by Doug Cooper
Disoriented from the sudden intrusion and hangover from the previous night, Levi picks up the tablet, squinting and blinking at the screen. “You know how sexy you are when you’re mad?”
Eva spins back toward him. “And of all girls—America’s sweetheart—the one who played your daughter.”
“Why are you so worked up? I told you about this. I take it you weren’t able to locate the pictures.” Levi tosses the tablet on the bed and walks naked to the vivarium.
“I located them all right,” Eva says. “I just wasn’t able to secure them. I didn’t think they would be this bad. I mean, it’s like you were posing for them. I don’t think they could be much worse. Actually, I’m surprised that he acted this quickly. Didn’t seem like the type. Not even a paparazzo.”
Using a pair of tongs, Levi removes a dead rat from a small refrigerator on the floor against the wall next to the vivarium and pushes the rat through a feeding hole. “You met him?”
Eva turns away. “Actually, I was at his house. I went there with him after his show at that gallery on Traction. Lives out in West Covina.”
“Really? I’m sorry. Did you have to show your passport to go that far out there?” The snake slithers to the jiggling rat and snaps it from the tongs. “You must be losing your touch because whatever you did, it sure didn’t work. But fuck it. Gotta keep your name in the headlines. Isn’t that what you always say?”
“I don’t think you realize how bad this is. It’s not just about damage to your image. You’ve done quite well destroying that all on your own. Have you forgotten? Regardless of how she acts, Emily is only seventeen, which makes you a criminal.”
Levi puts down the tongs on the refrigerator and picks up the bottle of Jameson from the nightstand. “Fuck it. Like I said, it was consensual. If anything, she raped me.”
“Can you put some fucking clothes on?” Eva snags a pair of shorts from the floor and throws them at Levi. “You better hope the DA thinks so.”
Levi drinks from the bottle of bourbon, allowing the shorts to hit his chest and fall to the floor. “It’s not like Emily will say otherwise. She has nothing to gain by being a victim in this. She probably doesn’t even care.”
Eva walks to the control panel on the wall and presses a button to make the glass wall slide away. Fresh sea air fills the room. She says, “Her people do. They want a meeting today.”
“Good. Since you obviously don’t believe me, you can hear straight from Emily that it was all her doing.” Levi picks the shorts up and slips them on. “At least we now know what we’re dealing with. The pics really don’t show all that much. It could be a lot worse. Way more than that happened. Right now we can just say we were swimming. We just need to get the rest of the pics before they come out. You think you can get to him before someone else does?”
“I told you I can handle him,” Eva says. “Just let me do my job and try not to stir anything else up.
Levi shuffles across the bamboo floor next to Eva, extending the bottle to her. “To the Oscars?”
Eva takes the bottle and gulps a mouthful. “You can probably kiss that goodbye.”
“That’s a bit of an overreaction, don’t you think?” Levi walks out onto the terrace.
“God, Levi,” Eva says, following him. “She played your daughter in the film for Christ’s sake.”
“Hello, it’s a movie.” He leans on the edge of the terrace wall, looking out across the lawn to the ocean.
Eva slugs more whiskey. “Not to the public.”
“They’re fucking stupid.”
“Those stupid people are the same ones you need to go to your next movie—the one you financed.”
Levi flops down onto one of the chaise lounge chairs angled along the terrace. Fresh scratch marks are visible across his chest. “It’ll be fine. I’ll have a good showing at the Oscars and it will all blow over by the time the new premiere releases.”
Eva motions at the marks on his chest. “Jesus. What the fuck happened there? Were you with an alley cat last night?” She pauses, running her hands through her hair. “Please tell me those aren’t from her. You know what? Better yet, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. I hope you realize there’s no way you can go with her to the Oscars.”
“Who am I going to take then?”
Eva doesn’t hesitate. “I’m going with you.”
“Ah, so now the truth comes out,” Levi says. “Is this business or personal?”
Eva scowls at him. “Don’t flatter yourself. It’ll help with the media, you fucking egomaniac. For once listen to me and just stay away from her.”
Levi lowers the bottle and nods exaggeratedly. “Yes, boss. Whatever you say.”
She pads toward the door. “Just stay here today. Don’t go anywhere else until it’s time to come to my office at four p.m…preferably sober…and take a shower. You smell like sex.”
Levi wobbles his head back and forth mocking her. “I’ll see what I can do. But the ‘no alcohol’ thing may get in the way of the drinking I had on the agenda.”
◆◆◆
Marcus lingers in front of the desk of the Head Deputy of Sex Crimes’s assistant. Approaching from behind, a woman in her early forties with a heather cardigan hanging from her shoulders carries a mug of tea. “You’re hovering. What do you need?”
“Is the head deputy in?” Marcus asks, pulling on the lapels of his wrinkled, maroon suit jacket. He always wears stylish suits, but they are usually in need of freshening, much like him. The four hours of sleep he got last night, and gets most nights, shows on his face and his shoulders, which are perpetually slumped forward. “I got something big to run by him.”
“I’m going to need more than that.” She looks at him, lifting one eye and pushing her lips to the side. “He has a meeting with the bureau director in ten minutes.”
“Are Levi Combs and Emily James enough?” he asks, nodding his head.
She sits in her chair, dipping the tea bag in and out of the mug of hot water. “I heard about that. I would say that classifies as big enough. You have to be quick though.”
“In and out, I promise.” He straightens his gray cotton tie and proceeds around the desk to the office.
The head deputy, his elbows planted on the blue pearl granite top of his mahogany desk, reads a thick legal brief with a highlighter. He has on a white shirt with a burgundy tie and matching suspenders. A navy suit jacket hangs over the back of his leather chair. His eyes flash from the document to Marcus. “Deputy Ambrose, nice to see you. What can I do for you today?” He motions to the two chairs in front of him.
“I know you have a meeting in ten minutes, so I’ll be brief.” Marcus strides to the desk but does not sit down. “I’m not sure if you saw the news this morning, but there are some compromising pictures of Levi Combs with his seventeen-year-old costar Emily James that have showed up online. I’m thinking we might want to look into it. I know underage sex crimes are becoming a hot button topic and this could really send a strong message.”
The head deputy motions toward the seat again. This time Marcus follows the suggestion. The head deputy tosses the highlighter on the desk and leans back in his chair. “Well now—Levi Combs, huh? That is a big one. What have you got so far?”
“Just the pictures that were posted,” Marcus says. “Like I said, they are compromising but nothing really definitive. I don’t know if there are more, or any of the other details. I didn’t want to start anything until I got your approval.”
The head director tilts his head back, looking at the ceiling. “Thanks for coming to me first. It’s an election year, so we need to be sure before going after anyone so visible. These people have a lot of resources and influence. A misstep can be costly, to both the city and to us professionally. What’s your plan?”
Marcus angles forward bracing his hands on his knees. “I’ll track down
the photographer and find out exactly what he saw and if there are other pictures. I can also reach out to the representatives of both parties for comment and the website that broke the story.”
“Hold off on contacting the reps and the site.” He stands and puts on the jacket from the back of the chair. “Let’s see what you get from the photographer. I’ll bring it up in my meeting with the bureau director. I want to make sure she is behind us on this one.” He walks from around the desk, prompting Marcus to rise and follow him.
“Understood,” Marcus says. “I’ll let you know what I find out and wait for your direction.”
The head deputy stops at the door, patting Marcus on the back as he exits. “Good work. I like the initiative.”
Marcus nods, breezing past the assistant waiting with a folder to get the head deputy ready for his next meeting. Encouraged by the outcome, Marcus heads toward his desk in the open area with the other deputy DAs, clerks, and paralegals. He had wanted to seem eager but not overly ambitious and come across as desperate or even worse, that he has another motive for going after Levi. He knows the likelihood of anyone, even Levi, connecting the two of them through Tamara is miniscule unless he screws up. It was so many years ago. He doubts Levi would even remember her, let alone him. There had been so many women for Levi since Tamara—so much of everything—that she had probably been discarded like lines of a bad script after the role was done. Marcus still knows better than to risk it. He only has one shot. If at any point, anyone does make the connection, he’ll be removed from the case, or if he tries and loses, he can’t come back with other charges no matter what Levi does. Levi is too high profile and can afford too competent of lawyers. A second attempt will only appear like someone in the DA office has a vendetta against him. No one wants that spotlight on them, and that’s exactly what Levi’s attorneys would do. They’d turn things around and cast Levi as the victim. After everything Levi has done over the years, no way Marcus is going to give him the satisfaction of being the victim.
Sitting at his desk, Marcus pulls up the Forbidden Fotos article with the pictures of Levi and Emily and finds Gabe’s name in the credits. With swift key strokes, he switches applications. A legal search database comes up on the screen. He inputs Gabe’s name into the search box to find an angle or leverage on Gabe if he won’t cooperate. His criminal record comes back empty but several legal and news entries appear. Marcus clicks on the articles, first reading about Gabe’s parents’ crash and their obituaries, then the legal entries pertaining to the settlement of the will and his appropriation as Abbie’s legal guardian. Armed with the information he needs, he scribbles down the address on his notepad and heads for the door.
◆◆◆
Later at their house on Lolita, Abbie leads Marcus through the doorway to the kitchen and into the studio. Gabe assembles a wooden frame at the worktable. Abbie says, “Gabe, sorry to bother you. Marcus Ambrose from the District Attorney’s office is here to see you.”
Marcus separates from Abbie and goes straight toward Gabe, the back of his side-vented jacket flapping from the swift change of direction. Extending his hand, Marcus says, “Sorry to bother you at home…or is it work?”
Gabe rubs his hands together. “Both.” A trail of sawdust flutters to the floor. Shaking with Marcus, Gabe says, “No trouble. Just getting some stuff ready for my gallery showing.” Gabe notices Abbie lingering to see what Marcus wants. “Thanks, Abbie. Don’t you have some homework to finish?”
Abbie remains by the door watching. “I can do it later.” Gabe motions with his head for her to go into the house. Rolling her eyes, she says, “Fine. Would you like something to drink before I go, Mr. Ambrose?”
Marcus turns back toward her. “No thank you, Ms. Adams. I’ll only be a moment.” He looks back at Gabe, dropping his eyes to the picture on the worktable. “Very beautiful. I’m guessing celebrity photos are not your main focus?”
“More the exception than the rule,” Gabe says. “What can I do for you this afternoon?”
Marcus says, “Yes, of course. You’re probably not aware, but as a result of your photos the DA’s office is investigating Levi Combs for his involvement with Emily James. For far too many years, we have looked the other way in these types of cases. I’ve been given the authority to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Gabe bends down, assembling two of the edges around the picture. “Have charges been filed?”
“Not yet,” Marcus says. “We’re hoping you could help influence that decision.”
“Not sure what more I can tell you.” Gabe moves around to another corner of the frame. “You saw the pictures. They pretty much show what I witnessed.”
Marcus follows him. “Nothing else happened or stands out?”
Gabe says, “I didn’t even know who it was until later, when I showed my sister the pictures and she told me.”
“And the pictures published are the only ones?” Marcus asks, leaning on the worktable toward Gabe, who doesn’t answer, focusing his attention on the frame. Marcus says, “Mr. Adams, if there are other pictures, you are obligated to turn them over. If you refuse, I can obtain a court order.”
Gabe works his way around the table. “What you saw is all I have. I was pretty far away, and once I realized I was interrupting a private moment, I stopped. There’s really not much more I can add.”
“But surely you can help fill in some gaps. For example, from your vantage point, could you see if they were engaged in intercourse?” Marcus doesn’t follow Gabe this time and holds his position, standing across from him.
“You’ll have to ask them,” Gabe says. “From where I was, I couldn’t really tell.” He snaps the final corner in place.
Frustration swells inside Marcus. He increases the intensity of his questioning. “This just doesn’t make sense to me. Why didn’t you turn the pictures over to authorities? You say you’re not a celebrity photographer, yet you went to the media first.”
Gabe doesn’t falter, continuing to work on the picture while speaking. “At the time the relationship seemed consensual. I didn’t think it was a criminal matter.” He stands the picture up on its side, blocking the sightline between the two. “Is this something I should have a lawyer present for?”
Marcus shuffles a few steps to the side. “No, this is just a friendly visit. I thought you might be able to help, and now seeing you have a sister about the same age as Ms. James, I assume would want to help.”
“I just want to be done with it,” Gabe says.
Marcus nods. “Of course. Would you at least be willing to testify in court to what you saw?”
Gabe dusts off the top edge of the frame and places it back on the table, making eye contact with Marcus. “As I said, I’d really prefer not to be involved. As you can see, I’m quite busy and have my sister to think about. I don’t want to expose her to the media circus and all the other nut jobs that are sure to come along with this. The pictures tell more than I could. I was a significant distance away, a fact I’m sure the defense would feast on.”
Marcus counters Gabe’s indifference by elevating his tone. “You do realize we can issue a subpoena and force you?”
“I hope that’s not necessary,” Gabe says, ignoring the threat. “But if you do, I’ll just say what I told you. I was too far away to really see anything.”
“Mr. Adams, I did some research on you before I came to see you. Can I just say that I think it’s admirable that you took on the responsibility of raising your sister after your parents died? I know how hard that must’ve been. My sister, who pretty much raised me, died when I was young. She had been my primary caregiver while my parents were at work before I was old enough to look after myself. Losing her devastated me, but at least, I still had my mother.”
“How fortunate for you,” Gabe says in a stilted cadence. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. It was a
horrible time for all of us.” Marcus pauses to emphasize the past tense. “That was about twelve years ago. She would’ve been a few years older than you are now.”
Gabe picks up the finished picture and walks away from Marcus toward the others stacked against the wall. “That is terrible. But, and please excuse my forwardness, is that supposed to create some type of bond between us because we both have lost someone close to us? If I could help you, I would. I just can’t. I’m sorry.”
Marcus’ frustration escalates to annoyance. “Don’t you at least get tired of these entitled Hollywood types being able to do whatever they want? It’s like there are two sets of laws. One for them, and one for everybody else. What if that were your sister?”
“I don’t feel there are two sets of laws,” Gabe says, not taking the bait. “I have full faith in your office to uphold the same ones for everyone. As far as Abbie, I would expect her not to put herself in that situation. This is starting to feel like harassment, Mr. Ambrose. I’ve told you everything. If you have additional questions, please bring me in so I can have a lawyer present.”
Marcus removes a business card from his breast pocket and passes it to Gabe. “I don’t think that will be necessary for now, Mr. Adams. Thank you for your time and cooperation. I’ll be in touch if there is anything else.”
Gabe tosses the card on the worktable. “I suggest you pay the ones in the pictures a visit. They have the answers you’re looking for.” Concerned that Abbie might reveal it was her who sent the photos to the site, Gabe motions to the back door. “I can show you out this way.”
Chapter 9
Constellation Place rises between Avenue of the Stars and Century Park West in Century City. Formerly MGM Tower, the building was the first high-rise completed in Los Angeles in the twenty-first century and served as the headquarters of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer until 2011, when they moved to Beverly Hills. Now it’s the home of several real estate, banking, and entertainment corporations, including Eva’s TV & film agency. While she could avoid playing the game where she lived, to stay relevant and grow the business, she had to be visible and interact with the right people.
