“Wow! That would be a pretty nasty violation of trust.”
“Yes, indeed. Fortunately, it didn’t pan out. What we did find, however, is a link between the lady in question and Gillian.” Trevor nodded as Gillian poked her head in the door. “It’s okay, come on in. I actually need to talk to ask you a few things.”
Gillian smiled as she reseated herself, “I didn’t want to interrupt anything sensitive.”
“Eh, the details are sensitive, but the big picture isn’t, and it involves you.”
Gillian looked confused, “Okay, I’ll bite. How?”
“What does the name Rebecca Ravenswell mean to you?”
Gillian smiled broadly, “Meso-soprano, clinical almost sterile voice, but very clean and articulate. She excelled in reworks of pieces from other languages; she had an excellent ear. I represented her for about six months, oh, about four years ago. I passed her to an agent that specialized in movie and studio work.”
“Not much of a live performer?”
“Oh, heavens, no. From a presentation point of view she was, to be polite, dull. Good clean precise voice, but would just stand there and sing without any passion or feeling. Also, well, she had horrible stage fright. She spent six weeks working with a therapist and had, well, only a slight improvement. That is why we steered her towards studio work. She was excellent at it, especially for foreign language work, and she didn’t have to deal with crowds.”
“Um, that therapist wasn’t the same one associated with the disturbed lady Meeka chased is it?” asked Edward.
“Nope. But good guess. Said lady is, however, a huge fan of Rebecca Ravenswell and she is convinced her ‘work’ was needed in order to help Rebecca’s comeback. The fun part is, we don’t know if Rebecca is even involved or if this is all the work of some deranged fan club.”
“Fan club with bombs,” observed Gillian bitterly. “What of Ryanson? He was the man who represented her after I did. Has he been getting any threats?”
“He has been deceased for six months. Was ruled heart failure. That is being checked into again,” replied Trevor. “The locals are hunting down Rebecca. But she has been on- and off- planet several times in the last few years. They aren’t sure where she is.”
“And people wonder why I hate fan clubs.”
17
Edward stared out across the beautiful lobby as they waited for Tatiana and Zoë to return. The base of the building was a series of massive gardens, indoors and out and there were a fair amount of sightseers there just for the gardens themselves.
“So what is with this hotel, Kadu? I’ve not seen any other guests,” asked Edward.
“The building is owned, and was designed by, a certain Peter van der Grauer. He is a wealthy industrialist who has spent his last twenty years designing various self-sustaining arcologies as well as some of the few truly successful totally enclosed farming systems. His contemporaries point out his profit margin is low; he responds that the profit is stable. Ultimately, when you are worth several hundred billion, it is silly to argue finances with such a person. I digress; the bottom of this building is the gardens which are open to the public. The middle of the building is a highly automated farming system, while the top of the building is an exclusive private hotel. Due to his… eccentric habits and lifestyle, the hotel is already very secure in spite of the level of activity on the ground floor. ”
“And we ended up here how?”
“The owner himself offered an entire floor to Tatiana for six months free of charge. Many speculate he was trying to entertain business dealings with her father, the governor. That seems inconsistent as Mr. van der Grauer seems in no need for a quid pro quo and all of his business dealings are quite above board.”
“Is a younger member of his family a fan?” guessed Edward.
“No data.”
Edward laughed to himself; Shukurae hated to speculate. “Care to offer a guess?”
“Considering the highly varied activities, he did it to annoy someone else that was going to offer a different hotel.”
“To annoy someone…”
“It was a guess.”
Edward laughed, “Like you said, it fits the data just as well as anything else. Hey! Is that the car?”
“Yes, indeed.”
“They hit the fashion district in an armored car. I bet that went over well.”
“Sarcasm?”
“Correct.”
“I do get confused at times.”
Edward smiled at Kadu as he watched the armored car pull up next to them. He didn’t know if she actually did or didn’t get the sarcasm or if she was making a joke of it. Most Shukurae humor, or what passed for humor, was very subtle. Edward preferred that, as most of Kadu’s less subtle humor as of late had been at his expense. All in good sport, of course. Nope, Kadu wasn’t a nanny. Edward felt a bit ashamed of himself for that label. Big sister would be a better description. “It’s okay, Sis. It’s not like I’m not over dramatic at times.”
“Sister,” Kadu smiled. “Yes, I do think I prefer that. Thank you, Edward. This may come as some surprise to Mom.”
Edward laughed, “Yes indeed. But she’ll deal with it.” He regained his composure as he opened the door on the armored car. Out popped Tatiana in a flash.
“Edward!” she warmly hugged him without letting him get a word in edgewise. “Oh, I am so glad to see you up and about! You were out cold there for almost a day! Kadu said not to worry, but…”
Edward put a finger over her mouth and smiled, “I’m fine. Swifting is always a mess for a day, but no big deal ultimately. I was more worried about you; I had no idea if you had gotten hurt when Alex did or if you had gotten into much smoke. But here you are smiling and chattering away. It looks like you are no worse for wear. Shopping, was it?”
Tatiana smiled broadly, “Shopping indeed! Zoë came along and we made a day of it!”
Zoë stepped out of the car and gave Edward a quick hug, “Good to see you! I saw the videos of you jumping out the window of that twelve story hotel. Live Steel or not, that was pretty wild!”
“It smarted a bit, but it got the job done. Here, let me get your bags for you.”
“Hey, you aren’t staff. Don’t you dare!” scolded Tatiana.
“Not staff, how about as a friend. It isn’t like there’s a bell boy here.”
Both Tatiana and Zoë laughed. “All right then,” agreed Tatiana. “But if you start getting all stiff from being stuck in bed for a day, you pass them off. Okay?”
“After being in bed all day, the exercise feels good,” Edward countered.
“I’m not sure you can argue with him,” interjected Zoë.
“Oh, if I can argue with Gillian, I can argue with anyone,” laughed Tatiana. “Come on, let’s get upstairs. The seamstress should be here in about half an hour to finish the alterations.”
Edward gathered up their shopping bags as the four of them made their way to the private elevators. Kadu used her pass to take them up to the main lobby where they’d need to switch again. It was a beautiful place and they all enjoyed the walk. What wasn’t green with plant life was elegantly and tastefully carved in tall standing marble.
The short trip to the secure lobby revealed two more people that no one in the group had previously met. One was an older male Taik, with aging silver tipped tan fur and an elegantly cut black coat and pants while the other was a young female Taik with a striking figure and coat. She wore a revealing white dress and had long white hair and a solid white coat. Solid color coats were very, very uncommon, and they were always solid white. Not albino as her underlying skin and eyes were normal, but just a brilliant solid white coat. In the Highlands, those with solid white coats were called Aurorans, named so after the first known one with a solid white coat, “Aurora” over five hundred years ago. Something clicked in the back of Edward’s mind: Dawn, his niece had a solid black coat. He had never ever seen a solid black coat before. Why didn’t it stick out more at the time?
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“Hello,” offered Tatiana politely as they all converged on the private elevator. The elevator was more than big enough for all of them. Hopefully no one was going to get snooty.
“Good afternoon,” the Auroran replied with a thick Highland accent. “Oh, you must be Tatiana. Is the concert still on?”
“It has been delayed a week, but it is still on. Thank you for asking, Miss…?” replied Tatiana cordially.
“Moira Grauer. Uncle owns this place. I’m visiting for the summer.” She squinted and looked at Edward, “You are the Highlander, the Silver that has been in the news. Edward Silverglade, is it?”
“Yes, ma’am,” replied Edward politely as he could. He was trying not to stare, but it was hard. She was gorgeous, a fantastic figure, long, long flowing hair, and oh, it was so nice to hear that familiar accent of a Highlander again. “Delighted to meet you.”
“Delighted to meet you, too. Not many Highlanders around. My mother is a Highlander and I’ve moved back and forth all my life. Quite a mess, but quite fun. Maybe we could get together some time. It would be so nice to talk with a Highlander again.”
“I am incredibly busy, but I can see what I can do.”
“That would be fantastic,” Moira smiled broadly. Suddenly she wrinkled her nose at Zoë and then smiled. “Are you, by chance, Zoë Sylva?”
“Yes, indeed,” replied Zoë politely.
Moira smiled broadly again, “I heard you play in Spring at the university recitals. Alfonso de Vualtshea’s Piano Concerto Number 17 in G minor. AV 217 by Haltshore’s codex I believe. It was a thoroughly enjoyable performance.”
Zoë smiled broadly back at the recognition, “Correct, that was me. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“I’d previously heard that piece, but from Brauventhauer’s codex and it was slightly different. Thus it was a slight surprise when I heard your performance. I did later learn, to my chagrin, that Haltshore’s codex is the preferred collection and all this time I had been listening to the scholastically inferior collection. Mea culpa. It is a great testament to you and your instructor at how well, both technically and expressively, you preformed the piece. I for one, could never complete it, much less do it justice. You should bring a touch of class and style to Tatiana’s act.”
Zoë flushed slightly, “While I do thank you for your compliments, I am but a footnote to Tatiana’s act. I am there for variety and to act as a foil. The life, the feeling, the raw emotion is all Tatiana. Never confuse technical rapidity for the soul of a performance.”
“Eloquent and modest,” replied Moira, “Oh, this is my floor. We will see you around.” With that, the pair exited the elevator.
Edward, Kadu, Zoë and Tatiana rode the elevator the rest of the way in uncomfortable silence. When their floor finally arrived, Tatiana bolted from the landing to the room.
Edward grimaced, “Was Moira that bad?”
Zoë cocked an eye at him, “She sure as heck wasn’t sunshine and roses. And you sure as heck didn’t help.”
“I’m confused!” protested Edward. “I caught that she kinda insulted Tatiana’s act, but I thought you did an eloquent defense of it.”
“Yes, I did. And you did nothing.”
“I was supposed to say something?”
“Yes, yes you were,” Zoë sighed. “Look, a super-rich young girl shows up and gets chatty with you. You, in passing, agree to meet her in your spare time. Tatiana would love to meet you in your spare time. But that’s fine, from what I can tell, you don’t actually have any spare time. Moira’s from the same place as you, I get that. Someone that you can share things with, but honestly, how much do you think you have in common besides accent and a few amusing anecdotes?”
“Well…”
“Do you want to know what the biggest problem was?”
“Uh, sure… I guess.”
“What color were her eyes?”
“Excuse me?”
“What color were her eyes? You never took your eyes off her once. But I’m pretty sure you never once looked at her eyes. You did, however, spend a lot of time looking at her curves. And boy does she have curves!”
“Was it that obvious?”
“I’m impressed you weren’t drooling on the floor,” observed Kadu.
Zoë laughed, “What she said. When she notices you staring too much, that’s a hint.”
“So I should go apologize to Tatiana?” asked Edward starting to understand.
“That would be a good start. Would you like to know something else to temper your future meetings with Moira?”
“Sure,” offered Edward trying to regain some dignity.
“She’s fifteen.”
“Fifteen?”
“Yep! Fifteen, as in not even out of school yet,” replied Zoë with a bit of a smirk.
“I think maybe I should go talk with Tatiana,” mumbled Edward.
Zoë and Kadu nodded. “I’ll take the bags,” offered Kadu.
Edward thanked Kadu and then quickly made his way across the landing to the room. He quickly scanned his card and entered finding only Gillian in the living room.
“Oh, there are the rest of you” began Gillian with a smile. “Tatiana wasn’t too chatty. I assumed it was just a long day.”
“That and I stuck my tail in my mouth,” countered Edward. “Where did she go?”
“Oh, dear,” replied Gillian with a bit of a sour face. “That doesn’t sound too good. Something with Zoë?”
“No, we met Moira Grauer in the elevator and I… well… I got stupid…”
Gillian giggled a bit, “Her curves throw you for a loop, did they? She has a knock-out figure and just turned fifteen. Tabloids hate her because they’d love to chase her, but would get sued for harassing a minor. Don’t worry. You’re not the first male to be ‘distracted’ by her and you won’t be the last.” She smiled warmly to Edward, “You didn’t mean anything by it, just go talk to Tatiana and I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
“You never said where she was.”
“Her room, fuzzy boy.”
“My fur standing on end?”
“Straight!”
Edward fought for a moment to calm down and get his fur to relax. Nothing happened, so he gave up and walked over and knocked on Tatiana’s door.
“Who is it?” came the muffled reply.
“The stupidest person on the whole planet,” replied Edward.
Tatiana opened the door, it was obvious she had been crying. Immediately Edward felt like more of a heel than he already had.
“Sorry I didn’t stick up for you in the elevator. Sorry I got distracted by her. I didn’t mean to slight you in any way.”
“We bump into a young billionaire heiress with big... curves… I guess it was only natural that you were distracted. I don’t have to like it however.”
“And you shouldn’t be expected to like it. I was an idiot. That part was obvious. Let me make it up to you. How would you like to go out to dinner together? Where ever you like, just the two of us.” Edward rolled his eyes, “Well, the two of us and whatever security Trevor sends along.”
That got a giggle out of Tatiana, “I’d be delighted. But can we make one small change?”
“Sure,” replied Edward, more than a little confused.
“The three of us: Zoë as well.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, indeed.”
“Very well, then. The three of us, providing Zoë agrees.”
Tatiana smiled and hugged Edward, “It’s a date. Now if you excuse me, the seamstress will be here in a bit to finish up our dresses! No peeking!”
18
Edward rolled out of bed. Oh, that had been a long night. At least there wasn’t anything scheduled for the day. He wandered over to the chest of drawers and looked for some clean clothes. Clean clothes he found, but they weren’t his! Um. Right. He went to the bathroom to liberate a towel only to find the shower occupied. He carefully reached in and grabbed a towel before making himself at lea
st somewhat presentable as he bolted across the living room to his own room.
“Nice towel!” called out Gillian with no small amount of mirth.
“Thanks for noticing, Mom!” called Edward back.
Gillian shot her coffee out her nose at the reply, “Ow!”
As quickly as he could, Edward showered and changed only to find Kadu waiting for him as soon as he was done.
“What’s up?” asked Edward as he joined Kadu and Gillian in the living room.
“Trevor figured you’d both like to know: three more people have been apprehended for their involvement with the fire at the hotel.”
“Good!” replied Gillian sternly. “I hope the courts nail their tails to the floor.”
“One of the parties is being charged with tampering with the fire suppression system and substituting a highly flammable liquid in for the normal foam. That individual is in serious trouble.”
“Ouch!” replied Edward. “I would imagine! That also explains why the fire spread so quickly.”
Gillian sighed and shook her head. “Is this still all about Rebecca?”
“Yes, Lady Gillian. From what we can tell, their excessive admiration for the lady is at the heart of this all.”
“Would all of this insanity stop if Tatiana found a different agent? They are doing this to get at me after all.”
“Oh, heck no!” barked Tatiana from her doorway. “You aren’t leaving! If we let a pack of nut jobs push us around now then they will always push us around.”
“Considering the attacks have been directed against Lady Tatiana even when you were not present, I do not believe that you leaving would help the situation,” ventured Kadu. “You have represented Lady Tatiana for three years, bringing her up to the point where she is now. It does appear that they intend on stopping the show, not just you. Which stands to reason as the show is the outward manifestation of your work.”
Gillian sighed, “So what do we do?”
“Keep on going,” began Edward. “They are starting to make some serious cracks in the case.”
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