The Dead and the Beautiful

by Cheryl Crane

  “Eating cereal. Reading the paper.” He sounded as if he was in a good mood for the first time in a week.

  Nikki suspected she was about to ruin his good mood. Bringing up the word porn in association with a guy’s sister was never fun. Maybe she wouldn’t have to talk to Jeremy about it. Maybe she could get Alison alone and clear it all up.

  “Did I know you were coming?” Jeremy asked. “Yesterday I forgot Katie’s pediatrician appointment. This whole thing with Alison, it’s got me rattled, I guess.”

  “I . . . I was just stopping by before I go to Mother’s, to . . . help her with some stuff in the attic.” Not exactly a lie; Nikki had been promising Victoria that she’d help her go through some boxes. Victoria had it in her head that she didn’t want people pulling through her possessions after she was gone. Nikki had been arguing that while she agreed the chore should be done, she didn’t suspect her mother was going anywhere soon. Maybe today really would be the day to start the project. “I thought I’d say hi. Fortify myself with some of that fresh ground Colombian of yours.”

  “Ah, I won’t ask about the attic,” Jeremy said. “Front door’s open.”

  Once inside, Nikki stopped in the living room to say hi to Jeremy’s girls, who were watching cartoons while big sister Lani tried to show little sister Katie how to play Candyland. Lani informed Nikki that their thirteen-year-old brother had gone camping with his Boy Scouts troop and that she hoped rattlesnakes got him. Apparently, he’d taken her pillow instead of his own.

  “Morning,” Nikki said when she walked into the kitchen. “You sure you don’t want a fish tank? I think the girls would love it.”

  Jeremy sat at the granite counter with the L.A. Times open, an empty cereal bowl pushed to the side. “Morning. No fish tank. And you might not want to kiss me,” he said as she leaned over for said kiss. “I ran, but I didn’t shower yet.”

  “I don’t care.” She kissed him soundly, happy to see him acting like himself again.

  He smiled. “Coffee’s made. Want me to get you a cup?”

  “Nah, I’ll get it myself.” She stalled, taking her time making it, wiping up spilled milk on the counter, hoping Alison would appear.

  “Alison here?” she asked finally, trying to sound casual. She sipped her coffee.

  He cut his eyes at her. “As far as I know. I assume still in bed. Jocelyn had a sleepover and then some kind of science bowl practice today. My sister doesn’t get out of bed unless she has to.”

  Nikki sipped her coffee. “She’s not working?”

  “I don’t know what she’s doing.” He began to fold up his paper, sounding tense again. “I know she’s still working for some clients, but it seems like she spends most of her day moping around here.”

  “Do you blame her?” Nikki asked as gently as she could. “I mean . . . this is pretty awful. Being accused of killing someone.”

  He didn’t say anything. He got up and rinsed out his cereal bowl. “I don’t want to fight about my sister,” he said as he shut off the water and wiped his hands on a towel.

  “Me neither.” She met his gaze and they stood there for a second just looking at each other, neither sure where to go from there.

  “You staying a few minutes?” he said finally. “I’m going to run up and grab a shower.”

  “Sure, I’ll be right here.”

  Nikki had read the front page and skipped to the world news when she looked up, surprised to see Alison walk into the kitchen. It wasn’t nine yet. She was dressed. Hair combed. She was wearing one of her 90210 dog-walking polo shirts. “Alison? Going to work?”

  “I promised a client I’d be there. I have to make my car payment, I guess.”

  Nikki glanced in the direction of the living room; she could hear the girls laughing. Jeremy was still upstairs. “I need to talk to you.”

  “Please, let’s not start again. I don’t know who hired Lillie Lambert.” Alison moaned. “And I’m not really in a position to care too much.”

  “What if the real killer hired her?” Nikki asked. The thought hadn’t occurred to her until the words came out of her mouth.

  Alison scowled. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “None of it makes any sense.” Nikki got up from the stool and walked around the counter, trapping Alison between her and the coffeepot. “Ryan Melton’s computer was taken at the scene of the murder.”

  “Was it? I guess that’s pretty routine, isn’t it?” Alison’s voice sounded airy. She poured herself a cup of coffee.

  “They’re saying there’s something on that computer . . . something that Ryan could have been . . . trying to hold against you.”

  Alison began to add sugar to her cup. One teaspoon. “Hold against me?” Another.

  “Blackmail you.”

  Alison added a third spoon of sugar. “Who’s they?” She tried to catch a glimpse of Alison’s face to get a better read on her, but she was facing the sink, her body turned slightly away from Nikki. “Could the police have found something on that computer that they could think is evidence against you?” When Alison didn’t answer, Nikki went on. “Because, what they’re saying. It’s crazy. There’s no way it’s true. So if you just tell me, honestly, what’s on that computer, I—”

  Alison turned to look at her, her face stricken.

  Nikki halted midsentence. “Oh, no, Alison. You’re not serious.”

  “It was a bad time in my life.” She started to blubber. “It was just the one. My boyfriend at the time, he said it would make us rich. He said . . .” She took a gasping breath. “I never thought I’d get married, have a daughter . . .”

  “What is it? Not just pictures?”

  Alison shook her head.

  So Tinseltown Tattletale knew what she was talking about. Nikki felt like an idiot. No, just naïve.

  “How . . . how did you know that’s what was on his computer?”

  “He told me,” Alison whispered.

  “When?”

  “I’m sorry,” Alison sobbed, covering her face with her hands. “I’m so sorry. I’ve disappointed you. I’ve embarrassed Jeremy and Jocelyn. I’m so sorry!”

  “It’s okay.” Nikki put her arms around Alison, who was shaking all over. “It’s okay. We’ll figure this out.”

  “I don’t want to go to jail. I don’t want Jeremy to think I belong there!”

  “Shh,” Nikki soothed, patting her back.

  “I can’t believe I’ve made such a mess of my life!” Alison was crying so loudly that neither of them heard Jeremy come into the kitchen.

  When he saw the two of them hugging, he cursed under his breath and closed the door between the kitchen and the living room. “What’s going on?”

  “I didn’t want to tell him,” Alison whimpered. “I’m not supposed to tell anyone anything. Lillie was very specific. She said they wouldn’t pay my bill if I ran my mouth.”

  Nikki smoothed Alison’s hair. “It’s going to be all right.” “It’s not,” Alison whispered.

  “Tell me what?” Jeremy had changed into jeans, a green polo, and boat shoes. His wet hair was combed and he was wearing the Chopard watch Nikki had given him for Christmas.

  “The police have some incriminating evidence on Ryan Melton’s laptop,” Nikki said slowly.

  Alison sniffed and stood up, letting go of Nikki. She’d left a wet spot on the shoulder of Nikki’s T-shirt. “It’s not what it sounds like. I mean, it is. That is me.” Alison’s voice quavered. “But he wasn’t trying to blackmail me.”

  Nikki grabbed a paper towel off a spool on the counter and handed it to Alison.

  “Is someone going to tell me what’s going on here?”

  He was back. Angry Jeremy. Nikki didn’t know him.

  “You tell him,” Alison said softly. “I can’t do it.”

  Nikki exhaled and turned to Jeremy. “Sit down.”

  “I don’t want to sit down.”

  “Jeremy—” Nikki started.

  “I made a mistake, oka
y?” Alison surprised them both with the strength of her voice. “I did a lot of stupid things in my early twenties. You already knew that.”

  “What did you do?”

  Nikki felt so bad. For both of them.

  “What’d you do, Alison? And I want the truth.”

  She looked down at the floor. “I made an X-rated film.”

  “You what?”

  “Jeremy, please.” Nikki reached for his arm. They were all standing in the relatively small space between the kitchen counter and the island. “Let’s sit down and talk about this.”

  “You made pornography?” Jeremy asked his sister.

  She pressed her lips together, tears running down her cheeks. But she didn’t fall apart.

  Good for you, Nikki thought. Hang in there, sweetie.

  “When? This year?” Jeremy demanded. He wasn’t shouting, but there was no doubt about his anger.

  “No, of course not. A long time ago. Before I met Farid. It was a small production company. We made it out in the desert. They only printed a few copies. It was a bad film. Even for porn. I never thought anyone would ever see it, or make the connection between me and . . . and that girl in the film,” Alison said, speaking quickly but clearly.

  Jeremy just stood next to them. Silent. Angry. Staring at his sister.

  “I’ll move out,” Alison said.

  Nikki didn’t know what to say, to either of them. She understood why Jeremy was upset, obviously, even if this had nothing to do with Ryan Melton. But she also knew that Jeremy was already aware that Alison had done some foolish things when she was younger. That didn’t really change who she was now, did it?

  “Jeremy,” Nikki said. “I think you need to be calm and think about this. It happened a long time ago.”

  “Pornography?” he said to Nikki. “She made pornography? Why are you defending her?”

  “You know why.” Nikki heard her voice crack. “Because someone needs to. Because someone stuck by me when I needed her most. Because Alison is not who she was and someone needs to defend her. It ought to be you. You’re her brother, Jeremy.”

  “I need a minute.” He held up his hand. Took a breath. “Excuse me.”

  Nikki watched him walk out the back door. She didn’t know where he was going. Just to cool off, she hoped. He was always so sensible. He’d come to his senses. Wouldn’t he?

  “I think I . . . we should go,” Alison said. “Jocelyn and I. And stay somewhere else. Get our own place.” She reached for her coffee cup. Her hand was shaking. “It would be best. If this gets out . . . it could hurt Jeremy. His business. His kids.”

  “He didn’t say you had to leave.”

  Alison met her gaze. “He didn’t tell me to stay, did he?”

  “I don’t think you’re in a position to buy a place right now, are you?” Nikki asked. As far as she knew, Alison hadn’t even been looking at properties before Ryan was murdered.

  She shrugged. She wasn’t drinking her coffee, just holding it. “I guess I could rent. I hate to use my house savings right now, but—”

  “You could come to my house,” Nikki blurted. “I have two spare bedrooms. One’s full of junk, but we can clean it up.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Completely. Maybe it would be better,” Nikki said. “To separate the two of you. Give you both a little space.”

  “I don’t know what to say.” Alison set her cup down. “I don’t get it. You and I . . . we were never friends. I . . . I didn’t even think you liked me.”

  “Well, it’s not true. You’re a good mother, Alison. You’re a good person. I can see that. I know you didn’t do this. Kill Ryan Melton, I mean.”

  Alison stared at her with those big, brown, teary eyes.

  “I want to help you,” Nikki said.

  “Lillie says—”

  “How do you know you can trust Lillie? How do you know you can trust whoever is paying for your defense? I’m serious, Alison. What if the killer is footing your bill and it turns out not to be an altruistic act? What if the person paying your bill is who really killed Ryan?”

  Alison was silent.

  Nikki could see that she was teetering on the edge of tears again. “I’m going to prove to Jeremy that you didn’t do this, Alison. But you have to start talking to me. And you can’t just keep saying that Lillie Lambert told you to be quiet.” She hesitated. “I won’t tell anyone what you tell me. Not even Jeremy. Okay?”

  Alison stood in front of Nikki, her arms wrapped around herself.

  “So come sit down and talk to me.” Nikki took her hand and led her to the kitchen table. She pushed aside a pink bowl with mushy, unidentifiable cereal in the bottom. “Sit down.” She pushed Alison into the chair Jeremy usually sat in. She went back for their cups of coffee, removed Katie’s booster seat, and sat down. She slid Alison’s cup across the table to her. “Now tell me why Ryan Melton had your porn movie on his laptop.”

  Chapter 15

  “I don’t know how he found the skin flick,” Alison said in a soft voice. “He had a lot of free time, I guess.” She chewed on her thumbnail. “What with Diara’s career taking off the way it has. She was shooting Casa Capri, modeling. He didn’t have a job. He had no place to be but with her, and she didn’t like having him on the set. I guess he sat at home and watched a lot of porn.” She met Nikki’s gaze across the table. “I was a bleached blonde then. I don’t know how he recognized me. I didn’t even use my real name.” She laughed without humor. “Jez Jewel. You know, like Jezebel.” She hesitated. “There’s no excuse for what I did. I thought I loved the guy I was with at the time. I was going to make us rich.”

  Nikki offered a grim smile. She wouldn’t pass judgment. She’d made many a bad decision in her lifetime. “So how did you know Ryan had seen the film?”

  “He told me a couple of weeks ago.” She looked away, her eyes tearing up. “Not because he was going to blackmail me or anything. Because he wanted to know if I . . . you know, wanted to have sex with him. He said he liked what he saw in the movie. He didn’t care that I’m older now.” It was obvious it was hard for her to talk about it, but she went on. “He said he knew I could be discreet. That it could just be our little secret. He said he was tired of being the good guy when Diara could do whatever she wanted with whomever she wanted.”

  This was the second time it was suggested that Diara might have been cheating on Ryan, and from an entirely different source. Maybe there was some truth to it.

  “He was angry about money,” Alison continued. “Diara made a lot, but I guess she controlled it all. He said something about her throwing him a few pennies to keep him quiet. To get him to protect her image. They’re all about their images, you know. The Fab Four.”

  Nikki was trying to absorb everything Alison was saying. “Did you have sex with him?”

  She made a face of disgust. “No, of course not.”

  “I can understand how that could happen,” Nikki said as diplomatically as possible. “He was really good-looking. And famous . . .”

  “I don’t sleep around,” Alison answered firmly. “And certainly not with my clients. Besides, he’s married.”

  “Okay . . . so that day.” Nikki tried to think about what information she’d already gathered. The trick was trying to figure out who was lying and who wasn’t. Sadly, her experience had been that there was always someone lying. Sometimes, someone you didn’t expect. “You told me you never saw Mars in the house. That you didn’t see him until he came outside, after dialing 911. After he found Ryan’s body by the pool. But that’s not true, is it?”

  A tear slipped down Alison’s cheek. She wiped it off her cheek. “I’m not supposed to tell you anything. Lillie said it could ruin surprises she has for the prosecution.”

  “What surprises?” Nikki pressed. She didn’t trust Lillie Lambert as far as she could run downhill in the woman’s hot pink Jimmy Choo stilettos. She knew that Lillie’s job was to get Alison off, but what if she went for a plea ba
rgain instead? The attorney had made her name defending guilty parties. For all Nikki knew, Lillie believed Alison was guilty. So in the end, she didn’t really have Alison’s best interest at heart.

  “I don’t know what she wants to keep from the prosecution. We haven’t talked that much.”

  “So tell me what happened that day. Start from the beginning.” Nikki reached across the table and squeezed Alison’s hand. “Tell me the truth. Please.”

  Alison took a deep, shuddering breath. “I . . . I arrived at his house about ten-thirty in the morning. I had already picked Stanley and Oliver up at your house.” She gazed off, unseeing. “I left your guys in my van and went into the house to get Muffin.”

  “Was Ryan there?”

  “He was waiting for me,” she murmured. “He’d just showered. He . . . he was wearing only a towel.”

  “Okay.” Nikki drew out the word.

  “He . . . he said he’d been watching my movie and that he . . . really wanted to have sex with a porn star.” She shook her head. “I wasn’t a star. I wasn’t even the lead.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “No, of course.”

  “Where were you?” Nikki asked. “In his house. Out on the pool deck?”

  “No, in the living room. He was sitting on one of the couches when I came in the front door.”

  Nikki thought about the layout of the house. There were two steps down into the living room. “You went into his living room?”

  “First, I got Muffin’s leash from the utility room in the back of the house. Muffin was with Ryan. In the living room. The dog wouldn’t come when I called him, so I went into the living room to get him.” She began to chew on her thumbnail again. She didn’t look at Nikki. “Ryan, he . . . touched me.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “I shoved him. Hard.”

  “Good for you.”

  “I wasn’t going to let another man do that.” She lifted her lashes. Now she was looking Nikki right in the eye. “Before, I let men manipulate me. I let them hurt me. I can’t do that anymore. I can’t let Jocelyn think that’s okay. No matter how rich they are, like Farid, or how famous.”