Sisters

by Danielle Steel

  Tammy apologized for calling at such a late hour, but said they were concerned about their sister, Candy Adams. She hadn't come home since the night before, and they hadn't heard from her after she went out with a friend.

  Marlene Weissman sounded instantly concerned. “She didn't show up for a shoot today. She's never done that before. Who was she with last night?”

  “The man she's currently going out with, he's some sort of Italian prince. Marcello di Stromboli, he's quite a bit older than she is. They were going to a party on Fifth Avenue.”

  Marlene was now wide awake. She spoke quickly and distinctly. “The man's a phony and a bullshitter. He has some money, and preys on models. He's had some problems with the law, and he's roughed up two of my girls. I had no idea he was still going out with Candy or I would have said something to her. He usually goes after younger girls than she is.”

  “They've been in the papers a number of times,” Tammy said, feeling weak at the knees.

  “I know. I just assumed he had moved on by now. He usually does. Do you know where he lives?”

  “She gave us the address.” She read it off to Marlene.

  “I'll meet you there in twenty minutes. I think we'd better go up there. He may have her there, drugged up or worse. Do you have a boyfriend or a husband?” she asked bluntly.

  “My sister does,” Tammy said.

  “Bring him. If he won't let us in, we'll call the police. I don't like this guy, he's trouble.” It was everything Candy's sisters didn't want to hear. Thank God they had called her.

  Sabrina called Chris and woke him up, explained what was happening, and he said he'd pick them up in a cab in ten minutes. Tammy wasn't sure if they should wake Annie to tell her they were leaving. She was sound asleep, and there was no reason to think that she should wake up while they were gone. The two women bundled up and put heavy coats and boots on. It was snowing hard when Chris picked them up, and he said he was lucky to find a cab at twelve-thirty on a snowy night. They were at Marcello's address ten minutes later, slipping and sliding across the icy streets. Marlene was already there, in a mink coat over jeans. She was an attractive gray-haired woman in her late fifties with a silky voice.

  She spoke in an authoritarian manner to the doorman, and said the prince was expecting them, and not to bother to call. She was so daunting that the doorman followed her instructions, aided by a hundred-dollar bill, and let all four of them up. He told them it was apartment 5E. They were silent in the elevator, and Tammy could feel her heart beating as she looked at the older woman, with her hair pulled back in a slick chignon, and the elegant mink coat.

  “I don't like this at all,” she said softly, and the others nodded.

  “Neither do we,” Sabrina answered, holding tightly to Chris's hand. He still looked half asleep, and wasn't entirely sure what was going on or what they hoped to find. It seemed obvious to him that if Candy was there, she wanted to be, and might be furious at the four intruders who had come to rescue her. Particularly if she didn't want to be. Whatever happened, it was going to be an interesting scene.

  They reached the door to apartment 5E a moment later, and Marlene startled Chris by whispering to him to say he was the police. He looked less than enthused. He was beginning to think they would all get arrested for this caper.

  “I'm an attorney. I'm not sure I should do something like that,” he whispered. “I could be charged with impersonating the police.”

  “He could be charged with worse. Just say it,” she said to him in a stern whisper, and feeling stupid, he rang the doorbell, waited for a male voice on the other side, and played the game dictated by Marlene. Tammy and Sabrina were deeply grateful to her, and to Chris, for being there.

  “Open up. Police,” Chris intoned convincingly. There was a pause on the other side, a long hesitation, and then the sound of unlocking bolts. He kept the chain on when he opened the door to them, and Chris looked immediately stern, and got into it. “I said open the door. I have a warrant for your arrest.” Sabrina's eyes grew wide as she stared at Chris. Maybe that was going a little far.

  “For what?” It was Marcello, and he sounded half asleep.

  “Kidnapping and false imprisonment. And we believe you are dealing drugs from this address.” The women were standing behind Chris where Marcello couldn't see them.

  “That's ridiculous,” he said, as he slid the chain off. “And who do you think I kidnapped, officer?” He hadn't asked to see a badge or any kind of ID, but Chris looked awe-inspiring, standing in a dark coat and jeans. He was a powerfully built man in excellent shape, with an air of authority when he chose. And right now he chose, although he thought they were all nuts. But he was doing it for Sabrina. The door was open wide by then. Chris stepped into the apartment so he couldn't close the door on them, and towered over Marcello, with at least fifty pounds and a lot of toned muscle to his advantage. Marlene stepped in beside him and didn't pull any punches with him.

  “I didn't bring charges against you last time because the girl was seventeen and it would have been too hard on her. This one isn't. She's fully capable of bringing charges against you, and so am I. Where is she?”

  “Where is who?” he said, looking pale, and it was obvious that he knew and hated Marlene.

  “Hold on to him,” Marlene said to Chris, and strode into the apartment as though she owned it.

  “I will bring charges against you!” he screamed at her. “You are breaking into my apartment!”

  “You let us in,” she said as she hurried down a hall. He acted as though Tammy and Sabrina didn't exist, as Chris watched him closely, and he started to run after Marlene. It was too late. She had opened the door to the bedroom, guessing accurately where it was, and found Candy unconscious, with tape over her mouth, and her arms and legs tied to a four-poster bed with rope. She looked dead. And Marcello looked totally panicked as the others followed Marlene into the room. Candy was naked and unconscious, and parts of her body were severely bruised, her legs spread wide. Both of her sisters screamed, and Chris grabbed Marcello and slammed him up against the wall.

  “You sonofabitch,” he said through clenched teeth, shoving him hard. “I swear if you killed her, I'll kill you.” Sabrina was sobbing as she helped Marlene untie her. Candy showed no sign of regaining consciousness, as Tammy dialed 911 with shaking hands and tried to describe what they'd found. She could hardly breathe. Marlene had checked the pulse in Candy's neck, and she was alive. Her head dropped down on her chest as they untied her and covered her with a sheet. The ambulance said they'd be there in five minutes.

  “Call the cops,” Chris said to Tammy, as he held Marcello in a death-grip against the wall.

  “They're coming with the ambulance,” Tammy said in a choked voice. Candy still looked dead, and Marlene said softly that Candy had been drugged. He might have killed her eventually, but he hadn't yet.

  As though to reassure them, but it didn't, Marlene said, “The last one looked worse than this. He beat her up.” They could hear sirens by then, and a moment later police and paramedics were in the room. They checked Candy, started an IV, put an oxygen mask on her, put her on a gurney, and left the room with her sisters hard on their heels, while the police put handcuffs on Marcello, and Marlene and Chris described the scene they'd found. They left the apartment, with Marlene and Chris bringing up the rear. He said in a subdued voice that he had had no idea they would find this. She hoped they wouldn't but was afraid they might.

  The girls had already left in the ambulance, as Marcello was put in a squad car and driven away. They had taken her to Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, and Marlene and Chris hailed a cab to join the others there.

  The scene at the hospital was grim—gunshot wounds, two stabbings, a man who had just died from a heart attack. They rushed Candy into the trauma unit, while the others waited. After what they'd been through that summer with their mother and Annie, this was a painful déjà vu for Tammy and Sabrina.

  But this time when the
doctor came out to talk to them, the news was better than they'd feared, although it wasn't good. As they could well imagine, she had been raped. Her bruises were superficial, nothing was broken, and she had been heavily drugged. They said it would take another twenty-four hours for her to come around, and then they could take her home. They had taken photographs of all her bruises for the police files. But they said there would be no lasting physical damage, only the emotional trauma she had sustained, which was undoubtedly considerable. The only good news was that the doctor assumed she had been unconscious for most of what had been done to her, so she would have no memory of it, which was a mercy.

  Both of her sisters were in tears as they listened, as was Marlene, and Chris looked murderous. He wanted to kill Marcello for doing something like this to a nice kid like Candy.

  “You have no idea how many models this happens to,” Marlene said grimly. “Usually it's the really young ones who don't know how to protect themselves.”

  “Candy thought he was a great guy,” Tammy said, wiping her eyes. The police had told her they would talk to all of them in the morning. Tammy volunteered to stay with her, so Chris and Sabrina could go home to Annie, and Marlene wanted to be there too. Tammy said it wasn't necessary, but the older woman insisted, and they sat on either side of Candy's bedside all night, talking softly of the evils of the world as Candy slept.

  It was ten the next morning before Candy stirred. She had no idea where she was or what had happened. All she knew was that every inch of her hurt, especially “down there,” as she said. “Where's Marcello?” she asked as she looked around. The last thing she remembered was having dinner with him in his apartment, before they were supposed to go to the party. He had put whatever he'd given her in her food.

  “In jail, where he belongs,” Marlene answered, and then gently stroked her hair. She left the hospital a few minutes later, looking tired and depressed, but relieved that Candy was okay.

  They let her go home at five o'clock that afternoon. Tammy had called her office to say she wouldn't be in. And Sabrina left her office to help bring her home. They had told Annie what had happened, and all of them were fiercely upset. And Sabrina had called Candy's shrink to tell her what had happened. They were going to need her help, maybe for a long time. She recommended someone who specialized in trauma cases, and Sabrina called her too. It was just one more disaster they didn't need. Candy was crying when they brought her home, but had no idea why. She remembered nothing of the past two days, only Marcello's face as she went to sleep.

  The police had come to talk to Sabrina and Chris before they left for work. And they had gone to the hospital to take reports from Tammy and Marlene. Candy was still throwing up from the drugs while they were there. Marcello was being prosecuted for rape, assault, battery, false imprisonment, and kidnap, and for drugging her. They were throwing the book at him, and the judge had set a five-hundred-thousand-dollar bail. A friend paid it for him that night, and he was free. To do it again.

  Sabrina and Tammy pampered her in every way they knew how. Her lip was swollen, her eyes were battered, both her breasts were bruised, and she could hardly sit down. It had been an experience none of them would ever forget.

  “I think I'll definitely give up dating after this,” Tammy said somberly, and for the first time in days, they all laughed.

  “I wouldn't go that far, but it certainly is a lesson to be extremely careful.” As Marlene said when she came to visit them again, there were some very dangerous people out there who preyed on beautiful girls. It made Sabrina think how vulnerable Annie was. She was not only young and beautiful, but blind. But Candy had been blind in her own way too. Marcello had been charming, but a profoundly bad guy.

  By the end of the week, Candy was on her feet again. Marlene told her to take a few weeks off, until the bruises healed. And she went to her shrink every day. But there was nothing to remember, no painful or frightening memories. All she had were the bruises, which slowly faded away. But her sisters would never forget what they had seen when they found her, nor would Chris. They were all deeply grateful to Marlene for responding so quickly, and being so brave. Despite what had happened, Candy was a very lucky girl. And much to everyone's relief, relative to other equally appalling charges, Marcello was deported and extradited to Italy by the end of the week. Marlene had used her connections to speed the process. There would be no scandal, no court appearances, no press. He would be punished in his own country, and Candy would never have to see him again. He was gone.

  Chapter 22

  On the last day of school before the Christmas holiday, Brad Parker stopped Annie in the lobby to say goodbye.

  “Have a great Christmas, Annie!” he wished her, although he knew the holiday would be difficult this year. And then he did something he never did. He had a hard and fast rule but broke it for her. He had been thinking of her since the day he had helped her find dry jeans. She was such a pleasant, intelligent, nice girl, and seemed very mature for her age. And she'd been through so much this year. More than he knew. Candy's recent disaster had shaken her up too.

  “I was wondering if you'd like to have coffee sometime, while we're on break.” They were going to be on vacation for three weeks.

  Annie was startled at first, and didn't know what else to say, so she said yes. She didn't want to be rude to him, and he was the head of her school, after all. She felt like a kid when he asked. But Annie was no kid anymore. She had grown up immeasurably this year, and had been on her own before that.

  “I have your number in our files. I'll give you a call. Maybe sometime later this week. I don't know if you like sweets, but I have a terrible sweet tooth. There's a cute place called Serendipity. The desserts are outrageous.”

  “I'd like that,” she said. It sounded harmless. He wasn't going to attack her over hot chocolate and apple pie. At least she hoped not. Candy's experience had upset them all. But she knew Brad Parker was fine. Even her sisters couldn't object.

  On the contrary, when he called her that night, they hooted and jeered and went crazy, which embarrassed Annie as she hung up. They had all been listening while she and Brad made the date.

  “That'll be a hundred dollars, thank you,” Sabrina said, and touched her hand. Annie looked outraged.

  “For what?”

  “We made a bet in July. I said you'd have a date within six months. You said you wouldn't. We bet a hundred bucks. That was exactly five months and one week ago. Pay up.”

  “Wait a minute. This is not a date. This is coffee with the head of my school. That is not a date.”

  “Bullshit, it's not,” Sabrina insisted. “The details were never specified. Nobody ever said it had to be black tie, or for dinner. Coffee is a date.”

  “It is not!” Annie said firmly. But Candy and Tammy sided with Sabrina and told Annie she had to pay up. Much to everyone's relief, Candy was in relatively good shape. Her bruises were healing, and she was in fairly decent spirits, considering what had happened. And they were all looking forward to Christmas. Mostly it was a relief to know that Marcello was gone and she wouldn't run into him anywhere. Marlene was also delighted. He was a danger to any woman he encountered. But Brad Parker was an entirely different story. And they were all thrilled for Annie.

  He offered to pick Annie up, but she said she'd meet him at the restaurant. And he was right, the desserts were fantastic. She had something called a frozen mochaccino, which was chocolate ice cream, ice, and coffee all blended together, with whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top. He had an apricot smush, which was a fabulous confection, and they shared a piece of pecan pie.

  “You may have to roll me out the door,” she said, as she sat back in her chair, feeling like she might explode. He described the restaurant to her, and it sounded cute and Victorian, with Tiffany lamps, old ice cream tables, and amusing things to sell. He said he had come here since he was a child with his mother. Annie had heard of it before but never been there.

  They talked ab
out Italy and art, her time in Florence, his in Rome. He still spoke some Italian, and she said hers was getting rusty. They talked briefly about the school, and his hopes for it as it grew. He was hoping to open other schools like it in other cities. She reluctantly admitted that so far it had been very helpful.

  “I've learned how to make chicken,” she said, laughing, “and cupcakes.”

  “I hope we teach you more than that. Why don't you take the sculpture class? Everybody seems to love it. I've thought of taking it myself, but I'm not very artistic.”

  “I don't think I am anymore either,” she said sadly.

  “I doubt that. The brain has a way of rerouting itself when it has to. You might enjoy the class. And if you don't like it, you can drop it. I give you permission.” They both laughed at that.

  They had a very nice time together, and he walked her home up Third Avenue, as they talked about a multitude of subjects. It was a reasonable walk to the house she shared with her sisters, and she felt rude suddenly saying goodbye to him outside. She asked him if he'd like to come in for a minute. She knew Candy and Mrs. Shibata would be there. He said just for a minute, he still had Christmas shopping to do that afternoon. Annie had been stumped about how to do that this year, and was planning to ask her sisters to help.

  He walked into the house, as Mrs. Shibata was vacuuming loudly, and Candy had her music on so loud, you could hardly hear. It was Prince. All three dogs were barking, the phone was ringing, and Juanita attacked him and tried to bite his ankle the moment he walked in the front door. With that, Mrs. Shibata turned off the vacuum cleaner and bowed low, just as Candy appeared at the top of the stairs, wearing a Christmas hat with bells on it and a bikini she had bought while Christmas shopping.