by Tracey West
Suddenly, everything made sense to Aly. Sabrina wearing sunglasses and a scarf. Meeting a talent manager in a restaurant . . . without her sisters.
“I get it,” Aly said. “You’re looking for a new manager. And you don’t want your sisters to know.” Just like Holly, Aly added to herself.
“It’s true,” Sabrina said. “I’m tired of being known as ‘one of those girls from HeavenSent.’ Most people don’t even get our names right. It’s time for me to step into the spotlight.”
JB nodded. “That’s right where you’re going, baby. Just leave it to me.”
Sabrina gave Aly a pleading look. “Please don’t tell anybody! JB and I are finalizing our deal. I’ll let my sisters know when I’m ready. I know they’ll be shocked. I just want to spare them any extra pain, if I can.”
“Your secret’s safe with me,” Aly said. “But maybe you shouldn’t worry so much. Your sisters might not be as shocked as you think. I can usually figure out what’s going on in my sister AJ’s head, even if she won’t talk to me about it.”
“Thanks,” Sabrina said, smiling warmly. “I’d ask you to sit with us, but . . .”
“No problem,” Aly said, thinking of the jeans she’d seen in the shop window. “I’ve got some shopping to do, anyway.”
While Aly tracked down Sabrina, AJ was on a mission of her own. Getting through to Cadence and Calista’s people had taken Jim a little bit longer, but finally, he’d come through. He knew which hotel they were staying in, and their room number. It was up to AJ to figure out how to get in to see the famous sisters.
AJ had devised part of a plan. She’d bought a small teddy bear in the hotel gift shop. She would knock on the door and say she was there to see how Calista was feeling. She doubted it would work—the sisters had not been very friendly—but she had to try something.
AJ took the elevator up to the hotel’s top floor and hit the buzzer on Calista and Cadence’s room.
To AJ’s surprise, the door opened right away. It was Cadence. Her bobbed hair looked like it hadn’t been combed, and she wore a white tank top and ripped jeans.
“Oh, it’s you,” she said. “I was expecting someone else.”
AJ held out the teddy bear. “Aly and I just want to say we’re hoping Calista is feeling better. Is she here?”
“Calista? Oh, she’s at the doctor now. He’s checking her out,” Cadence answered.
AJ took a bold step into the room. “Then let me just leave this teddy bear for her,” she said, talking quickly. She had a feeling Cadence was going to kick her out any second. “It’s a shame Calista’s not feeling well. Aly and I are going to reshoot the video with Faith and Hope tomorrow. We had so much fun the first time. It’s a shame you two can’t do it.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Cadence said with a shrug. “Listen, I don’t mean to be rude, but—”
There was a knock on the open door. A man in a navy hotel uniform stood there.
“Ms. Collins? You have a package?”
Cadence picked up a large manila envelope from on top of the bedspread. “Yes, the concierge said you could send this overnight mail for me.”
Curious, AJ glanced at the envelope as Cadence handed it to the man. It was addressed to Calista Collins. But what surprised AJ was that it was being sent to an address in Montana.
AJ’s mind raced. Why was Cadence sending a package to her sister, if Calista was here in Nashville with her? Was Calista really at the doctor? Or was there some simple explanation? Maybe the sisters had an aunt named Calista who lived in Montana. It wasn’t unusual for people to be named after relatives.
AJ was lost in thought when she noticed Cadence staring at her. “Listen, AJ, it’s nice of you to bring the bear and everything, but I’m kind of busy right now.”
“Oh, sure,” AJ said. But she didn’t want to give up so soon. “Do you think I should wait for Calista to get back so I can give her the bear myself?”
“Uh, no, I don’t think you should wait,” Cadence said, a little curtly. “I’ll make sure she gets it.”
Cadence practically pushed AJ out the door. AJ watched the door shut behind her and frowned.
I could wait in the hotel lobby until Calista gets back, AJ thought, but something told her that would be a waste of time. After all, she and Aly knew Calista wasn’t really sick, so Cadence was lying about her being at the doctor. She didn’t know where Calista was. Had she taken a quick flight to Montana? Is that why Cadence was sending her a package?
AJ shook her head. It didn’t make sense. She felt like she was holding pieces to a puzzle, and she just couldn’t put them together.
The video shoot was early tomorrow morning. They still didn’t know who had stolen the master tape. Someone could try to sabotage Faith and Hope again.
And there was nothing she and Aly could do to stop it.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
THE MARK OF GUILT
Aly and AJ had agreed to meet at a Mexican restaurant on Music Row. Aly was already waiting at a table when AJ arrived.
“How did things go with Sabrina?” AJ asked.
“Well, I got a confession, but not the one I was hoping for,” Aly began. She explained that Sabrina was trying to get a new manager in secret—just like her sister Holly.
“If Sabrina and Holly are looking for solo careers, then the Walkers’ sister act is not a threat,” AJ reasoned. “I believe both of them. That just leaves Eve.”
“Something tells me that if Sabrina and Holly are ready to split, Eve probably is, too,” Aly guessed. “I’m thinking that HeavenSent aren’t on the top of our suspect list anymore. What about Cadence and Calista?”
Before AJ could answer, a waitress came up to the table.
“Are you ready to order?”
“I’ll have a taco platter and an iced tea,” Aly said.
“I’ll have the same, please,” AJ added.
The waitress smiled, took their menus, and walked away.
“So, now that our order’s out of the way, what did you find out?” Aly asked. “Did you get into the room?”
AJ nodded. “I did, but it was weird. Cadence was alone, and said Calista was at the doctor. But I’m pretty sure she was lying. She only opened the door for me because she thought I was from the hotel, picking up a package. Then it gets even weirder. The package was addressed to Calista—in Montana.”
“Montana?” Aly asked. “But I thought Cadence and Calista were staying in Nashville for a while?”
“Me too,” AJ said. “It doesn’t make sense. Those two are very suspicious. But I don’t have any idea why they would want to steal the tape.”
“Me either,” Aly agreed. She leaned back in her seat. “Maybe this is one mystery we won’t be able to figure out.”
AJ took her notebook from her bag and began to leaf through the pages. “Don’t say that. There’s got to be something we overlooked. Aly, did you sketch anything that might be useful? Any clues?”
Aly took her sketchbook out of her bag. “I don’t think so. I did a few quick sketches the day we filmed the video.”
She turned to a page that showed Cadence and Calista in their sunglasses, pretending to shop for the video. “I sketched this before the tape was stolen, so I don’t see how there could be a clue in it,” she said. Then she frowned. “Hmm. That’s strange.”
“What’s strange?” AJ asked.
Aly passed the sketchbook to her sister. “There’s Cadence, with the short hair and the heart-shaped birthmark on her shoulder. But I forgot to draw a birthmark on Calista. Only, I’m thinking maybe I didn’t forget.”
“But you must have forgotten,” AJ reasoned. “Everybody knows that Cadence and Calista have identical heart-shaped birthmarks.”
“Right,” Aly said. “So if Calista doesn’t have a birthmark, maybe she’s not Calista.”
“A Calista impostor?” AJ thought about this, and her green eyes started to shine. The pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together in her head. “We have to
know for sure about that birthmark.”
AJ picked up her cell phone and started dialing.
“Faith? It’s AJ,” she said. “Was somebody taking publicity photos at the shoot? Yes? Is there any way Aly and I could look at them? We think we might have finally figured out who stole the master tape.”
Aly heard Faith’s excited voice on the other line. “Great. We’ll be there as soon as we can,” AJ said. Then she stood up.
“Faith and Hope are going to meet us at Nashville Star Studios. The photos are there,” she said.
“Great!” Aly grabbed her bag.
Just then, the waitress walked up, carrying a tray full of food.
“Um, could we please get that to go?” Aly asked.
Faith and Hope were eagerly waiting for them at the studio. Maxine was with them. She had a folder of photos with her.
“We just got the prints today,” Maxine said. “What exactly do you girls need them for?”
“We need a photo of Cadence and Calista in their sundresses,” AJ explained.
Maxine flipped through the photos. “We’ve got some good ones. They looked so pretty. It’s such a shame they won’t reshoot the video.”
Maxine handed them three photos. In all of the photos, the twins’ shoulders were facing the camera. Cadence clearly had a birthmark on her right shoulder. Calista did not.
“Aha!” AJ cried. She showed the photos to Faith, Hope, and Maxine. “Calista clearly doesn’t have a birthmark in these photos, right?”
Faith picked up a photo. “No, she doesn’t,” she said. “That’s odd. I thought both twins had the same birthmark.”
“They do,” AJ said. “But these girls aren’t twins. That isn’t Calista in the photo.”
“It’s not?” Hope asked.
“No, it’s not,” Aly confirmed. “Now everything makes sense. We know who stole your master tape, and why.”
“Well, this is big news,” Maxine said. “What exactly is going on?”
AJ slipped the photos into her bag. “We’ll tell you on the road. We have to get to Cadence’s hotel—fast!”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
A DOUBLE DECEPTION
AJ pushed the button on Cadence’s hotel room door. Aly, Faith, Hope, and Maxine stood behind her.
They heard footsteps behind the door. Then Cadence’s voice. “Please go away. I’m busy.”
AJ held a photo from the video shoot up to the peephole in the door. “I think you’re going to want to see this photo, Cadence. It’s a photo of Calista. Oh, I mean, whoever is pretending to be Calista.”
The door slowly opened.
“So, you figured it out,” Cadence said. She looked miserable.
“Most of it,” AJ replied. “Can we come in? I don’t think you want to talk about this out here.”
Cadence reluctantly led them into the hotel room.
“Aly’s sketch of you and Calista at the video shoot was the final clue,” AJ began. “She noticed that Calista didn’t have a birthmark. So whoever filmed that video with you isn’t your sister.”
“That’s why you stole the master tape of the video,” Aly continued. “You realized that Calista was filmed without her sweater on. When the video came on, all of your fans would realize the birthmark was missing. Then you’d have to explain why you were using a double.”
Cadence sank down on the bed and ran a hand through her hair. “It’s my cousin Megan,” Cadence said. “We’re the same age, and we’ve always looked alike. She needed contacts, some hair extensions, and hair color—then she looked just like Calista. Except I forgot about the birthmark.”
“I don’t understand,” Faith broke in. “Where is the real Calista? Is she all right?”
“Calista is off pursuing her dreams,” Cadence said, in a voice that clearly showed she thought that was a silly thing to do. “She’s tired of singing. She wants to be an artist and design clothes. So she holed up in a ranch in the middle of nowhere in Montana.”
AJ smiled. It made sense now. When Cadence was speaking on the phone at the club, she was talking to the real Calista. But Calista, you really need to come back. And that package had been addressed to the real Calista, in Montana.
“So to keep your secret, you waited until everyone left the studio,” AJ said. “You knew how to pick locks because you know how to do magic tricks. You picked the lock and stole the tape.”
Maxine was shaking her head. “That seems awfully desperate, sugar. Why not let Calista do her thing, and have a sweet solo career of your own?”
“I don’t WANT a solo career!” Cadence said, standing up. She was shaking with anger. “Calista and I have been performing together since we were babies. After we left that stupid TV show we could have faded away into oblivion, but we worked hard. We developed a multimillion-dollar pop act. Our fans want to see Cadence and Calista—not just plain Cadence. Or Cadence and Megan, for that matter. It’s just not the same.”
The hotel room door opened, and Megan—the fake Calista walked in.
“Oh, hey everybody,” she said, looking surprised. “I was just—”
“It’s okay, Megan, they know,” Cadence said, flopping back on the bed.
Megan turned pale. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said. “It was—it was Cadence’s idea, and I didn’t see the harm in it, and it’s my fault that I took off my sweater, only I never thought we’d have to steal your tape, and then we burned it, and I—”
“You burned it!” Hope said in disbelief. She and Faith faced Cadence and Megan now, angry.
Megan nodded. “It was so important to Cadence,” she said in a small voice. “If everyone finds out I’m fake, her whole life will be ruined.”
Aly and AJ exchanged glances. Things were getting tense in the room.
“Should we get the police involved?” AJ whispered to Aly.
But Maxine took control. She put an arm around Faith and Hope. “Now sweethearts, don’t get all flustered. I firmly believe that things always work out for the best, and this is one of those times. That new video is going to be better than the old one, by far. You’ll see.”
Faith and Hope just nodded. They were still stunned.
Maxine turned her attention to Cadence and Megan. “I understand that desperate women do desperate things. You’re going to make it up to these girls by introducing the video live at the National Music Awards. ‘Faith and Hope, our favorite new sister act.’ ”
“She’s good,” Aly whispered to AJ. “She reminds me of Mom.”
“We’ll do whatever you want,” Megan said tearfully. But Cadence looked suspicious.
“So you’re going to keep our secret?” she asked.
“Oh, no, honey. I don’t believe in secrets,” Maxine replied. “I think you two just need some good management to make this little act of yours work. You don’t have a manager, do you?”
Cadence shook her head. “Calista and I fired ours when we turned eighteen. We don’t trust them.”
“But you just never met the right person,” Maxine said, her voice like butter. She put her arm around Megan now. “Sugar, how do you feel about changing your name to Clarissa?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
NOTHING LIKE A SISTER
“Nothing like a sister.
Helps you when you’re down.
Knows just what you’re thinking.
Can turn your life around . . .”
On Saturday afternoon, Aly and AJ sat in director’s chairs and watched Faith and Hope sing their hit for the new video. Maxine sat next to them, smiling and tapping her foot on the ground.
The last notes of the song faded away.
“Cut!” Lionel yelled. “Great work, everybody. I just want to check this last round of footage before I let everyone go. We’ve only got a day to edit this thing—I need to make sure we’ve got what we need.”
Faith and Hope walked off the set. They looked happy.
“Making videos is so much fun,” Hope said.
“Maxine, you were right,
” Faith added. “This is definitely going to be better than the first one.”
“I like this one better because it really shows off what you two can do,” Maxine said. “We didn’t need Cadence and Calista in this video at all.”
AJ held a copy of the afternoon newspaper up. “Speaking of Cadence and Calista, you sure work fast, Maxine,” she said. She turned to a page and began to read an article out loud. “ ‘Megastar sisters Cadence and Calista will be making a special appearance at the National Music Awards Monday night. They will be introducing a brand-new video by hot new act the Walker Sisters, and rumor has it they have a special announcement of their own.’ ”
“Ooh, it sounds mysterious,” Aly said.
Maxine leaned in. “Can y’all keep a secret?” she asked. Everyone nodded.
“Calista is flying out from Montana,” she said. “Cadence and Megan are going to come out first and sing a few lines from a song. Then Calista will come out, and everyone will realize that there are two Calistas. Calista will explain that she’s becoming a fashion designer, and she’ll announce her replacement, Clarissa. Of course, Cadence and Clarissa will be wearing gorgeous dresses designed by Miss Calista herself.”
Faith shook her head. “You are truly amazing,” she said. She turned to Aly and AJ. “I wish you guys could be at the music awards with us.”
“We’d love to, but we have to head to the next stop on our tour,” Aly explained. “We’ll be watching on our Hello Kitty TV, though.”
AJ pointed to the newspaper. “There’s more gossip in here. Check this out: ‘Rumor has it, Saturday will be the last performance by HeavenSent. The sisters are rumored to be seeking solo careers.’ ”
“Hmm,” Maxine said. “That is true, although I didn’t let the cat out of the bag on that one. Must have been Sabrina or Eve’s new manager.”
“So you’re managing Holly, then?” Aly asked. “She told us she was going to talk to you.”
Maxine nodded. “That girl’s got major talent. All of those sisters do. I’m sure they’ll all do well.”
“Faith! Hope! I need you for a moment!” Lionel called.
