“Gloria? Are you okay?“ The echo of Andy’s quick steps seared through Sharon’s heart. She’d promised him that she wouldn’t let Gloria die.
“Wait,“ she heard Rob’s voice stopping Andy from getting any closer.
“Nooooooo!“ Andy’s scream pierced through the air. “No . . . it can’t be . . . Please, let me see her.“
“Stop,“ said Rob. “Sharon? What’s going on there?“
Sharon moved Kelly’s lifeless body aside. The blood stained her hands. She looked at Gloria, all covered in blood. Her eyes were closed.
Even in death she was breathtaking.
Sharon suddenly thought she noticed breathing. It was faint, but Gloria was breathing. She gently placed two fingers on her neck.
“There’s a pulse! Call for an ambulance!“
Andy sprang back upstairs.
Sharon untied the knots that confined Gloria to the chair and placed the wounded body in her lap, gently stroking Gloria’s hair and whispering: “You’ll be okay, you’ll be okay.“
Rob approached and checked Kelly’s pulse. “She’s dead.“
Sharon knew she shouldn’t be glad, but that was exactly how she felt.
As she stroked Gloria’s hair, she noticed that Kelly had missed her heart only by an inch, probably because Sharon’s shots had caused her hands to swerve.
Suddenly Gloria’s eyes squinted open; she seemed hazy.
“It’s okay. It’s all over. Kelly is dead,“ Sharon told her.
“No . . .“ Gloria whispered.
“Yes, I promise you. Kelly Danes, or Whitesporte, or whatever her name is, she’s gone.“
“No . . .“ Gloria struggled to finish the sentence. “I know that woman, and she wasn’t Kelly.“
CHAPTER 51
Detective Davis sat beside the most famous model in the world, who was lying motionless in the hospital bed. Andy sat on the opposite side of the bed, slumped over and fast asleep.
The doctors had made it clear that even though Gloria’s condition was stable, the painkillers would keep her sedated for the most part of the day; but that didn’t matter to Sharon. She had to know who that woman was, the one who had claimed to be Kelly Danes.
Sharon recollected what had transpired in the past twenty-four hours. It seemed as though a lifetime of events had been compressed into one day. Thoughts on top of thoughts ran through her mind, but what was the point in agonizing over it when the key witness was unconscious?
Her gaze caressed the frozen features of the global icon. They radiated beauty even against the dull background of the hospital bed.
Sharon realized that she wasn't going to solve the mystery in the next few hours; she felt so useless. The realization did not improve her already bleak mood. She took a deep breath: she would have to be patient since it didn’t look like Gloria was going to wake up anytime soon. She leaned back in her chair and sighed.
Now here’s a model I really do want to see get back on her feet . . .
* * *
Kelly Danes’ estate, the previous day
“I know that woman, and she wasn’t Kelly.“
“What? Are you sure? Then who the hell did I just shoot?“
But Gloria had already closed her eyes. For a moment, Sharon feared that Kelly had completed her mission.
The medical crew made their way to the basement and moved Sharon aside. After a few long minutes of resuscitation attempts, the paramedic announced, “She’ll pull through. We need to get her to the hospital immediately, but she’ll be okay.“
Sharon heaved a sigh of relief.
Finally, there’s a happy ending to this story . . .
And yet, she could not shake off Gloria’s striking revelation. Should she believe it?
The studio began to fill with local police officers and Sharon felt she could use the rest. Her eyes were looking for Rob when she spotted him standing in the corner of the room, talking on his cell phone and looking distressed.
She approached him, trying to figure out what the heck could be making him worry so much, when only ten minutes ago a deadly gunfight had taken place in here.
Rob turned around, his face was pale.
“There was a match to the body they found at Kelly Danes’ house in New York,“ he said grimly. “It’s Kelly Whitesporte.“
Sharon looked at him without saying a word, trying to form the pieces of information into something coherent. She was only further confused.
“For heaven’s sake, they’re supposed to be the same woman . . .“ he murmured to himself, trying to figure out how this was possible.
“I heard the same thing from Gloria. She told me she knew the woman I shot, and that it wasn’t Kelly Whitesporte. She knows who it is.“
“Who? Tell me!“ The color began returning to his face.
“She passed out before she could answer.“
“Damn it,“ Rob blurted. “So what are we supposed to do now?“ he asked bitterly.
“We go to the hospital, and we wait.“
* * *
“I thought you could use this.“
Sharon was surprised to find herself at the hospital. Rob was standing in front of her, holding a cup of coffee and a butter croissant. She’d somehow fallen asleep without even realizing.
“Thanks.“ She bit hungrily into the croissant and finished the coffee in one gulp.
“Need a break? I can take the next shift,“ he offered.
Sharon glanced at her watch. Gloria was supposed to wake up in the next few hours. She could not afford to miss it.
“No thanks, I’m good.“
Rob looked at her despairingly and sighed. By now he could tell when he was facing a losing battle.
“I’ll go get more coffee.“
CHAPTER 52
When three different types of painkillers are coursing through your veins, after nearly bleeding to death, you feel as though you are floating on air, far away from your hospital bed.
But then you open your eyes and have to face the harsh reality.
Sharon observed Gloria as she finally regained consciousness. For someone who’d had a near death experience herself, she knew exactly how Gloria was feeling; therefore, even though dozens of questions were running through her mind, she waited to give her a chance to recover.
Gloria, who was still drowsy from the medication, smiled when she noticed Andy sitting beside her. To his credit, Sharon noted, he hadn’t left her side for even a minute, and not because he had to solve a serial murder case that had been agonizing him for years.
Little by little, as Gloria started to remember what had happened to her, the smile disappeared from her face and her eyes landed on the bandages covering her chest.
Sharon was at the end of her rope. Gloria hadn’t even noticed her presence. She decided it would be better to wait a little longer and let the exhausted model get some more rest before presenting her with some tough questions. She got up quietly and turned to the door.
“Detective Davis?“
Sharon turned back to Gloria.
“I wanted to say thank you. You saved my life. I will never forget that.“
Sharon shook her head humbly. “No need to thank me. I was just doing my job.“
“Still, if there’s any way I can ever return the favor . . .“
“Actually, you can.“ Sharon returned to the same spot she’d hardly moved from for the last twenty-four hours.
“Whatever you need.“
“Do you remember what you told me right after . . .“ her words trailed away.
“I got shot?“
Sharon looked at her and nodded.
“Not really. The last thing I remember was that lunatic’s gun pointing at me.“
Sharon paused for a moment before she continued. “You told me that it wasn’t Kelly Danes who shot you.“
Gloria gazed into the distance, as if she were trying to remember.
“Can’t you do this later?“ Andy asked in a concerned voice, tenderly h
olding his loved one’s hand.
“No, it’s fine,“ Gloria turned to him. “I want to help.“
“I’ll go look for the doctor, so he can come and see you now that you’re awake,“ he offered meekly.
After Andy had left the room, Sharon continued. “So if that wasn’t Kelly, then who the hell was she?“
“Vicky Hermont.“
Vicky Hermont?
“She was one of Kelly’s friends.“
Of course! Vicky had been the only person, outside of Kelly’s parents, who had come to visit Kelly after she’d been hospitalized. Miranda Whitesporte had told Sharon about her.
“But why was she posing as Kelly?“ Sharon wondered aloud.
“I have no idea,“ Gloria admitted. “It’s not like we stayed in touch. We’d never gotten along with each other.“
“What can you tell me about April twenty-fourth, 1990?“
Gloria looked at Sharon with a surprised expression. Her face turned pale.
“It’s okay,“ Sharon calmed her. “I already know that you’d sent your friends to get back at Kelly and that it got out of hand, but it wasn’t your fault; you were just kids back then.“
“Excuse me?“ Gloria asked furiously. “Do you really think I would be capable of something like that?“
Sharon looked at her, completely confused. “That’s what Miranda Whitesporte told me. That was the reason why Kelly, er, I mean, Vicky, hated you so much.“
“Well, Detective Davis, everything you were told is bullshit.“
CHAPTER 53
April 24, 1990. Winslow, Arizona. The Spring Carnival
Vicky could not believe that her pathetic friend had dared to betray her like that. She had always known she couldn’t be trusted.
After they had decided to split in order to avoid Jerry and his friends, Vicky had changed her mind and had decided to follow Kelly instead to make sure nothing bad happened to her. She loved Kelly too much to just leave her there, all alone. Vicky could not forgive herself if Jerry ever got his hands on Kelly.
She noticed Kelly entering the house of mirrors and felt relieved. There was no way that those idiots would go in there. Vicky was watching the booth, making sure that no one from Jerry’s gang was around. She was just about to leave and wait for Kelly at their meeting point when suddenly she saw . . .
Gloria McIntyre stepping inside.
Vicky rushed over and sneaked in quietly on the tip of her toes. She wanted to make sure that the little bitch wouldn’t make fun of Kelly, or even worse, might have been followed by one of her awful friends.
Vicky stood there, in between the shadows, hidden by mirrors of all shapes and sizes, which all reflected the same image: Gloria and Kelly talking to each other.
Vicky became furious. Kelly was an innocent girl who could easily be fooled by Gloria’s devious charm. Vicky had never been able to stand Gloria; she seemed too perfect and, therefore, almost certainly had some kind of hidden flaw. She just hadn’t found it yet. And it was pretty obvious that Gloria didn’t really like her either.
She kept watching the two girls, who were still talking to each other.
She was jealous.
“Say, do you think that in a different world we could have been . . .“
“Friends? I think so.“
Those words seared through Vicky’s heart like the mark of Cain that would never fade. She wanted to burst in and cease the heinous betrayal going on in there, but her calculating side, which had always been more dominant, forced her to stay put for now and spy on the two in silence.
“But in this world you’re Vicky’s friend, and my best friends hang out with Jerry and his gang, whether I like it or not. I’m afraid we’re on opposite sides of the fence.“
“Like Romeo and Juliet . . .“
The mention of the purest love story of all time, as an allegory for the relationship between Kelly and Gloria, broke Vicky’s heart.
You were supposed to feel this way about me.
“. . . It’s weird that Vicky hasn’t shown up yet.“
“Yeah, never mind, I’ll see her some other time.“
How could you abandon a true friend for this fake doll?
Vicky thrust her nails into her skin, aching in the shadows, listening painstakingly to the rest of the conversation.
“Well, goodbye, Gloria McIntyre.“ Kelly leaned toward Gloria and kissed her on the cheek.
Vicky watched the horrific scene, completely fossilized. She noticed Kelly’s lips trying to approach Gloria’s. She watched Gloria’s frozen figure, not resisting, as if she were welcoming Kelly’s innocent intimacy. Every bit of wrath in Vicky’s body gathered into a burst of hatred. She thrust her nails even deeper into her skin, until she was bleeding. Vicky noticed Gloria whispering quiet words to her lover, but could not hear them.
That’s it. She had to stop it.
“You traitor! How could you do this to me?“ Vicky appeared from behind the mirrors. She marched, enraged, toward them. Kelly’s shameful expression was a feast for her eyes.
“Vicky? I don’t understand . . .“
“I don’t understand either how you could throw me to the wolves for . . .“ She turned her head and hurled a hateful look at Gloria. “For her!“
“Vicky, you need to calm down. Nobody has done anything against you.“
“You stay out of it, you arrogant little princess!“ Vicky snapped. Even Kelly’s attempts to make amends hadn’t gotten through to her.
“. . . I will never forgive you!“ she swore aloud and ran toward the exit door.
But she didn’t leave. Vicky slammed the door shut so Kelly and Gloria would think that she’d left, when actually she had stayed hidden in the dark room, eavesdropping. Her heart pinched when she realized that Kelly wasn’t coming after her; she didn’t even care what could happen to her out there, all by herself. Some friend she is. It seemed like Kelly had forgotten all about her. Instead of running after her and apologizing, Kelly had tried to convince that insufferable Gloria to stay.
Kelly had made an awful mistake choosing Gloria over her, and for mistakes one had to pay.
* * *
“So you’re saying that you and Kelly were . . . friends?“
“Not exactly, but we were getting there. Maybe if all of this hadn’t happened . . .“
Sharon gave Gloria a sympathetic look, but then a crease of confusion formed between her eyes. “Wait a minute. So if you didn’t send Jerry and his friends after Kelly, then who did?“
“Well, Detective, what other option do you have?“
CHAPTER 54
The beautiful girl stood outside the wooden booth, wondering to what extent the disfigured images reflected in the mirrors inside had been different from the reality she lived in.
Gloria looked around her. Although there were so many people surrounding her, she still felt lonely. To her surprise, she kind of missed the girl who had stayed inside the house of mirrors.
Maybe it’s the beginning of a wonderful friendship after all . . .
Gloria started walking slowly by the flashy carnival stands toward the exit, when she noticed the group of cocky guys headed her way.
Not now . . .
Gloria quickly stepped aside in the hope that she wouldn’t be spotted. She waited a few moments but no one followed her. It seemed as if she had managed to avoid their searching eyes. She began to retrace her steps when suddenly she heard familiar voices. She stopped and listened.
“There’s no way she did that.“
“Believe me, she did. I was there. She was lucky to get away from her.“
“I don’t believe you.“
“What reason do I possibly have for lying? Kelly is my friend. I’m just feeling sorry for your poor friend.“
Gloria froze. Were they talking about her?
“Think carefully about what you’re saying, because if it’s true . . .“
“I couldn’t believe it myself. I walked in there by accident. I saw it wit
h my own eyes.“
“Your friend is nuts!“ Jerry snapped.
“I was flabbergasted. I tried to stop her. I really hope Gloria is okay.“
What, for heaven’s sake, is Vicky telling them? Why is she trying to get Kelly in trouble?
“I’m going to kill that bitch. I can’t believe she tried to mess with Gloria. Doesn’t she know that whoever lays a hand on Gloria has to answer to me?“
“I don’t think she really cared,“ Vicky tried to spur Jerry’s anger.
“Come on, let’s go. We need to catch her before she gets out of there.“
Gloria heard footsteps quickly moving away. She tried to process what had just happened, but couldn’t comprehend it. She sneaked a peek. Vicky was still standing there, an evil grin smeared across her face. Gloria stepped out of her hiding spot and faced Vicky. Vicky looked at Gloria, completely surprised.
“What the hell did you just tell them?“ Gloria demanded.
“What are you talking about?“ Vicky answered with fake innocence.
“Do you realize how much trouble you’re getting Kelly into?“ she asked in a concerned voice.
“I didn’t get her into anything. If your friends are mad at her for some reason, it’s not my fault.“
“Are you playing dumb on purpose, or what?“ Gloria exclaimed. “I heard you! You told them something that made them want to hurt her. Something about me. What have you done?“
“You shouldn’t have messed with me,“ Vicky hissed.
“What are you talking about?“ she asked, confused.
“You’re the reason she doesn’t care about me anymore; you’ve basically forced me to do this.“ Vicky narrowed her eyes at Gloria.
Gloria didn’t understand what Vicky was talking about. All she had done was talk to Kelly. But she didn’t have time to dwell on this right now. She was the only one who could stop Jerry and his friends. She needed to find them before it was too late.
“You’re crazy,“ Gloria asserted brusquely and turned her back to Vicky. She started running back toward the hall of mirrors.
Dark Illusion: A Psychological Thriller Novel Page 20
