Blind Trust (Blind Justice Book 2)

by Adam Zorzi

  LouLou's mom cried unabashedly. “I'm so pleased to hear laughter and music in this house. Thank you.”

  LouLou saw Gregg smiling in his window seat. He mouthed, “Brava.” She caught her mother's eye and telegraphed her thought.

  Her mother agreed because the next thing she said was. “Deirdre, please take the piano. It would give all three of us great pleasure to know it's with the family and being used by someone who loves us and knows what she's doing.”

  Deirdre was too overcome to speak. Her husband came toward her, put his arm around her waist, and kissed her cheek. “I accept on behalf of Deirdre. She's an artist who should have a wonderful instrument, one played so beautifully by her brother and niece and loved by her sister-in-marriage.”

  This time when LouLou looked at Gregg, he mouthed, “Matchmaker.”

  CHAPTER

  FORTY-SIX

  June

  “They're here. They're here,” shouted Sara when she got off the elevator and walked into LouLou's apartment carrying a large brown paper bag.

  LouLou looked up from a score long enough to ask what was here.

  “Magazines with the Chanel ad featuring ‘The always au courant DJL.’” Sara fanned out Vogue, French Vogue, and Marie Claire.

  LouLou picked them up and turned to the pages Sara had marked with pink sticky flags.

  “They used a different shot in each magazine. Too funny. Don't you love these shoes?” LouLou said as she pointed to the ones she'd modeled in French Vogue.

  “Love? I adore them. Did you get to keep the shoes?”

  “No way. They were a full size too small. That's why I look so casual with one dangling off my toe. I couldn't bear to even sit in them.”

  “Ah, LouLou, you've ruined the magic of fashion for me. I love the Chanel headphones and the mini dress. You've got great legs.”

  “Probably air-brushed to be five inches longer than they are. I wish the headphones were real and not a prop. I'd wear them all the time. Cool colors.”

  The two women dissected each of the three pictures. LouLou selected French Vogue as her favorite. Sara selected Marie Claire. “Will you autograph one? I want to frame it and hang it at Roy's. He gets a kick out of having customers asking about celebrities who visit his sandwich shop/patisserie/bodega.”

  LouLou laughed. “Of course. Anything to keep the man who feeds me happy. Do you think he's ever going to settle on just what it is he owns?” She took out a black marker and signed ‘Love, LouLou’ on the magazine page. Sara sat. “Who knows? I keep telling him to call it a specialty coffee shop and market like Dean & DeLucca, but he thinks that will discourage tea drinkers.”

  “Sara, secretly I like the way it is. Always a surprise in stock.”

  Sara leaned closer to LouLou. “You sound good. How are you doing?”

  “I hate to jinx things, but there hasn't been a catastrophe in my life since Dad died. That's unforgettable. I think of him every day, but I haven't had an episode or had to tour or do anything other than what I love. It feels nice to be normal-ish for a while.”

  “Good. Don't forget. Dinner on Thursday. I'll have this framed by then. Later.”

  ***

  “You have to frame one of these for Skylar.” Gregg looked at the magazine photos carefully. “I can't believe I'm dating this hot celebrity DJ. I wish I'd seen the one Sara liked.”

  “Gregg, you can go to the newsstand and peruse women's fashion magazines until you find Marie Claire and make a purchase.”

  “And scare the owner to death when a magazine floats onto the counter with exact change and walks itself away?”

  LouLou laughed. “I keep forgetting you're a ghost. Sorry. I'll buy it myself so you can see. Then you can pick one for Skylar, and I'll have it framed.” She went to the kitchen and poured a glass of water, added ice, and grabbed an apple from the wooden bowl she'd taken from the house in DC. She flopped back on the sofa.

  “How was your day?”

  “Good. I've finished inventorying the LPs from your family music library for Skylar. He starts to cry every time he looks at some of them. He'd no idea your parents had French pop music and British Invasion works with original UK cover art and liner notes. Once he put the word out, people started calling him right away. He's making brisk sales with classical music to everyone from obscure orchestras to superstar violinists. He has contacts at universities all over the world swooning over these finds. Still, he keeps at it. He says things like I might be receiving something you might like in the near future, or I've come across something that might tempt you and two or three other serious collectors. He's a salesman, but a well-intentioned one. He wants to make great matches.”

  “I'm glad the music is going to good homes. What about your listening education?”

  “I can't stop listening to recorder chamber music. I enjoyed the evening when your father's recorder quintet played for the family. They were all interesting people who just happened to play the recorder for fun. I wish I'd been able to ask them questions. I know the recorder is an acquired taste, but after discovering the contrabass recorder, I can't stop listening. So much could be transposed for the double bass. And then my mind goes off into compositions, arrangements, and orchestrations.”

  “To state the obvious, Gregg, you're a composer. That's what you do.”

  “True.” He got up to get his composition notebook from the countertop. “LouLou,” he suddenly sounded serious, “I thought you shredded this. I know you did.”

  “What?” LouLou replied offhandedly.

  He showed her an envelope. It was the one that had been included in the documents from Bella Davis's New York attorney.

  LouLou's stomach lurched. “Is it empty? Maybe I only shredded the letter.”

  He opened it and took out the note. Intact.

  “How can that be?” She wanted to shout. Freeze. Freeze. Freeze.

  “Could there have been two letters?” He read it. “Word for word, it's the same as the one you shredded. Did she send two copies of the same letter? Where's the large envelope it came in?”

  “I shredded that too. It was empty.” Freeze. Freeze. Freeze.

  “What is this, then? It's not a photocopy.”

  By now, LouLou was sitting perfectly still. Gregg sat beside her.

  “Let's think aloud. There might have been a second communication that was overlooked. You had a lot of mail—mostly condolence cards and letters—Roy held for you.”

  “No, I recorded each on a spreadsheet and included the date I sent an acknowledgement. Did it come through the Post Office?”

  “No. It's addressed to LouLou Fleming. No street or PO address. No city or state. No return address. No stamp. It had to have been inside something else.”

  “But what?”

  “Did Dan send you a condolence card?”

  “No. I was afraid he might. As far as I know, he still doesn't know where I live. He'd have to follow me. The obituary was carefully worded to include me as daughter LouLou of Washington, DC. I didn't want any fan sympathy mail, either.”

  “What about that awful aide at Petersburg? Were there any names you didn't recognize?”

  LouLou shook her head.

  “LouLou, don't over think this. There's an explanation.” He squeezed her hand but knew not to do more. “There are only a few people who know about the circumstances of how you found out about the adoption. Dr. Youzny, the blackmailer, her accomplices, and Dan. Anyone else?”

  “I forgot.” She looked horrified. “I forgot to ask Dan to keep it a secret. He could have told his family. His friends. Anyone.”

  “Do you think he'd do that?”

  “Yes, he was ecstatic that he and Bella had a child. He had to tell his brother who saw me at the window in the day room at Petersburg and thought he was seeing Bella's ghost, the resemblance was so strong.”

  “But you said Dan has a child. A child from his marriage. He might not want her to know. He wouldn't tell his family and expect them to kee
p it a secret from the child.”

  “Dr. Youzny said my parents were unusual in keeping it secret. The prevailing wisdom is to tell the adopted child and everyone on the planet so the child grows up knowing he or she was chosen. Siblings and half-siblings are supposed to be told immediately too. That's probably what Dan thinks is the right thing to do.”

  “That still doesn't explain the letter.”

  “I didn't find out about the trust until after I met Dan to hear his story. Maybe he got a letter from Bella too.”

  “And then did what? Mailed it in another envelope to you?”

  “It's the only thing that makes sense. Maybe he thought it would be the only way I'd know I was conceived through soul mate bliss.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Shred it. Ignore it. I don't want to think about it. What time is it? Can we still make a movie?”

  CHAPTER

  FORTY-SEVEN

  LouLou didn't like the presence of another letter from Bella. She shredded it before they left for the movies, emptied the shredder into her kitchen waste can, and dumped that plastic bag into a garbage can on the street.

  She liked the movie and that she could snuggle next to Gregg. The theatre was almost empty. On the way home, they stopped at a newsstand so LouLou could look through magazines for her Chanel ad. She purchased Marie Claire for Gregg and discovered another ad in Harper's Bazaar and bought that too.

  Gregg thought Skylar would like the French Vogue ad best, and LouLou agreed to have it framed the next morning before she met Gregg at Vinyl. She hadn't seen Skylar or Robert for almost a week.

  She felt sassy and wore a sky blue dress and gladiator sandals. Summer was on its way. Robert accepted her long-delayed massage. Skylar was in a listening booth. Gregg was packing orders for shipping.

  “I can't believe Skylar has you doing manual labor,” she said as she kissed him.

  “I don't mind. Besides, I do this ten percent of my time and listen the other ninety percent. I learned how to print postage paid mailing labels on the computer. I'm a whiz now.”

  “You're constantly learning something now. It's a delight to see things through your eyes.”

  “LouLou,” Skylar said as he bounced out of a listening booth. “I believe you now. I listened to that recorded but unreleased Björk album, and it's a treasure. I'm going to think about who I'll offer it to. It has to go to someone appropriate and appreciative.”

  “Lou?” said a voice from the front of the store.

  LouLou and Skylar walked toward the front counter. Robert was complaining loudly that the newcomer wasn't paying attention to him.

  LouLou stopped before reaching him. Dammit. He'd found her favorite place. She felt he was contaminating it. She tried to hide her anger. “Dan. Remember, my name is LouLou. Lou is my Sick name.”

  “Sorry. This is a nice surprise,” Dan said.

  Was it? Was he following her?

  “Hi, forgive LouLou's manners. I'm Skylar, the proprietor of Vinyl.” He held out his hand to Dan.

  “Dan Ramsay,” he said and shook Skylar's hand.

  “My partner Robert feels dissed because you didn't introduce yourself.” Dan clearly didn't understand Skylar was referring to the cat, but Skylar plowed on. “How may I help you today?”

  Dan seemed to have trouble focusing on Skylar with LouLou there, so she stepped into a listening booth but didn't completely close the door. Eavesdropping was fair if Dan was following her.

  “I'm learning to play the guitar. I want some simple songs that I can play and sing. I thought about maybe Bob Dylan or Pete Seeger. Would you have recordings by them?”

  LouLou groaned. If things weren't bad enough, her biological dad was a Dylan fan. She knew Skylar was in heaven as he led Dan to the correct section and advised him on the pros and cons of each possibility. This was basic stuff, though. Dan could have easily downloaded Dylan and Seeger. He didn't need Vinyl or Skylar's expertise. Flimsy.

  Gregg, who had been in Skylar's office, came out. “All deliveries for today are ready.”

  Skylar and Dan looked up. “Thanks. You've saved me hours of procrastination and frustration.”

  “Hi, I'm Dan.” He held his hand out to Gregg.

  Without showing any surprise, Gregg shook his hand and said, “Gregg, nice to meet you.”

  “Do you work here too?”

  “No,” Skylar interrupted. “Gregg is a composer who is also a computer wizard. He likes to show off his skills from time to time to keep things running smoothly.”

  LouLou pulled the door closed on the listening booth. She couldn't listen anymore. Dan could see and touch Gregg. How could that be? What was that word Gregg used for Skylar? A Sensitive. She couldn't take any more surprises from Dan. She wasn't going to hide in the booth until he left, so she joined the trio.

  “LouLou, I understand you and Dan know each other,” Skylar said mischievously.

  “We've come across each other in hospitals. I hope we don't do so again. I don't plan to be a patient any time soon. I hope you don't do anything foolish that would land you there either, Dan.”

  She kissed Skylar on the cheek, gave Robert a rub, and waved to Gregg. “See you next time.” LouLou casually walked out of Vinyl and sprinted away as soon as she turned the corner.

  CHAPTER

  FORTY-EIGHT

  LouLou slowed and walked to the Jefferson Hotel. It was a landmark best known as the prototype for Scarlett O'Hara's staircase in Gone With The Wind. It was pricey, classy, and quiet. She went into one of the rare private phone closets, took out her cell, and called her mom.

  “Mom, have you seen the Chanel ad yet? I've seen it in four magazines. French Vogue, Vogue, Marie Claire, and Harper's Bazaar. They used three different shots. Air brushed like crazy.”

  “Fashion doesn't come to Middleburg. Maybe Collin can get them when he goes to DC.”

  “I'll scan them and email them. Sara asked me to autograph one for Roy's coffee shop. How are you?”

  “Okay. I take long walks. Liz rides a lot, but horses scare me.”

  “Nothing scares you, Mom.”

  “Don't like is more apt. I like the horses. Riding them is nerve-wracking. How are you?”

  “Good. I was excited to see the ads. We had a great time in Paris. It was what happened after that was so awful. We have to remember the good.”

  Her mother didn't respond.

  “We had a lot going on in DC, but do you remember the conversation we had about Bella and Dan interfering in my life?”

  “Of course. How could I forget something like that? You're my daughter.”

  “I think it's escalating. Today, I found a duplicate of the letter Bella Davis sent me on my counter. I shredded the original. I know I did. Sara was there when I did it.” It was Gregg, not Sara, but she could hardly tell her mother that. “I think Dan sent it to me. I met him for coffee before I learned about the trust. Maybe he got a letter from Bella, too. I think he mailed it to me in something else like a card or a business envelope or something that I didn't notice. It wasn't in any of my condolence correspondence.”

  “I didn't think he knew where you lived.”

  “He doesn't unless he followed me or bought one of those information packages online that sell people's information for $29.99 or hired a private detective.”

  Her mother was silent. When she spoke, her voice seemed small. “That doesn't make sense. You said Bella's plan was for the trust and presumably, the letter, to be given to you on your thirtieth birthday. Because you were no longer in Paris, the law firm couldn't find you until more than a year later. If you and Dan were supposed to open the letters at the same time, Dan would've gotten a copy on your thirtieth birthday, not now.”

  LouLou thought about that.

  “True. Dan was a patient at Petersburg on my thirtieth birthday. I assume his brother or lawyer handled his mail. He and I were transferred from Petersburg at the same time. I was discharged from Colonial in January. I do
n't know how long he'd been out of a hospital when I met him in March, but he must have had time to read his mail. He told me he wouldn't have known about me except for the blackmailer. Of course, Bella has proven herself to be a liar. Why not him? My birthday was in April, and he didn't contact me. I didn't think about it, but he seems sentimental. If he'd known the date, he might have tried to contact me on my birthday. It makes no sense why he'd send me Bella's letter now—more than a year after he should've received it, even allowing for his hospitalization.”

  LouLou pressed her forehead against one of the panels of the phone closet. Thinking through this puzzle was exhausting. Finally, she said, “Mom, there's more. Just now, I went to Vinyl to see Skylar. He loves all the music we placed with him from the estate. He can't part with some of it, but I know what he is parting with is going to universities and knowledgeable collectors. Anyway, I went in and less than five minutes later, Dan came in. Skylar had never seen him before and welcomed him. I said hello and then went into a listening booth and looked industrious.

  “When enough time passed, I left. On my way out, Skylar said something that made it clear that Dan had told Skylar we knew each other. I corrected him and told Skylar we'd been patients at the same hospital and hoped we both stayed out of them. I left. I think I walked out normally, but then I ran. I'm at the Jefferson now.”

  “Are you on your cell?” When LouLou said she was, her mother insisted on calling her back on the hotel's phone. She asked for the number. All LouLou could think about while she was waiting for her mother to call was how much she hated Bella and Dan. She didn't want anything to do with them. Now, she was getting duplicate mail from Bella, and Dan was following her. It made her sick.

  The phone rang, and LouLou picked up immediately.