Beautiful Girls

by Gary S. Griffin

  We were the only ones in the surgical waiting room. Ozick had walked in just as I was about to dial Edie. He had been briefed about all the other events and clues. I could sense he wanted me to open the letter right then.

  The envelope contained no Bible verses. The thirteenth and final clue read:

  Garrett,

  If you are reading this clue it means you have won. I could not give you what is not mine. I think you know that. I also think you know the link between these four beautiful girls. And, why I acted so.

  R.N.

  Ozick looked at me and said, “What do you know?”

  I told him. He agreed to arrange the blood tests.

  ***

  “Hello baby.”

  “Stevie, you’re late calling. What’s happened?”

  “I have some bad news. Rob died tonight.”

  “Oh, my God, how?”

  “At Excalibur, at the end of the show. He was disguised and he shot at Harmony, Melody and me.”

  “Oh, no, God, no. Are you hurt?”

  “I’m OK. I have a flesh wound on my right arm, just above the knife cut. I’ll have a dual scar. He also shot both of the twins in the chest. They’re in surgery, but the doctors say their wounds aren’t that serious. They should be OK.”

  “Oh, Stevie…”

  She began crying. Then, she said, “I knew this would happen. You didn’t kill him yourself, did you?”

  “No, baby, I didn’t. The police did it after he fired his two shots. They stopped him from shooting me with his third bullet. The police were watching us, trying to protect us.”

  “That didn’t work too well, did it?”

  That was the Edie I knew, making one of her smart comments.

  “Yeah, well, still they saved my life.”

  “Oh, my God, Stevie, I’m so grateful for that. How did all three of you get wounded if my father shot only twice?”

  “We got lucky, I guess.”

  I explained how Melody and I got hit by the first bullet as I tried to push her out of the way.

  “Where are you now?”

  “At the hospital, in the waiting room. The twins are in surgery.”

  “Did you get your arm looked at?”

  “Yes, I have a big bandage on it. They shot me with pain killers and anti-infection meds.”

  “How bad is it?”

  “It’s about three inches long and it runs along the surface. The bullet created a little channel. It damaged a little bit of my bicep muscle.”

  “So, how did it happen? What went on during the show?”

  I explained from the moment Melody and I arrived at Excalibur, to Harmony’s appearance, and through to when the rogue masked minion walked towards us in the Norway grandstand. I also read the final clue found on Rob’s body.

  “Stevie, why did he do it?”

  “I don’t know for sure, Edie. I’m mad at myself for not getting out of there once Harmony came back, because she had the next clue.”

  “Don’t get so down on yourself. My father could have snapped if he saw you leaving.”

  “True, but I could have had a police escort out of Excalibur.”

  “Stevie, bottom line, you saved those girls’ lives and the police saved your life.”

  “Now, that’s true too.”

  “I want to come to Las Vegas.”

  “OK. But, what about your trip to L.A.?”

  “I’ll call and reschedule our visits.”

  “OK, but take your time getting here tomorrow.”

  “Why?”

  “Detective Lomita and I are going to Tucson in the morning. I’ll be there for just a few hours.”

  “Why?”

  “To talk to Sister Carrie.”

  “Why?”

  “I think she has the answers to our final questions.”

  “She does?”

  “We think so.”

  “Stevie, you’re holding back something. What is it?”

  “Baby, I don’t know for sure. I think Sister Carrie does. I don’t want to say until I know for certain. I promise to explain everything to you and Tawny and the twins when I get back. So, please come to Las Vegas. Check into one of the hotels. Get a suite so Tawny can be close to us.”

  “OK.”

  “I know I’m acting mysterious. I’ll explain everything to you, first, when we meet tomorrow. Please trust me.”

  “I do trust you.”

  Redemption

  Monday, October 25, 2004

  The surgeries were successful. I spent the night in the reclining chair in Melody and Harmony’s hospital room. Mel woke first with a smile and said my name. I gave her a kiss.

  Harmony woke from anesthesia in control of her emotions. She forced a smile when she saw me by her bedside and Melody in the adjoining bed. I promised the twins I would stop by later that day once I returned from Tucson.

  ***

  While waiting for my plane I sat in front of a TV and got caught up on the baseball world. The Red Sox had a two game lead over the Cardinals in the World Series. This series looked to be an anti-climatic ending to the season as nothing would be able to compare to the Sox incredible comeback in the American League Championship series. They achieved a first; they came back from a three games to none deficit to beat the Yankees in game seven at the Stadium. I had seen only glimpses of this amazing story over the past few days.

  I was reminded that Election Day was approaching. I wondered if I would be home to vote.

  ***

  “We all commit sins. Those were mine. I lived the lie for too long.”

  That was Sister Carrie speaking as she finished her story. Lieutenant Lomita and I had heard it all in her private office after Monday lunch at the Cactus City Kitchen.

  Her cardinal sin, or act, had been committed twenty-four years earlier. That act had been near the start of a series of events, or other sins as she called them, over many years that culminated with Rob Nealy’s death the previous evening.

  Her long statement was recorded by the Tucson police detective; the fourth person in the private office.

  When we finished, Carrie let a Tucson lab technician take a blood sample from her. The tech filled two vials. He put them in special containers and gave one to Lomita and the other to me. We would have them tested in L.A. and Las Vegas. In a matter of hours, the lab results would confirm her story.

  At the end, I said, “Thank you for your time, Sister Carrie.”

  Tucson police told the Sister that she was a person of interest in this case and they were still gathering and sorting through the case information. They asked her to stay in Pima County. She agreed.

  Lomita walked out of the soup kitchen with me to the curb where a taxi awaited us.

  During the ride to the airport, Lomita said, “Thanks, Garrett. This information will help close my oldest and most frustrating case.”

  “You’re welcome. And, thank you, too. I could never have done it without your help.”

  Lomita was flying to Vegas with me. He needed to debrief with the police. I also asked him to stay another day or two. He agreed.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to be there when you talk to the ladies?”

  “Lieutenant, I need to do this alone, with all four of these beautiful girls.”

  “Good luck. That will be a tough conversation.”

  ***

  While we waited for our flight I called Edie. She and Tawny were driving the BMW across the Mojave Desert to Las Vegas. They would arrive earlier than me. They were heading straight to Caesar’s Palace. I would meet them there after a stop at the University Medical Center to drop off Sister Carrie’s blood sample and to see the twins.

  ***

  “Stevie, oh my God!” Edie said as she opened the door to our hotel suite. She gently hugged me. Before I could speak I was interrupted by our first kiss. Tawny came up and joined our hug.

  I had a special reunion with Edie and Tawny. They both looked gorgeous. Tawny seemed older and Edi
e’s belly appeared to be bigger. Being with them helped clear my dark thoughts. We survived some incredible traumas that week. The recovery would take time. It would also take time to get adjusted to the changes created by DNA testing. Still, I wouldn’t want it to be any other way.

  I had arrived at 7 PM. We ordered room service and ate in the dining room of our suite. The women had arrived around five o’clock and settled into the bedrooms. Their uneventful trip through the desert took about five hours.

  After dinner, Tawny entertained herself with the huge selections of movies on the large, wall-mounted TV in the living room. Edie and I retreated to our bedroom for a talk, a long, life-changing talk. It wasn’t easy. Then, any conversation that reveals your real relatives is bound to be shocking!

  Edie had endless questions for me. Fortunately, I had most of the answers.

  Who else knew this? Lieutenant Lomita, Sister Carrie and a Tucson detective.

  How did I guess this? It developed over the past week, as each clue was discovered.

  When did I first think this? After seeing the photo of Sister Carrie with the twins.

  What was the final clue? The initial blood test results from Lieutenant Lomita.

  Where will we explain this story? At the hospital, the next day.

  How will we be certain? When all the blood testing is completed. We should have solid, preliminary results tomorrow.

  Edie said, “Oh, God, Stevie, I’m so weirded out about all this. Sid, Junior was my half-brother! I know I’m going to need some therapy to deal with all this.”

  “Get whatever you need. I’m here for you, too.”

  “You’re the only thing that will get me through this.”

  Edie anxiously agreed to the Big Reveal.

  ***

  Tuesday, October 26, 2004

  It was a beautiful, sunny autumn day. We rose at eight o’clock and ate breakfast in a lobby restaurant.

  I said to Tawny, “You’ll meet the two beautiful young women who helped me.”

  She replied, “That’s cool.”

  I noticed that Edie had taken the time to shower, style her hair, put on make-up, and wear a knee-length white cotton dress and white leather boots. She added a long silver necklace and had her diamond on her ring finger. Nothing was overstated, yet Edie looked glamorous.

  Tawny’s long legs were covered by sky blue leggings. Her blonde hair flowed down the back of her oversized white sweater.

  We met in the twins’ hospital room. They were delighted to see me and thrilled to be introduced to a real actress.

  Harmony said, “It is nice to meet you, Miss McCall.”

  Edie won them over from the start when she insisted that they use her first name.

  The twins won over Tawny by complimenting her; Melody loved her hair and Harmony thought her outfit was “very stylish”.

  The twins wore slings to keep the arms of their injured shoulders immobile. As compared to the night before, their wounds really ached as the anesthesia was now only a memory. They put up a brave front, but limited their movements. They didn’t want anything. Everyone waited for me to begin my story.

  Tawny was seated on the reclining chair, alternately raising and lowering her feet. Edie and I sat in the side chairs.

  While I was getting my thoughts together, Melody said, “Go ahead, Stevie, we’re ready.”

  Edie added, “Yes, Stevie, go ahead.”

  “OK, OK, I was trying to think how to begin. I guess the best way to do it is to say you four are all family.”

  Harmony said, “We are?”

  “Yes, and none of you are related to Rob Nealy.”

  Everyone looked at Edie. She said, “Stevie told me a lot of this story last night, including this big news. I had your reaction – how could it be?”

  “I will explain. Let me say these opening statements first. Harmony and Melody, Edie is your half sister; you had the same father. You are also second cousins to Edie, as your mothers were first cousins. So, Melody and Harmony, you are nearly full sisters with Edie. And, ladies, you three are half-aunts to Tawny, and were half-aunts to Troy. Melody and Harmony, it is a shame you never met him.

  “Finally, even though I’ve only known you five days, I’m thrilled that you’ll be my sisters-in-law. And, Tawny, I’m so glad you’ll be my niece.”

  The four women stared at me. Melody broke the ice when she said, “Awesome!”

  Harmony began to cry tears of joy. Tawny looked bored. Edie urged me to carry on.

  “OK, now for the details.”

  The Big Reveal

  Sid Gabriel, Senior was the father of four children. The world knew Sid’s namesake. Only three other people knew of the parental link to his three daughters, Edie McCall, and Harmony and Melody Pima. However, this in-the-know trio was not the female siblings.

  Edie’s mother, Sandra McCall, met Sid Gabriel, Senior in 1969 when he filmed his Academy Award winning movie, The Sheriff. The filming was in the desert country outside Tucson. Sandra was hired by the movie team as a production assistant to Sid, Senior. The filming lasted for four months due to set problems and some bad weather.

  Sometime during filming, an affair started between Sid, Senior and Sandra. Sandra got pregnant. The baby conceived was Edie.

  At the time, Sandra was twenty-five and a waitress in a Summerhaven restaurant. Summerhaven is the mountaintop town near Edie’s cabin. Edie’s grandfather, Joseph McCall, owned the cabin as a vacation home. He lived in Tucson and worked as a principal at a high school. McCall let his daughter, Sandra, live in the cabin full time.

  Sandra had two close friends. One was Rob Nealy. Sandra and Rob were going steady. Rob was a Tucson native, too, and worked in Summerhaven as a mechanic at an auto shop. When this major movie came to town, the local newspaper had want ads for help. On a lark, Rob and Sandra decided to apply and sent in applications. They were surprised to be hired. Sandra was floored when she became Sid, Senior’s assistant.

  Mostly Sandra’s job was to keep Sid’s trailer clean and to be his gofer. Still, it was fun. That fun turned to titillation when Sid turned his charm on Sandra. She couldn’t resist him even though he was forty-nine years old.

  One other person was involved too; Sandra’s first cousin, Caroline McCall. Sandra and Carrie’s fathers were brothers. Carrie had dated Rob in high school and college, but he broke up with her after he connected with Sandra in Summerhaven. Carrie didn’t mind. She was glad Sandra was happy.

  Carrie was going to graduate school at the University of Arizona. She was hired as an assistant to the movie’s leading lady. Carrie met Sid, Senior during filming and he turned on his charm, but nothing happened, at that time.

  As The Sheriff finished filming, Sid, Senior asked Sandra and Rob to come to Los Angeles and live in his estate with his wife and son. They would be the Gabriels’ maid and custodian. Rob and Sandra agreed. Sandra believed Sid, Senior made this generous offer because he knew she was pregnant with his child. Yet, they never spoke about it.

  Shortly thereafter, Rob and Sandra married. Six months later, Edith McCall Nealy was born on May 3, 1970.

  Years passed. Rob and Sandra had a reasonable life working and living in the Gabriel’s Beverly Hills mansion and their beach home in Malibu. Sid, Senior continued making movies. Sid’s son, Sid, Junior, started in the business. All the while, the secret of Edie’s parentage stayed hidden.

  Then, in December 1979, Sid, Senior was asked to make the sequel to The Sheriff. He agreed. That movie, The Sheriff Returns, would be filmed the following summer in the mountains above Tucson. Sid would win his second Oscar for his reprised role.

  Eleven years had elapsed since the first movie. Sid, Senior was now sixty years old. Carrie McCall was now thirty-six, single and childless. She worked as a teacher in a Catholic grade school and had the summer off. One day she read about this movie coming to town and that it would star Sid Gabriel, Senior. She had a flashback to the filming of the original movie many years earlier.

>   She knew what happened to Sandra. She had seen Edie a few times and guessed who her real father was. About seven years earlier, she discreetly asked Sandra the question.

  Sandra wouldn’t deny it. Instead, she said her life in Beverly Hills was not so great. Rob had become an alcoholic. Sandra was just the Gabriel family’s maid. She did admit that the Gabriels treated her well. Even though Edie was Sid, Senior’s daughter, neither of them acknowledged it publicly. She knew Edie couldn’t be told the truth. Sandra always dreaded Rob learning the truth. She made Carrie swear that she’d keep the secret. Carrie agreed.

  Even with this difficult legacy, Carrie found herself applying for a job in the movie. She even wrote Sid, Senior a letter and sent it to the Tucson production office.

  To Carrie’s surprise, she got a call from Sid, Senior. He remembered her and he wanted her to be his personal assistant during filming. She agreed and history seemed to repeat itself. Carrie became pregnant.

  A baby would certainly disrupt Carrie’s personal life and her career. She committed her second sin, to use her words, when she asked for a leave of absence, claiming the need to help a sick relative who lived back east. In reality, she moved to Phoenix and lived in an apartment for six months until the baby was born. Putting the baby up for immediate adoption was the final step in her plan. It was then that Carrie discovered she was carrying twins. Harmony and Melody were born on April 30, 1981. Six hours after their birth, Carrie handed them over to the State, assured in her belief that as infants they would be adopted out immediately and have a far better life than she could offer as a single mother.

  Carrie’s rent, board and medical expenses were the only help she ever asked and received from Sid, Senior. So, he did know the twins were his. Yet, Sid never met his youngest children. He never questioned Carrie’s adoption plans.

  Once Carrie recovered she went back to her parish school in Tucson. Carrie was an only child. Her mother was dead and her father lived in California. She believed no one ever discovered what happened. She had another life-changing event. She got the calling to be a sister in the Roman Catholic Church.