Once inside, she saw there were five other people in the room. Four, who were older like Mr. Monroe, she’d never seen before. The fifth person, however, she knew. It was Raymond Whitland. It seems she was fated again to be involved with the man whose constant mission was to undermine her at Pinnacle.
“Raymond. Why am I not surprised you belong to this secret society? It seems right up your alley.”
“Kate.” Raymond walked over and extended his hand for a shake. “I hope you can let bygones be bygones. At least when we meet here.”
She looked at his hand, then looked back up at him. “I’m not that thick-skinned.”
“It’s unfortunate how that fact-finding mission for the owner of the six percent shares ended in the demise of Raymond’s bodyguard, but we can’t have infighting. It distracts from other, more important things we need to monitor. Like that Cooper Harding that’s been sniffing around.”
“You’ve heard of him?”
“Yes, Mr. Harding is desperate to dig his heels into the Hollywood life and he’s been very aggressive about acquiring big game like Pinnacle.”
“How does your Council fit into all of this?”
“We’re going to stop him of course.”
“Why would you want to?” she demanded. “He seems harmless enough. He seems like his mission is to be the biggest power player in town.”
“That can be dangerous. He doesn’t respect the rules and he practically lives on social media. We’ve lasted this long because there’s a high amount of discretion involved.”
She looked around. “So what are you?”
“We’re a group of seven. Our goal is to keep a certain level of leverage going on to benefit some parties and hinder others.”
“Who’s to say you should be judge and jury?”
“Due to our system, we’ve managed to keep down the perversion and stave off the rampant money laundering that goes on. This town was the original shell game. We do our part to protect our interests.”
“How does this work?”
“We occasionally gather and vote on things like killing careers, covering up scandals, or getting rid of idiots that threaten to decay our system.” Mr. Monroe picked up a black velvet bag and poured the contents, colored marbles, onto a tray on the desk. “The votes are anonymous. Green marble means yes. Red means no. The gray marble means you’re neutral and the black marble is what we call a deal killer. You can use it to veto a decision that’s been made, but I have to warn you. Each marble is returned at the conclusion of each vote. But if you use a black marble, it won’t be returned to you for one year.”
“Why?”
“We’d never get anything done if we didn’t use a constraint on that veto power.” Mr. Monroe laughed. “Marvin was the reason we instituted that rule.”
It was all too surreal. No, it sounded like insanity. How could Marvin be a part of something like this? She could ask Clara about it, but if Clara didn’t know, Kate would be telling her something about her beloved deceased husband she might not want to know. She looked around at the other, older, seemingly faceless men. He had mentioned Marvin was the reason they wouldn’t give back the black marbles so soon after a vote. Maybe he’d known how they were and had tried to stop it while keeping an eye out on his legacy in this town. Sure, there were crooks, perverts, and people with severe mental illnesses around that masqueraded their quirks with bravado and fan applause. She had to believe Marvin had participated to offset some of this superiority wafting around the room.
Still, Raymond Whitland was an issue. She’d been battling him at Pinnacle every day and now she’d be spending time with him here. How could she just ignore all that he’d done? She was sure he’d had a hand in Chris’s accident and suspected he may have had something to do with Brianna’s suicide too.
Kate pointed at Raymond. “So I’m supposed to ignore the fact that he sent his goon to kill me?”
“He didn’t set out to kill you. You interrupted the retrieval of a document,” Raymond fired back.
“Is that supposed to make everything all right? He didn’t intend to kill me? Which makes me wonder what he would have done if Clara were home.”
“I would never hurt Clara. I made sure she wouldn’t be home.” Raymond’s jaw clenched. “She may be angry with me for enabling Henry all those years, but I never wanted to see any harm come to her.”
Mr. Monroe intervened. “We’re prepared to give you a peace offering.”
That was the point. There hadn’t been any peace, just constant worrying about another attempt on her or Chris’s lives.
“What could possibly erase all that’s happened? Why should I believe you?”
“We can help you focus your energies on more important things, like who’s really trying to harm the people around you. The people in your life seem to be dropping like flies. First your number one artist, now Brianna Sage.”
“The man responsible for some of it is standing right here.” She scowled at Raymond.
“I staged the break-in, but I was not responsible for that car running Chris off the road,” Raymond replied.
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because I just admitted to ordering someone to break into Clara and Marvin’s house for that document. Vaughn took it too far when he tried to rough you up. I have nothing to gain by harming Chris. He’s turning into quite the moneymaker for the studio. Besides, you weren’t on my radar when your rapper friend was killed.”
“I know who killed Malik. The police caught his killer.” Correction, they found his killer after he’d been beaten within an inch of his life. She suspected Andre, who took their friend’s death particularly hard, had something to do with it. After Malik’s death, Billie’s visits to California became more frequent.
“Correction. You know who pulled the trigger. I suspect they still don’t know who really ordered the hit. Dig deeper, my dear, something’s been gnawing at you for the longest time that it wasn’t some gang-related payback on your star. Even Marvin suspected as much and had been looking into it.”
“He did?” Kate stammered.
“Yes. We discussed it here a few times in between more pressing business.” The older man went to his desk and scribbled something on a note pad, then handed it to Kate. “This is a list of our best guesses. Do with it what you will.”
Kate’s eyes widened when she opened the note. Some of the names were familiar. A few of them she’d never expected. If what he’d written were true, it would change everything.
“OK. I’m in.”
“One more thing. Being involved with us requires a more discreet lifestyle than is dictated in this industry. You and Chris are photographed and reported on all the time. Do your best to stay out of that spotlight. It’s imperative that you keep a low profile.”
“You won’t have to worry about that. I’m not a big fan of the twenty-four hour glaring spotlight.”
Mr. Monroe poured brandy into a glass and handed it to her. “Welcome to the Council.”
CHAPTER FOUR
It had been two days since her meeting with the Council and still Kate hadn’t been able to get a decent night’s sleep. The last thing she’d expected when she’d practically been abducted off the street was to learn that the moves people made in the shadows when far more terrifying than the everyday self-indulgent things that happened in Tinseltown. Muscles tight, she went to her studio do some yoga. She needed to clear her mind of recent events and gain some perspective. She was midway through her routine when the doorbell rang and she opened her eyes.
“Kate, can you come in here?” Chris said over the intercom.
She got to her feet, curious about the visitor. They weren’t expecting anyone today. Scar had a key but she was out of town. Clara was still in Laurel Canyon.
Zoe ran to her as she entered the room. “Kate!”
“Hey half-pint! So happy to see you! Where’s daddy?” Kate reached down and scooped her up. “Hi, Esmeralda. Where’s Jack?”
Esmeralda, Zoe's nanny, handed a letter to Kate. “Mr. Pierce asked me to give this to you.”
Kate glanced at Chris, who had a puzzled look on his face. He moved his head to the side, signaling that he needed to speak with her privately.
“Zoe, are you hungry?”
The little girl nodded.
“Esmeralda, would you mind taking Zoe into the kitchen. Both of you can have anything you want in the fridge. You remember where it is, right?”
“Yes, of course.” Esmeralda’s eyes were glued to the letter as she took the little girl’s hand and led her to the kitchen.
Chris rubbed the back of his neck. “Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”
“I do too. Let’s go outside,” Kate said as she headed for the deck.
Chris closed the sliding door behind him. “OK, let it rip.”
Kate looked at the embossed initials J.P. on the envelope one more time before she opened it and saw the matching stationery. There were handwritten pages from Jack and one typed that looked like a legal document.
Dear Kate,
I need you to take care of Zoe. I couldn’t ask you in person because I was afraid you would say no if I did. Please do this for me.
Love, Jack
“What are we going to do?” Kate whispered.
“We’re going to take care of our god daughter.” Chris put his hands on her shoulders.
“Why is Jack leaving Zoe in our care? We don’t live the kind of lifestyle that’s good for a child.”
Chris laughed. “We’re not straightlaced, but we’re not deviants either.”
Kate bit her lip. “We’ve barely discussed having our own.”
“Jack sounds like he’s going bonkers, but he knew Zoe would be safe with us.” Chris took the letter out of her hand. “We’re the best two people to take care of her.”
Kate looked into Chris’s eyes and saw a glimmer of hope. She knew from that night he’d talked about children, he was serious about having a family. He loved spending time with Zoe. She loved watching Zoe and Chris together. She took comfort in knowing that one day he would make a great father. “Don’t you think I should call Jack and at least threaten to kick his ass?”
“In a few days. I think he’s somewhere beating himself up at the moment.”
Kate looked at the legal documents in the envelope. Jack had left detailed instructions with his attorney, who Kate intended to call in the morning. She would give Jack a few days to get his thoughts together before she ripped him a new one for abandoning his daughter.
“Let’s get Zoe settled.” Chris caressed her cheek. “We can sort out the rest later.”
* * *
Kate watched from the deck as Chris, Zoe, and Scar made sand castles on the beach. The sun would be setting soon, and the breeze was getting cooler, but she didn’t have the heart to tell them to come back to the house. It was the first time she’d smiled since she’d been there. It had been a month since Jack left to shoot the trilogy, and she’d yet to get in touch with him. The papers he left were all in order, and she and Chris assumed custody of the little girl. They’d talked for hours about how their lives were going to change, but they both agreed that Zoe had had enough stress in her life with one parent dead and another one missing. It was up to them to infuse some normalcy into her life. It was funny how life worked out. She and Chris had been talking about having kids and now they had one.
Billie stepped onto the deck. “What time are we eating? I’m starved.”
“As soon as Athena’s back from her run, we’ll eat. Chris should be starting dinner soon.”
Billie leaned against the railing. “Zoe looks like she’s having fun.”
“She loves Chris.” Kate ran a hand through her hair.
“Have you heard from Jack?”
“No, he’s not answering his cell phone.”
“Do you want me to pay him a visit in New Zealand?”
“Don’t tempt me.” She laughed. “I’m going to give him some time to process it all. If I force him to come back, I don’t know if it would be good for Zoe. Being here the past month is the closest thing she’s had to normal in a long time. She misses Brianna.”
“Athena’s been doing some digging around. Before she died, Brianna was making some rather large deposits into her bank account. They weren’t from Jack. She’d been meeting with a real estate agent as well. She’d been looking to buy a mansion and she’d been vetting some pretty exclusive schools for Zoe. That doesn’t sound like someone who was on the brink of suicide.”
“No, it doesn’t. I made a new friend on the police force. The rumblings are the investigating detectives don’t believe it was suicide either.”
“There’ve been some pretty strange things happening lately. I think someone paid her very well to start up that rivalry with you in the media again. Then that Harding guy pops up out of nowhere trying to buy your Pinnacle shares from you. Someone is orchestrating your downfall, and I’d like to know why before they up the ante on the game.”
“I’d love to say it was Raymond, but the Council squashed the notion that he’s the super villain behind all of my life tragedies. Which is a shame. He makes an awfully good villain.” Kate smiled.
“Raymond’s essentially more bark than bite. I know he wasn’t too happy about the things Henry told me.”
“How is Henry?”
“He’s still detoxing in Wyoming.”
“I’ve been wondering why you…why you let him live.” She didn’t want to say it, but the thought had crossed her mind.
“You have Dominic to thank for that. He got involved.” Billie rolled her eyes.
“Thank goodness for Dominic.”
“The bigger picture was you looking Clara in the eye and knowing how her son had died. You wouldn’t have been able to live with the guilt.”
“You wouldn’t have told me what you did with him.”
“Perhaps.” Billie looked out to the ocean. “I know things are kind of quiet, but it’s worth continuing the investigation into Brianna’s death. I think Scar should continue to look after Chris. Athena and I will be around.”
Kate reached into the pocket of her cover up and handed her the note Mr. Monroe had given her that day. “A gift from the Council. I would like to say it was a contrived list to appease me so I would join their round table of Hollywood supremacy, but I think there are viable names on it.”
Billie scanned the list. “Wow. Didn’t see that coming.”
“Think you can find some answers for me?”
“I promise I will.” Billie put her arm around Kate.
Kate put her head on her cousin’s shoulder. “When’s Dominic coming for a visit? I miss him.”
“Dominic and I are taking a break.” Billie took a deep breath and turned Kate to face her.
“A break?” Kate’s mouth gaped open. “As in separation or getting divorced?”
“As in we need some space to figure some things out.” Billie shrugged.
Kate searched her cousin’s face. “You love him. I know you do.”
“Right now I’m more concerned about watching your back. It’s time I put down some proper roots here in California. Scar, Athena, and I are starting a private investigation firm in L.A. I’d like you to be our first client.”
“Do you promise to sort things out with Dominic while you’re starting this new business venture?”
“OK. I will talk to him. So what are you going to do in the meantime? In addition to your businesses you now have secret council meetings and a child to take care of.”
“Business as usual.” She shrugged. “The Council knows to call in the future when they want to meet. So there will be no more abductions. And Chris and I will work out a schedule for Zoe. I’ll handle Jack when he returns.”
“You know, Jack finally got what he wanted. He always wanted you to be the mother of his child.”
Kate bit her lip. “Find out who was responsible for Brianna’s death. Some
day I’m going to have to explain all of this Zoe and I want to be able to say I found her mother’s killer.”
“You’ll get your answers. I will not stop until I neutralize the threat against you.”
“Thanks Billie. So what’s the name of this new enterprise?”
“I was thinking about Vendetta, Inc.” Billie winked at her.
As Chris made his way back to the house, Kate plastered on a smile. She hoped that Chris would understand all of this. Their lives were going to get even more complicated. They were parents now, something they talked about for the future, but now thanks to Jack it was an automatic reality. Billie went down the stairs and headed toward Zoe and Scar. Athena was jogging back toward the house with Merlot in tow. It was sheer calamity in the beach house these days, but it strangely felt like a family.
“Hey.” Chris kissed her when he reached the top step. “What do you want for dinner?”
“Something light. I know you have to read through the pile of scripts before Stan comes over here and sits on you.”
“They’ll be there in the morning.”
“I know but time waits for no man. You could do a short project while waiting for Jack’s film to start shooting.”
“I’ve been thinking. Maybe I could take some time off and take care of Zoe.”
Kate shook her head. “You don’t want to lose your hot commodity momentum. Besides, we agreed to share responsibilities. I am revamping my work schedules as we speak.”
“I think it would be good practice for when we have our own little one. And I could help Billie get the agency open. Maybe put the word out about their services.”
Kate raised an eyebrow. “You really did get a jolt from that rescue of Darwin.”
“I can’t lie.” Chris laughed. “There was a twinge, and we saved his life.”
“OK. Take your break, but you have to promise me that if you’re helping out Scar you will be careful. I’ve seen things go horribly wrong just stopping to get gas with her.”
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