A tap at the door caused them to scurry around hiding their bags, but Zaira relaxed when she looked through the peephole and saw Matt standing outside alone.
“Right, I’m ready. The car is downstairs, and I got out some cash from the bank, a few thousand, just in case.”
“Bless you Matt, I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”
“Just write the book for me when this is all finished,” he teased, pecking her on the cheek.
“Let’s go, then, but separately. Brad, you go down with Matt. I'll take the stairs and meet you in a few minutes around the corner.”
Zaira took one last look around the apartment after they had gone, and gathered up her lecture notes and a big brown envelope. She scribbled an address on the front and stuck a few stamps on it firmly, then raced out of her apartment and locked the door.
She heard the elevator coming up, and dashed for cover in the stairwell when she saw two uniformed police officers get off and head towards her door.
Zaira fled down the stairs and around the corner as fast as her trembling legs would carry her.
“Drive, Matt, drive!” Zaira shouted, as she flung her bag in the front and leapt in.
Matt took off uptown, and then said, “I take it you want to go to Kennedy?”
“No, Matt, I’m sorry. Too dangerous. No, we're going to Toronto.”
“What!” both men gasped simultaneously.
“Sorry, but I knew they would probably be coming after Brad soon, and we’ve just missed the police now. They will be looking to make sure he doesn’t leave the country, especially if they know he has a home in London. So it isn’t safe to try to get to London from Kennedy.
“We'll take it in turns driving to Toronto. If we make good time, we’ll get there late tonight, and there should be an early morning flight Brad can get on. The only problem is crossing the Canadian border, but they might not have any reason to suspect we've flown the coop. We'll just have to act naturally when we get there, and once we are over the border, there is little the police can do.”
“All right, I can see I haven’t got much choice,” Brad agreed, “but I don’t want you and Matt at risk. You should stay here, let me go on by myself. I'll pay you back for the car.”
“Don’t be silly, Brad. Zaira wants to go with you, and so do I,” Matt declared stoutly. “You stand a better chance if you're with a few more people, than on you own. They might know about you being with Zaira, so it will look better if there are three of us. They probably won’t bother to check up on us, but if they do, we mustn’t say we’ve come from New York. Tell them Albany instead if they ask.”
“I’m very grateful for all your help,” Brad said quietly, before slumping back into the back seat to look out of the window quietly.
Zaira glanced at him briefly, and saw he was barely containing his upset. She squeezed his knee and reassured him, “It will work out, I promise. You’ll look back on this all one day, and it won’t be so painful. You can set about trying to clear yourself in London, with those names, dates and places, and as we agreed, you can continue with the costumes, props and so on for “The Dark Lady.”
Brad nodded, and Zaira began to read the map and plot out a route up to the border crossing at Niagara Falls.
Matt drove as fast as he dared, and every two hours they changed drivers. Zaira took the next turn, for she saw Brad was in no state to concentrate, but after her turn, he insisted he wanted to do his share.
Matt made sandwiches in the back of the car, and they listened to the radio in silence. So far there hadn’t been anything about a search for Brad, but Zaira knew it would only be a matter of time.
Once Brad had driven for two hours, Matt said, “We’ll be getting to Niagara soon, so I'd better drive. It’s my car, they will want to check the license. Zaira can pretend to be my girlfriend, and you my brother-in-law, my sister’s husband, if they ask. We are going up to the book fair in Toronto. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard there’s one on either this weekend or next.”
They rehearsed their story for a few minutes, until Zaira’s breath caught in her throat at the beauty of the Falls as they came into view before them. Brad leaned forward for a closer look, and she could feel his awe as he stared out of the window.
“God, it’s incredible. It was worth it to come up here, just to see this.”
Zaira’s palms began to sweat as they saw two uniformed police officers, and two Mounties, waiting for them at the border crossing. There was a line of traffic as the drivers waited patiently for their turn, and also paused to stare at the natural wonder before them.
Finally it was their turn, and Matt’s voice was a model of calmness as he answered their questions with a smile. They opened up the trunk of the car, and looked on the floor at the back, but apart from that, they did not seem unduly interested in them.
Just as they were about to pull away, Zaira noticed one of the police officers nudge the others, and he said, “A couple, red haired woman, dark man,” and moved off in the direction of the vehicle three cars behind their own.
“Let’s go, now, Matt,” Zaira insisted in a low voice, and with a cheery wave, they glided past the Mounties to freedom.
“God, that was close. They were looking for a couple, matching our description. How many more hours to Toronto, do you figure?”
“About another five, if we don’t stop. But we’ll have get gas soon,” Matt said, looking at the gauge.
“All right, but Brad will have to lie low in the car, and we won’t stop for coffee or anything. Once we get to Toronto, we’ll find a place near the airport, and get some fast food. The fewer people who see him walking around, the better.”
“Damn it, I’m being treated like a criminal already!” Brad swore, hitting his fist against the back seat.
“It’s for your own good, Brad. You don’t want to really end up in prison, do you?” Zaira coaxed, hoping he would see reason.
“I know, I’m sorry, it just seems so unfair you are taking all this trouble. It is still not too late for me to go to them, explain,” he argued.
“Explain what? Those photos look real enough to convince a jury. Even with people knowing what digital photography and editing can do, they still thing seeing is believing. We know your innocent, but the only way to prove that is to stay out of police custody. You must stay free long enough to establish some sort of alibi, find people willing to stand up for you. The police won’t try to solve this case if they think they already have their man!”
“Zaira’s right, Brad,” Matt chipped in. “Whether you like it or not, the American public will hang on every word of this, and it’s in every paper. Where are you going to get a jury willing to find you innocent? The photos look like you, and even if they are doctored, it will be very difficult to get people to believe they're fakes. You must go to England, see your father, and as Zaira says, you can work on “The Dark Lady” until you are able to come back again. This might be a blessing in disguise.”
“I don’t see how, “ Brad muttered, but Zaira hoped Matt was right. It looked bleak, but she knew she would reveal the whole truth and save Brad’s career and reputation. Even if it meant losing Brad forever, she would get the truth to come out. Even if Zaira ended up going to prison, she would set herself free of the past once and for all.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The rest of the drive proved uneventful. Matt mostly sat silently listening to the radio, while Brad and Zaira were lost in their own thoughts and fears.
A short time after midnight, Matt pulled the car into a motel parking lot not too far from the airport in Toronto. Zaira went in to book two rooms, while Matt parked the car around the side out of the way, and Brad stayed in the back. She gave Matt’s name, and then signed her pen name Zoe Dominick. She took the keys, but refused help from the desk clerk to show her to her rooms.
Zaira walked along the porch to the first room, and got the door open quickly. She signalled for Brad to get inside when the coast was clear. Then she
got their things out of the car, and handed Matt his key.
“I’ll just go around to that fast food place I saw before, and get us something hot to eat. Burgers okay?” Matt asked quietly.
“Fine, thanks for thinking of it, and for all your help.”
“It’s not over yet,” Matt warned.
“No, I know that, it’s only just beginning. But I'm going to finish it,’ Zaira declared grimly.
Matt nodded and walked off towards the glowing neon lights of the main street.
Zaira went back into the room and got out a few things for the morning, while Brad lay on the double bed staring up at the ceiling.
She decided they had talked enough, so she left him on his own, until she heard a rap at the door, and Matt came in with the bags of burgers and fries.
They ate in near silence, until Matt said, “I’ll go to the airport tomorrow, and find out what time the flight goes. Then I think I should buy a ticket as well, to make it look like we’re travelling together on business. Your only trouble will be to clear customs the other side of the Atlantic, but I hardly think the authorities will be alerted over there just yet, and even then, there isn’t much they can do to you. Get to your father, and tell him everything.”
“I’ll do my best, and I’ll pay you back,” Brad vowed.
“I’m counting on it, next time I'm in London or Malibu,” Matt joked Then he said good night to them both, and disappeared out the door.
Zaira lay down beside Brad, too exhausted to even take off her clothes. She could not help the feeling of despair which welled up inside her at the thought that this would be the last night they would ever spend together. Only last night, at the cast party, they had been so happy. Now it had all been swept aside, and there was no way she could ever win back Brad’s love once he found out the truth.
Brad moved to take her in his arms, and Zaira nearly wept her despair. He could see the tears shimmering in her eyes, and said, “It will only be for a short time, unless of course you want to come with me. I know it would let a few people down, but I would look after you in London, and “The Dark Lady” could go ahead even more quickly with you working on it full time in London with me.”
Zaira was so tempted to say yes, but in her heart she knew her path lay in another direction.
“No Brad, I have to go back to New York, tie up a few loose ends. Then I can come out to see you, if that’s what you still want.”
“Of course it will be what I want. You aren’t doubting my love for you, are you?” Brad demanded roughly.
“No, of course not. You love me now, I know. But there may be a point in your life where you don’t want or need me any more.”
“After all,” Zaira added, silencing his protests with one finger on his lips, “we do come from totally different worlds, and we don’t know each other all that well yet. Sometimes love isn’t enough to keep two people together. There has to be trust, shared interests, as well.”
“We have all that Zaira. If I had the chance to stay, don’t you think our relationship would continue to grow?” Brad urged.
“But you would have left New York in February anyway, gone back to your life in California. I may not be suited to that. What I am saying is, I won’t hold it against you if you see me in a new way, if you come to find you don’t really love me after all. I’ve cherished every moment we’ve shared together, and I never dreamed such happiness could exist.”
Brad began to kiss and caress her all over, as he gently removed her clothes and pressed his body against her ardently.
“It’s not over. I love you, and nothing will change that.”
Zaira’s doubts were chased out of her head as he made love to her with a passion which matched her own. A small voice inside her head told her it was the last time, and she let all her inhibitions slip as she made love to the man who possessed her utterly, body, soul and mind.
They almost didn’t dare sleep, so precious were their last moments together.
But Matt came tapping on the door not long after dawn, and told Brad to get ready for the nine o’clock flight. After a new silent breakfast of fast food again in the room, they re-packed and headed for the airport.
As they waited for the flight to board, Zaira tried to convince Matt to really use the ticket he had bought, and go with Brad.
“Look, it will give him a better chance, and you can let me know in case anything goes wrong. Talk to Brad’s father, convince him,” Zaira cajoled.
“But what will you do? Drive all the way back to New York by yourself, and just sit and wait?”
Zaira waited to reply until Brad had gone off to the men's room.
She told him of her suspicions, and declared, “I’m responsible for all of this, I’m the only one who can end it. I’m going to California, and one way or another, I’ll blow the whistle on Jonathan.”
Matt tried to dissuade her, but to no avail. “Zaira, think what you're doing! Jonathan is a criminal. He's stolen before, he is stealing now, and fabricating all sort of lies about Brad. This proves to me he's totally unscrupulous. What do you think he'll do to you if you get in his way?”
“Matt, I appreciate the concern, but what other choice do I have? I must go out to the West Coast to stop him,” she said urgently.
“Zaira, please, go back to New York, and let the police handle this,” Matt begged.
“I can’t do it, Matt. I have to help Brad.”
“He won’t thank you for it! This is a crazy idea. You could get hurt. Please, Zaira, let your head rule your heart on this one.”
Zaira shook her head emphatically. “I'm going to LA. Don’t try to persuade me otherwise. My mind is made up. Jonathan is behind all this, and he’s going to pay.”
“You can’t take him on all by yourself, Zaira! It’s ridiculous.”
“I’ll get help. And with any luck, Brad will persuade his father of his innocence. When you get to London, tell Cormac Clarke to meet Zoe Dominick in California, secretly, mind, at the Bonaventure hotel in two weeks. But don’t tell him what it is really about. Make him think there is some problem with “The Dark Lady” project.”
“What if he isn’t in London when we get there?”
“Then I'll have to find him somehow, secretly, but he has to help me clear Brad.”
“All right, I'll go to London with Brad, for a few days. Hopefully the authorities won’t be looking for him just yet. But you be careful, and don’t worry about money or the car. I’ll take it all out of your next book,” Matt teased, “but it had better be a blockbuster.”
“It will be, trust me.”
Brad returned a moment later.
Matt gave Zaira a few worried looks, but said nothing of her plan to Brad.
Finally, their flight was called, and while Brad argued that Matt was making far too may sacrifices for him, Zaira eventually led them both to the security checkpoint near their departure gate.
Matt pecked her on the cheek, and said, “Be careful, and I will hear from you soon in New York.”
Brad swept her up into his arms, and kissed her one last time. Her knees shook, and the tears began to fall. She reached up her hand to touch his smooth cheek, and said, “Just remember, I love you, no matter what.”
“And I you, my dearest Zaira.”
Then Brad was gone. His broad shoulders dwarfed Matt’s own as they walked up the ramp together, then they both turned and waved. Brad’s emerald eyes locked with hers in an intimate caress which sent desire flooding through her, and he blew Zaira a kiss as he disappeared.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Zaira sat down on a bench for a few moments, trying to stop the tears flowing down her cheeks. Brad was gone. She had to stop thinking about him, longing for him. She had a job to do, and do it she must.
Before she left the airport, she rang Raymond Ness in his office, and explained her situation briefly.
“I’m sorry to let you down, Ray, after everything you’ve done for me in the past, but I've just got some
information about Jonathan which I have to follow up on so I can get a divorce from him once and for all. Can you take the lectures for me for the next couple of days? I’ve mailed you the rest of my lecture notes, so Ann can do them, if that’s all right.”
“Jonathan, you say. Well, that's a relief. You need closure on that chapter of your life. Go ahead and follow up, with my blessings. Do whatever you need to. The job will be open whenever you come back, and I'm sure my wife will love to go back to a bit of teaching again.”
“Thank you, Ray, for everything.”
“Be careful, Zaira, won’t you. Ring if you need anything.”
Zaira hung up, and went out into the brisk autumn air. She read her maps and then plotted out her route to LA.
It took Zaira a week to drive down to LA, a tedious journey, but one which allowed her lots of time to contemplate her strategy once she got to California. She didn’t dare go on the plane, for she was certain Jonathan would be keeping an eye out for her somehow. She even planned a fairly roundabout route, just in case someone was on to her after her crossing through Niagara.
Zaira wondered if she should go to the police straight away. But she was reluctant, because there would be no point in trying to protect herself by telling only half-truths. She would have to admit everything she knew about her husband, and hope the authorities would see that she had every reason to be suspicious of Jonathan being the one responsible for the campaign against Brad.
But what if they threw her into prison, assuming she was guilty also? After all, it seemed an incredible coincidence for her to be with Brad in New York while her husband plotted against him in LA.
Zaira was reluctant to lay all her cards on the table to the police. They would be understaffed, overworked, and wouldn’t be able to give all the time the investigation would need. There were always private detectives, though.
She wondered if Cormac Clarke would take Brad’s side. She wasn’t even sure if he would be willing to meet with her. Zaira cringed at the thought of having to admit to him everything she knew. Cormac would probably despise her, but that didn’t make much difference. All that mattered now was that Brad should be cleared of the charges against him.
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