“Alice Love!”
As if hearing her thoughts, Vivienne’s voice suddenly rang out through the party, and Alice looked up to find her boss charging in her direction, her black satin cocktail dress looking remarkably like armor, edged with silver cuffs and a fearsome belt. In fact, as Vivienne parted the sea of guests and stalked across the lawn toward her, Alice could see that her face was glowering angrily.
She took a step back in fear. “What…What’s wrong, Vi?” Alice asked, thinking in horror of the break-in, and police questions, and the swift end to her secure, if sedate, career. Nobody would hire a lawyer with a criminal conviction to her name!
“You know very well what’s wrong.” Coming to a halt not two feet away, Vivienne jabbed one polished fingertip toward Alice’s collarbone.
She took another step back, stalling for time. “No, no, I’m not sure.”
Vivienne gasped theatrically. “And to lie to my face, after everything I’ve done for you!”
Alice glanced around. The party was silent, all eyes on them. Saskia rushed to Vivienne’s side, glaring at Alice with identical disapproval.
Oh God.
“Why don’t you tell me what’s happened?” Alice tried to keep her voice from trembling. It all came down to how much Vivienne knew: just her occasional impersonations or the whole messy affair? She gulped, reaching out to guide Vivienne away from the crowd. “In fact, let’s go talk about this inside, so we don’t interrupt—”
“Hollywood!” Vivienne announced, shaking off her hand. “You thought you could just up and leave? Taking all my clients with you!”
Alice stopped.
“That’s right,” Vivienne scowled. “Although why you think they would follow you when you have no connections or experience…”
So this wasn’t about her crimes? Alice felt a great sweep of relief, but it was soon tempered with new confusion. “Vivienne.” Alice’s voice dropped, as she looked helplessly around. “I really don’t know what you mean.”
“Like hell you don’t!” Vivienne drew herself up and glowered at her. “I’ve heard all about your little plans. An agency, in Hollywood? I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous. Oh, don’t play the fool with me,” she snapped, taking in Alice’s bewildered expression. “I know everything.”
“Rupert called,” Saskia piped up. “He’s in L. A. He heard you were setting up over there, and wanted to get hold of you.” She folded her arms smugly.
“But…I really don’t…” Alice didn’t understand. “He must have been mistaken,” she insisted.
“Ha!” Vivienne snorted. “I’ve been asking around, I know everything. The Angelique Love Agency, indeed. Did you really think the name would keep me from finding you out?” she jabbed her finger again. “What were you planning—to stay here long enough to steal all our information, tempt the clients away?”
“No, no!” Alice shook her head, still not grasping what on earth—
Ella.
Alice realized the truth in a flash. It was Ella! She must be in L. A.—using Alice’s identity to pass herself off as, what, an agent? Or had that just been a random lie that had somehow found its way back to Rupert?
But it was Ella, after all this time.
“I just don’t understand.” Vivienne was clearly through the anger phase of her tirade and into wounded indignation, playing for the rapt crowd. “This is the thanks I get, for taking you in and nurturing you, like my own child! And when I think of the favor I did your poor father…” Vivienne held one hand to her forehead, as if she were about to swoon. Alice rolled her eyes,
“That was years ago,” she replied, impatient. She just wanted to know what Ella was doing out there!
“So you admit it?” Vivienne gasped.
“Well, it sounds like the proof is pretty damning.” Alice was already thinking of her passport, and plane tickets. She glanced at Vivienne, standing imperiously in front of her flock, awaiting some sort of apology—a grasping, groveling plea for forgiveness.
And just like that, the job Alice had only moments before been so scared to lose suddenly seemed insignificant compared to the real revelation of the day. She didn’t need this—not when she had more important matters waiting for her across the Atlantic.
Fuck Vivienne and her theatric power plays.
“I better leave then.” Alice smiled, suddenly carefree. “Since it’s clear I’m not wanted.”
Vivienne drew in a breath, her heavily kohled eyes bulging with rage.
“And yes, take this as my resignation,” Alice added, before Vivienne could think to fire her. “Enjoy the party, everyone,” she added with a beam. Then, depositing her drink on a nearby tray, Alice happily sauntered away, leaving a hushed murmur of surprise in her wake.
***
Dashing straight to the office before Vivienne could change all the locks, Alice hastily called Rupert’s wife to track down his international number, keeping one eye on the door in case a battalion was sent to stop her pilfering all those important client files.
“Alice!” He exclaimed happily, when she finally got through. “You got my message?”
“Yes…” It suddenly struck her that if she revealed Ella’s part in all of this, Rupert might do something stupid like confront her. Or, worse still, involve the police.
“Oh, crap, did I land you in it with Vivienne?” he mistook her hesitance as disapproval. “I’m so sorry. It’s just, when my friend said he’d met you over here, I thought you’d left Grayson Wells for good. Or at least handed in your resignation.”
“No, it’s fine,” Alice reassured him quickly, already packing away some belongings from her desk into an empty cardboard box. “I have quit. I’ve just been…wrapping things up over here.”
“Congratulations!” Rupert sounded thrilled for her. “And it’s such good timing too, because I need your services. A friend of mine is working as an assistant director on a new film, and, well, he’s managed to wrangle me a part. It’s nothing big,” he added, ever modest. “But it’s comic, like you suggested, and it pays well. I was hoping you could look over the contract for me?”
“Of course,” Alice agreed. “But shouldn’t you find a real agent?”
“I will,” Rupert promised. “I just don’t want to rush into it. I’ve learned my lesson,” he added grimly.
“That’s great. I’d be happy to help,” Alice said quickly. “Now, remind me, when did I run into that friend of yours…?”
“Last weekend, I think he said, at Chateau Marmont. I didn’t realize he was talking about you, at first, but then he said you were an agent, from England…” Rupert laughed. “I suppose you changed your mind on the Angelique thing, then!”
Alice echoed his laugh. “Yes, well…Did I give him a card or any contact information at all? A batch of my business cards was printed wrong,” she explained quickly. “So he might not be able to get hold of me.”
“I’ll check,” Rupert replied. “You really should get a website running though—if I hadn’t known Angelique was you, I never would have put the two names together.”
“You’re right,” Alice said thoughtfully. “You’re exactly right.”
***
As she booked her flight for that evening and rushed home, Alice couldn’t help but marvel at the ingenuity of Ella’s plan. A driver’s license, a credit card or two—Alice knew all too well by now how easy it was to build a wealth of identification with just a couple of original documents. And if she went by Angelique, too? Well, there would be no reason for anyone at all to link her back to Alice, not even in the entertainment industry.
The plan was flawless. At least, it would have been, had it not been for the simple matter of Rupert knowing her real name. With Alice tucked away at Grayson Wells in London, Ella could have happily paraded across Los Angeles as Angelique Love for months, if not years, with nobody any the wiser. But now, Alice had her. Now, she would finally know the truth.
***
“Do you want to come to L.
A.?” Alice burst breathlessly into Flora’s studio, the moment she arrived back home.
“What?” Flora looked up from where she was curled, sketching on the sofa. Alice was about to launch into the grand tale of Ella’s discovery when she noticed the vivid, angry paintings that now were neatly stacked along one wall. She paused, Flora following her gaze.
“Oh, those.” She blushed. “Stefan suggested we find somewhere to show them. Under a different name, maybe, so it doesn’t confuse my brand, but…I can’t keep hiding them away forever.”
“That’s great.” Alice smiled. “And…the residency?”
Flora beamed serenely. “We sent my application yesterday. Stefan can come visit, on weekends. If I get it, I mean.”
“You will,” Alice declared. “And guess what? I’ve found Ella, she’s in L. A.!”
Flora gasped. “No!”
Alice quickly explained the accidental discovery, painfully aware that she was due at the airport in a matter of hours. “So, what do you say?” She grinned at Flora. “Come with me?”
A thoughtful look crossed Flora’s face. “No, thanks.” She shook her head slowly. “I think…you better do this on your own.”
“You’re sure?” Alice checked. “It could be fun. I booked the hotel Cassie’s always raving about, and we could do some things together too…”
“No.” Flora smiled. “But thank you for asking.”
“OK.” Alice took a deep breath to calm herself, full of excitement. “I can’t believe I’ve finally found her!”
Flora frowned slightly. “But you’ll be careful? Don’t get your hopes up,” she added quickly. “It’s just…she might not have the answers you want. She did steal from you, remember, and run away. It’s not like she wants you to find her.”
“Relax.” Alice leaned over and hugged her. “I’ll be fine!”
***
Although Alice’s excitement swept her to the airport, Flora’s words returned as she sat, waiting nervously in the departure lounge with a thick stack of magazines and a makeshift dinner of sandwiches and lemonade.
Just what was she expecting from Ella?
Flora was right, of course; Alice had built a whole new picture of who Ella was now, complete with Safe Haven volunteer sessions and regular cookery classes, but in the end, Ella had still betrayed her trust and vanished, leaving debt and destruction in her wake. Alice knew some of her secrets, and the good intentions fueling at least a little of the crime, but if she’d learned one thing, it was that she could never be certain how significant she was in somebody else’s life. She may have spent the past months poring over Ella’s every action with an intensity that almost bordered on obsession, but who was to say Ella had even given her another thought at all? To Ella, she may be just another in a long line of victims, and while Alice had been telling herself that their friendship was genuine, she couldn’t know for sure.
A small part of her wondered whether Ella’s new life could come crashing down as easily as her own.
Alice filed that thought away to ponder during her ample twelve-hour flight time to Los Angeles. She was contemplating one last trip to the bookshop when her phone rang; the display showing a number she hadn’t expected to see. Nathan.
Alice caught her breath. “Hello?” she answered gingerly, turning away from the busy waiting lounge in an attempt for some privacy. Of course, after wanting to hear from him for so long, he would choose now to call, when she was surrounded by impatient tourists and the loud call of announcements. “Nathan?”
There was a pause, and then his voice came, steady and somehow reassuring even after everything. “Hey.” He stopped, and gave a low, rueful sort of laugh. “I’ve been nearly calling you so long, I figured I should just go ahead and dial this time.”
“No, I’m glad you did,” she said quickly. “How have you been?”
“OK, I guess.” Nathan paused again. “I, uh, got your letter.”
“Oh. I wanted to explain,” she said uselessly. “So, you’d understand.”
“Well,” he sighed. “I’m not sure I do.”
Alice felt an ache.
“But I want to.” He added, and just like that, she had hope again. “Do you maybe want to get some coffee? Or a drink. We’re probably going to need alcohol for this,” he added wryly.
“I do, but…” Alice tried to think of what to say, but then a loud blast of the announcement system rang out, demanding that passengers keep baggage with them at all times, otherwise risk controlled detonations and general chaos. Nathan stopped.
“Where are you right now?”
“The airport,” Alice ventured reluctantly. “I…found Ella. I’m going to see her.”
“Alice!”
“I stopped looking, like I told you!” she protested quickly. “But a friend found out by accident.”
Nathan muttered something under his breath. “Have you told the police yet?” he demanded.
“No. And I’m not going to,” Alice insisted. “At least, not until I’ve had a chance to speak to her, to talk things through. Listen,” she implored him. “I’ll be fine. She’s not dangerous, just…”
“A liar? A thief? A two-faced, fraudulent bitch?”
Alice stopped. “Yes, all of them, but…I’m doing this, Nathan. I’ve got to.”
There was another long pause, and then he asked quietly, “And if I told you not to?”
Alice exhaled again, full of regret, but determined nonetheless. “I don’t know if you have the right to ask that, Nathan. This is just something I have to do.”
There was silence.
“Look, I have to go,” she said, feeling that ache again. It shouldn’t be a choice, but if it were, she would pick Ella. She had to see this to the end. “They’re getting ready to board my flight.”
“You’re really going through with this?” Nathan sounded disbelieving. “Even if…”
He didn’t finish, but Alice knew what he meant: even if it meant the end for them.
“Yes,” she replied simply. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” he replied slowly. “Just…take care, OK?”
“I will.”
Alice hung up and sat for a moment, wondering if she’d just made a terrible mistake. But then the cabin crew announced that they’d be boarding the first rows now, and Alice felt her flutter of excitement return. Nathan mattered to her, but so did facing Ella. She may never get this chance again. She had to take it.
Chapter Thirty-three
Although Alice collapsed into bed in a jet-lagged blur, the next morning dawned warm, bright, and full of possibility. Scrambling out of bed, she threw open her window and gave a small sigh of satisfaction. Despite it being October, the weather was positively balmy, blue skied with a faint haze hovering above the nearby Hollywood Hills. Perfect.
Cassie’s hotel recommendation had turned out to be a scruffy place on Sunset Boulevard, boasting an all-night party in the mirrored lounge but basic rooms. Alice didn’t care. She leaned out on the tiny health hazard of a balcony, Los Angeles stretching before her in a strange landscape of billboards, low buildings, and busy streets. She had never visited before, but from her vantage point, it seemed to Alice as golden a city as Rome—not bathed in that warm glow of history, but something newer and just as alluring.
Now, where to begin? Alice grinned, realizing that it was less a challenge than perhaps it ought to be. By now, her investigations had given her such a background in asking tricky questions and obtaining confidential information that she didn’t even blink as she considered the challenges of the day. Navigating a foreign city, procuring Ella’s address, tracking and confronting an experienced fraudster. She paused a moment, struck by a faint wave of regret as she remembered following the trail in Italy, with Nathan by her side, but the feeling was soon pushed aside. This was her quest, and she would finish it alone.
Dressing quickly, Alice armed herself with her trusty notebook and a felt-tipped pen, all but skipping past the sullen, hungover
bodies littering the lobby—until she stepped out of her hotel door and realized that L. A., for all its many joys, was not exactly a pedestrian-friendly city. Her attempt to procure a bus timetable at the hotel reception was met with smirking amusement, while inquiries about the metro were soon dissuaded. So, she headed straight for the rental agency and soon took possession of a sturdy, safe, but rather nondescript car.
“Here you are, Miss Love. You have a nice day!”
Alice took the keys with no small amount of trepidation, feeling their weight in her palm. “And I’m covered for breakdown and collisions?” she checked, yet again.
The toothy young man at the counter beamed. “Yes ma’am. Just call our emergency hotline, twenty-four seven!”
Alice turned, looking through the window at her chosen vehicle. She’d been assured it was the safest in its class, while the plain model would make it less of a target for thieves, but still.
“Is it too late for that upgrade?” she swung back, fixing the man with a hopefully persuasive grin. “I was thinking, perhaps, a red convertible?”
***
It was cliché, she knew, but Alice couldn’t help but feel that was the point: an open-topped car, wind-tousled hair, Bruce Springsteen playing on the car radio as she drove to the place where Ella had been spotted last. If this was her California experience, then she was going to do it properly. She happily strolled through the lobby of the ornate, chateau-style hotel, and took the time to relax with a tall glass of iced tea under a shaded terrace before beginning her questions.
Was this the world Ella had aspired to? Alice wondered, as she watched the sunbathers stroll from the bar to their crisply upholstered loungers. If so, she could see the appeal. Whether it was the money clearly in evidence from the ultra-casual designer details or simply the fact of the unadulterated sunshine, Alice felt a warm glow—deep and relaxing—as she soaked in the scene.
What must it be to simply start again, anywhere you wanted?
When at last she’d had her fill of the view, Alice called Rupert’s contact, briefly explaining she was an old friend looking to get in touch with Angelique.
The Liberation of Alice Love Page 35