Dylan winced thinking how many rotten memories she must associate with living in this house. And then suddenly it struck him how much she and Kit had in common. Hadn’t Jake told him virtually the same thing about the house five doors down? Hadn’t he told him about Kit’s childhood filled with abuse? Lamely he said, “I’m sorry, Baylee.”
Baylee nodded and clutched Sarah tighter. The baby squirmed in her arms. “My mother abandoned me, Dylan, left me without so much as a backward glance. I never saw her again, never heard from her over the years. Not once did I get a birthday card, or a Christmas card, no presents from a mother who was just too busy partying in Europe with her boyfriend to take time out to buy a graduation present. I don’t even remember her very well, just images really from some early photos I found buried in Dad’s bedroom closet and confiscated.”
She didn’t mention the scenes she relived over and over again ever so often from the dream. “Tanya basically raised me.”
Alarm bells went off inside Dylan’s brain. “Let me understand this. In all those years, your mother never bothered to write? No letters, no phone calls?” For some reason that didn’t sound right.
“Not one letter or phone call in twenty-two years. One night she put me to bed.” At least Baylee thought she had. “Then she was gone, just disappeared from my life.”
Dylan put his hands in his pockets and walked over to stand at the terrace doors, looking out into a perfectly manicured garden setting. These houses, he thought, mansions really, had to go for millions. Who said growing up in Beverly Hills was a walk in the park?
But something about the story didn’t seem right to him. Maybe he’d watched too many CSI shows, or read too many crime novels, but how many women, especially mothers, disappeared off the face of the earth without even saying goodbye to their children?
He thought about all those mysteries he had watched and remembered how many spotlighted women who’d vanished without a trace, only to be the focus of an intense search. It always ended the same. The police couldn’t find any activity from their credit cards or cell phones after they’d gone missing. They just vanished into thin air. The whole thing with the tennis pro sounded strikingly familiar, like one of those phony stories a husband might come up with to explain why his “cheating wife” mysteriously disappeared, a convenient story to cover up something much more sinister.
Without putting much more thought to it, Dylan made up his mind to find out whatever he could about Baylee’s mother.
The actress Sarah Moreland could be Googled.
Once in his room, after Tanya had left him alone, William Scott calmed down. Today was a lucid day, one in which his memories were vivid as glass—and therefore his memories haunted him.
He remembered being on a soundstage in Burbank, probably inside Studio D, in charge of every actor, every stage hand. He recalled how the place hummed with activity as he watched two set designers go about the business of turning three blank walls into a very believable, attractive living space that when they were done resembled an actual living room.
Gaffers adjusted rows of lighting, testing equipment, while a cameraman got ready to shoot the next scene.
William loved everything about directing, loved being in charge of a film, the action scenes, everyone and everything revolved around him.
At the break, William took in the noise of a busy soundstage as he moved several yards away on the same lot, past rows of trailers that housed the actors biding their time between takes.
Then the memory shifted, the scene was inside one of the trailers. It flashed quickly, brilliantly in color. The sexual scene unfolded as if he were watching his image appear on the big screen like one of his finished products.
Alana Stevens lay back on the bed in her trailer with her arms and legs entangled around the director of her latest film, Growing up Dead. For the past four weeks, she and William had ended up between the sheets more times than not as a way to relieve the stress that came with making a movie. Alana ran her hand up and down the length of his chest and purred, “William that was wonderful. How’d you get to be so creative both in bed and out?”
William laughed, brushing his hand in a circular motion on one of Alana’s breasts, tweaking her nipple. “Baby, you inspire a man to take all manner of creative license.”
She smiled. Men were so predictable. But she had to admit this one was rather special. They’d been together on and off for the past three years, mostly on, whenever they were doing a picture. “As long as you’re aware that I’m the one you take creative license with and not that little marshmallow tart Sarah Moreland. She wants you.”
And Alana was so jealous she couldn’t spit.
William grimaced and sat up in bed, suddenly losing all interest in Alana’s ample assets, and more in tune to her acerbic tongue.
Most of the time he could concentrate on her body and the sex and forget about her mouth, especially when she used it for annihilation—like now. He looked around for his clothes, scoping out his escape route.
“Sarah’s a child, barely seventeen and playing your little sister in this film. I’ve hardly had time to notice her. Although, when she’s in front of the camera, she does have that natural sparkle on screen.”
It was the wrong thing to say and he knew it the moment the words shot past his lips.
Alana bolted up like she’d been burned. “William, that child has been after you from the moment she stepped foot on the lot. And I won’t allow it, do you hear me?”
She made a last grab at William’s thighs just as he moved out of reach. “Why is it men are absolutely oblivious to the obvious? Sarah wants you. She’s told everyone on the set that will listen. And she’s stealing all my good scenes. And you’re letting her.”
Ah, there it was, he thought, as he retrieved his shirt and started working the buttons. He’d expected jealousy from Alana because that was who she was, but when it came to her career, the woman was usually more subtle about manipulating him into giving her more lines, more scenes.
This was the third time they’d worked together and it was always the same. Alana was a piranha both in bed and out. She rarely stood for anyone usurping her “star power” during a shoot. He reminded himself that he wasn’t stupid, just taking advantage of the situation, her body, the sex she’d provide over the stressful weeks of filmmaking. But this time, her clinging vine act was becoming tiresome―and more than a little scary.
“Alana, Sarah isn’t stealing anything. You’re the star, baby, as always. No one’s taking anything away from you. Sarah’s simply playing her supporting role as the bothersome little sister to her fullest potential.” And was doing a superb job of it, he thought, as he pulled on his pants, tucking his shirt in with some haste, anxious to get the hell out of Alana’s trailer. He looked around for his shoes.
But the woman rose slowly, seductively out of bed with purpose, looking like Lady Godiva with her long blond hair billowing around her shoulders. Comfortable with her body, she slithered out of bed and made her way to stand in front of him, cupping his groin with one hand, and expertly unzipping his fly with the other. “Darling, if I won’t permit Sarah to steal my best scenes, I certainly won’t allow her to take you away from me. You of all people know how very much I count on our time together.”
God, the woman was Venus in heat. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do in bed. His brain disintegrated as it so often did when she touched him. He went stone hard. Alana was tall, almost as tall as he was, with the body of a perfectly toned athlete, not an ounce of extra flab anywhere. She smelled like sex. He grabbed her, pulling her back into him and was inside her before he could think about the consequences.
A knock on the door ten minutes later reminded William he had a film to finish. He backed up and sat down on the bed to slip on his loafers and look around for his sunglasses.
Allowing a glance at the woman lying behind him on the sheets, noticing the pout that formed on her lips, he hurried his routine. When she
started to speak, he was caught off guard by her change in tone.
“William, I know what you’re thinking. I’m petty. But I’m just trying to protect what’s mine.” How could she dare let him know how much she cared for him, what was in her heart for the first time in her life? If he found out she felt more for him than she’d ever felt for any other man what would he do? What would his reaction be? She couldn’t take the risk. She wouldn’t leave herself open and vulnerable like that, so she gentled her voice even more, made it sound as if it were all about her work.
“It’s hard for a woman to succeed in this business. I’ve already got a backup plan. I took some real estate courses. My friend helped me get my license some years back. I’m not stupid, William, I know I don’t possess that much talent for acting. I know why I get the roles I get. With selling real estate in this market, the money’s so much better than acting and I bought a house—in Beverly Hills. You should see it. I could get you into a house there too, William. For once, I’m making plans for the future, a future that could be so much better if we were together.” There, she’d said it, she thought as she ran her fingers along his back, and then up through his hair.
Alarms went off. This was news to him. Alana didn’t care for anyone but Alana. And make plans? She’d always been an in-the-moment kind of woman, never considering consequences or the ramifications of what her actions might bring to anyone else. “What are you saying, Alana? You’re ready to give up acting?”
“My friend Jessica thinks I could make a fortune selling real estate. I could make a lot more money in sales than I ever could in this heartless business.” She’d already made a small fortune from the commission from her first sale, but William didn’t need to know how much money she had in the bank.
The sex had obviously addled his brain or his hearing. Alana leave acting behind? It was true she wasn’t that talented. She got roles because of the way she looked, the way she was built. But she had more ambition and drive and determination than anyone he’d ever seen. And depending on the role, she could light up the screen with the best of the sex kittens. He couldn’t imagine her giving it up. “Real estate? You’re kidding right? You’d be happy selling houses instead of the attention you get from acting?”
“Selling real estate gives me security. I just want some financial security, some continuity for once. Jessica’s convinced I could open my own office right here in Beverly Hills. Right now, I just want to know about us.”
Us? What us? He had to get the subject back on track. “I can’t imagine you doing anything but acting, baby. But it’s your life. Obviously, you don’t need my blessing. Sounds like your friend’s already talked you into it.”
Her heart sank. Had she really expected him to declare his love? The feeling of despair coupled with rejection was fleeting as Alana’s temper burst into full-blown fury.
“At least Jessica has my best interests at heart. For once, I need someone to think about what’s good for me.” When he stood up, she tugged on his hand, the gentle tone gone completely while her demeanor turned back to demanding. “Just remember, William. Be a very good boy, or you’ll pay big time for being mean to me.”
That comment, as well as the shoe she aimed at his head, had him finally moving toward the door. “William, do not piss me off. People have been known to pay when they do.”
He paused before opening the door. “What the hell does that mean? Is that a threat?”
“Not at all. I’m just telling you like it is. I won’t put up with you making time with Sarah. As long as you’re sleeping with me, don’t even think about going near her.”
“You are some piece of work, you know that? She’s seventeen, a child.” He let the door slam behind him. But he wasn’t far enough out of earshot to miss her parting shot. “You have no idea who you’re messing with. Cross me and you’ll pay.”
William flinched. The scene in his head faded to black, bringing him back to the present, back to his bed, and the room where he remembered his lovely, innocent Sarah.
He shuddered at the memory.
No, the frail old man he was now always hated remembering what he’d done. Because ultimately, even as a young man, he’d had no idea what Alana Stevens, or her friend Jessica Boyd, had been capable of doing until it was too late.
CHAPTER 6 Book 2
Kit and Quinn agreed that no one needed a little TLC more than Baylee, the sooner the better. Since Memorial Day was still a few days off, they decided not to wait. And being the lowly first year res at the hospital, Quinn was pretty sure she had to work the holiday and wouldn’t get to spend Monday with her friends anyway, but she did get the Friday off before the holiday, so it would be a good time to get together with Baylee and boost her spirits.
Because of Quinn’s shift at the hospital, unable to get together face-to-face, both Kit and Baylee had burned up the minutes on their cell phones over the past forty-eight hours rehashing the fact that Connor Boyd was Sarah’s father. Chewing on that sickening disclosure had them troubled over what that meant for Baylee.
Quinn still couldn’t believe it. “We should’ve held her down and made her come clean months ago. The minute she took off we should have hired a private eye to track her down. That way we’d have known about her pregnancy and been there for Sarah’s birth. I never believed that hokey story about her heading off to Europe in search of her mother anyway. As her best friends, we should have been more proactive.”
“Okay, I didn’t believe the story either. We should have done more. But that’s in the past, Quinn. You should have seen her face. She’s terrified of him. He must have put the fear of God in her for Baylee to have let the bastard get away with this. I mean, we’re talking Baylee here, tried and true Baylee, who never so much as jaywalked; the one who is constantly the voice of reason, always the one after us to do the right thing. She didn’t go to the police then and I think she regrets that now. But that part is over. Now, we need to make sure Connor doesn’t find out about Sarah. Concentrate on protecting that baby from him. Period.”
“I know. I know. I’m with you there. I just wish she’d told us. We could have helped her in so many ways. That’s what the whole brown hair thing was about. And next time I talk to Blair I’m going to kill her. We e-mailed each other during the entire time Baylee was right there in Denver. And she never said a word. Not a word.”
“I know. I know. You have to give it to Blair for keeping her secret, though. You know, Sarah doesn’t look a thing like Connor, no dark eyes, no black hair. I thought brown eyes dominated. But that little fact is in our favor. Can you imagine what he would do if he found out he had a daughter? Think Jessica and Alana here. You just know he would find some way to take her away from Baylee, you just know that, Quinn. He’s like his mother; he’d never allow anyone to get the better of him. That’s what is so horrifying for Baylee in all this, knowing what Jessica and Alana did to Gloria.”
Kit kept talking into her cell phone as she tallied the day’s cash receipts from the store while sparing a glance in Jake’s direction. He was hard at work on his laptop computer still searching database after database, trying to get a hit on Benjamin Griffin, her brother, the brother she’d never laid eyes on who was supposed to be living in Ireland. When he looked up from his search, she grinned and mouthed the words ‘I love you’ at him before turning her attention back to Quinn.
“Thank God. She’s the spitting image of Baylee, blonde, blue eyes. But what’s up with this arrangement with Dylan? Why pawn her off on him? What were you thinking?”
“I didn’t know what else to do. It sounded reasonable when Dylan offered her the opportunity to stay in the area. It was selfish of me because she was ready to bolt, take off for parts unknown. At the time it sounded like a good way to keep her safe, a spur-of-the-moment decision. But now, I’m not so sure.”
“Neither am I. We’ll just have to keep an eye on him, that’s all. Make sure he doesn’t hurt her. I talked to her the other night; she sounds like
she’s doing okay. Working on the Jessica slash Alana timeline angle we started is a good excuse to get together. And I think she bought it. I mean why wouldn’t she? It’s what we’ve been trying to do, trying to link those bitches to the Parkers, enough so that any good detective can take the information we’ve gathered and run with it, finally bring some closure to this whole thing.”
“Do we know more than what we found in those boxes from Alana’s attic? We’ve gone through them until I’m tired of looking at that stuff.”
“We’ll go over all that. Look, if you’re bringing the food, how about we do Mexican for a change? I haven’t had fajitas in forever.”
“Fajitas it is then. But Quinn, promise me, you won’t give Baylee a hard time when you see her. Not about her lying to us or the fact she held everything back.”
“It isn’t her I plan to give a hard time. If I ever catch Connor Boyd near her again, so help me God, I’ll make him pay for what he did.”
With Sarah fast asleep in her car seat in the back, Dylan concentrated on making certain they weren’t followed from William’s house. Call it caution or paranoia, he didn’t care, but he wanted to be thorough. Every so often he checked the rearview mirror and listened as Baylee talked about her plans for tomorrow.
“Quinn called. Tomorrow’s her day off. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to have them over for lunch. She and Kit want to work on that timeline thing they put together, see if we can make it a little more solid linking Alana and Jessica to the Parkers. Kit’s offered to bring the food. Afterward, we can work on the documentation, work out the kinks, make an afternoon of it. The plan is to get our act together and then ask Jordan Donovan, since he’s the ex-cop, if he’ll take our evidence to the sheriff’s department, see if they’d be willing to re-open the Parker murders as a cold case. Once we get their attention, we convince them Alana and Jessica are the killers.”
Evil Secrets Trilogy Boxed Set Page 46
