“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. Spellman. But you do spin a fancy tale, don’t you? It is entertaining. Have you considered writing fiction? I think you’d be marvelous at that.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to say anything less, Mr. Cullen. But listen to my recommendation. Call off your team. Put an end to this now. And if you’re swift, who knows? You might still be able to jet out of the country before it’s too late. Mike Hines moves quickly, but even with your bum leg, which I’m sure slows you down, I bet the incentive of potential freedom could move you faster than you’re accustomed to moving. Knowing what’s coming your way, I’d highly recommend your leaving here while you can.”
When he hung up the phone, he immediately called Mike Hines.
“Mike,” he said. “Marty. Listen to me. Call LaGuardia and Kennedy. Ask them to be on full alert for James Cullen. I just confronted him. I think he’s been lying to us from the start. I suggested he get out of the country while he could. If he does, we’ve got our man.”
“He also could go by road. I’ll get an undercover car over there and see if he leaves the building. If he does, I’ll alert the state police. If he bolts, we’ll know.”
They hung up.
“I can’t be sure, but I think that was the voice,” Leana said.
“I figured as much.”
“I said I’m not sure.”
“I heard you. What did you think, Mario?”
“The tone was different, but the phrasing wasn’t. I’d say it was him.”
“What do we do now?” Leana asked.
“If I’m right, he’d be a fool to go forward with anything tonight. But we can’t rule that out, so nothing changes. Your security team remains on high alert. If he goes for the airport or takes off by road, Hines will intercept and let me know. Here are your next steps. If any of this happens, Leana will need to call her father and tell him what’s taken place and that his own security might be compromised. That’s all assuming that Cullen hasn’t called off the dogs. Will you do that?”
“Of course I will,” she said.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX
James Cullen picked up the phone, called Spocatti, and waited for him to answer. When he did, he told him about his conversation with Marty Spellman and asked for his best advice on what to do going forward.
“You go nowhere,” Spocatti said. “If you run, they’ll assume guilt.”
“Those were my thoughts.”
“Then at least your head is clear.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Have you called security?”
“I haven’t.”
“You should have done that first, but you’re using a satellite phone, so this is your lucky day, James. It’s untraceable. I want you to hang up now, call security, and tell them that you’ve been threatened. Call the police and tell them the same thing. Act shaken.”
“I am shaken.”
“Good, then you’ll come off well. Now, get off the phone with me.”
“Go forward with tonight,” James said. “Nothing derails this.”
“We’re prepared for tonight. We’re going through with it. Goodbye, James. Call me tomorrow afternoon on this phone, but only when you’re alone. Do not answer this phone unless you are alone. Understood?”
Before he could reply, the line went dead.
And James Cullen stood. He thought better on his foot. He leaned against his desk, went through everything in his mind, and decided yet again that there was nothing they could pin on him. He took a deep breath before calling security and then the police.
And then, within an hour, he was faced with a barrage of questions from those he least wanted to answer to.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN
The last time Leana got ready for a party that approached anything close to what she had planned for tonight, it was for the opening of the Redman International Building.
Celina was alive and drove most of it. Her mother also assisted, and Leana remembered her making certain everything met her high standards and expectations. At that point, her father was at the top of his game, but unaware of what was coming by way of Louis Ryan, who, over the course of four short weeks, changed their lives forever.
Leana was a different person then. Immature. Irresponsible. Angry. But now, as she sat in the salon off her master suite with Michel doing her hair and makeup, she realized with a sense of shame that so much of what she considered her misfortune came down to her own bad attitude. Not all of it was on her—her father’s dismissal of her certainly contributed—but a fair deal of it absolutely was on her.
When Michel finished, she went to her dressing room, dimmed the lights until they emulated what she had created at her hotel, and looked in the mirror. What she saw was exactly what she had envisioned for herself.
“I love it,” she said to Michel.
“It’s hard to go wrong with vintage Dior, Leana. And you were right about your hair. I wanted to do an updo, but taking the flat iron to it allows it to move beautifully when you walk. Everything about you is chic and slender. It works.”
“What did you do to my eyes?”
“I gave you a smoky eye and a pouty lip.”
“Really? That’s funny. I used to get those on the playground during recess, only they weren’t so skillfully done.” She winked at him in the mirror, and turned once more to face it. “The dress is so pretty. Thank you for getting it for me.”
“If Dior were still with us, he’d be thanking you.”
* * *
When Michel left, Leana took a moment to collect herself. This was it. At last, she was here. She was worried about how it would go. Would she be safe? She didn’t feel safe. She felt terrified about what tonight might bring, but she didn’t want Mario to be more concerned for her than he already was, so she was making an effort to be herself.
I have him, I have Sean, I have Sean’s team, I have Zack, I have Marty, and I have Anastassios. They’ll all be watching the crowd. They’ll take care of Michael and me. I need to trust them.
Before going to Mario, she felt she should do something. Perhaps because there was a last time for everything, and this might be it for her.
When her father called that morning, they smoothed things over between them. She apologized for her outburst at his meeting with the Japanese businessmen. Given the circumstances, he said that he understood. When they were finished, she felt as though they were back on track. Now, she wanted to hear his voice. If things didn’t go well tonight—for either of them—she knew she’d regret not calling him later.
“This is a surprise,” he said when she called.
“One of us has to check in on the other one, Dad.”
“Believe it or not, I was going to call you. I thought you’d be getting ready now, so I didn’t want to interrupt.”
She didn’t know whether to believe him, but it didn’t matter. Tonight was an unknown. It had the potential to change everything. She wasn’t about to go into the evening without reaching out to him. What if she lost him? What if he lost her? Either way, she had one thing to leave him with.
But not just yet.
“By now, your security team is in place,” she said. “You’ve vetted them, you’ve talked to them, and knowing you, you’ve given them a laundry list of orders.”
“As if you haven’t.”
She smiled at that. “Well, of course I have.”
“I thought so. Like father, like daughter.”
That caught her off guard. “How do you feel about your team?”
“Good. Not great. But not because of them. They’re actually very thorough and professional. And, yes, they take direction well. What I can’t get out of my head is what happened to us before, Leana.”
She was surprised that her father would open up to her like that, that he would reveal that he also was on edge and concerned. It wasn’t like him. “You’ll have someone with you all night?”
“All night. So, will Pepper.”
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Leana bit her tongue. She couldn’t reveal what she knew about Pepper. Or what she thought she knew. Until the facts were in, she couldn’t share them with her father. If she couldn’t back them up with proof, he’d just challenge her and defend Pepper, which she couldn’t bear. So, it was best to move forward and say nothing.
“Please be careful tonight,” she said.
“I appreciate that.”
“I mean it.”
“And I mean the same. It won’t happen again. Last time we had security, but nothing like what we have tonight. Even if someone does try something, we should be reasonably well-protected.”
“I agree.” But she didn’t, regardless of how good Sean and his team were. She had had a premonition about tonight, and it haunted her.
“You’ve had a tough day,” he said. “How are you doing?”
“I’ve been better. Today was rough.”
“I’ve been thinking about you.”
“I’m glad that you called this morning. That meant a lot. Mom also called.”
He didn’t respond to that, but Leana understood why, and she couldn’t blame him. Much of his marriage had been a lie. Her mother had kept critical, damning information from him. He had a right to feel betrayed by her, even though Leana was nevertheless happy to hear her mother’s voice. Life was too short. It’s why she chose to call him now. Telling him this was something she had to do.
“You know I love you, don’t you, Dad?”
He went quiet. For a long moment, he said nothing, and she wasn’t sure why.
She decided she didn’t care.
“Tell me you know that.”
“My question is, why?”
“Let’s not rehash the past. I think we’ve done enough of that. Or, at least, I have.”
“Working with you on the Columbus Circle project showed me just how much I screwed up. And now you tell me that you love me. It should be me telling you how much I love you, which I do.”
“Well,” she said, refusing to give in to her emotions because doing so would just ruin her for tonight. “Who knew? Look at us.”
“Leana, I want you to be happy.”
“Despite the past four weeks, I am happy.”
“I want you to be happy with Mario. I want you to be able to trust him.”
“I trust him with my life. And I love him more than you know.”
“He’s good to you?”
“He’s better than good to me. He’s my rock. What you need to know is that he’s happy his family is in jail. He wants them all there. He wants his father to die there after what he did to me. What does that tell you about him? He is not one of them. He loves me more than I’ve ever been loved. I’m beyond lucky to have him as a husband. He’s my world.”
“I used to think that way about your mother.”
“This isn’t the same situation.”
“That’s not what I meant. I was just remembering how it used to be with her. Things were good when I was still in the dark. I think she loved me. I remember that feeling of being loved.”
She didn’t know what to say to that, so she let it pass. “Have a good opening,” she said. “We probably should be leaving soon. Mom always used to get angry with me because I was always intentionally late.”
“I think you’re a different person now.”
“Maybe.”
“You are. And I’m proud of you. And so is your mother. And Harold would have been proud of you. And I know Celina would have been too. We all are.”
“Have a fun party, and try your best to keep Pepper in line.”
“I don’t think that’s possible.”
“Feel free to use a whip.”
“She’d probably turn it on me.”
She laughed at that and told him that she loved him again, but when she ended their conversation, she felt a sense of finality that was foreboding.
* * *
She went to Mario, who had promised not to steal a look at her until she came to him. He was in the library enjoying a glass of Scotch when she stepped into the room and cleared her throat.
He turned to her.
“Look at you,” she said.
“I’m supposed to say that,” he said. “You look amazing, Leana. Perfect.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself. That tux fits you like a glove.”
“I could say the same about your dress.”
He put his Scotch on a side table, walked over and pressed his cheek against hers. “I want to kiss you; I want to put my hands all over you, but you’d kill me if I did either, so I’ll behave.”
“You’re right,” she said, kissing him back. “What you see before you now didn’t happen naturally. It’s all an illusion.” She drew a circle around her face. “This right here? This isn’t real. And let me tell you something about Spanx. I’m convinced a sadist made it. I’ll be lucky if I can get a chicken wing in me.”
“You’re not serving chicken wings.”
“A girl can dream.”
“Have you been in touch with Sean?”
“I have. He and his team are ready. He brought in twenty extra people, most of whom will be wearing black tie. The idea is for them to move through the crowd and eavesdrop on the conversations. He’s had success with that method before.”
“How’s Michael?”
“Nervous. He knows that your father wouldn’t target him. He’s aware that there’s another threat.”
“Did you tell him that Marty suspects Louis Ryan?”
She shook her head. “That would only confuse him. What’s important is that he knows that there is another threat, that we’ve beefed up security, and that he knows that he will be flanked by three trained guards who will protect him.”
“You have the pepper spray I bought for you in your clutch?”
“I do. Part of me wishes it was a pepperbox, not that I’d know how to use it. Point and shoot, I guess.”
“You’ll have your share of protection tonight, including me and Sean. You won’t ever be left alone. If the crowd is too tight and you sense that you’re being separated from either of us by the crush, I need you to stop and let Sean or me get back over to you. Agreed?”
“Agreed. I’m not screwing around tonight. Despite all of Sean’s efforts, I know what could happen.”
“How long is your speech?”
“Three minutes, give or take. Short enough?”
“That should work. The shorter the better.”
She looked at her watch. “We should go. I want to be there at least two hours early to go over everything with Zack. He’s probably a wreck right now.”
“Are you joking?” Mario said. “Zack is in his element. This business is in his blood. He’s probably having the time of his life.”
CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT
“It doesn’t go there,” Pepper Redman said to one of the decorators. “It goes here. See? Like this. And do you see why I cut the stems so the flowers sit so low? It’s so people can talk to each other easily across the table without the flowers getting in the way. Every table should look like this table, but they don’t. You’re a professional. Why you don’t know that at this point is beyond me, but you’ve got time to fix the rest, so fix them. Cut the stems, bring the height down, place the vase correctly, and move on to the next table. Do it quickly—we’re opening soon. But don’t you dare fuck it up, or I’ll have your ass. Understood?”
“Yes, Miss Redman.”
She glared up at him. “If you understand, then why are you still standing here? Move.”
Pepper watched the man hurry off to the next table, scissors in hand, and waited for him to do as he was told. Only when he got it precisely right did she turn to Parker, who was standing beside her, his face slightly flushed.
“I’ve never seen you like that,” he said. “You were pretty harsh on him.”
“Really? I thought he got off easy. This isn’t exactly the opening of Aunt Mama’s Chick’N’Leg.”
“Isn’t t
hat a chain in the South?”
She waved her hand dismissively. “I wouldn’t know. What I do know is that I’ll receive their bill tomorrow, and it will be substantial. I’m not paying for a crap job on what’s one of the biggest nights of my life. They’ll get it right if it kills me.” She looked around the room. “What do you think?”
“I don’t think I’m qualified to answer. But because you’re so tense, what I am qualified to do is slap you hard across your ass and get you in line.”
“Parker,” she said. “There’s a time and a place for that, which isn’t here. OK? Oh, please. Don’t look so wounded. I know you were only joking. Or I hope you were. I have a feeling that after tonight, I’m going to want you to beat my ass sideways and screw me senseless, but right now, I need to focus. You know, like that right over there. Look what he’s doing. Why, why, why won’t he listen to me? I’ve asked him three times not to turn up the fucking lights. People want to look young again. Lighting is an illusion, lighting is critical, lighting must be sensitive, and that man, probably because he has one foot in the grave and is chockablock full of cataracts, keeps turning up the lights because he thinks they’re too dim. I need to deal with him now. Come with me. Jesus! Hands off the goddamned lights!”
“You’re a piece of work, Pepper.”
“Oh, stop it.”
“And looking at your ass right now in that dress? I can’t wait to get my hands on it. You’ll see. You’ll be crying for me to stop.”
And Pepper, as tense and overwhelmed as she was, couldn’t help a giggle.
Park Avenue (Book Six in the Fifth Avenue Series) Page 37