There I sat—probably for a good fifteen minutes—in shock. Darla Wilde? The stripper, Darla Wilde, who made the headlines that uncovered David from his undercover job as a notorious drug trafficker—and womanizer. That set in motion a scandal that changed the lives of all our secret agents, not to mention the rest of our extended family.
I remembered the headlines in the Weekly World Gossip about David living with two strippers in Beverly Hills. One of them—Sylvie Mason—turned up dead of a heroin overdose the day Debbie and David returned from their honeymoon. Not the smoothest start to their marriage.
What could she want with me? I didn’t dare even try to call Alain or anyone else. Who knew who was waiting nearby for me to make a wrong move and do me in? What doo doo was I stepping in now?
***
She was there waiting for me, and motioned me to sit.
“You’re Darla Wilde?” I sputtered.
“Darla Winston now. Change the name to protect the innocent, you know.”
“Yeah.” I figured it was something like that.
“Look, you and I both know what we’re dealing with here. If David Lambrecht wants you dead, you’re dead. I’m not stupid enough to cross him. But unfortunately, I’ve become accustomed to a comfortable lifestyle.”
“Oh.” I couldn’t imagine what was going to come next. I didn’t want to. There was always a kind of a wall in my brain that kept the real, deep and gritty understanding of what those guys did under wraps, if you know what I mean. But now there was no escape. This woman was in the middle of it, that much I knew. I watched her check her nails.
“I love this custom nail polish. It’s positively vibrant.”
“Positively.” I nodded. I could feel sweat pouring out of me.
“I happen to know a few things you may not. For instance, Senator Everett and his bodyguards were murdered last year. I understand you’re a friend of his daughter.”
“Yeah, Tamara.” My stomach did flip flops as I remembered the news report that pieces of the guy washed up on the beach.
“Let’s just say, we both know who was at the bottom of that.” She twisted the locket and chain in her fingers.
No! “Huh?” My throat tightened up. “Senator Everett?” My voice was all squeaky.
“He was a bad apple. One of the biggest drug traffickers in the country. Probably the world. He did all right for himself, until the President had enough, I guess.” She giggled. “I know.”
“You—David—President—Everett?” My voice rose higher.
“It’s positively shocking, isn’t it?” She smiled. “But Senator Everett became a potential embarrassment or a liability. Yes, I did hear both of those words used. Anyway, David took care of all of them. Everett and his so-called bodyguards. Highly trained thugs, really. But they were no match for David, were they? Dr. Payne was one of Everett’s distributors. You know Dr. Bill Payne, don’t you?”
I nodded, my mouth still hanging open. “Pain-away Payne.” It came out in a gush of a breath.
“You’d think he’d be happy enough with the millions he made as a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. But he was greedy. He probably supplied most of your friends. Not you, Glori. I know you’d never do drugs.” She waved her hand to perish that silly thought.
She took a look around. No one was anywhere near our bench. “Sadly, Dr. Payne met with an unfortunate end right outside the courthouse not too long ago. Apparently, he knew David eliminated the Senator too. And he made the mistake of discussing it.”
The light bulb started to glimmer in my dazed head. “How did you know the President ordered to have Senator Everett killed?” I was still stammering, but at least my mind was starting to work.
She quit scanning and looked me in the eye. “I overheard something I wasn’t supposed to hear. That prick, Johnson, he was in with David, at least at first.”
She let out an unexpected giggle. “Yeah, Johnson. He was as rotten as the day was long. He worked for the government—whether he was DEA, I don’t know. But he knew the order came from the highest level to get rid of Everett. And Johnson wanted David dead, too. Dollars to doughnuts, it’s Johnson that’s dead by now.”
I could hardly keep from shaking. I was supposed to be an actress, but you’d never know it today.
She exhaled a deep breath. “I don’t care what anyone says, David had feelings for Sylvie. I knew when he found out Johnson murdered her, he’d get that bastard.”
“Whoa. Colonel Johnson murdered that stripper, Sylvie Mason? And then David murdered a colonel?”
Darla laughed out loud. “That asshole was a colonel?”
I guess I knew something she didn’t. But not much. “Yeah. And you’re right—he sure was a slime ball.” I tried to cover up my mistake of admitting David murdered the Colonel. At least that’s what I’d heard through my friend, Tamara—Senator Everett’s daughter. “I don’t know if he’s dead or not. I haven’t heard of him since we moved to Austria.”
“Hmm.”
I couldn’t help feeling sorry for my friend, Tamara. If Darla was right—and why wouldn’t she be—her dad was a terrible criminal, to put it mildly. She probably never knew a thing about it. And she probably never would.
I realized I needed to refocus on the situation at hand. This chick was dangerous with a capital “D.” I decided to try and get some answers. “I thought Sylvie Mason committed suicide. They said she was despondent because David was out of her life, and she overdosed on heroin.”
“That’s what the media said. She was in love with David. She wouldn’t have given her story to that gossip sheet of her own free will. Johnson forced her to do it, and then he killed her. Plain and simple. He had it in for David. He orchestrated that whole scandal.”
“Wow.” My mouth felt like cotton. “How did you get out of his clutches?”
She smiled a kind of a pensive smile. “Sylvie’s brains were in her boobs, and those were fake. I’d like to think I’m a little bit smarter than she was. I do miss her, though. She didn’t deserve what she got. And if there’s a way I can get revenge for her, I will.”
I gulped. It looked to me like Darla was more than a little in love with Sylvie. I kind of shuddered picturing David with the two of them. People were still talking about that scandal wherever I went.
“So how’d you get your picture with David? I figure these secret agents are pretty camera shy when they’re undercover.”
Darla smirked. “Computers are amazing these days, huh? And David’s picture is everywhere since he’s become such a celebrity.”
How could I be so stupid? “Yeah, I guess.”
“Listen, I think we’ve chatted enough for you to know I have some worthwhile information.”
“Oh.” Here it comes.
“I’m not greedy, but I do need some creature comforts and incidentals, like Glori Cosmetics, you know.”
“Sure.” I wiped my sweaty palms on my silk skirt.
“I’m meeting with you, because I think you’re a decent and understanding person.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
“I know who paid William Shaw to kill David Lambrecht.”
“What? He—he was supposed to kill David, not—not the President?” So much for talking to Cat.
“Right. And unless I strike a deal with you, I’m going to have to do something I really don’t want to do, and David and his wife and his children are going to end up dead.”
“Ch…children?”
“The children. The children.” She nodded.
No! The children. This had to be what Cat was getting hysterical about. This had to be it. This time it had to be it.
“I need five million dollars in cash.”
“Five…million? Million?” I was jabbering. “I can’t put my hands on that kind of money. Besides, how do I know it’s gonna do any good? You could take the money, and they could still be killed. Why Debbie? Why the babies?” My eyes started to tear.
“Because the person that wants him dead, wants him to suffer.
Once David got Shaw, it ticked him off, and now he’s decided to really get to him. It’s obvious the only thing in the world David Lambrecht cares about is his wife and their kids. So, this person is willing to pay a few bucks extra to do them first. Just to make David suffer. Get it?”
“Ohhhhhh.” I wiped dripping mascara around my face. “God help us!” I don’t know where that came from. Maybe I was hanging around Cat too much.
Darla winced. “Sweetie, you’re ruining your eye makeup.” She produced a tissue from her purse. “You really need to toughen up a bit. I thought you’d be used to this kind of stuff, hanging around all those secret agents.” She dabbed at my face. “There, there.”
Leave it to me to find a sympathetic crook. And a true fan of Glori Cosmetics. I inhaled the tears. She was right. I did need to toughen up. “So I thought you liked David.”
“I do like him, Glori. That’s why I’m here.” She bit her lip and lifted her pretty brown eyes to the sky. “I respect him. And I’ve got to say, he’s the one man I really enjoyed fucking.” She seemed to be reminiscing, and with gusto.
I felt like I actually blushed. Not that you could tell with all the mascara everywhere. I tried to erase the picture of her and Sylvie and David doing the deed.
How did I get myself into these things? When I got up that morning all I wanted to do was forget Alain and sell some cosmetics. Now I was in the middle of international espionage or something.
“Look, Darla, I need some time.”
“That’s just it, sweetie. We don’t have time. If I don’t get started on this project immediately, I’ll be pushing up daisies—or edelweiss—along with David and his family. That would really be a problem.”
“Huh?” Where would I get five million dollars? I wondered if even Alain could save me this time, if he would want to.
“Okay, Glori, here’s the deal. You can’t talk about our little business meeting to anyone. Not your secret agent boyfriend, not even your hairdresser. Certainly not David. Remember, once that contract is out, there’s no time limit. They’re going to go after him and his wife and his kids till the job’s done. So it’s in your best interest, and theirs, to pay up. Now you’re getting a bargain for the five million, because that includes getting rid of this nasty person who’ll stop at nothing to get rid of David. That way, we’ll all live happily ever after.”
She smiled a glaring white smile. “You have five days. I’m sure you’re making a million a day on this stuff.” She patted the bag she’d just purchased. “I’ll be in touch.”
With that, Darla Wilde or Winston, got up from the bench and sashayed away through a horde of happy golfers. As I watched her disappear, I thought how much I liked her shoes. I know—I was totally insane.
I sat there for a long time. My legs felt like rubber, and my mind was in a tumult. I drew in a deep breath and took out my makeup bag. At least I could fix my makeup.
Chapter Twelve
My phone rang, and I jumped a foot off the bench.
It was Cisco. Maybe he was psychic. “Glori, we’ve been hearing great things about your tour. Sales are soaring. And I have more good news.”
“Cool.” I tried to sound nonchalant.
“We have the websites going beautifully, and we’ve found a way to make the loyalty program much more personal. The individual spa, or even a single client, can choose a specific charity or cause, and assign their contribution to that charity. Spas can do their own fundraisers if they like, and they can also choose to help people on a local, national or global level. We’ll need to maintain a certain level of sales to do that, but that doesn’t look like a problem.”
“Cool.” How could I work this to get an extra five million? “Can they pick any charity?”
“On our website, we’ve listed the charities we’ve investigated and approved. Those are the organizations that are reputable, that give the funds collected to the cause, not their administration. If a particular spa would like to do a fundraiser for a cause we are not familiar with, they can submit some simple paperwork. If it’s a legitimate charity, we’ll release the funds to them.”
“Cool. Ya know the women that the spas hire to make the products all tell me how grateful they are to have this job and be a part of this thing. Maybe they can be the ones to organize these fundraisers.”
“Yes, Cat and I discussed that. It seems logical. Our only concern is they have so many other things to think about, with the training and fitting into a new job, they may not have the time to devote to it. Also, they may not be especially talented communicators, in which case they may not do the best job.”
“Hmm. Yeah, I see what you mean. A lot of them are really into making the stuff, but they’re not exactly people people, if you know what I mean.” How could I work this to come up with five million dollars?
I could hear Cisco smile over the phone. “I do.”
“Okay. So how’s the beach in Spain? Cuz the beach in California is great.”
He chuckled. “It’s great here, too. But we’ve only been here a day or so. We were so busy in London, we just couldn’t get away. Cat and I did finalize our plans to be in New York for the opening. We’re looking forward to it.”
“Cool. I was hoping you guys could make it.”
“Cat says she’s really looking forward to having some time to sit and talk with you. I know she misses you terribly.”
Yeah, now that I already knew the whole disaster of the prediction, Cat was looking forward to talking to me. I would have asked to speak with her right then if I thought it’d do any good. Three quarters of the impact of these predictions she made was sitting there watching her face.
Well, I needed five million dollars now. By mid-September, all would be lost. Even I could foretell that.
“Cisco, I wanted to tell you I’ve come across a deal I want to make. I need some money—five million. Can you loan it to me?”
“Dollars?”
“Yeah.” I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping against hope he’d agree.
“Sure, Glori, what’s the deal?”
“Well, I got word about this shoe manufacturer. I’m thinking I want to buy it.” It was just a little white lie.
His momentary silence started me blathering again. “You know you’re a great businessman, Cisco, and you always take advantage of these spur of the moment deals, and you always make money. I’m just doin’ the same thing. This is one of those deals you gotta jump on or someone else beats you to it…”
“Glori. Glori.” I shut up. “Okay, get me the financials and I’ll take care of it.”
“Financials?” Shit. “No, I gotta do this deal ASAP.”
I could hear his silent frustration on the other end. I didn’t need to be psychic to know this was going down in flames.
“Glori, I’m sure your intuition is correct. But I do need something to substantiate a five million dollar loan.”
How about saving David and Debbie and the babies? Six babies. “How about my word that this is a good deal?”
“That’s fine. But trust me; the company’s CFO will have everything you need if you ask. I’ll move quickly on it for you, I promise.”
“Cool. Thanks Cisco.” My eyes burned so bad.
“Of course. Anything for you, Glori.”
***
I obviously had to conduct my own fundraiser. God only knew how. I punched the phone, still planted on my favorite bench. I figured Alain answered before, maybe he’d pick up again. No such luck. I sure wasn’t going to leave a message.
Okay. I dialed General Pearson’s office and spoke to Betty. What a surprise. Alain was out of town on assignment. And I was shit out of luck. I barely had the wherewithal to wonder how many days behind the secret agent wannabes would be with Alain out of town so much. With any stroke of fortune they’d screw up Bombs 101 and blow up the world. Then I wouldn’t have to worry any more.
Such were my thoughts as I sat there.
The sky was pitch black, and I was still sitting on
that damn bench. I figured my butt had slat marks in it by now, but I still wasn’t sure my legs would work. I checked my watch. From what I could tell with the lights from the building, it looked like it was after midnight. It was deathly quiet, except for the sound of the ocean in the distance. And it was getting a bit chilly.
Who could I possibly call that owed me a favor? My fingers automatically dialed Aubrey. I realized it was 9:00 A.M. in Salzburg as she answered the phone.
“Hi Hon, I hope I didn’t wake you.”
I heard her yawn at me. “No. Just starting to do my yoga. Jimmy’s been gone for hours.”
“Cool. Listen I need a favor. I’m doing a special fundraiser for charity, and I was hoping you’d be a star and donate five million. It’d mean a whole lot to me.”
“Five million? That’s an awful lot of money, especially to one place. What’s the charity?”
I had to think fast. “It’s a charity to save children. It’s a great cause, great cause. And every single penny goes to actually save the babies—I mean—children.”
“Wow. I think I’ve heard of them.”
“Yeah.”
“What does Cisco say?”
“I was just on the phone with Cisco, and he says he’s behind me a hundred percent.” Just bending the truth a tiny bit.
“Okay. Put me down for three.”
“Hon, I was counting on you for five.”
“Glori, I’ve never even donated a million to a single charity before. I can scrape together three, maybe. That ought to help a lot of kids. Won’t it?”
“Yeah, hon, but what we’re actually trying to do is save them. That’s a whole lot more expensive.”
“Oh. Wow. Okay, put me down for three, and I’ll see if I can scrape together some more.”
“Okay. Can you take down this account number? I need the money today.”
Yeah, I did some fancy dancing to get Aubrey to commit to supplying me with three million that day. I only prayed she didn’t mention it to Jimmy. Then I’d definitely be pushing up “edelweiss” with David and Debbie.
***
In the Name of Glori (The Redemption Series: Book 3) Page 14