Betrayal (2012)

by Danielle Steel

  “What’s happening with Brig now?” Max asked her mother one night after they came home from dinner at Sam’s. She knew that Jim Kingston had called her several times, but Max hadn’t met him yet, and she was curious about him.

  “They arraigned her for Hunt’s murder, they’re saying it was premeditated, so she’ll stand trial for murder one. She’s in custody now, and they’re going to try her for both matters. The federal one for embezzlement. And murder for the state. Our embezzlement trial is set now for April 19. I’m not looking forward to it, to say the least. I’m sure she isn’t either, but so far she’s not willing to plead guilty. She has nothing to lose or to gain now. Between Hunt’s murder and the embezzlement, she’s going to be in prison forever. And we have the civil trial too, to try to get whatever we can back. I really want the house so I can sell it. But Jim Kingston says the IRS will want it too, for the tax evasion charges.” It was unbelievable to think how Brigitte had destroyed her own life in a short time, impacted Tallie’s, and ended Hunt’s.

  “Did she ever contact you again after the day she came by for her briefcase?” Max was curious about it. It seemed so weird to her, and to Tallie, that Brigitte had never written to apologize and say that she was sorry for anything she’d done.

  “No. I got a note from Hunt’s girlfriend though, telling me how much he loved me. Hard to believe, but nice of her to say so, now that he’s gone. And I sent her one too.” She had gotten a note from Victor Carson too, expressing his sympathy, and saying his wife had left him and he was getting divorced.

  The embezzlement trial was still ten months away. It seemed like a lifetime, and by the time they got there, everything that had happened would seem so remote and unreal. In some ways it already did. Tallie was trying to make the most of Max’s time in L.A. and they spent time with Sam and went out whenever they had time and Max didn’t want to see friends. They talked about Hunt and Brig sometimes, but Tallie wanted to try and forget.

  Jim called her from time to time to check in and see how she was. And the day before Max left, he came by to meet her. He dropped by for a few minutes on his way to pick up his son. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, and he looked athletic and fit. It was the first time Tallie hadn’t seen him in a suit, and Max looked impressed when she met him. He was good-looking and smart, and he seemed very relaxed and attentive around her mother. And Tallie seemed to enjoy talking to him. As soon as he left, Max pounced on her.

  “He is cute!” she said the minute the door closed behind him, and Tallie hoped he hadn’t heard her. “Now what’s wrong with him?”

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?” Tallie laughed at her.

  “I mean, why don’t you like him?”

  “I do like him. He’s very nice.”

  “That’s not what I mean, and you know it. Why don’t you go out with him?”

  “For one thing, he hasn’t asked me. For another thing, he is the FBI agent assigned to our case, and for yet another thing, I’m not dating. I don’t even want to think about that now, and maybe never again.”

  “Why not?” Max looked disappointed as she glared at her mother.

  “I think Hunt cured me. For a while anyway. I just found out that I spent four years being conned by the guy I was living with and my best friend. It doesn’t exactly make me want to rush out and try again. I wasted four years of my life. I’d say the evidence is pretty convincing that my judgment sucks and dating isn’t for me.”

  “Don’t be stupid, Mom,” Max scolded her. “Is he married or divorced? I mean the FBI guy.” Tallie knew exactly who she meant.

  “Widowed.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad. Does he have a girlfriend?”

  “I didn’t ask him, and I’m not going to. At best, maybe we could be friends. I don’t get the feeling he’s dying to date either. I think he still misses his wife.”

  “That’s pathetic. You’re both ridiculous. Don’t waste your lives.” Max looked at her mother in frustration.

  “Thank you for the free advice.”

  “Well, I think he’s very good-looking, and he seems like a good guy. You should ask him for dinner sometime.”

  “Max! I’m not going to ask our FBI agent to dinner!”

  “Why not?”

  “He’ll think I’m putting the make on him, and I’ll look ridiculous.”

  “Maybe you should put the make on him,” Max said smugly. And then she looked more serious as she met her mother’s eyes. “How do you think Grampa is doing? He seems a lot weaker than the last time I was home. He doesn’t want to use the walker anymore. He just wants the wheelchair.” Tallie had noticed it too. He was fading.

  “He just turned eighty-six, and you’re right. But he seems livelier to me now that you’re here, he loves spending time with you, but I don’t think he feels well a lot of the time.” He was so frail and seemed weaker and more bent every day. Tallie didn’t want to think about it, but she knew that eventually he wouldn’t be able to get out of bed at all. He seemed to be heading in that direction.

  They had dinner with him that night, and they were all in good spirits, except Tallie was sad that Max was leaving again. She had to start summer school in two days, and wouldn’t be home again until the end of the summer vacation.

  Tallie drove her to the airport at the crack of dawn the next morning, and spent the rest of the weekend doing projects around the house and paying bills. It reminded her of what had happened the last time she paid them, when Brigitte showed up, and then went to kill Hunt. It still made her sad when she thought about him. It was such a waste.

  The following week Tallie met with Greg Thomas about the civil suit against Brigitte. She now had a criminal attorney and a civil one, and Tallie had sued her for the million dollars that Victor was sure she had stolen, and he was checking their ledgers more closely for more. Tallie wondered what would happen to all Brigitte’s things when she went to prison. Hers was another wasted life. It all seemed so senseless to Tallie.

  And when she wasn’t talking to her lawyer, Tallie was working on finishing the film. She finally wrapped it up, after Max left. And the final edit looked beautiful to Tallie. It was even better than she had hoped, the performances were strong, the cinematography was spectacular, even the score was impressive. She knew that Hunt would have been proud of it, and she was too. She had had them add a memorial line to the credits, in memory of Hunt. It was coming out nationwide on December 15. And the day she left the studio, after she finished, she stopped off to see her father. He was quieter than usual and looked like he was in pain.

  “Are you all right, Dad? Is there something I can do? Do you want me to call the doctor?”

  “No, I’m fine. My arthritis is bothering me, that’s all.” She tried to get him out of bed to move around a little, but he wouldn’t. And Amelia said he hadn’t eaten. Tallie had been thinking lately that she needed to find someone to spend the nights with him, whether he liked it or not. He was too unsteady on his feet now to leave alone. And she was constantly afraid he would fall and get seriously hurt.

  She stayed for dinner with him that night, and Jim called her with an update while she was there.

  “Can I call you later? I’m with my dad.”

  “Sure. Just call me on my cell. It’s nothing important. I just wanted to tell you that we proposed a deal to Brigitte today. I’ll give you the details later.” What deal could they possibly offer her? Tallie wondered. A hundred years instead of a hundred and fifty? Jim had already told her that she was going to try a temporary insanity defense on the murder one, and Jim said no one was going to buy it. She had been totally sane, just pissed off, which wasn’t a defense.

  “Are you happy with your movie?” her father asked her over dinner. He was always interested in her work. Even now, losing strength, he always wanted to know what she was working on and how it was going. And he still enjoyed watching movies on TV.

  “Yes, I am. I think it’s one of my best ones. It’s a shame Hunt�
�s not here to see it.”

  “That’s a shame in a lot of ways. I hope that woman goes to prison for a long time.”

  “I don’t see how they could do otherwise with her. Between the embezzlement and Hunt’s murder, I think she is totally screwed.”

  “She deserves to be,” he said strongly. He had no sympathy for a criminal like her. “Anything new from your attorney or the FBI?”

  “The special agent on the case just called me. I told him I’d call when I get home. I’ll let you know.” Her father had given her lots of good advice on the civil suit. He still had a sharp legal mind. And he was always reminding her of things to tell her attorney. Greg Thomas laughed when she relayed messages from her father, and he was surprised by how often he was right. He still read the Harvard Law Review, and loved reading legal websites on his computer.

  Tallie waited until her father was ready for bed that night, and didn’t leave until she had tucked him in. And then she quietly left to go home. He was already dozing. And she called Jim when she got home, and he explained the government’s offer to Brigitte. He was very diligent about keeping her informed.

  “If she pleads, they’re willing to cut her time down to five years on the embezzlement. If she doesn’t, it’s up for grabs. They want to put restitution to you in the deal, using the proceeds from a house sale, and the contents of the house, cars, bank accounts, whatever she has. It looks like the state will try her for murder one, and her defense lawyer is trying to work a deal with the state to serve both sentences concurrently, if she’s convicted or she pleads.”

  “How much time would that give her?” Tallie asked with a worried look.

  “Five or six years, for the embezzlement, maybe eight or ten for the murder. It’s not a lot, but she’s a first-time offender. And the prisons are very crowded. If she’s acquitted of the murder, which she won’t be, she could serve five years for the embezzlement, or the judge could decide to give her more and not honor the deal, if he thinks it’s too light. And don’t forget she’ll have an increase in her time for abuse of trust with you.” Five years seemed very short to Tallie, given what she’d done. Ten for the murder seemed more reasonable, since she had taken a life.

  “It’s too bad the electric chair is no longer used, or the guillotine maybe,” Tallie said in a merciless tone. “I don’t see why they should want to plea-bargain with her, given the severity of her crimes.”

  “Because it will save the taxpayers money and you a lot of stress if she pleads and we don’t have to go to trial. We’ll do it, of course, if she doesn’t plead, but it just saves everyone’s time.” Tallie had to admit she wasn’t looking forward to the trial, far from it, but she also didn’t think Brigitte should get off too lightly. “We’ll see what her lawyer says tomorrow.”

  “If it reduces her time in prison, she’ll be crazy if she doesn’t take the deal.”

  “I agree with you,” Jim said firmly. “But you’d be surprised how many defendants want their day in court and to go out in a blaze of glory. They’re much better off making a deal in these instances than going to trial. In this case, that would be an agony for everyone involved, including you. Anyway, we have plenty of time, the trial is still eight months away.” Tallie wished it would hurry up. She felt like she had been dealing with this depressing situation for years. Jim assured her again that they were going to find a compromise that worked for everyone, not just the federal courts in avoiding a trial. And then they talked about Max in summer school in New York, and what ball game his son Bobby was playing that week. Josh, his other son, had gotten a summer job at a law firm, and he was liking it a lot. Jim said that if he didn’t play pro football, he would love him to go to law school, like Max. They talked a lot about their kids, who were the hub of their lives.

  “What are you going to do now that you finished the film? Have you got other projects lined up?” Jim asked her with interest.

  “Yes,” she said immediately. “Yoga class, shopping, sleeping late, going to movies, reading scripts, reading books. I’m looking for another movie to do,” she said honestly, “but I don’t want to rush into something. I want time to check it out. I need a break anyway. I’m not in any hurry to go back to work, particularly if there’s a trial, or even two or three of them, including the civil trial to recoup the money. I have to be available for that.” It was going to put her life on hold until they knew how the legal situation was going to evolve. It was a long time to sit around waiting, but there was nothing they could do to make it happen more quickly. The government, and to some extent the judge, were in control. Tallie had very little to say about any of it, even though she was the victim. “Are you going away this summer?” she suddenly asked him. It occurred to her that it gave her a level of comfort and security knowing that he was following the proceedings and giving her regular reports of what was going on. She would have been completely in the dark otherwise. No one else kept in contact with her to inform her or reassure her, but Jim always did.

  “I’m taking my boys fishing in Alaska the last two weeks in August, but other than that, I’ll be here.” And they both knew that things moved so slowly that nothing would happen while he was away. There would be very little shift in the case for the next many months.

  Tallie and her attorney were waiting for Brigitte’s lawyer’s response to Tallie’s complaint in the civil lawsuit. Victor was going over all her ledgers again to see if there were additional amounts of money she’d lost, the FBI was gathering more evidence in the case against Brigitte, and now the state was examining all the evidence in Hunt’s murder. It felt like it was going to take forever. Jim could sense what Tallie was thinking on the subject from the discouraged tone of her voice. “At least she’s in custody now. She’s not a danger to you or your family. That’s a lot. You don’t have to wonder where she is or what she’s doing or how much of your money she’s spending.” One of Tallie’s great concerns was how much Brigitte had taken out in mortgages on her house. If Tallie was to get the house, or the proceeds from a sale, if Brigitte had bled it dry in order to get more money, it wasn’t going to do Tallie any good.

  And Greg Thomas had hired forensic accountants not only to double-check Tallie’s accounts and the missing cash, but also to examine Brigitte’s, when they got them from the bank, to see how the money had been spent, other than on Rodeo Drive. It was a long painful process. And ever since they had discovered it, Tallie was feeling broke. She wasn’t, of course, and her father had reminded her that she hadn’t even known the money was missing, which was embarrassing, but that often happened with an embezzlement, if it was cleverly done. She had the feeling that they had been spending a fair amount of money, and in fact she had been supporting a whole additional person who was pumping money out the back door as fast as it came in. In the long run, she would save money now, but she had also lost a great deal while Brigitte was in control. Looking back on it, Tallie couldn’t understand how she had trusted her so completely, and over the years developed so much faith in her, that she blindly did whatever Brigitte told her to do. She thought that Brigitte had been making her life easier and protecting her; instead she was the silent enemy in their midst, stealing everything she could lay hands on, materially and emotionally, even her boyfriend and her trust. It was a shocking experience, and Victor Carson was nervous about it as well.

  Victor had admitted to Jim that he was afraid that Tallie might sue him for not discovering what Brigitte had been doing long before. And Jim had told him it was always a possibility; other lawsuits were often spawned from the original crime. Everyone got hurt. And in fact, Tallie had already discussed it with Greg. If Victor was checking her accounts, why hadn’t he seen what Brigitte had done? There was no plausible explanation for why he hadn’t except that he was negligent, or stealing it himself, which she now believed he wasn’t, and the FBI had concurred. But none of this felt good to her, nothing was reassuring; there was no one she could trust anymore, no one to protect her. She felt naked and
alone in the world.

  Jim promised to call her and give her an update before he left for Alaska, and Tallie hung up with a sigh. It all seemed so complicated and overwhelming, even with his help. And there were never any simple answers, clear-cut decisions, surefire resolutions or results. She had the feeling that she was in hell or purgatory and would spend eternity dealing with the embezzlement. And Jim had warned her that most victims got nothing or very little back. The embezzlers spent it, hid it, or it all went to the IRS for the taxes the embezzler hadn’t paid on the stolen money, which sounded ridiculous to Tallie. What criminal lists stolen money on their tax return? What line was that supposed to go on? Item 22B: fraud and stolen funds.

  It was infuriating most of the time, although she was grateful for the information Jim provided, the explanations, sympathy, and consolation. He seemed like a good person, but he couldn’t change what had happened, or affect the end result. At least he had gotten Brigitte arrested, and brought the case far enough along to do that. Tallie had heard horror stories since then of people who had lost hundreds of thousands of dollars and the authorities had done nothing about it, or the criminal had destroyed all the evidence so there was nothing to build a case on. Jim kept reminding her that she was lucky. The proof of loss and Brigitte’s MO were pretty clear so far, and he felt they had a viable case that they could prove in court beyond a reasonable doubt. Tallie’s name and celebrity would help them, and the fact that Brigitte had murdered a potential witness against her in the case spoke volumes. She was a criminal to the core and had abused Tallie’s trust in her in every possible way, which also didn’t sit well with the courts.