Fame, Fortune & Secrets (The Redemption Series: Book 2) Read online

  Fame, Fortune & Secrets

  Maeve Christopher

  Published by HNI Books

  Copyright © 2012 Paula M. Scully

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

  Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events and establishments is entirely coincidental.

  Editor: Janet Hitchcock

  Cover: Calista Taylor, CoversbyCali.com

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to Karen Frisch Dennen, Janet Jones, Mary Ellen Latschar, Barbara LeClerc, Jeanne Paglio, Barbara Scully, Chris Senechal, and Carolyn Sullivan. You’ve helped me so much with this series—reading, re-reading, and giving valuable feedback. You’re the BEST!

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Cast Of Characters

  Excerpt From "In The Name Of Glori"

  Chapter One

  Debbie

  The news broke the day after David and I returned to Los Angeles from our honeymoon in Austria. One of David’s girlfriends turned up dead, and the other disappeared. Since David was a secret agent, this was terrible news.

  Early that morning, David had dropped me off to spend the day with my best friend Cindy Bainbridge. I knew he always worried about me, and the Bainbridge mansion had the very best security. Plus I had so much to discuss with Cindy. I brought the album from our trip so I could show her everything. And I presented her with a painting I’d done of our new home near Salzburg. She loved it almost as much as I did and promised me she’d visit us there.

  Cindy gave me a big hug, and we settled down to tea and muffins on the patio, the album at the ready.

  But Glori ran over with a tabloid paper yelling, “Turn on the TV!” Then she tossed the newspaper onto the table. “Quick!”

  The tone in her voice brought me back to the time in the hospital when she yelled at Cindy to turn on the TV because our family friend, Senator Everett, and all his bodyguards were murdered and thrown into the ocean. That was last December twenty-sixth, the day I first met David.

  We’d been through a lot in the last six months, but as I scanned the paper I knew this could really be trouble.

  There was a picture of David on the front page, dressed in his uniform. The other picture showed a pretty woman with large breasts and a low-cut outfit. It said she was a performer at a gentleman’s club. The headlines were disturbing.

  Secret Agent Drug Dealer Sex Scandal: “We lived in luxury on government money… He kept us both as love slaves!”—Stripper Sylvie Mason tells her own true story!

  Before Glori could turn on the TV, or I could read any more, Agent Washington, the man in charge of security, appeared in the doorway.

  “Mrs. Lambrecht, General Pearson’s secretary called. The General wants you to come with me now. If you like, Miss Bainbridge and/or Miss Coulson can accompany you.” He swept the newspaper from in front of me, as I remembered, yes, I’m Mrs. Lambrecht now. And it thrilled me all over again.

  Cindy and Glori did not look thrilled.

  “Let me change. I’ll be just a minute.” Cindy patted my arm and looked at Glori.

  “I’m comin’ too.” Glori nodded. She’d never miss an opportunity to get involved in a juicy story.

  Cindy reached down to hug me. “It’s going to be okay, honey.”

  But I think she said that to convince herself.

  Glori studied my face, her hard green eyes boring into mine. Then she smiled her movie star smile at Cindy. “Yup, Cin. Denial is a river in Egypt.”

  David

  After he’d greeted his friends and colleagues in the conference room, David took a seat at the table. It had been almost a month since he’d seen them, and they quizzed him about his honeymoon.

  General Pearson walked through the door and ended the conversation. As the four men stood, he addressed David. “Lambrecht, I need to speak with you privately. In my office.” He left as his secretary deposited four large folders on the table. David followed the General to his office.

  Pearson stood at his large, sunny window, overlooking the base. A newspaper was tucked under his arm. “David. Have a seat please.”

  He sat. What now?

  “Sylvie Mason is dead, David. I’m sorry.”

  “What?” Shock and sadness overtook him.

  “Yes, it was a heroin overdose. She killed herself.”

  He shook his head. “I’m so sorry to hear that. I can’t believe she killed herself—not intentionally.”

  “I’m afraid there’s more to it.” Pearson unrolled the paper and laid it on the desk facing him. “She told her story to the Weekly World Gossip, and then last night, before the story came out, she overdosed on heroin. Of course, now it’s all over the news. My phone’s been ringing off the hook all morning. The media kept showing those photos of you and Clemente the night you caught up with Santoro. She must have seen them.” He rubbed his face and returned to the window.

  David looked down at the front page of the Weekly World Gossip. A photo of him in his uniform appeared beside Sylvie’s. Where would they get a photo of him in uniform? His gut twisted as he read the headline. What would this do to Debbie? How much more of this shit could he put her through? How could she still love him?

  “And also, David—” Pearson paused to make sure he heard him. “Darla Wilde is gone. Disappeared.” He shook his head. “Agent Washington is on the way with Debbie and her friends. He told me Glori showed up with the paper before he could stop her. He said Debbie got a glimpse of it. I’m sorry. I know it would be best if she found out from you.”

  Eduardo

  Eduardo, Alain, and Jimmy sat in the conference room perusing the Weekly World Gossip.

  “Wow. Look at those boobs.” Jimmy closely examined the photo of Sylvie Mason apparently at work at a gentleman’s club. He glanced up at his friends. “Kind of like the anti-Debbie, huh?”

  Eduardo bit his lip so as not to laugh, watching Alain covering his smirk and the General standing in the door with the paper. Jimmy caught on and hesitantly looked around as Pearson spoke.

  “Yeah—the anti-Debbie—that’s about it.”

  Pearson lowered himself into his chair and thoughtfully rubbed his chin. “Lambrecht will be here in a minute. He’s pretty upset. I guess he’s embarrassed for his wife and family more than anything else. Of course, he’s been worried about Debbie’s weak heart anyway. This won’t help matters.” Pearson let out a groan. “I told him to go throw some cold water on h
is face.”

  As Pearson updated the men on Sylvie Mason’s suicide and resulting media storm, David took his seat beside Eduardo.

  Pearson leaned back in his seat. “A quick perusal of the internet tells us we’re in for a bumpy ride. I knew once this music thing started with your families, there’d be trouble. I thought we might bypass it by getting you four started with the new training program before their music really took off. But it doesn’t look promising. We’ve got pictures of the four of you with them, and now that you’re doing security for that big concert—well there’s loads of opportunity for the paparazzi. Then we have all the video and newspaper photos taken that night you got Santoro and his gang.

  I suspect it won’t be long before they’ve got you all tied up in some crazy media frenzy. Washington is already taking notice—they’re on my case to nip this thing in the bud. I doubt we can avoid a scandal, but I’ve decided to call Joe Harris. He has all kinds of experience with the media, and since he’s handling your families’ newfound music careers, he’s a logical choice to help.”

  Eduardo rolled his eyes. Joe Harris would be on the side of the dollar sign. And that would be with his little brother’s band.

  Pearson’s secretary appeared in the doorway and announced Joe Harris. The General got up and went to usher him in personally. Joe waved a half-chewed cigar at the men and threw a battered briefcase on an empty chair. He took a seat at the far end of the table across from the General and leaned back in the chair as Pearson briefed him on the events of the past hours.

  He pondered a few moments and burst into cackling laughter. The men looked at him with confusion.

  Joe chomped on his unlit cigar. “Sounds like you were the envy of every guy in the world.”

  Pearson led a chuckle at David’s expense.

  “Just got a few questions, David.” David turned his blank stare to Joe. “Did you ever love Sylvie Mason?”

  “No.”

  “You just used her for sex?”

  “Yes. And at first, to help establish connections.”

  “And this person, Darla Wilde—love the name, by the way. You used her for sex? And for connections?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you didn’t love her either?”

  “No.”

  “And when was the last time you had sex with either one of them?”

  David thought for a moment. “It was December 28.”

  “And which one was it?”

  “Both.”

  Joe choked on a piece of his cigar. Alain slapped him on the back.

  “Yeah. I guess you did live every guy’s dream.” Joe shook his head. “Well from listening to you and reading this prestigious paper—it looks like her story was pretty factual.”

  “According to her perception,” David said.

  David wasn’t going to take bullshit from anyone.

  Joe sniffed. “Well you supported these two strippers in an expensive house and you had sex with them—usually both of them at once. That true?”

  “Yes.” David was deadpan.

  Pearson interceded. “Joe, you need to understand this was an undercover operation. Lambrecht had to assume the guise of a notorious drug dealer. These are not nice people.”

  “Yeah. It sure was an undercover operation.” Joe’s cackling was infectious. “Look, I’m just lookin’ at this story like Joe and Jane Average. Talk about their perceptions. Did you notice here on page two—here—where they’re reading about Sylvie lusting after him—and his—attributes—” Joe threw the paper onto the desk. “Sorry, even I have trouble reading that stuff.” He reached for the pitcher of water, poured a glass, and sipped it as though he were in slow motion. The men sat silently watching him.

  Joe spoke at last. “Amanda James. I think we should call Amanda James.”

  Pearson’s mouth dropped open.

  “Hear me out, General. I have an excellent relationship with her, and she’s one of, if not the, top journalist in the country. She’s articulate. She’s fair and balanced. And her show is the most popular news magazine show in the country. If I offer her an exclusive, which is what we want anyway, she’ll drop everything for this story. And I can sweeten the deal with some incentives for her, like some exclusives with Paulo and the band. These kids are so talented, they’re already news. Let’s face it, their album sales are gonna go through the roof with just this Weekly World Gossip story. Even if we didn’t do another thing. And I think it’s important to get on this immediately, before any more stories come out in the papers tomorrow or speculation begins on the nightly news on TV.”

  Joe grabbed for the phone in his briefcase. “The critical thing, General, is to get our story out there right away—deal with the facts in a truthful, straightforward way. No cover-ups. And we have the advantage of having the story told by Amanda James, not some creepy tabloid. She brings legitimacy to our story. And if we play our cards right, everyone will get what they want. You will have the admiration of every kid out there that wants to fight crime with such a glamorous career in the elite Special Forces. Amanda gets the story of a lifetime. Paulo and the band get filthy rich. And of course, their manager does all right, too.” Joe victoriously inhaled the scent of one of Cuba’s finest cigars.

  The others looked at each other in stunned silence.

  Chapter Two

  David

  As he came through the door of the General’s lounge, he was greeted by the dubious faces of his wife’s best friends, Cindy and Glori. They excused themselves as Debbie rushed into his arms, smiling up at him. He kissed her, and she came back for more. He picked her up and settled them both on the couch.

  “Sweetheart, I need to tell you about something I did. And I’m afraid it will be an embarrassment to you and to our families.” His gut twisted.

  “You mustn’t worry, David. Everything is going to be okay. Remember, nothing can separate you from the love of God. That’s the only thing that matters.”

  Today he wasn’t feeling God’s love, but if Debbie could still cling to that, he’d go with it. Whatever kept her alive and in his arms.

  “Cat did tell me something strange the other day,” she said.

  He wondered how she could be so focused on everything but the Weekly World Gossip. Maybe God had indeed decided to shield his precious angel from all this shit. Maybe Debbie had jumped into another world again. Without her paintings.

  “What did Cat tell you, Sweetheart?” His cousin Cat was probably in the same heavenly realm Debbie seemed to occupy.

  “About the lamp on a stand—Luke 8:17—‘For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.’” Debbie nodded in her usual manner, for emphasis.

  That was comforting. What happens when you shine a light on cockroaches? “She told you that the other day?”

  “Yes, when we spoke on the phone, before we left Salzburg. She hasn’t been feeling very well lately, David. She hasn’t been getting much rest. There’s a lot of pressure on them to do well with their first big concert. Eduardo’s in charge of the security, and he’s angry a lot because those security people Douggy knew aren’t very good, according to him. So Eduardo’s going through each and every person they hire. One guy didn’t like the looks of Jimmy, and he started a fight, and Jimmy flipped him right on his back, and he ended up in the hospital. Joe Harris was upset. But Jimmy was fine.”

  “I see.” He really couldn’t see how they ended up so far removed from the devastating matter at hand. He supposed that was one of the things he loved about her.

  She rose up to kiss his cheek. “Do you feel better now, David?”

  He grinned at her, and his eyes watered.

  She wiped them with her hand. “It’s okay David. I understand you were playing the part of a drug dealer.”

  He inhaled the tears. “Well then, you’re probably the only one. I don’t even need to imagine what your father will have to say.”

  Deb
bie giggled. “Isn’t it wonderful, David? We don’t even need to see Daddy if we don’t want to. We’re married now. And he can’t do anything about it.”

  He wished it were that easy to ignore George Aldridge. But first he had to make sure Debbie understood what was going on. And then convince her to participate in Pearson’s brilliant plan.

  “Sweetheart, you know about the article in the newspaper this morning?”

  Debbie returned to earth. “Yes, David.”

  “Did you read it?”

  “Just the headlines. But Glori told us about it, and she said that lady, Sylvie, committed suicide. She saw that on TV. It’s very sad, David.”

  “Yes. She probably realized I was in law enforcement when we caught Santoro. It was all over the news. So she would have known I wouldn’t be coming back. So for whatever reason, she decided to give her story to the paper. Then, maybe she regretted it—I don’t know. But anyway, she died from an overdose of heroin last night.” He searched her pale blue eyes, dumbfounded to find no trace of anger, only a mirror of his sadness.

  “Did you want to read the story?”

  “Yes, David. I suppose people will be bringing it up to me, so I may as well know what they’re talking about.”

  He drew her closer, kissed her forehead, and then spun an end table around in front of them. He reached into his leather case for a copy of the Weekly World Gossip and placed it in front of her.

  He watched her swallow hard, as though she were about to choke, though she made no sound. Filled with remorse, he focused on the strained exaggerated spasms of her throat muscles. The same reaction she often had when her father was around. Now he was inflicting the same pain on her. How could he make this stop?

  After reading the article in silence, she blurted, “Oh David, this is so very sad. I think she loved you very much. But—but—but—I don’t think that lady, Darla, really loved you. I think she was just using you for a nice place to live and—and protection from all those bad people.” She wiped a tear. “Sylvie was very pretty though, David. I don’t think I ever saw a lady with such big breasts.”