Crown Jewel

by Fern Michaels

  Roxy doubled over laughing when she heard the phone disconnect in her ear. How politically incorrect!

  His head pounded. He wasn’t sure if it was from all the cognac he’d consumed the night before or if it was from fear. Fear, he decided. Fear that he was going to see his hopes and dreams going to hell. All because of one mistake.

  He cringed when he remembered what he’d heard on the twenty-four-hour news channel earlier. So far the press were parsing their words rather carefully. The innuendos, the sly digs were there with only a thin veneer covering the hard words. The tabloids were going hunting, the legitimate press, along with his political enemies, would join the fray shortly. That was a given.

  Buck Grisham had warned him once that his cocky attitude would be his undoing. The phone rang. He stopped his frantic pacing to stare at it. “Adam Nolan,” he said.

  “This is Ricky Lam, Mr. Vice President. I’m returning your call.”

  The vice president didn’t think about his words, he just blurted out what came into his head. “What in the damn hell did I ever do to you to warrant this attack on me and the office I hold? What’s all this claptrap I’m hearing on every news channel? You can tell all your pretty studio people I’m going to be suing them as well as you. How dare you tarnish the office I hold and my reputation!” He banged his fist on the table to drive home his point before he realized Lam couldn’t see what he was doing.

  “Everybody in this life has to do what they have to do, Mr. Vice President. I returned your phone call as a courtesy, and to tell you I never discuss personal business on the phone. I’m leaving for Antigua in an hour. If you want to talk to me, that’s where I’ll be, Mr. Vice President.”

  “Don’t you hang up on me you…you…you movie star. You’re talking to the vice president of the United States!” Too late. The phone pinged in his ear. Frustrated, he slammed his cell phone down on his desk.

  Nolan beeped the head of his Secret Service detail, who came on the run. “I want to go to Antigua today. Do what you have to do, and I don’t want to hear scheduling excuses either. I’m the vice president. I can do what I damn well please.”

  After speaking to his press secretary, informing her he was taking a short two-day vacation in Antigua, he called the head of his private security staff. He cleared his throat, trying to sound like the forceful vice president he was supposed to be. “Carmody, I’m going to Antigua, Ellen has the details. I want you to take care of something for me, and I want it taken care of ASAP. There’s a reporter named Grace Lick who writes for the L.A. Times. She’s stirring up trouble. All those trashy Hollywood people crawl out from under rocks. I want you to keep her away from the media for a few days, and I don’t want to read about it in the papers. I will not tolerate any excuses in this matter. Just so we’re clear. Take care of it, Carmody.”

  He bellowed for the housekeeper. “Do you go to the movies, Melba?” he asked, when she appeared in the dining room doorway.

  “On occasion, sir.”

  “Do you like that movie star, Ricky Lam?”

  “Yes, sir, I do. My husband and I have seen all his films. My favorite was, Noon Magic. He doesn’t make movies anymore. He retired at the height of his career. I guess that was a good career move on his part. Going out while you’re still on top, that kind of thing.”

  “Why would he do something like that? Movie stars are addicted to seeing themselves on the big screen and television as well.”

  “I think Mr. Lam’s situation was a little different. His brother was killed during a freak accident when they were filming the last scene of the movie he was working on.”

  Adam Nolan sat down on the closest chair with a loud thump. “Killed! His brother died! You mean he’s dead?”

  “Yes, sir. It was in all the papers and on the news at the time. Mr. Lam just walked away from Hollywood. Is there anything else, sir?”

  “No. On second thought, yes, I’d like some more coffee.” Coffee was the last thing he wanted.

  The brother is dead! Then what the hell is this all about? Suddenly his shoulders felt lighter. Dead was dead. All along he’d been thinking his illegitimate son was going to appear, and say, “Hi, Pop, remember me?” He did some fast calculations in his head. That meant the brother, never my son, had been dead for six months. What the hell was all the fuss about? He could feel his shoulders straighten. He could make this all go away. He was almost positive he could do that. The absence of a living, breathing body to stare him in the face bolstered his confidence. All he had to do was get a bead on it, and intimidation would do the rest.

  “Carnival never ceases to amaze me,” Roxy said as she eyed the colorful dress the island visitors were wearing. “Where do these vendors come from? It’s like they spring up out of nowhere. In your life you will never see so much food. Your brother hated Carnival and always made sure he left before it started.”

  “It’s so…frantic,” Ricky said, as his eyes searched for his son.

  “This is nothing. Wait until the last few days. No one sleeps. It’s nonstop partying for four days. For some reason, I thought you’d been here for Carnival. Our guests love it. The steel bands are really worth seeing and hearing. The Calypsonians and the Deejays start it off with the opening at Carnival City at the Antigua Recreation Ground in St. John’s. Almost all of the special events are scheduled there. We had to run a jitney on the half hour to accommodate our guests. Around the clock. It’s just a smaller version of Mardi Gras. Oooh, there’s Max! Yoo-hoo, sweetie! We’re over here!”

  He looks happy, Ricky thought. He said so to Roxy.

  She laughed. “He’s in love.” She squeezed his hand. He squeezed back.

  “It’s a zoo!” Max shouted. “It’s like this everywhere. Follow me.”

  In the car, headed for the resort, Max turned to face his father. “I heard on the news that the vice president is arriving late today. I lost all security that I had. Local law enforcement commandeered everyone working privately in security on the island. We’re okay, we got it covered. There’s a big push for the American flag, though. I guess you got the veep on the run, Ricky. The news said the vice president hasn’t taken a vacation in six years, and this is his first. He wanted to experience Carnival. We all know it’s bullshit, but it is what they’re saying.”

  “How are your special guests?” Ricky asked.

  “They are having the time of their lives. Lorraine, she told me to call her that, and her daughter-in-law are great friends. The girls met some young people, and they’re palling around. Ted is watching over them. They understand what’s at stake here, so they’re being cooperative. Like I said, I got it covered. Tyler runs interference. I’m just sorry I can’t be spending more time with Gracie.”

  “Well, we’re here now. Spend some time with her. Roxy and I can fill in for you. Don’t you get a headache from all of this?”

  Max laughed. “I have a headache from day one till the last day. Do we have a game plan or what?”

  “I have to work on that. Did the news say where the vice president was staying?” Ricky asked.

  “In a private home as someone’s guest. They didn’t elaborate. The locals are pretty pissed that he chose this time to visit. It’s all they can do to handle the revelers. The arrival of the vice president only adds to their troubles. They’re being decent about it, though. Good PR for Antigua.” Max looked into the rearview mirror. “You’re lookin’ good, Roxy.”

  “Well, thank you. How’s Gracie looking?”

  Ricky and Roxy watched Max’s neck turn pink. “Real good.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Max swerved up along the winding road that led to the resort. “Whew, I’m glad I don’t have to fight that zoo on a regular basis. Why don’t you two freshen up. I’ll collect everyone and meet you on the Calypso Deck. How does an hour sound? Just for the record, we’re at one hundred percent occupancy. Tyler is bunking in with me.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Ricky said, helping Roxy out of the car. He watched wi
th pride when the staff rushed up to her to either hug her, shake her hand, or kiss her cheek. She took time for all of them, asking about their well-being, their families, and whatever else she could think of. “We’re just guests this time around. I expect you all to wait on us hand and foot. No slacking, now,” she joked.

  “All right. Let’s hit those showers. We’ll see you in a bit,” Ricky said as he clapped his hand on his son’s back. “Monitor any calls that come in for me, Max.”

  “Gotcha.”

  They could have posed as mother, daughter, and family, Ricky thought as he walked out onto the Calypso Deck, where Lorraine Farquar, her daughter-in-law, and granddaughters sat waiting for him.

  “You go ahead, Ricky,” Roxy said. “I’ll join you later. I want to walk around and talk to people. I don’t want them to think I’m ignoring them. I made a lot of friends in the years I worked here.”

  “Take your time.” Ricky kissed her lightly on the cheek, not caring who saw him. He watched her as she walked away, her hips wiggling provocatively. She looked back over her shoulder and winked. He grinned, then laughed out loud, again not caring who saw or heard him.

  On the Calypso Deck, Ricky impulsively leaned down and kissed Lorraine Farquar’s cheek before he shook hands with Lee Ann. He eyed the three sisters and grinned. “You don’t want to be here, do you?” They blushed as one. “Go on, have some fun. Us old folks will sit here and discuss your sunburns.” He smiled as they scrambled from their chairs and ran off to do whatever it was his appearance had interrupted.

  “It’s nice to see you again, Ricky. There are no words to thank you. One moment my life was turned upside down, and, before I knew it, it turned right-side up again. I called my housekeeper to see if there were any messages. Adam Nolan called twice and wants me to call him. Of course I didn’t. I didn’t tell the housekeeper where I was either.”

  Ricky nodded. “My son told me he heard on the news that the vice president is arriving sometime this evening. He called me several times. I returned his call but wouldn’t discuss matters with him. The fact that he’s coming here tells me he is very worried.”

  “What…what are we going to say when we meet with him?”

  Ricky smiled. “I know exactly what I’m going to say. I think you should say whatever you want. All the things you’ve always wanted to say that you bottled up. My press agent,” he said, referring to Gracie Lick, “put the spin out before she left to come here. It’s not going to go away. There’s no way he can defend himself. My thinking, and I could be wrong, is that he’s going to try to get us to issue some kind of statement saying this is just Hollywood hype to ratchet up interest in a movie I’m making. That is not going to happen. We’re on our own turf here and not inside the Beltway.”

  Ricky looked up when he heard the sound of running feet and heard his name being called. He turned around, curious. “Max! What’s wrong?”

  “Dad, I need you right now! Hurry up! Tyler will stay with the ladies.”

  Did he hear correctly? Dad, I need you right now! Dad!

  “Go, go,” Lorraine Farquar said. “Do what your son wants.”

  “Can’t you go any faster?” Max said, running down the hall, calling over his shoulder. “Pick up your feet!”

  “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me the vice president arrived and you slugged him!”

  “It’s worse than that,” he said, throwing the door open to his suite of rooms. Ricky gawked, his eyes almost popping out of his head.

  “Gracie!”

  “She fell asleep in the sun. She’s frozen in that position. I called a doctor, but with Carnival, who the hell knows when he’ll get here. We have to do something!”

  “Go find Roxy. Bring Mrs. Farquar and Lee Ann up here. Now, Max!”

  “Ah, Gracie, this was supposed to be a fun vacation for you. We’ll…we’ll do something. Didn’t anyone warn you about the sun here? It’s all right, don’t talk.”

  “I feel like my skin is stretched too tight,” Gracie said through clenched teeth. “I had on a thirty-five sunblock. I feel like I’m on fire.” She started to cry.

  Roxy raced through the door. She gaped at Gracie before she turned to Max and Ricky. “Leave us alone. I know what to do. Go find a damn doctor,” she hissed to Max.

  Lorraine Farquar and Lee Ann Oliver entered the room just as Ricky and Max were leaving.

  “It’s bad, isn’t it?” Gracie whimpered.

  “There, there, dear, nothing is as bad as it seems,” Lorraine said soothingly. “Tea bags, lots and lots of tea bags in tepid water. It’s the same principle as biting down on a tea bag after you have a tooth pulled. It’s the tannin in the tea. I think it has medicinal properties.”

  “I always used vinegar on my girls when they got bad sunburns. It takes the heat out of the burn,” Lee Ann said.

  “I always used Noxzema because it felt cool,” Roxy said. “Aloe first, though, for the healing properties.

  “Gracie, hold tight, okay? I’m going down to the kitchen to get everything. We’ll stand her up in the tub and…and drizzle the tea bag water over her. Then we’ll drizzle the vinegar and then pat her down with the aloe. How does that sound?”

  “Like a plan,” Lee Ann said. Lorraine nodded.

  Roxy kicked off her high-heeled sandals and ran out of the room.

  Max and Ricky dogged her every step, demanding to know what she was doing and why she was doing it. “Will one of you just find a damn doctor! I can’t believe one isn’t staying here. We always have doctors staying here. Move! Both of you! Do I have to do everything?”

  “No, ma’am,” Max said smartly. “Is she going to be all right?”

  “Of course she’s going to be all right. I just don’t know when that will be. You’re still standing here. When I give you an order, you hop to it, mister. That goes for you, too, Ricky!”

  If they’d had tails, they would have been between their legs when they retreated from the kitchen. “She’s going to be okay, isn’t she, Dad?”

  Dad. There it was, the magic word he never thought he would hear. And he’d heard it twice. “Roxy wouldn’t lie about something like that, Max. Let’s check the computer to see if there’s a doctor staying here.”

  Five minutes later, Max whooped with pleasure. “Dr. Carlyle Byrd from Marietta, Georgia, is staying on the fourth floor with his wife and his wife’s sister. I have no idea what kind of doctor he is. He might be a Ph.D. for all I know. I can almost guarantee they aren’t in their rooms. I’ll ring both and leave a message on the voice mail. We can also have him paged in case they’re at the pool, gym, or one of the bars.”

  Ricky looked at his son’s shaking hands. “Let me do it, Max. Go ahead, but they aren’t going to let you in the room. I’ll be up as soon as I finish here.”

  “This must be like having a baby where the father can’t do anything but pace the floor,” Max said morosely. “I want to do something.”

  Ricky left instructions for the desk clerk if Dr. Byrd called in from the page or returned to the hotel. He sighed. Life certainly was strange. He wrapped his arm around his son’s shoulder and walked him down the hall. He could feel Max leaning against him. It was a nice feeling. A real nice feeling.

  20

  It was after ten o’clock when Gracie Lick fell asleep. Dr. Carlyle Byrd, a pudgy, balding man with shell-rimmed glasses, looked around at the worried faces staring at him. “She’s going to be fine. Uncomfortable, but fine. You acted quickly, and that helped a lot. I’ll check on her first thing in the morning. She should sleep through the night with the shot I gave her.”

  Dr. Byrd looked at Ricky. “Do you think you could find me some transportation into St. John’s? I’m a steel band aficionado. I had to do months of sweet-talking to get my wife to come here. I don’t want her to start harping on me. She wanted to go to Hawaii.”

  “Absolutely, Dr. Byrd, I’ll take you myself. Your stay is on the house.”

  The doctor beamed his pleasure.

 
When the door closed behind Ricky and the doctor, Roxy took charge. “We’re going to take turns staying with Gracie. Two-hour shifts each. I’ll take the first shift. Lorraine gets the second, Lee Ann the third, and you, Max, get the early-morning shift. She’s going to be all right, Max, so wipe that look off your face. You have a resort to run, so do what you’re paid to do. Gracie is in good hands.”

  “All right, Roxy.”

  “Max.”

  “Yes.”

  “I know your history with Gracie. When guests come to the islands for the first time, especially those who have never had a real vacation, like Gracie, they do things like fall asleep in the sun. She did put on a thirty-five sunblock. Someone should have warned her about the sun here. I’m thinking that was your responsibility, and you screwed up. I mention this so you won’t say or do anything that will embarrass or hurt Gracie. Just so you know, your father loves that girl.”

  Max’s head bobbed up and down. He remembered the day his father had said he admired Gracie and went on to say he did not admire him or his brother. “I hear you, Roxy.”

  “Okay. Take care of business now.”

  Lorraine Farquar patted Gracie’s head. “I feel, Roxy, like I stepped into another world. All of a sudden, I have this wonderful family, and an extended family as well. This mothering business is wonderful. I always knew it would be. I cheated myself all those years because I was such a coward. I am so glad you and Ricky found me. With Armand’s passing, and don’t think I’m not grieving, because I am, I don’t know what I would have done.”

  Roxy smiled as she kissed Lorraine’s cheek. “Try to get a few hours’ sleep.”

  It was a difficult thing to do, but Roxy walked over to Lee Ann Oliver. “I’m sorry for both of us. In his own way, Philip brought us all to this place in time. You have three wonderful daughters and an equally wonderful mother-in-law. I found my soul mate in Ricky. Even though the circumstances were…less than we would have liked, we still have to be grateful to Philip. I hope we can be friends when we finally lay all this to rest.”