***
Tuesday afternoon, Joe Harris barged through the double doors to the Clementes’ music room. Practically the whole family was there listening as Cisco reported on the Uptown Cosmetics project.
Camellia raced through the door after him. Joe extinguished his cigar before her outrage could rouse the babies. The look on his face was more than irritation at not being able to finish his smoke.
He slammed himself into a chair across from me. “Aubrey is holed up in the Monchsberg Hotel. She not only refuses to leave, she’s cancelled—cancelled—all her appearances and engagements for the next six months.”
“Huh?” I felt a stab in the pit of my stomach and noticed shock on all the faces in the room.
Joe raged on. “Says she needs a break. In Salzburg? She needs a break in Salzburg. Not to worry, we already had the paparazzi trying to track down Jimmy Hollinger and his new girlfriend. Now we have throngs of them arriving in the city to storm the Monchsberg Hotel. Seems Aubrey had her colorist flown in from New York, and the woman doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut. It’s a friggin’ nightmare.”
He leveled a red-eyed glare right at me. “I’m losing millions on this, Glori. Did you put that crap in her head about ‘finding herself’?”
I cleared my throat. “I didn’t tell her to quit, Joe. And if she needs a break, she should take one before she has a breakdown. She wouldn’t be any good to you then.”
“You need to talk to her.” He pointed what was left of his cigar at me.
“Me? Why is it always me?” I jumped from my seat and pulled Cat by the arm. “I need to talk to you.” We went outside to the terrace.
I sat beside Cat on the stairs overlooking the garden. “Cat, I need help here, and no one is giving me any. Have you ever had any visions about Jimmy and Aubrey?”
Cat turned almost blue. To put it mildly, I was taken aback. I’d never seen her react like that before.
“Cat, did you ever have any visions about Jimmy and Aubrey? Are they gonna end up together? It’s important, Cat. It’s life and death important. Okay?”
She just kept getting bluer.
“Cat?”
She wouldn’t look at me—just stared out over that garden, with her knees to her chest.
“Cat?”
Then I thought it was the wind, but it was Cat’s voice, almost a whisper, that sounded like it came from deep inside her. “I—they—I’ve seen only—once.” She clenched her arms tighter around her legs.
“They’re together?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“At David’s funeral.”
I felt the wind knocked out of me. The garden faded in a blur of color. I grabbed Cat’s arm. I don’t know if the vibration was her or me shuddering.
“When?”
She rocked slowly back and forth, her eyes fixated on something in the distance. It must have been something in another time. “The children… the children… Glori… please don’t speak of this to anyone.” Then she shook whatever trance she was in and bolted back into the house.
When I finally could get my legs to stand up, I followed. She’d run off with Cisco in pursuit.
***
The General appeared in the conference room for the usual Wednesday morning meeting. He guzzled a full cup of coffee before starting. “Before we get to the group coming in tomorrow ….”
He poured another cup of coffee. “I received a call from the President of the United States. Since the Sara Blackington case, he’s been one of your biggest fans. Now he tells me he’ll be giving a keynote address at the International Commerce Convention in Vienna in August. Lambrecht, I know your father is an integral part of the hospitality committee for this thing. Anyway, I have a personal request from the President to have you men take charge of security. Betty will have all the particulars for you by this afternoon.” He finished his coffee.
“Secondly, I’ve spoken with Joe Harris. He’s in a fury because Aubrey Rose has cancelled all her appearances for the next six months. She’s ensconced in the Monchsberg Hotel with paparazzi going crazy all around the place. The police have been called in to keep order.”
He turned to Jimmy. “Apparently, Hollinger, this situation can be rectified if you simply go talk to the young woman.” Pearson grinned. “It must be nice knowing you have such power over the world’s most celebrated sex symbol. I recall overhearing conversations a few years ago when you complained you couldn’t get a date.”
Jimmy spoke through gritted teeth as his colleagues muffled laughter. “Things change, Sir.”
“Indeed they do. Fortunately, you have time at lunch today to head over to the Monchsberg Hotel.” Pearson winked.
***
“We didn’t mean it.” Alain felt genuinely bad that he’d laughed at his friend’s misery. The three of them followed Hollinger back to his office, apologizing along the way. He slammed the door in their faces.
Encouraged by Pearson’s presence in the hallway, Clemente and Lambrecht returned to their offices. Alain gingerly opened his door, entered his office, and spied at the open door between Hollinger and himself.
“Aubrey?” He sat as if to hide, with his head cradled in his arms, propped on his elbows on his desk. Who was he hiding from?
“Yeah, been busy…. I’ll see you at Paulo’s wedding. That’s soon enough.” His voice sounded like sandpaper—too many emotions to swallow. “Bring Tommy Cross. You two can dance the night away.”
Alain wished he’d been more helpful when Glori brought her here. He didn’t need Cat’s opinion to know how happy Aubrey had made his friend. Glori was right. It had to be a simple misunderstanding blown out of proportion.
“Look, I got a meeting to get to. But it’d be great if you could get outta Salzburg for a while. The cops are at their wits end tryin’ to keep a lid on the paparazzi over there…. I gotta go Aubrey.” He hung up the phone and dragged himself out of there.
***
Wednesday morning I decided to go for a run to clear my head. I made it out the door and saw Cat galloping toward me on her bareback horse, her two dogs in pursuit. They all stopped short as I jumped back onto the stair.
“Looks like you haven’t slept a wink, hon.” I reached out to her as she slid off the horse.
“I’m sorry, Glori. I owe you an apology.” She hugged me, and then slipped her backpack off her shoulders. “I shouldn’t have run off on you yesterday. I was upset. I—I was taken aback. I didn’t expect that—that vision I had.”
I pulled her into the sun porch and we sat down. “Can I get you some tea or something, hon? Water for the dogs?”
She let the backpack fall to the floor. “We’re fine, thank you.” She put her face in her hands.
“I’m gonna get us some tea, and water for the dogs. Just relax for a few.” I headed to the kitchen thinking she might pass out with more visions or something. She was looking pretty bad.
I was full of questions, but I sure didn’t want to push her over the edge—so the time it took to make tea and water the dogs was a good break for me to organize my thoughts. But the teacups rattled in my hands as I delivered them to the sunroom.
“I gotta say, hon, I didn’t sleep so good either. That thing about David really freaked me. What—what happens?”
Cat took a sip of tea and returned the cup to the end table with a clatter. She took a sob of a breath. “I don’t really know, Glori. It was just a fragment, a wisp of a vision and a feeling of dread. I have no idea what is going on. I’ve been in prayer all night, but I have no answer. No more to tell. No more to do. Just pray.”
Well, praying was fine for Cat. Like I said, she had some real clout with God. But me, not so much. I’d have to come up with my own plan. I took a sip of tea, noticing the only sound was the dogs lapping their water. Cat was staring out the window at a flawless blue sky, either deep in thought or prayer. But apparently the visions had dried up.
I finally broke the silence. “Not to be cras
s, hon, but I’ve got my friend Debbie to think about. Is she going to be okay with all these babies? I mean her dad is a real asshole. We don’t want her having to grovel to him for money.”
Yeah, Glori the diplomat strikes again. I thought Cat would collapse right there. Those blue eyes were as wide as they could get.
I jumped up and landed on my knees in front of her. “Don’t worry, hon, I won’t tell anyone about any of this stuff. And let’s just make sure Debbie gets well-paid for all her artwork on the album covers—and on the Uptown Cosmetics stuff.”
***
I was making the ultimate sacrifice, and I was attempting to be cheerful about it. Cindy seemed to be entertained. Debbie thanked me repeatedly as she sat on the chaise nursing David’s namesake. Another Thursday morning in the Lambrecht nursery.
I wrinkled my nose as I disposed of Danny’s diaper in the pail. Then I dressed the baby and placed him in the playpen. The boys seemed to be entertaining themselves reasonably well. Maybe I could get a word in edgewise.
“Debbie, Joe gave me this contract this morning.” I found my tote bag in the corner and pulled out the document. “I think he’s gettin’ nervous because you agreed to do all the artwork for this Uptown Cosmetics project. He said you guys had a verbal agreement to do the artwork for all Paulo’s albums. But when Cat asked him if you ever got paid for the first four, he said they never paid you yet. So she was upset, and he said he’d see they cut you a check ASAP.” I laid the contract on top of the bureau, and then took a seat by Debbie.
My mind swirled. I had to be diplomatic. But Debbie was in Never-never land most of the time. She never had to worry about money a day in her life. Her father was loaded. And David would never let on to anyone if money was an issue. I’m sure he took care of all the finances. Debbie wouldn’t have a clue.
Cat wasn’t exactly clear about the circumstances surrounding his demise. All I knew was it was tragic and premature. After yesterday’s scene, I realized Cat really didn’t have more information. I wasn’t going to push her. She was way too upset.
And I didn’t want to take the chance Debbie would end up alone with six kids and a weak heart from anorexia, begging her arrogant father for money. Debbie was frail, but she had the talent to make enough to support herself and her family.
I wouldn’t confide in Cindy. Cat wanted this latest revelation to be a secret, and it’s not like there were any real details to this prediction. At least not yet. What good would it do to get Cin involved and all worked up? So I’d just do what I could to help Debbie. It’d be the least I could do for Cin—and for Debbie. After all, if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Debbie’s voice roused me from my thoughts. “Thank you Glori. I’ll tell David. I—I’m really glad you brought this up. Sally told me her sister, Shirlene, is looking for a new position. I was hoping she could come to work for us when the new babies come. She’s a wonderful lady.”
I put my hand to my head in confusion. “Isn’t that the sister who works in Beverly Hills? She’s moving to Austria to take a nanny job?”
“Well, Sally said she’d consider it. The last of the children will be off to college, so she wants to find a new family that needs her. And we really do need her. She’s used to traveling with the four children and the family she worked for. Sally said Shirlene loves to travel. And she’s a wonderful chef. Plus she has a nursing degree. The only problem, I think, is that David’s salary wouldn’t cover much more than their salaries. He has lots of money saved from Cisco’s investments. But I know he wants to keep that in savings. So this money for the artwork will come in handy, I think.”
“Cool.” My ringing phone startled the babies. I stepped out of the nursery to take the call.
***
It was Alain checking in. I teased him. “So how’s it going with all the new secret agent wannabes?”
Alain chuckled. “Okay. But I thought you might be able to tell me why Hollinger’s already kicked the shit out of all of them. Pearson said Aubrey checked out of the Monchsberg Hotel yesterday. Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“Huh?” How would I know what was wrong with Jimmy? “Darlin’, I have no idea what’s wrong with Jimmy.”
“And?”
I sighed. “And I didn’t talk to you about Aubrey last night because I figured you’d had enough of her. But I did see her yesterday. She asked me to help her check out of the hotel and get to the airport. It was kind of funny. We both wore these dark wigs and glasses. It was cool.”
“Hmm.”
“So I thought that’s what everybody wanted. Get her outta town. She was gonna go back home to… I forget which one of the Carolinas. Ya know, take some time to think and everything. Her mother’s been callin’ her every day, all worried. She can take care of her for a while.”
Alain seemed satisfied with my explanation. After some heated flirting he hung up the phone to return to work. I had barely opened the nursery door when my phone rang again.
“Glori, you’ve gotta help me.” It was Aubrey. What now?
“Where are you?”
I heard a sob on the other end. “I—I’m at Jimmy’s apartment.”
“What?”
“I ducked out of the airport yesterday after you left. Nobody recognized me. I came back here to his apartment.”
“How did you get in?”
“I had his key. He probably forgot he gave it to me in March when he was in the hospital. You know when he got shot in the leg?”
“Yeah?”
“Well I came over here to pick up some stuff for him before he left the hospital. And I—and I just never gave him the key back. I always keep it with me. It always makes me feel good when I take it out and hold it.”
“Oh brother. You are gone, Aubrey.” I rolled my eyes. “So what’s goin’ on? Did you talk to him?” I heard another sob.
“Can—can you come over?”
***
Alain forged ahead of the group, found a reasonably dry boulder, took a seat, and dug out his PDA to make some notes. His noisy stomach told him it was lunchtime, but the pleasant sunshine gave him pause. A gentle breeze and abundant greenery relaxed him a bit.
He turned to see Clemente trudging up the path, covered in grime, head to foot. He had to smile, recalling Glori’s recent demonstration of her “cleansing mud soap.” He wasn’t convinced mud was cleansing.
Clemente wasn’t smiling. “I called a medic for Tierney. He looked like fuckin’ hamburger by the time Hollinger was done with him this morning. Now the guy can’t even move.” He spat a mouthful of mud. “Lambrecht’s got Hollinger pinned against a tree, tryin’ to talk some fuckin’ sense into him.” Clemente slapped at his fatigues, releasing a cloud of dirt.
Alain could only shake his head. He didn’t want to move. He didn’t want to have to cope with this. “I don’t know what to tell him. I don’t know how to get him through this.”
Clemente spat again. “I guess he’s not the first guy around here to lose his mind over a woman.”
Alain reluctantly rose to his feet. He had to laugh. “Maybe Lambrecht can talk some sense into him.”
“It takes one to know one.”
***
Aubrey met me at the door to Jimmy’s apartment. She was barefoot, dressed in jeans and one of Jimmy’s old uniform shirts. Despite the unflattering color and fit, it seemed to suit her in some strange way. I glanced around the living room. “It sure looks neater than I expected.”
Aubrey actually blushed. “I straightened up a bit.”
I felt sort of relieved as I took a seat on the couch. Aubrey handed me a mug of tea. They must’ve straightened this thing out. “So you guys made up?”
Aubrey’s big eyes filled with tears. “Oh Glori, I screwed up. I really screwed up...” She sobbed so hard I couldn’t understand what she was trying to say.
I felt like my heart was in my throat. I put the mug down and grabbed Aubrey by the arm. “What? What happened? I
can’t understand a thing you’re sayin.’ Try it again—slowly.”
Aubrey inhaled the floods. I found a tissue in my bag and handed it to her. “Did you talk to him?”
“No.” Aubrey blew her nose.
I was floored. “You just broke into his apartment?”
“I let myself in here yesterday when I got back from the airport. I—brought some champagne and some candles—put on one of Paulo’s CD’s and straightened up a bit. I didn’t snoop around or anything.” She grasped my hand as though it was critical that I believe her. “But I found his shirt thrown on a chair. Well, it smells like… him.” She blushed brighter. “When I put it on, I felt so close to him.” She took a minute to blow her nose again and wipe the tears. She hugged the baggy shirt around herself.
I really felt for her, but I was still confused. So far it sounded fine. Why was Aubrey such a basket case? I sipped my tea and tried to be patient.
Aubrey’s voice cracked. “He got home from work really late. I didn’t think he was coming. I had the champagne in an old pail with ice, and it was practically melted. It made a puddle on the floor.”
I had to jump in. “He slipped in the puddle?”
Aubrey looked aghast. “No! Worse! He thought I was a burglar. He had his gun drawn on me.”
I burst out laughing.
Aubrey hit me on the shoulder. “It wasn’t funny. I was scared stiff.”
I rocked with another wave of laughter. “Yeah, but was he?” I couldn’t resist.
Aubrey’s tears began anew. I quickly controlled myself. Aubrey was in real pain. She slid to the floor and wedged herself between the couch and the coffee table. Her shoulders shook as she wailed. I slipped out of my shoes and sat beside her on the floor. Fortunately, that baggy shirt harbored a truckload of tissues. I waited quietly while she cried.
“I was kneeling on his bed, and I stared down the barrel of his gun. Then he left the room, and I heard the door shut. I wondered if he was gone.” She motioned toward the door with a soaked tissue.
In the Name of Glori (The Redemption Series: Book 3) Page 6