by Nigel May
‘But that person died. We saw them die in the van? We thought it was Mitzi. We thought she was gone.’
‘An unfortunate casualty. Another of the club had been involved in the fetish scene in Mexico before so it was easy to hire a female impersonator to dress up as Mitzi. Again the power of money. I should have employed a woman but the sense of it being a man actually rather tickled me to be honest. I found it particularly dramatic. I also thought he’d be a better driver. Sadly he wasn’t. He was supposed to lose you, not lose his own life. Having to explain how a female death actually turns up a male corpse is something not even money can buy a suitable explanation for.’
‘But the police didn’t seem to take it any further. Every clue seemed to reach a dead end.’
‘Georgia, the society is very far reaching. We have members who can manage to see important papers and documents buried in the in-trays of even the busiest of police stations. Corruption is the foundation Hollywood was built on. And that corruption runs far and wide.’
There was silence, a moment of contemplation for Jacob as he looked back on what he had revealed to Georgia. At the role he had been forced to play by those around him. ‘Jack Christie wasn’t supposed to die, but I don’t give a shit about him, that was just Sarah here being a little less Calamity Jane with her aim than she should have been. Shame really, as her skilled shooting was one of the reasons I thought she’d make such a perfect addition to the club. Thank God she missed Charlie, Nova would never have forgiven me if anything had happened to him. It was supposed to be you on the receiving end, it had to be to save my own skin. And now it’s your turn, I’m afraid. I truly am sorry, but it’s you or me and I can’t afford to lose this battle.’
‘How did you know I was here?’ asked Georgia. If Jacob was going to dispose of her then she needed to keep him talking. At that moment in time it looked her only chance of survival.
‘I knew you were coming here because I read your email to Sarah last night. You should always close your mailbox before leaving a room.’
‘And you should always check who’s listening to your conversations when you’re talking on the phone. I heard you talking to Sarah. I knew you were involved, I’ve suspected for while. Your little chat confirmed it. But I just didn’t know that everything linked back to poor Mitzi too.’
‘Well, now you do and it’s all too late. Time for a drive, don’t you think? You and Mitzi in a car. Maybe you fall asleep at the wheel, we can help with that with a little bang on the head, and sadly you and the car disappear over the edge into a fireball of oblivion. Just like in Tijuana except this time it really will be Mitzi. And when the autopsy is done, two female bodies will be identified, putting you two together. Maybe they’ll think you and Mitzi were in cahoots all along. I don’t care what people believe to be honest, because finally I can put this whole sorry mess behind me. I’ll have to lie to Nova, but this whole industry is built on scandalous lies, so what’s new? It’ll break Nova and Charlie’s hearts for a while but they’ll get over it. He’ll just think he picked a bad one in you after all, and Nova will be there to pick up the pieces.’
‘But it seems it’s me who’s picked a bad one.’ The tearful voice came from the top of the stairs where Nova and Charlie were standing. Georgia wasn’t even sure how long they’d been standing there but it was obviously long enough for both of them to have caught wind of what was going on.
Relief washed over Georgia as she realised that at last her plan to alert Charlie had worked. She’d typed out a text message to her fiancé giving Sarah’s address when she had been in the toilet. The text had told Charlie that he should come to the house immediately, that it had been Sarah who had fired the gun at Evie’s event and that Georgia was now in grave danger. She had set it up so that all she had to do was press the send button on the phone at the moment when Sarah confessed to the shooting. She had placed the phone behind her back on the sofa when she had been sitting opposite Sarah. Thankfully the message had successfully sent when she had pressed the send button while wiping her sweaty hands and Charlie had reacted to it, obviously driving like the wind given the swiftness of his arrival. What Georgia hadn’t planned on was that Nova might accompany him. Or that the tale of Sarah and the shooting would be linked back to Mitzi.
It was Nova who had just spoken at the top of the stairs. And it was she who continued to speak, horrified at what she and Charlie had heard. ‘Not you, Jacob. I thought you were a good guy. I thought you and I … we were forever. A true family.’
Jacob turned to stare at his wife and stepson in the doorway. The two people who he had hoped would never learn the truth. Or learn of his failure. His failure to stay top dog. He automatically pointed the gun at Nova as she spoke. Just the mere thought of what he was doing and the heartache he was causing her forced tears to fall, all former bravado evaporating as they flowed silently down his cheeks. She was the beautiful rose that he had never wanted to blacken with his actions.
‘You weren’t supposed to hear this, Nova. Never. I am a good man. I was, before all of this. I can be again. I should have given it all up when I met you, but I couldn’t. How would that have looked? I started it all. This is bigger than just you and me.’ He knew that his words were empty and useless. Regret raged through him, but it was too late to save his soul.
Nova shook her head as she stared down at her husband. There were many things she could forgive but putting her son in danger was not one of them. ‘For me, nothing is bigger than you and me. Except this.’ She reached out and held Charlie’s hand. ‘How could you? It’s too late.’
‘Don’t say that, Nova, please.’
‘But it is, Jacob, it is. There’s no turning back. There’s blood on your hands and that’s something I won’t ever be a part of.’
‘But I had no choice, don’t you understand?’ His words were pathetic. Beyond hope. Beyond turning back.
‘There’s always a choice.’ Nova’s weren’t.
For the second time in less than forty-eight hours, two shots sounded out in quick succession and two bodies once again fell to the floor. The woman, later identified as Sarah Ellison, Production Assistant on Champagne Super Nova, had died from a bullet shot directly into her chest. The second body, identified as media millionaire Jacob Chevalier, husband of the show’s main star, had died from a bullet wound to the side of his head. Witnesses testified that Jacob had fired both bullets.
Epilogue
Georgia Bellamy sat herself down, let her head tilt back and the crisp freshness of the Chevalier sitting room leather sofa caress the back of her neck. She closed her eyes and let a cloud of fatigue wrap itself around her. Even months after her ordeal finding Mitzi had come to an end, there were still moments when a fear of what could have been gripped her soul, making her realise just how lucky she was to be alive. Both she and her friend, Mitzi.
Georgia had decided to stay on in Hollywood with Charlie and Nova at the Bel-Air home. She had grown increasingly fond of the kooky reality star and a bond of understanding had developed between them during the course of her quest to find Mitzi. Nova had always been there for her, protective and willing to help in any way possible. So when Charlie decided to give up his job on Rise and Shine to be with his mother, Georgia quit hers too. Nova was the closest thing Georgia now had to a caring mother of her own and she wanted to be there for her. Despite the nature of Jacob’s demise, Georgia could see that Charlie had lost another father figure from his life, an occurrence that had happened far too many times for any one man. The thought of being without Charlie on a day-to-day basis was simply one she wouldn’t even consider. He was hers for eternity, her constant sunshine no matter what storms life decided to throw at her.
The news of Jacob’s death rocked Hollywood. Images of Nova filled virtually every front magazine cover that Georgia chose to read, no-one quite believing that such a big player as Jacob Chevalier, husband and producer behind the ultimate TV reality star could have been involved in something so seed
y. The founding member of a secret sex society, a cult, one that seduced young actresses into believing that opening their legs would open their careers. A new kind of casting couch and one that had taken a fatal unexpected twist.
Georgia, Charlie and Nova would often sit and discuss how varied quarters of Hollywood media high life were reacting in different ways. For those with money it seemed to be a story which no-one wished to acknowledge. Maybe they were too close to the truth. Perhaps they feared that loose lips could still cost someone their million dollar job or embroil them in a scandal which they wanted to keep not just at arm’s length, but in a different stratosphere altogether. It was a story wrapped up in barbed wire with the potential to damage many. Georgia would scan the credits of virtually every film or TV show and stare at the names of actors, producers, directors, execs who were potentially linked to the scandal. But with the gossip mongers of Hollywood obviously on shutdown as to who could potentially be involved in the secret society sex cult, even the most venomous of mags and websites seemed to treat the real reason behind Jacob Chevalier’s suicide as a no trespassing area. Had they been paid for their silence? Lips were locked tight. Young aspiring actresses coming into town seemed to become suspicious about everything and any established actress giving TV interviews to promote her latest movie was quick to drop into conversation that they’d earned everything they had through sheer talent, hard work and determination. Some were telling the truth, some weren’t. It was left for the public and for viewers like Georgia to decide.
For weeks after Jacob’s death, Georgia had often heard Nova sobbing alone in her bedroom at night. It was a sound that would live with her forever. Such sorrow. The one thing that Nova desired was now gone for good and no money could ever buy it back. Her love for Jacob. Despite all that he had done they had been perfect together. She would never forgive him for what had passed, for the soiled legacy he had left her, but she was determined that she would look back on their happy times together as joyously as she could. All future episodes of Champagne Super Nova were cancelled at her request. Who could she trust? Nova’s star would rise again, of that Georgia for sure, but for now she chose a life of privacy, of family, behind the gated façade of her estate. This was one story she would not be milking for publicity.
Georgia invited Devon and Tanya to come to Los Angeles to stay with them. Only for a vacation, as both Devon and his Russian bride preferred their climes a little cooler. Plus she knew LA would be a little too haphazard for her structured father’s liking. Tanya seemed happy to be by Devon’s side, and his happiness meant Georgia felt a new-found respect for the Russian that hadn’t existed before. A mutual happiness causing a thawing between them. Hadn’t they all suffered enough? Maybe now was the time for a white flag to be flown permanently. Tanya’s mother sadly passed away due to a brief illness shortly after Devon and Tanya reunited. Tanya shared with Georgia how she took comfort in the fact that she had been able to make her mother’s life as happy as possible in her final years, thanks to Devon. With the loss of her own mother came an understanding that the two women shared.
Devon chose never to tell Georgia what he had discovered about the truth behind the death of Sophia and Nicolas Belvoir. Who would it profit? Jack Christie was dead and Andy North was serving time for his part in the events at Evie’s charity night. Didn’t Georgia have enough people to hate now that she had discovered the truth about Jacob and how the bullet that night at Evie’s event had been meant for her?
Georgia had become closer to Evie after Mitzi’s ordeal. The actress located to Los Angeles for her next movie, a rom-com casting her as the undecided, ditzy love interest stuck between falling head over heels in lust with her boss, played by Eddie Redmayne and settling down with her childhood sweetheart, played by Jamie Dornan. The two women often lunched, discussing Mitzi’s recovery and reminiscing about the cards that life had dealt them. Evie explained to her what Victoria had been through with her addiction and over time, Georgia came to understand just what had made Victoria so vulnerable and insecure. After everything, she forgave.
Evie had donated the entire fee for her latest movie to funding the ongoing treatment of Mitzi Bidgood who was attempting to get over her ordeal with the best aid available. On a week’s break midway through shooting the new movie, Evie was visited by Scott and Victoria and the twins. She had rented a huge secluded villa with a pool and play area as she knew that the children would be coming to stay. Georgia and Charlie had joined them for days around the pool, all thoughts of rivalry between Georgia and Victoria erased. Victoria and her husband seemed solid and even though Scott’s injuries were still evident in the form of a crooked nose and a slight limp, neither of them were popping painkillers or pills of any kind. They brought their new nanny with them, a gay man called Jasper. It seemed that both Victoria and Scott adored him, as did the children.
Opening her eyes from her slumber, Georgia focussed on the huge plasma screen on the other side of the Chevalier sitting room. A familiar face filled it. Aaron Rose. Aaron had arrived in Hollywood at the start of pilot shooting season. Despite Jacob’s death, those bigwigs who had survived the Mitzi scandal had decided that the rugged slab of prime British beefcake was exactly what was needed for their new show. It was news that his agent, Rachel Jerome, was overjoyed to relate to Aaron who had all but given up on securing the job. The pilot was badly written and Aaron’s acting even worse, but somehow the public loved it and an entire series was commissioned. Before he knew it, Aaron’s handsome, bearded face was staring down from billboards from Times Square to Tampa. His love interest in the show was played by Diana, the actress last seen in Clampires, the girl whom Charlie and Georgia had found crying her eyes out outside poor Addison’s flat the day of her death. The role turned Diana into the star that she had always wanted to be. Despite initial bad reviews – and Georgia had to admit that the episodes she and Charlie had watched curled up on the sofa were beyond ridiculous with their farcical storylines – the show cleaned up come awards season, with Aaron bagging best TV newcomer. His award was presented by a beaming Nova, fighting fit and back to prove that there was life after loss. In her introduction she claimed that it was she who had discovered Aaron in the first place.
Georgia could hear the sound of the vacuum coming from upstairs. Juanita was doing her job. Nova had never had to reprimand the maid again about the state of her carpets. After Jacob’s death, she had instructed Juanita to clean out the cupboards in order to donate all of Jacob’s designer outfits to charity. Perhaps something good could come from his death. One of the cupboards was locked. When Juanita managed to find the key they found that it was full of hessian robes, the same ones used for the club ‘performances’. The same hessian that had kept flaking all over the floor, much to Nova’s annoyance and poor Juanita’s perplexity. It never happened again.
Georgia looked around at the expensive trappings surrounding her. She may have been in the glamorous heights of Bel-Air, thousands of miles away from where she grew up and a million miles away from the home life she had shared with Devon and Sophia, but this was home now. And despite the madness of everything she had experienced it was one that was filled with the important things in life. Love and friendship. Two things she would never take for granted.
It was months later when Mitzi Bidgood finally returned to the UK, her recovery in Los Angeles complete. Thanks to funding by both Evie and Nova, Mitzi had been able to recover from her hideous ordeal in the quickest time possible and thanks to Evie organising a private jet, Mitzi’s mother could be by her side throughout. She was frail but there was a newfound strength since discovering her only child was alive that allowed the elderly lady to feel up to travelling. For Mitzi the nightmare of losing Foster, of what she had seen in the Canyon, even when she discovered it to be fake, and the weeks of degradation locked away in the basement were things that she would never totally recover from. They would always be there as dark, haunting shadows in her mind. But as she stepped into the limel
ight of the London TV studios to give her first interview since her ordeal, she knew that she would be okay. She felt stronger, her body almost as it had been before that fateful night in the Canyon.
As she walked onto set to rapturous applause from those gathered in the audience, which included the newly-married Georgia and Charlie who had flown in especially to support her, the music that introduced the Saturday night TV show she used to dance on was played to accompany her entrance. It took her by surprise. She hadn’t heard it for the longest time. She thought that it would freak her out, make her realise what she had lost. But somehow it didn’t, because deep inside her once broken frame, she knew that one day soon she would dance again. If anything could banish those shadows for good it would be the lure of the dance floor. As Georgia watched on, she had never been prouder of her friend.
Letter from Nigel
Hi there everyone!
It’s a scandal! I totally hope that you loved Scandalous Lies and that you became engrossed in every page-turning moment. Did you guess what had happened to Foster and Mitzi? Were you rooting for Georgia and Charlie? Did you fall under the spell of the madcap Nova? I hope that you enjoyed Scandalous Lies as much as I loved writing it. It was a blast!
One of the things that I loved doing with Scandalous Lies was relating back to things that you may have recognised from my previous books Trinity and Addicted. Evie Merchant was (and still is of course!) one of the three Trinity girls and if you’d like to see her play the leading role in one of my books then check out Trinity. Also The Abbey Rehabilitation Centre (where Victoria went) is the place featured in my thrilling romp Addicted. I love including things from other books as it makes everything so much more real for me in creating our own dynamic booky world!