by Alina Adams
"Yes." He, too, even while answering the questions being snipered at him from all sides, had focused exclusively on Gabrielle.
"Lauren," she said.
"Lauren," he said.
"Lauren?" Gina asked in surprise.
"I wanted to quit." Chris's upper lip snickered tentatively upward, as if it were the only part of him still amused by how naive he'd been. "After that first Olympic win. I wanted to quit. I wanted to live a normal life. Have a wife and a family and all that boring crap. With Lauren. We had plans. But Lucian convinced me to stay. Just until the Worlds, he said. Just through the tour, he said. Just one more season. He said he didn't have anyone else as good as I ready to get on the world stage. I didn't want to leave him without a champion, did I? I wouldn't do that to him. Not after everything he'd sacrificed for me."
Bex thought she saw Sabrina gag a bit at that.
Chris went on. "I did love Lucian. And I was grateful to him. So I did what he asked. I stayed in. Even when I didn't want to. And I kept training. And Lauren moved to be with me while I did it. And one night, a driver ran her off the road. And she was dead. Because she was driving in a town neither of us wanted to be in. But we were. Because of Lucian."
"You blamed Lucian for your wife's death," Sabrina whispered practically to herself. And smiled. Was that an expression of peace Bex glimpsed settling into every nook of her being? "Fair enough."
But no one was paying attention to Sabrina. Gina said, "So you hated him? All these years you just pretended?"
Chris shrugged. "Yes. No. Everything in between. Life's never that jolly simple, is it? Not all black and white."
Or so everyone seemed to be telling Bex these days.
"So this was about Lauren," Gina said. "Lauren was the relationship Gabrielle accused you of not being over?"
"Of course. Who else could she have been talking about?”
Gina shrugged. "Doesn't matter."
"Why now, Christian?” Toni asked.
"Because of the tribute. Because I couldn't stomach the thought of an evening of paying homage to him and his skaters. Knowing that I would be held up as his shining example. The two-time Olympic Gold medallist. I thought, a few months earlier, I thought I'd found a way of paying him back. But it didn't work out." Bex wondered if she was the only one who could see how furiously Gina was blushing. "So, before I went back to California, I had this idea..."
"Did you mean to kill him?” Gabrielle asked.
"I don't know," Chris confessed. "Maybe I just wanted to embarrass him, put him out of action for his own tribute. Or maybe I did want to kill him. I don't know. I just did it. And when I heard he had died... I was crushed. I didn't think I would be. I was crushed."
Bex remembered his tearful reaction to the news. And she believed him.
After that there really wasn't much left for anyone to say. The silence now wasn't so much awkward, like it had been in the beginning, but subdued. Everyone was swirling in their own thoughts, reluctant to put forth another question only to receive back an answer they didn't actually want to hear.
Bex broke the silence. Again. She said, "You know, we're going to have to tell the police."
No one spoke. Chris turned to look at Bex. The others followed.
Finally, Gabrielle said, "I didn't realize that taking two flights on two consecutive days to the same location constituted a crime, Bex."
Bex blinked. "Say what?”
"Unless I've misunderstood, your only evidence against Chris is the flight he took to Colorado and back prior to the one he arrived on with me."
"Well, that's not the only..."
"All coaches carry a stone, Bex," Toni chimed in. "It isn't a pistol. A permit isn't necessary."
"And about the copy of the key I gave Chris," Gina said. "Lots of people have a copy of that key. Lucian's office is practically a public space."
"Are you all out of your minds?" Bex asked.
She scanned the room frantically. Sabrina. Sabrina still has possession of her senses. Sabrina will...
"Chris did come up to see my father and Gina the night before Lucian died. It was so they could work out the details of the tribute's opening routine. Chris never intended to stay beyond dinner. He always intended to fly back for Gabrielle. He didn't even bring a suitcase that first time."
Okay. To the question of "Are you all out of your minds?" the answer was obviously "Yes." Cumulatively, they all were.
"Why?" Bex demanded. "He admitted to killing Lucian. You all loved him. Each in your own weird way, but you all did. Chris killed him. Don't you care?"
"Of course we care," Toni said. "We cared about Lucian. And we care about Christian. We have to look out for him now."
"He's one of ours," Gina said. "You wouldn't understand, Bex."
"He's family." Sabrina shrugged.
"This doesn't make any sense."
"Maybe not to you," Gina agreed. "But then you don't really know us. You never will. No matter how many TV pieces you produce."
Bex told Craig, "You were right, I was wrong."
"Always nice to hear. Any clue about what and when? Why would be good, too."
"Chris Kelly killed Lucian. Toni, Gina, Sabrina, and Gabrielle all know it, and they're all covering for him. Also, judging by the way she was looking at him, I'd say Gabrielle was ready to do a lot more than cover for him."
"Wow," Craig said.
"My sentiments exactly."
She'd asked Craig to take her as far away from the rink as possible. Short of running all the way home to New York, they'd settled for a touristy mountain spot. From its peak, even looking in all four directions, there were only trees, lakes, and an assortment of clichéd, perfect nature. No ice to be glimpsed for miles.
"I don't get it," Bex trilled. "Why would they do that? Everything they've said or done up to this point... I was sure that if we got Chris to confess, they'd be tripping over each other to turn him in. But then, Gina — Gina, of all people; hardly the voice of reason or, most of the time, even sense — Gina told me that I was presumptuous — "
"Presumptuous? Gina Gregory actually used the word 'presumptuous'?"
"I'm summarizing."
"By using bigger words instead of smaller ones?"
"It's how I summarize."
"Go on."
"Gina suggested it was presumptuous of me to think that I could predict how any of them would react or why. She said I didn't know any of them, really. A couple of interviews didn't make me an expert."
"And that would be the part where my being right came in?"
"Yes."
"I can't say I'm completely surprised. Not about my being right. Well, about that, too..."
"Yes, yes, yes, you're brilliant. That was already established. What do you mean you're not surprised?"
"Remember, Bex, I've seen the skating world close ranks before. Everyone at the rink knew that Robby was abusing Felicia while they were skating together, and even after they were married. Nobody said a word. The reason Rachel never bothered charging Robby with rape was because she knew it would come down to he said/she said, and the entire skating world would be on his side. You protect the skating first, then the skater. All outsiders come in a distant third."
"But Lucian was a skater, too."
"He's a dead skater now. Chris is alive. Chris is who they owe their allegiance to. Besides, a scandal of this sort wouldn't be good for anyone. To start with, it would ruin a perfectly good, tear-jerking tribute. And no one wants that."
"Not Gil, that's for sure."
"Well, there you go. You have a motive for keeping this under wraps. So why can't you understand that those other women might, too?"
"You're making this sound so simple. Weren't you the one who told me that people and their motives are a lot more complicated than what can be conveyed in a single, pithy sound bite?"
"I'm summarizing. Only using small words. Perhaps that's why you didn't realize it."
"I don't know if I can do thi
s anymore, Craig. I became a researcher because I liked understanding things. I liked finding facts and filing them away into neat little columns until I saw the big picture. Until I thought I saw the big picture."
"I wasn't trying to give you an existential crisis."
"In one week, you've asked me to marry you and then completely upset my entire world view. What did you think was going to happen?"
"Well, I was hoping you'd say yes."
"So this has all been a clever plan on your part? Lucian's death, the illogical behavior of those who supposedly loved him the most. That was all you?"
"Yes," Craig deadpanned.
"You're incorrigible."
"There goes another big word."
"Yes," Bex said.
"You mean yes, that was a big word?"
"Yes, I'll marry you."
That shut him up. Bex kind of liked that.
She expected him to sweep her into his arms and kiss her deeply while the camera swirled around them, taking in both the breathtaking passion and scenery. At least that's the way it happened in the movies.
But instead of the sweeping and the smooching, Craig actually took a small step back. He asked, "What prompted that?"
"Well, you did propose. And I did promise you a reply."
"Under these circumstances?"
"Pretty romantic spot."
"You know what I mean."
"I thought we could never fully understand what another person really means?"
"Yes, yes, yes, you're brilliant. That was already established."
She smiled. "Thank you."
"Oh, Bex, what am I going to do with you?"
"In the immortal words of that Calgon commercial: 'Take me away.' I don't care if I never see, hear, or speak to another skater as long as I live."
"No," Craig said. "You want to quit working in skating, that's your business. But you don't get to use me as an excuse for yourself, or for anybody else. Besides, there's Jeremy, remember? He's in the ice chips up to his spangly shoulder pads. If you're with us, you're going to be in skating anyway, whether you like it or not."
"I'm sorry, but aren't you doing exactly what I did earlier? Assuming you know my motives for agreeing to marry you, and reacting accordingly?"
"It's surprisingly seductive."
"So I'm hesitant to marry you because I think you're trying to replace your dead wife, and you're hesitant to marry me because you think I'm using you to quit working in skating. That's not a ringing endorsement for till-death-do-us-part, is it, Craig?"
"No." The banter was gone. From both of them.
"So. What do we do now?"
He shrugged.
And she had nothing to counter it with.
EPILOGUE
The night of the actual tribute show, Bex was so busy running around, mostly trying to keep out of Gil's field of vision, that she ended up with very little time to ponder the fact that there was a killer on the ice, paying homage to the man he'd killed. She'd spent the week before Gil, Francis, and Diana arrived for the telecast conducting interviews with the major players then picking out the best sound bites for use during the show. Her subjects, initially, seemed a bit reluctant to sit down with her. But every single one of them recognized they couldn't very well flat out refuse without providing 24/7 with a good reason. And since no one was willing to provide said good reason, the interviews went on as scheduled.
From Toni, Bex got: "Lucian Pryce never let anything stand between him and his goals. He never encountered a problem he couldn't solve. One way or another. If his first solution went up in flames, Lucian always had a Plan B."
Sabrina said, "My father loved my mother. He really did. She loved him, too. I'm lucky, I think. A lot of people never get to see that. They have no idea something like that can even exist. They both left me a lot to live up to."
Gina summoned, "If it weren't for Lucian, I wouldn't be living the life I have today. He made me who I am."
Even Gabrielle managed to admit, "I didn't know how strong I could be until I was tested. I guess I have Lucian to thank for that." And then she plugged her training center for the next ten minutes. Bex let her ramble on. That's why there was such a thing as an editing room.
Chris proved the most difficult to talk to. Even if, at the start, he was the least averse to doing it. In fact, Lucian's killer actually seemed somewhat cocky about the whole thing. He sauntered into the hotel room Bex had booked for these sessions as if he were almost challenging her to try and trip him up. Bex had no intention of doing that. To be honest, she was trying to forget that she knew anything about this man at all, beyond what his public was allowed to know.
Chris took the seat across from Bex, one leg crossed over the other, arms raised and draped over the back of the chair, looking her right in the eye. Go ahead, he seemed to be saying, hit me with your best shot. I'm ready.
Bex didn't think she was doing any such thing. Yet, when she started off with a softball question about Chris's childhood under Lucian's tutelage, rather than with a combative one focusing on his death, Chris appeared discombobulated. He actually stumbled through a query Bex expected to be a no-brainer. One about his and Lucian's first meeting.
"I — It was when I first came to the States. I'd never met him before. My coach back home, she'd sent him a video of me skating. He'd never seen me in person. I was so nervous. I had this fantasy he'd see me step off the airplane and it would be: This isn't the package I ordered; send it back postage due. Problem was, I had no place to go back to. My mum and dad split up and neither one was dying to have me. I was living with my older brother, but I knew his girlfriend wasn't too keen on me being there, either. Lucian Pryce was my only shot. If he hadn't taken me in... If, the minute he saw me, he hadn't marched straight across the room and told me I was welcome... He called me 'son.' That first night, he called me 'son'... I don't know what I would have done. Probably burst into tears right at the gate. That would have been a jolly sight, wouldn't it?"
For a minute, the now-adult Chris looked as though he was going to burst into tears right then and there, too. Bex supposed he might be playing her, of course. But she didn't think so. He sounded so sincere. Heck, all the women she'd interviewed earlier had also sounded sincere. And as far as Bex knew, they'd even told her the truth. Granted, she didn't know what facts and opinions they'd left out of the broadcast, but everything they'd put in was, in fact, technically true. Viewers of 24/7's special on the life and death of Lucian Pryce would be left with an impression of a man loved by his colleagues, students, and family. Gil would get the "tear-jerking tribute show with world-famous skaters sobbing about their sainted, dead coach and how much he meant to their lives and careers" he'd demanded. It would be heartfelt and unambiguous and, let's not lose focus of the ultimate goal here, highly rated.
The rest of the pre-production week, Bex spent noticing things she'd never noticed before. Like the fact that life apparently went on outside 24/7's camera lens. Previously, if someone had asked Bex, in an abstract sort of way, "Say, Bex, do you think every important thing that happens at a sporting event happens in front of a camera?" Bex would have said, "No, no, of course not. What are you, crazy?" Yet, she'd come to realize that it seemed she believed exactly that. The week before Lucian's tribute, Bex found herself noticing that all sorts of conversations were taking place in corners and at rinkside, and presumably even outside the rink. Chris and Gabrielle, Chris and Gina, Toni and Sabrina, Gina and Sabrina, Gabrielle and Gina, Chris and Sabrina. All of them were having pow-wows outside Bex's hearing. They were arguing and crying and laughing and reconciling. She'd seen it all before. She'd just never cared. But now, Bex viewed every conversation as further evidence that she was planted very far outside of a loop she'd once thought she understood completely.
The night of the main event, Bex stood rinkside for the beginning of the ninety-minute performance portion. Television cameras perched in wait at every comer of the gleaming oval. The stands were packed with fans
, though due to the somberness of the occasion, it wasn't quite the carnival mood of a usual exhibition; some had even worn a respectful black. Toni and Sabrina sat on a special platform of honor erected at the end furthest from the entrance. Backstage was a blur of sequins, hair spray, and muffled skate blades clanking over carpeted floors.
Chris skated out first, holding Gina by one hand and Gabrielle by the other. Earlier, as they waited a few feet away from Bex to take the ice, Chris had turned to kiss Gabrielle gently on the lips, followed by Gina on the forehead. All three smiled at each other, then made their entrance under a gold- tinted spotlight, to thunderous applause. Chris, Gabrielle, and Gina glided to a smooth stop in front of Sabrina and Toni, kicking up a small shower of ice spray. They bowed. The two women atop the podium rose in response, kicking off a standing ovation. Sabrina and Toni beamed. Chris, Gabrielle, and Gina beamed back.
Bex had to turn away.
She walked as quickly as was possible without drawing unnecessary attention, all the way to the back of the rink, ending up practically next to the room housing the cooling equipment. It was no use; she could still hear the applause and the music that signified the kickoff of the first tribute number.
"Bex! Wait!" Craig's voice crow-barred through the darkness a split second before the rest of him caught up. The two of them huddled under a single bulb, the only sane couple in the place. Give or take a person.
She said, "I couldn't do it. Couldn't stand there and watch all that fawning when I know that — "
"What?"
"You know what. Chris killed Lucian. And now he's out there, getting ready to skate to 'Wing Beneath My Wings,' or whatever claptrap Gil insisted on for the closing."
"I believe it actually is 'Wind Beneath My Wings.' I saw Jeremy rehearsing it earlier. Only the Gary Morris version, not Bette Midler."
"That makes it much better then, thanks."
“Try not to take it so seriously, Bex. This isn't about you. It's about them. This is their problem. Let them deal with it."
