Crown Jewel

by Fern Michaels

  “Shut up, Tyler. I was brought up to respect girls and women, and that means you don’t hit them even when they slug you. Let’s just forget this. Tell me what you want me to do.”

  Ricky set the plates down on the floor. Both dogs watched him until he gave the signal they could eat. Starved, as he knew they were, they didn’t gobble. They licked their plates clean and waited. “More?” He filled their dishes half-full this time. Again, they licked the plates clean.

  “They shouldn’t give you any trouble with the bath. The tubs in the laundry room are oversize, so you can do both of them. Warm water, not hot. Dry them thoroughly, then wrap them in the towels and let them sleep by the pups. We’ll carry the pups into the laundry room, so they can keep their eyes on them. That’s important to new mother dogs.” Authority rang in Ricky’s voice. His sons stared at him, accepting his word as gospel.

  Gracie Lick entered the kitchen dressed in shorts that hung below her knees and a yellow tee shirt with the words STAR POWER emblazoned on the front and looked at the three men. “Where’s my photographer?”

  “Out by the pool, where he’s been since you got here. I heard a splash a little while ago,” Max volunteered. “I hope you aren’t paying him by the hour.” Gracie ignored his comments as she trotted into the laundry room to check on the pups.

  “It’s time to feed these guys. I can do it in here, while you guys bathe the mother and father. I don’t want these dogs traumatized, so let’s try to make this a lovely experience for them. In other words, screw up with these dogs, and I’ll kick your respective asses all the way to the gate.”

  Ricky watched his sons scurrying about for towels and shampoo. He turned away so he wouldn’t laugh out loud. He had things to do. He said so to Gracie.

  “That’s okay. I can talk to them while I’m feeding the pups. Jonas knows what I want in the way of pictures. I appreciate your letting me keep these dogs, Mr. Lam.” Honesty rang in her voice when she said, “I would have found a way to keep them if you had said no. I hate people who abuse animals.”

  “I knew that.”

  “On your way out, Mr. Lam, will you ask Jonas to come in with his camera. I’d like a few shots of your sons bathing the dogs. Human interest opposed to a shot of them hanging out in some bar or sitting on a Harley. Everyone identifies with dogs.”

  “Do you think, Gracie, you could go a little easier on Max? I think he really likes you, but you might be intimidating him. You know, just a little.”

  Gracie reared back in horror. “Are you suggesting I skew the interview, Mr. Lam? You’ve got the wrong person if you think that.”

  “No, no, that’s not what I meant. I meant on a personal level. That boy-girl thing.”

  “There is no boy-girl thing. Max is a…clod.”

  “Is a clod one step up or down from an oaf?” Ricky asked, knowing instinctively that his gut decision to hire Gracie to do the story had been right.

  “I heard that,” Max said. His eyes flashing angrily, his jaw grim as he glared at Gracie.

  “Eavesdroppers never hear anything good about themselves. How does it feel, Mr. Velvet Tongue? Don’t bother telling me because I don’t want to know. Wash those dogs, they smell from being in that ditch. Be sure to put conditioner on them after you shampoo them.”

  “Conditioner?” Tyler queried.

  “Yes, it makes the hair soft so it doesn’t tangle.”

  Ricky looked at his sons. He shrugged.

  Gracie filled the three eyedroppers and placed them on a paper towel. She started to feed one of the pups, the mother dog at her side. “See, I’m just helping you out until you’re well enough to nurse them. Go ahead, sniff it, taste it if you want.” She smiled when the dog did just what she told her to do.

  Max, a bottle of conditioner in his hand, thought Gracie’s smile the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen. He was about to say something nice when Gracie jerked her head in the direction of the sink. She raised one bare foot to make her point.

  Max turned on the water in the laundry tub.

  “Oh, you sweet little thing, you took three whole droppers.” She watched as the mother dog dropped to her haunches, her gaze on the pups. She appeared satisfied that nothing was going awry.

  “What kind of dogs are these?” Tyler asked.

  “I think they have some Lab, maybe some shepherd in them. Does it make a difference?” Gracie asked.

  “Are you always this obnoxious?” Max demanded as he soaped the male dog’s head. “What the—”

  “Smile for the camera!” Gracie said, picking up the second pup. She brought it to her cheek. He felt soft and warm. She wiggled the eyedropper into his mouth and watched while he struggled to take his nourishment. “Rinse those dogs well. Did you bring down a blow-dryer?”

  “Blow-dryer?” Max said incredulously.

  “They’re big dogs. How do you expect them to dry themselves? Do you want them getting sick? Blow-dryers dry hair. The dogs have hair. I rest my case.”

  “Listen, you…wannabe journalist, these are your dogs. My brother and I are helping you. We-are-helping-you! Get it! We-do-not-have-to-do-this. Get it! We-are-being-kind-and-generous-with-our-time. Get it!”

  “Kiss my ass, you movie star’s son. Ex-movie star. Don’t talk to me.”

  “Why would I want to do a stupid thing like that?” Max blustered.

  Gracie laid the second pup down and filled the three droppers for the last pup. “Because you’re stupid, that’s why. I told you not to talk to me.”

  “He’s flirting with you, Gracie. The oaf thinks this is how you go about it,” Tyler said as he lifted the male dog out of the tub. “Isn’t that right, Max?” It was clear from Tyler’s tone that he knew all about the finer art of flirting.

  Gracie Lick’s face turned a rich shade of pink. She concentrated on the pup in her arms.

  Max didn’t deny his brother’s statement. Instead, he pulled the plug in the sink and waited for the water to gurgle down the drain. He started to fill the tub back up, checking the water to make sure it wasn’t too hot or too cold.

  In the war of words, it was Max Lam 1, Gracie Lick 210, maybe 910.

  10

  Ricky Lam walked into his study, where the file drawers from his brother’s office now sat on the floor, beckoning him. His stomach worked itself into a knot just thinking about going through them.

  Maybe he should call Roxy. He smiled at the thought. He didn’t stop to think about it or the time difference. He dialed the number of her rented condo. He wondered what she was doing. He asked when her voice came on the line.

  “I’m baking bread. I bought one of those bread-making machines yesterday. I love the way the house smells when bread is baking. I have stew simmering, and I baked a peach pie. I don’t like eating alone, though.”

  “Do you put lots of soft butter on the bread? Philly and I used to fight over who got the end. Mom called it the heel. She’d cut off each end of the loaf so we wouldn’t fight, even though it was hard to slice the rest of the loaf without the ends. She used to make strawberry jelly from those little sweet berries. If I close my eyes, I can picture it and remember the taste. Do you make jelly?”

  “No. I buy mine.”

  “Store-bought is good, too.” He didn’t mean to ask the question, but the words rolled off his lips. “Do you miss me?” It took her so long to answer, he was about to prompt her. The knot in his stomach started to tighten.

  “Yes, I do miss you. What are you doing?”

  He told her. “I swear to God, I don’t know what to do about Max and Gracie. I must be getting old if I can’t relate to that mating dance they’re doing. It’s a new world out there.”

  “Yes, it is. They’ll work it out. Five dogs, huh? You sure lead an interesting life, Ricky Lam.”

  “Roxy, I haven’t looked in the files yet. What do you think is in them?”

  “Ricky, I haven’t a clue. I don’t know, maybe secret offshore accounts. Maybe he was an internet freak of some k
ind. I guess that isn’t it because Philly didn’t have a computer, at least that I know of. On the other hand, maybe he was just a person who didn’t interact well with others and was a loner. What I do know is he was as screwed up as you and I were at one time. You took responsibility early on. I’m just now getting there. When I allow myself to look back at my life, I cringe at some of the things I did. I’m not sure I even want to know about Philly. Does that answer your question?”

  “No, not really. You wouldn’t happen to know Philly’s password for his private voice mail, would you?”

  “No.”

  “Where did he go? What did he do? Did he spend his time sitting in those empty offices playing with the paper clips? What?”

  “I don’t know, Ricky. He dressed for business every day, though. Suit, tie, white shirt. Sometimes he would loosen the tie, but he never took it off. He never took off the jacket either. Did you go through his things in his bedroom? I never did. When he died, I just closed the door. I would have locked it if I’d had a key, but I didn’t. When are you coming back?”

  She sounded like she cared. “Day after tomorrow. I’ll call you before I leave. Is your bread done?”

  “Five more minutes. I’ll make some for you when you get back.”

  The knot in Ricky’s stomach loosened up. “I’m going to hold you to that.” Her warm chuckle stayed with him long after he had hung up the phone.

  Why was it that misfits always seemed to find one another? Did they wear an invisible sign only noticeable to other misfits? Did they smell different? Did they act different? He shrugged, realizing he would probably never know the answer.

  He was on his knees now, ready to paw through his brother’s life. He looked up when a shadow crossed the doorway.

  “Want some help?” Tyler asked. “I figured if I left the two of them alone, they might come to some kind of agreement with each other.”

  “Sure,” Ricky said.

  Tyler sat down on the floor and pulled one of the file drawers closer.

  An hour later, Ricky looked up. “This is just brokerage statements, insurance policies, tax returns, deeds, bank statements, canceled checks, and receipts. What’s in your drawer?”

  Tyler looked over at his father. “You’ve been brutally honest about your old life. Why didn’t you tell Max and me that you guys were adopted?”

  “We weren’t adopted. Where did you get an idea like that?”

  “From this file. It says your brother was adopted. If your brother was adopted, there’s a good chance you were too since he was older than you. See for yourself.”

  Ricky reached for the file. He could feel his fast-beating heart slamming around inside his chest. He read through the file twice before he closed it. “I guess this explains what Philly did behind closed doors. All he needed was a phone and a tape recorder to communicate with the outside world. He must have taped his conversations but I don’t know why. I never knew, never suspected Philly was adopted. I always wondered why there were no pictures of my mother when she was pregnant with Philly. I have dozens of her patting her stomach before I was born. There was one in front of the hospital, with Mom holding me and my father handing out cigars. I wonder how he found out that he was adopted. That must have been a terrible blow to Philly. If he knew growing up, he sure never told me. I never knew! What else is in that drawer?”

  “All kinds of good stuff. Do you want me to leave so you can go through this alone? I don’t mind.”

  “No, stay. I don’t have any secrets. What kind of good stuff?”

  “His marriage license. Roxy’s name isn’t on it. It’s someone named Lee Ann Oliver. Here’s one with Roxy’s name on it. I guess his first wife died.”

  “Philly was never married before he married Roxy. If he was married, I sure as hell didn’t know about it. Let me see that license.”

  “He had three kids, too. These aren’t the originals, but they are copies of three birth certificates. He’s listed as the father. The mother is listed as Lee Ann Oliver. There are no divorce papers or death certificates. Three girls. Melanie is twenty-four, Sara is twenty-two, and Emily is twenty. That means…you have three nieces, and Max and I have three cousins. They aren’t really blood relatives, though. Does that count? Strange that there aren’t any pictures here.”

  “There must be some kind of mistake,” Ricky said, staring at the certificates in his hands. “Why did he keep it all so secret?”

  “You said you never really knew your brother, that you weren’t close. I guess he was a very private person. Are you going to be able to let it go at that?”

  “No!” The word exploded from Ricky’s mouth like a gunshot. “I need to know everything there is to know about my brother. I don’t care if he was adopted or not. He was my brother.” He continued to stare at the certificates in his hands as he tried to understand and accept what he was seeing.

  “Do you think Philip felt the same way about you?” Tyler asked hesitantly.

  “No. But it doesn’t matter. What else is in that drawer?”

  Tyler pawed through stacks of correspondence held together with oversize paper clips. “He was obviously trying to get the adoption records unsealed and wasn’t having much luck. From everything you said about him, it’s strange that he wouldn’t have offered a sizable bribe to get the information he wanted. Money usually works in cases like that. Unless…”

  “Unless what?”

  “Unless one or the other of his parents was someone really influential. In which case the records might have been destroyed. Do you think your parents knew who his biological parents were? Do you have any aunts or uncles they might have talked to? Maybe even neighbors or close friends?”

  “I have a ninety-seven-year-old uncle who lives in a nursing home, but he doesn’t even know what his own name is. He won’t be any help. Philly and I both sent money over the years for his care. I’m sure Philly’s lawyer is still doing it because I haven’t heard otherwise. As for my parents’ neighbors, one family still lives in the old neighborhood. I could call them or go and talk to them. I imagine Philly already did that. It would probably be an exercise in futility to go to Placentia, where we grew up.”

  “Ricky, why don’t you turn the whole thing over to Gracie? She’ll know where to look and how to go about it. People respond well to pretty, wholesome girls like Gracie. She can be charming and a bully at the same time. Pay her for her time. I’ll bet she’ll jump at the chance to help you. I’ll go downstairs and help Max with the dogs, and I’ll send her up.”

  Ricky nodded.

  Tyler hesitated in the doorway. “Maybe asking Gracie to help isn’t such a good idea after all. Maybe you should hire an experienced investigator, especially if you want this kept private. Gracie is, after all, a tabloid reporter.”

  “You’re young, Tyler, so maybe you won’t understand this. I trust Gracie. She knows all about life and how hard it is. I saw her with those dogs. That girl has heart, and she has a soul. If she gives her word that she’ll keep this confidential, that’s good enough for me. I’d stake my very life on her professional ethics. That girl will not leak anything to the media. When you’re kind and decent to people they respond in a like manner. That’s another way of saying I trust Gracie. So if it’s all the same to you, send her up.”

  The files of correspondence were inches thick. It must have been important for Philly to find out who his parents were. He tried to put himself in his brother’s place. If the situation were reversed, he knew he would leave no stone unturned in his search for his biological parents, which was exactly what Philly had been doing.

  Gracie entered the study. “Mr. Lam, Tyler said you wanted to see me. Is something wrong? Please don’t tell me you changed your mind about us living here, or the dogs.”

  “No, no, it’s nothing like that. I want to hire you to do something for me. Do you have any spare time?”

  “Right now, I do. When September comes around, I won’t. What is it you want me to do?”
r />   Gracie sat down, Indian fashion, and listened to Ricky explain the contents of the file drawers and what he wanted her to find out. “I’ll give you a generous expense account. I’ll want accurate record keeping. I’ll give you a set amount to…pay for your information. When and if those payouts hit five or six figures, you clear it with me first. Can you do it? And I expect you to sign a confidentiality agreement.”

  “That goes with the territory, Mr. Lam. Look, I’m not Woodward and Bernstein. All I can do is try. I do have sources, and I know people who have other sources. Don’t get your hopes up is what I’m saying. Is there a deadline on this?”

  “No, but I’d like to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. I have to get back to South Carolina no later than the day after tomorrow. Max and Tyler are leaving tomorrow. If you pull this off, you get a full month at either resort. You want it in writing?”

  “No. Your word is good enough for me.”

  “How are the dogs?”

  “They’re all sleeping. It will be time to feed the pups again in a few minutes. I think Jonas got some really good pictures. I brought my laptop with me, so I can work on the story this evening. Will it be all right if I stay over at the guesthouse? Tyler said he’d give Jonas a ride back to town. I’ll take the dogs with me, so they don’t keep you awake tonight. My sister and brother will be up this evening to bring me my files and some clothes. I hope it’s okay if they stay.”

  “That’s fine. How’s it going with Max?”

  “We’re being civil to one another.”

  “Civility is good. It’s a start.”

  “A start for what?” Gracie asked, her eyes narrowing.

  Ricky shrugged. “Less angst, less stress. Max is really a nice guy. Women find him incredibly attractive. According to Tyler, they fall all over him.” He wondered if what he was saying was true. He shrugged again.

  “Well then, I guess I’ll leave you to your files.”

  “After I finish going through them, I can have the boys take them over to the guesthouse for you. Go through them thoroughly. I want you to call me every day with a progress report. You pull this off for me, and I will be forever in your debt.”