including his daughter.

  I told them I had to take a leave of absence, the government will still be there when I get back, and if they fire me, that's the way it is. I'll have to look for something when I get back, won't I? If he ever went back. But all of that would have to be sorted out later.

  You make it all sound very easy.

  Well, it's not. But I'm trying to make the best of a bad situation. The girl's life is in jeopardy, Elizabeth. And I'm not going to turn my back on her.

  I can see why, she hesitated and he sighed, she might kill you.

  Good night, Elizabeth. I'll call you in a few days.

  Don't. I'll be at school, and I'm going skiing with friends next weekend. And then I'm going to spend Thanksgiving with my parents.

  Give them my love. He was only being half sarcastic but she wasn't amused. He had gone too far, and she had almost decided not to let him come back, even if he wanted to when it was over.

  Go to hell.

  Thank you. At least there he might join Crystal.

  He spent days working with her, checking out her story, grilling her and regrilling her, but it was always the same, and by the third day, he knew he believed her. He appeared at several hearings for her, and hired an investigator to check it all out, but it was just what she had said, no one had seen her come and go, and the only witness there was said she had hit him with a stick on the beach, and he even went so far as to say she seemed unmoved when she saw him bleeding. It wasn't a pretty picture for her, none of it. And there was no getting away from the fact that she had had both opportunity and motive, and she couldn't prove her whereabouts the night of the murder.