Figure Skating Mystery Series: 5 Books in 1

by Alina Adams

  Personally, Bex didn't get the reticent act. What Gary had to hide really wasn't all that interesting. Sure, he was assumed to be gay. But in skating, that was like saying someone was assumed to be chilly.

  Nevertheless, Gary never discussed his personal life, and Bex had to believe the gag order extended to the personal lives of his students as well. Which didn't mean she shouldn't try her best to pump him for details about Coop, just that she didn't expect to get anywhere.

  This time around, instead of tackling Gary during practice or after a meal, Bex took a chance and went up to his hotel room, knocking meekly on the door and standing back quickly, lest he had a booby trap in place specifically for the nosy.

  Gary opened the door dressed in perfectly pressed beige linen slacks and a white shirt that most certainly did not look as if it had arrived courtesy of an overstuffed valise all the way from Connecticut. No matter how distant the competition — Russia, Australia, China — Gary's clothes always looked crisp and stainless.

  "Ah, Miss Levy," he said. "I've been expecting you."

  "You have?”

  "Indeed. I suspected you would be turning up at my door sooner or later. I took the liberty of ordering lunch." He wasn't kidding. Gary stood back so that Bex could peek inside his hotel room and notice a table set with two silver, room-service trays. He walked over to lift first one lid, then another, and told Bex, "You have a choice, steak or vegetarian lasagna. I wasn't sure which you preferred."

  "You really ordered lunch for me?" Bex repeated, incredulous.

  "I didn't want you leaving with nothing for your trouble," Gary said, his inference perfectly clear.

  "But how did you know I'd be here?"

  "My dear Miss Levy, we have met before under similar circumstances, have we not? I know how you operate, by now. You're a bright girl, but rather set in your ways for someone so young. You've spoken to the police, you've spoken to Cooper, to Idan, to Pandora, the Howarths, and to Lian. Where else would you come next but to me? I am certain everyone has given you quite the earful about my coaching Cooper, as well as his mother's reasons for severing that relationship."

  "Everybody said that Tess and you didn't see eye to eye. On some philosophical issues." Bex stepped into the room and, not needing to be asked twice, headed straight over to the preset table. She chose the steak option. This job required all of her strength.

  "A philosophical issue." Gary took the seat across from Bex while juggling the verbiage and determining if he liked it "Yes, I suppose that would be one way to put it."

  "You'd like to put it another way?"

  "Not necessarily."

  "Were you surprised by Tess's reaction?"

  "Why should I have been?"

  "Well, for one thing, because she makes this big show of being liberal and open-minded and accepting."

  "Quite a few people, in my experience, are rather liberal and open-minded and accepting. Until the tide reaches their own doorstep."

  “Tess thought you were a bad influence on Coop."

  “Tess was correct."

  "Really?" That brought Bex up short. She even stopped shoveling steak into her mouth.

  "Well, certainly from her perspective. Miss Levy, I do not believe it is a secret that I choose to keep my personal thoughts, feelings, opinions, and practices to myself. I neither volunteer that information nor allow it to be weaseled out of me."

  At the moment, Bex suspected that the role of weasel was being played by her.

  "However, if a student comes to me with a direct question and asks for advice, not coach to student but simply, in this case, man to man, I feel a moral obligation to do what I can and answer their inquiries honestly."

  "Which is what you did with Coop?”

  "I simply shared certain experiences that I believed might be helpful to him."

  "Which is when Tess blew a fuse?”

  "Correct."

  "You don't seem upset about it."

  "Why should I be?”

  "You lost a top pupil."

  "It happens."

  "And his mother, the way I see it, she pretty much offended you, too."

  "That happens as well. Much more frequently than you can imagine."

  "Coop and Allie — " Bex began.

  But Gary simply shook his head. "I know nothing of that relationship. I believe Cooper and Allison did not begin dating until after he left my tutelage and relocated to California."

  "But you know Coop. Do you believe he's the father of Allie's baby7'

  Gary hesitated. He chewed his food, swallowed, and dabbed his lips neatly with a napkin before cautiously opining, "Based on some of the issues Cooper and I discussed, as well as the choices he was struggling with... no. No, I don't think so, Miss Levy."

  So that was four nays (Idan, Sebi, Gary, and Lian) and two yeas (Ralph and Tess) for Coop being the father. Plus Gil's unsubtle edict that he better be — if Bex knew what was good for her.

  What she needed was less innuendo and conjecture and more tangible, physical evidence.

  Like, say, perhaps returning to the arena, rounding a dark corner leading to the production offices, and coming upon Sebi.

  Wrapped in a lip-lock with Coop.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The day of the emergency custody hearing, rather than trying to bully her way into the courtroom and making even more enemies than she already had, Bex simply waited for Gil's reality show crew to return with their footage, then asked the cameraman if she could look.

  "Sure." He handed over the Beta tapes. "Just make sure to check them into the library when you're done."

  "Anything interesting?" she asked super-casually.

  "If you're into breast-beating and soap opera. We did catch a break, though. The judge agreed to do this in chambers and sign a release. Otherwise we'd have been stuck shooting around not just him but also everyone else who happened to wander into the courtroom, which would have been a major pain."

  "Everybody signed a release?" Bex had a hard time believing that Idan or Ralph would be thrilled by the notion of having their family calamity televised.

  "Everybody. Go figure. Then again, all press is good press, right?"

  "I guess..."

  Bex found a free beta screener, popped in the tape (as well as a pair of earphones so no one would know what she was up to), and pressed play.

  Her monitor instantly revealed a wide shot of a wood-paneled judge's office, with the black-robed magistrate seated behind a desk, and everyone else in two rows of chairs directly in front of him. The front row featured Ralph, Idan holding a sleeping Omri in a yellow jumper, Coop, Tess, and two men Bex assumed to be lawyers for various sides. The second row held Pandora, and Sebastian, of all people. Bex wondered if he might be the unimpeachable witness Tess boasted about earlier, and what he could possibly contribute to the conversation.

  Idan was the first to speak. He looked directly at the judge to insist, "I do not understand what we are all doing here. I am the legal father of this child. The claims of everyone else, what meaning do they have?"

  "Allie was my daughter," Ralph snapped. "I got rights."

  "Stepdaughter," Tess reminded from the back.

  Lawyer number one indicated a file the judge already held in his hand and reminded, "We have presented the court with a legitimate birth certificate. If Mr. Adler wishes to sue for custody, this is not the correct venue for his petition."

  "Guy's a pervert," Ralph leaned across the desk, trying to swipe the file away as inconsequential, but only managing to lose his balance in the attempt. He braced himself with one palm and went on, "Grown man sleeping with a little girl, it's disgusting."

  "As you can see by the birth certificate, Your Honor, Ms. Adler was of legal age."

  "He should be strung up by the fucking balls for what he did. Idan's the one that should have been hanging, not my Allie. You can't reward him for being a pervert. My grandson shouldn't be brought up by a criminal. Not to mention that wife of his. What kind
of a home is it where the boy's going to know every day his stepmother hates him because he reminds her of his dad's catting around?"

  "Mr. Adler." Due to the camera's angle, Bex was only privy to the back of Pandora's head — complete with what Bex presumed was an authentic, diamond hair clip to keep her heavily hair-sprayed ponytail in place. So Bex did not, for a fact, know that actual honey was dripping from between Pandora's lips. She could only deduce it from her dulcet, soothing, patronizing tones. "I can assure you that would most certainly never be the case. Omri is my husband's child. As such, I welcome him into my family with open arms and promise to love him as my own."

  "Bullshit," Ralph said. Which, quite frankly, was more or less what Bex was thinking. This certainly wasn't the Pandora she'd encountered the other night. Bex wondered what had changed her mind. Was the woman really so terrified of losing her young — albeit unfaithful — stud, that she was willing to play Mother Bountiful to ensure his not losing custody? Or was something more sinister going on here?

  "I'm not certain what I can say to convince you, Mr. Adler. I'm afraid you're just going to have to take my word that Idan and I will provide Omri with a wonderful home — "

  "This whole point is moot," Tess interrupted. Her lawyer attempted to rest a restraining hand on her shoulder, but she brushed it off like a stray bang strand across her forehead. "The quality of Idan and Pandora Ben-Golan's home is irrelevant, as the child in question isn't theirs. Allan is my grandson."

  "Who the hell is Allan?" Idan snapped.

  "Your Honor, this is Sebastian Vama. He was Allison's Dance partner for many years. I'm sure even Mr. Ben-Golan will agree that the intimacy level necessary for partners to succeed on the ice carries over into their off-ice relationship as well."

  "So what, now he's claiming to be the dad, too?" Ralph huffed.

  "Hardly," Sebi drawled. "What Ms. Devaney is alluding to, is the fact that even more than the other candidates in this room, I was required to be closely attuned to the subtle fluctuations of Allie's body. I skated side by side with her. We had to make hairpin turns where so much as a fraction of an inch leaned in the wrong direction meant the difference between a Gold-medal-winning edge and a complete wipeout. I had to lift her. Her center of gravity was of vital importance to me. I could tell she'd gained or lost an ounce without need of a scale. I realized she was pregnant even before she did."

  "What?" Coop woke up. He had to swivel around to confront Sebi. Bex noted the utter shock on his face. "You knew?”

  "I was sworn to secrecy."

  "You knew Allie was pregnant? And you never said anything?"

  "Partner's oath. A promise is a promise, on both sides of the skate edge."

  "How could you not tell me?"

  Sebi made a noncommittal gesture with his hand, bending the wrist this way and that to indicate... something obscure.

  Maybe it was a quote.

  "The point is. Your Honor," Tess tapped her son on the knee, directing him to turn back around and face the judge. Coop did so grudgingly, anger and betrayal fighting for dominance across his features. "The point is, not only did Allison confide in Mr. Vama that she was pregnant, she also told him that my son was the father."

  "Is this true, Mr. Vama?"

  "Absolutely, Your Honor."

  "How could you do this to me?" Coop demanded. "You saw what a basket case I was after Allie took off. How could you just let me wonder and worry? I thought we were friends."

  "Allison and I were friends, too. I gave her my word."

  "But I could have helped her. I could have prevented all... this. I would have. Think of how much she must have been suffering. You could have helped me to save her."

  "I promised Allie — "

  "It wasn't your promise to make! Allie was my girlfriend! This is my baby! They were my responsibility. Mine, and mine alone." He crumbled then. The bravado dissipated, leaving Coop as seemingly lost as when he initially heard about Allie and her surprise child. He slunk down in his chair and covered his face with his hands. His back shook, vertebrae bobbing like a one-lane stone road in an earthquake.

  "I'm being punished," he said with a moan. "Because I couldn't go through with it. Gary tried to tell me how hard it would be, but I didn't believe him. I thought I was strong enough, but I wasn't. That's why all this happened. It's divine retribution, that's what it is. Because I failed. Because I'm a hypocrite."

  Just when things were getting interesting, Idan pulled the plug.

  "Oh, enough!" he thundered. "This is getting ridiculous. It is obvious that a legal document issued by the State of California is not going to be enough to satisfy all of your hysterics. Obviously there is only one way to settle this."

  Idan reached into his inside jacket pocket and, for a moment, Bex found herself wondering if Uzis came in size small. But then she figured if a shoot-out had occurred during the proceedings, even the jaded 24/7 cameraman would have mentioned it.

  Instead of a weapon, Idan pulled out, rather anticlimactically, a palm-size box of Q-tips and a pair of clear, sandwich-size, plastic Baggies.

  He ripped the plastic covering around the Q-tips box off with his teeth, pried open the perforated, cardboard lid, and pulled out a swab. In a single, fluid motion, Idan stuck the cotton into Omri's mouth, rubbed it against the protesting baby's cheek, and dropped the results into one of the plastic bags. He then repeated the process with his own cheek and angrily tossed both across the judge's desk.

  "Here," Idan hissed, rocking Omri to soothe him after the incursion. "Let us just end this and move on."

  While Idan's lawyer launched into legalese about DNA and such, Bex focused her attention on Tess, who looked utterly bushwhacked by the development.

  "This is highly irregular." Her attorney attempted damage control on Tess's behalf, since Coop was certainly in no position to speak or defend himself. He was still sitting glassy-eyed, pondering, Bex could only suppose, the wrath of God against his — what had Coop called himself? A hypocrite? — children. "Surely, a paternity test with such contested results should be conducted within the controlled environment of an accredited laboratory."

  "Oh, please," Pandora spoke up. "There are advertisements for such things in the back of tabloid magazines. Send a few dollars and a cheek swab for your verdict. And those tests results are regularly accepted in court. This is practically the Mayo Clinic in comparison."

  "Mrs. Ben-Golan has a point," the judge agreed. "I will postpone making my final ruling pending the paternity test results. My bailiff will see to it that the samples are delivered to the proper lab for testing. Until then, court is adjourned."

  The tape ended with a shot of every litigant leaving the judge's chamber. The 24/7 cameraman obviously had hustled to scramble out before they did so he could get everyone's head-on reaction, live and in color. Bex made a mental note to compliment him on his fancy footwork.

  If it hadn't been for such quick thinking, she'd never have been privy to the shot of Ralph exiting, scowling, mumbling something about the law being a tool of rich, good-looking people. Or Idan and Pandora smiling, both making goo-goo faces at Omri as they strolled down the hall, looking every inch the picture-perfect family.

  Or Tess, arm around Coop's waist, head down, hissing under her breath to her son as they headed in the opposite direction, seemingly unaware of just how long of a reach a good, camera-mounted, boom microphone had, "What the hell was that all about in there, Cooper? I thought we talked about this. I thought we understood each other. What you do on your own time and away from the public eye is your own business. But for God's sake, keep your mouth shut about it. We're selling an image here, not a flesh-and-blood person. Believe me, those teenage girls Gil Cahill is planning to attract with our series have no interest in seeing you like that."

  They turned the comer at that point, disappearing out of both view and boom-mike reach. But just in case Bex felt she hadn't gotten her daily fill of parent-child conflict, the moment she turned around from ch
ecking the tape back into 24/7's makeshift video library, Bex stumbled upon Craig and Jeremy.

  They were at the far end of the arena, arguing yet again. Craig had his arm on Jeremy's elbow, but the boy yanked it away, turning to kick the wall in frustration. Craig said something that Jeremy clearly didn't care to hear, because his response was an upturned middle finger and then a sprint toward the stairway.

  "Hey, Coop!" Jeremy yelled. "Wait up!" and scurried out of sight.

  Bex, who only a few seconds ago had been looking at Coop at the courthouse, had to remind herself that the proceedings had, in fact, taken place a few hours earlier. And if the camera crew had time to return to the arena, so obviously had Coop.

  Bex had a few questions she was dying to ask him, but with Craig heading in her direction, Bex's curiosity got the best of her, and she had to ask, "What was that about?"

  "Beats me." He threw his arms in the air. "I left home with a polite, mild-mannered eighth-grader, and I arrived with a surly adolescent."

  "Interesting time to mature."

  Craig took a deep breath. "You could say that, yeah."

  "Any idea what set him off?"

  "I don't know. All I can think of is maybe instead of distracting him from everything that's happened, like I hoped, Nationals just put him under way too much pressure and the poor kid cracked."

  "But he looked like he was having so much fun out there!"

  "Don't they all?" Craig challenged. "It's part of the artistic score. These kids practice looking happy and divinely inspired the same way they practice triple-triple combinations. You can't take anyone's expressions on the ice at — excuse the horrible pun — face value."

  "Well what does Toni think?"

  "She doesn't know what to make of it, either. It's like, after years of begging me to allow him to compete, now that he's here, Jeremy is itching to get the hell out of Dodge. The rotten way he's acting, I'm this far from saying forget this whole thing and let's go home."