Secrets and Lies

by Annie Jocoby

  Dayum, Serena was good.

  The poor guy knew that he was defeated. He looked at the pictures again, and then reluctantly said “okay, I’ll sign whatever statement you need me to sign.”

  I bit my lip. I almost felt sorry for this guy, and for this club, because Nottingham was going to raise an absolute stink if he ever found out what transpired here. I hoped and prayed, really, that he never did find out. He shouldn’t, anyhow. He should only be able to find out that the prosecutors dropped my charges to a misdemeanor, and that would be that.

  Serena gave him a statement that she and I had prepared that essentially said that Nottingham’s injuries were sustained by Mikael that evening. Mikael signed it, and Serena notarized it. She told me beforehand that she actually was a legitimate notary in the State of New York. That was one legitimate thing that went down.

  “Thank you,” Serena said. “My partner and I will see our way out.”

  Mikael nodded, and, as Serena and I were leaving, I looked back and saw him and Mistress Claire arguing. I would imagine that Mikael probably wasn’t supposed to fold like an accordion, because I saw him make gestures to her that essentially said what was I supposed to do?

  We passed by the same rooms that we passed on our way in, and I saw a woman on the medical exam table being surrounded by three different people who were busy giving her breast and gynecological exams while her feet and hands were tied up. That was an odd fetish for me, just because every girl I knew who went through that sort of thing absolutely hated it. But, then again, I didn’t think that having a person tug on a nipple chain would be the most pleasant experience in the world, but lots of people would beg to differ.

  Serena and I got into her Porsche, statement in hand. After we were a safe distance away, I put my hand on her shoulder. “Hey, uh, thanks. I really owe you.”

  “Yeah, you do,” she said. “After all, I don’t think that I can go to that place now.” But then she smiled. “Kidding. My kink runs just a little bit less towards pain, although I really do enjoy being bound and humiliated.”

  “TMI,” I said. “But, really, you didn’t have to do that for me.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. This notarized statement might or might not get those charges dropped. You might have to get that lawyer of yours to send an actual investigator over, and have their records subpoenaed. I don’t know, legally, what’s necessary to accomplish what you need, but, with any luck, this might be enough. At any rate, this statement gives James probable cause to issue a subpoena, I would think.”

  “How did you know about them admitting minors?”

  “I didn’t. I just figured that they probably did, though. You might say that I got lucky, but, really, that wasn’t such a wild hunch. That’s probably why that club is underground in the first place.”

  “And how do you know so much about legalities and all of that?”

  “Jack of all trades, master of none. I know a little about a lot, unlike your girlfriend, who knows a lot about a lot.”

  “Yeah, she does, but how do you know about all of that?”

  “She’s an old soul. Has lived many lives. Carries the knowledge of these lives with her, which is really unusual. How do you supposed Mozart composed all those wonderful symphonies, starting from the age of 5? He probably had many past lives in which he was a musician, and he was somehow able to retain the knowledge of his previous selves.”

  I really didn’t know what to say to her rambling.

  “You don’t believe,” she said. “What, are you agnostic? Atheist? Believe in heaven and hell?”

  “I don’t know what I believe. I guess I’m agnostic.” This conversation was certainly taking a turn for the surreal.

  “Well, for what it’s worth, with your talent, I think that you’re probably an old soul, too. Lived the life of an artist over many generations and incarnations.”

  “How do you know about my talent?”

  “Come on. I’ve been following your career for years. I’ve talked you up to some pretty important people. They usually have given you a shot, even if they didn’t entirely pan out like you might have hoped. But hang in there. That show you had opened some doors, even if it doesn’t seem like it.”

  “How do you know-“ I began, and then stopped. I was starting to realize that Serena just knew. There was really no point in wondering how or why. It just was. “I’m sorry, Serena, I have to process all of this. You’ve talked about me to important people? I mean, I have gotten some pretty good bites over the past year or so, places where I thought that I would have a commission or two, and sometimes I got something. Nothing like what happened with that show, though.”

  “Well, win some, lose some. The point is, you’re on your way now, even if you don’t really feel like it. Talk to me in a year. You’ll be in a much better position.”

  “Well, hopefully in a year I won’t be in prison, thanks to you. I never would’ve thought...”

  “What, that I’m actually human and I really do love you and Mark, Chris, Amy and dad? I’ve acted like a shit all of these years to you guys, and I really didn’t do much to help myself over the holidays, as much as I promised myself before I got there that I was going to make an effort to show everyone that I’m in the process of changing. Changing is always a process, too, never a destination. The second you think of change as being a destination is the second that you’re gonna backslide.” She shook her head. “I really wanted to open up, but, somehow, I only ended up opening up to Dalilah. And that’s because I recognized that she was going to understand me. But maybe there’s a chance for you and me yet.”

  “There is,” I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. “There is, Serena.”

  She smiled. “Well, kid, we’re back at your place.”

  “Would you like to come up and have a beer? See Dalilah?”

  She shook her head. “Early morning tomorrow, but thanks. Besides, I don’t think that Dalilah has been feeling so good.”

  “She hasn’t. She seems to be under the weather somehow.”

  She nodded. “Under the weather. Well, kid, hopefully you won’t be a stranger, huh? If you need me for anything, you know where to find me now.”

  “I won’t be a stranger,” I said. “I promise.”

  And I somehow knew that I would be as good as my word.

  Chapter 49

  Dalilah

  I was actually happy to have the evening off. It had been almost two weeks since the night that I think that I might have conceived, and, sure enough, there were apparently enough hormones in my body to finally turn the pee stick pink. Now, there was no doubt in my mind about my situation, and, quite frankly, I was really confused about what to do.

  Great. This is just great. 1% of pill users get pregnant if they never miss a single pill, and you’re one of the lucky ones. I sighed, knowing that this had to be fate. There was no way around it. But that didn’t mean that I wasn’t tempted to go into a doctor and get a procedure before anybody would be the wiser.

  You can’t do that, Dalilah. This is Luke’s baby. Of that, I was sure. There was just something in my gut that told me that the baby was going to be Luke’s, even if Nottingham would legally have the right to him or her.

  I made a mental note to see an attorney in the morning, first thing, to see exactly what my options were. I had already researched enough on the Internet, though, to know. Nottingham would be the presumed father, and, if he wanted to halt a DNA test to prove that he wasn’t, then he had the power to do so. Granted, a court could order a DNA test if I requested one, but something told me that Nottingham would fight that with a high-powered attorney, and just might win. Best interest of the child and all of that. The judge would have discretion on whether or not a DNA test would be warranted.

  I really had gotten myself into quite a pickle, and I cursed fate. Why couldn’t you have waited until I divorced that bastard? I asked, shaking my fist at nothingness. Seriously? Why now? I could have gotten a quickie divorce in a ma
tter of months, and then I would be home free. But no. You choose now.

  I felt like screaming in frustration.

  What next? What was going to happen next? When was that stupid Nottingham going to be cleanly out of my life? Out of Luke’s life?

  Never, that was when. Never, never, never, never. If he wasn’t trying to destroy Luke by framing him for causing injuries that didn’t happen, he was trying to destroy Luke by turning all of his powerful friends against him in the art world. And, once he got through with ripping Luke to shreds, he was going to turn on me and the unborn baby whom he was going to claim. I knew that as sure as I sat there on that couch.

  I looked into the future and saw Nottingham destroying mine and Luke’s child with his depravity and his cruelty. Hating that child because he was going to know that the child didn’t belong to him. Taking all of his anger, which he no doubt harbored because I rejected him, out on this child. He was going to be delighted to know that there was an impending baby, for no other reason than the fact that he was going to know that he would finally be able to exact his revenge upon me.

  I couldn’t let that happen. I just couldn’t.

  But I couldn’t terminate Luke’s child. I couldn’t live with myself.

  I was certainly in another dilemma. It seemed that ever since I met that horrible man, I was going from the frying pan into the fire constantly. Just when I thought that everything was going to work out, something else happened to ensure that I was going to continually pay for my original sin of leading Nottingham on in order to help Luke.

  Chapter 50

  Luke finally got home, and he presented the first piece of good news that I had in awhile. “Well, we got it,” he said, coming over to me on the couch. “We got the statement. I need to get that to James ASAP and see what has to happen next. Hopefully the prosecutor will just take it and reduce the charges, but Serena said that there’s the possibility that the records that showed that Nottingham was there that night will have to be subpoenaed. But you’ll never guess what alias he uses while he’s there.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Luke Roberts?”

  Luke looked at me with his mouth open. “How did you know?”

  “Sounds like something he would do. He really wants to make trouble for you everywhere he goes, doesn’t he?”

  “That’s just what Serena said.”

  “Well, Serena is a wise, wise woman. You need to listen to her.”

  “I am. She’s not so bad. I think that she might actually be a part of my life from now on. Imagine that. Serena, a part of my life.” He looked excited. “Dalilah, I can feel it. I can feel that we’re coming out of this nightmare, and things are going to come together. I’m going to get those charges reduced, and I’m not going to have to pay James $50,000, more like $5,000, so I’m going to have some money to maybe move you and me to the city in a few months. We’re both going to make a killing in the art world. I have a feeling that Serena might be able to help, of all people. She seems to know people. Important people. Things are turning a corner, Dalilah. I know it. I can feel it. Can’t you feel it?”

  I didn’t have the heart to tell him about what was really going on. So, I just smiled and said “you’re right, Luke. We’re almost out of it.”

  “Yeah. Now, tomorrow, I need to see James, and you need to see a family law attorney about getting a quickie divorce from that bastard. Hopefully, in a few days, well, not a few days, it’s almost New Year’s Eve, but after the New Year, things are really going to be new for us. New, Dalilah. You and me against the world, huh? You and me against the world.”

  You and me against the world. Oh, Luke, if you only knew how wrong you are.

  Still, I just smiled. “You and me against the world.”

  Chapter 51

  Luke

  I was very worried about Dalilah, for she seemed to not be able to shake her lethargy, nausea and malaise. If anything, she seemed to be getting worse by the day. But, when I offered to take her to a doctor, she begged off every time.

  “It’s nothing, Luke. I feel fine,” she would say as she picked through her food and pushed it away.

  “Maybe you have mono. That’s pretty common in people our age.” I went over to feel her head, and she didn’t seem to have a fever. “Well, maybe not. I would think that you’d have some kind of temperature.”

  “Luke, don’t worry about me. Now, go and see James with that statement. He’s in the office today, but won’t be tomorrow, as tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. So, skedaddle. I would love to come with you, but I’m so sorry, I’m having problems just getting out of bed today. But I love you, and I’ll see you when you get back.”

  I nodded my head. “I’ll be back as soon as I see James.” I made a mental note to stop by a Jewish deli and bring back Dalilah some hot chicken soup. That always did the trick for me when I was sick.

  So, as I made my way to James’ office on the interminable subway ride, I was feeling hopeful and strangely pessimistic at the same time. Something wasn’t quite right this morning. I could feel it in the air with Dalilah. It wasn’t just that she was sick, it was that she was hiding something from me. Of course, when I saw her last night, I was so on top of the world after having gotten that statement that I didn’t even think about the fact that Dalilah seemed off.

  I shook my head. The last time I had a bad feeling about Dalilah, and tried to ignore it, she ended up dumping me. Oh, god, was that about to go down again? After we fought to get back together – in my case, literally fought – would it all go to shit again?

  I took a deep breath, and tried to calm myself. She wasn’t going to dump me again. She wasn’t going to dump me again. I had to repeat that to myself a hundred times, as I closed my eyes and tried to block out everything around me. But I couldn’t fight the bad feeling that had suddenly come over me. The feeling that something was indelibly wrong.

  I finally got to James’ office, and waited for him to be ready for me. I had explained to him earlier in the morning that I would be by his office, because I had a piece of information that would be helpful for him. He agreed to meet with me for fifteen minutes, because he had to wedge me into his schedule. I gave him mental props for being able to see me last minute.

  The receptionist finally told me that James was ready, so I walked on back there and had a seat. I fingered my manila folder in my hand, the folder that hopefully held the key to my freedom.

  “Okay,” James said. “What do you have for me?”

  I took a deep breath. “I have an alternative explanation for Nottingham’s injuries,” I said. “He goes to a BDSM club, well fetish club, really, and he went in there on the night that I punched him and asked to be worked over by this guy who goes by the name of Mikael. And, well, I got a notarized statement from Mikael that this is what went down.”

  “Let me see that,” James said, and I handed it to him, and he examined it. “Well, this certainly wouldn’t be admissible in court, this statement, not unless this Mikael took the stand. But, it might do for the prosecutor on this case. Between you and me, the prosecutor, Jamal, has no love for this case anyhow. I talked to him and told him what you told me, and he says that sounds about right. You’re clean, other than this assault case, so that helps you, too.” He sighed. “Worst-case scenario, I have to subpoena the records, but I don’t want to have to do that, especially since these people rarely use their own names in these kinds of clubs.”

  “So, you think that things might be okay?”

  “This certainly helps. How did you get this statement, anyhow?”

  “Well, I can tell you, because it will be confidential. But my sister has these fake police badges and...”

  “Oh, no, say no more, please. I don’t want to know. Sorry I asked.” He put his fingers to his temples, like he suddenly had a severe headache. “Oh, what the hell, go on with the story. It’s not like you’re confessing to your crime or something like that.”

  I looked at him quizzically.

  �
��You know, because if you confess guilt, then I can’t put you on the stand, knowing you’re about to perjure yourself if you try to say otherwise. Ever wonder why defendants often don’t take the stand? That would be a big reason why. That’s also why attorneys never want to know for sure whether or not their client is guilty. But go on.”

  Fascinating. I momentarily lost my train of thought. “Oh, so if you have a murder client and you want to put him on the stand to say that he didn’t do it, you can’t put him on the stand if he tells you that he really did do it?”

  “Yeah. It’s called suborning perjury. But, please, go on with your story.”

  “Yes, my story. Well, my sister has these fake police badges, and we went in there and shook Mikael down, basically. That was how we got a statement out of him.”

  James’ mouth went into a grimace. “Well, that’s illegal as hell, as you probably know, and now this statement really won’t be allowed in court. And I now don’t have probable cause to subpoena those records. So, I wish that I‘d stopped you before you could tell me all of this. Ah, but then again, it’s better it comes out now than be embarrassed by it later.”

  “This statement isn’t probable cause for a subpoena?”

  “No. Fruit from a poisonous tree, we call it. When things are obtained illegally, then they can’t support probable cause for anything. Law 101, really.”

  “You mean, my sister and I did all of that for nothing?”

  “Not for nothing. I mean, Jamal just might take your statement without question. Between you and me, though, I’ll be putting my license and ass on the line by giving him that statement. But Jamal and I work pretty well together most of the time, and he owes me a few favors. It’s a gamble, though, for sure.”

  My heart started to sink. This wasn’t a slam dunk, after all.

  James shook his head. “You really didn’t think this through, did you?”

  “I don’t understand?”

  “You went in there with your sister. You’re the defendant in this case! Didn’t you think for even one second that it would all blow up in your face if this thing ever came to trial? Could you imagine – I’d have to call Mikael to the stand to testify about Nottingham being in that club, and he’d take one look at you, and the jig would be up, my friend. The jig would be up.”