Silent Truths (63 page)

‘I suppose anything’s possible,’ he responded, ‘but I can’t offer you any answers.’

‘And I don’t suppose she’s going to spill it all in response to a polite little email enquiry, is she? Or even to a walloping great threatening one?’

‘We could probably find her again if we put our minds to it,’ he said, ‘but I’d say the better way to go right now is for me to exert some pressure on Tom Maykin this weekend to get his contact either to find out, or reveal, what Beth Ashby said to end her ordeal.’

‘Presuming it is at an end.’

‘Nothing’s happened since.’

‘So why are phrases like “lull before the storm”, and “autumn hiatus” coming to mind?’

‘Funny, but I was just thinking the same thing.’

Chapter 25

‘
GEORGIE! IT’S ME
!’

‘Beth? How are you?’

Beth smiled and reached across the table for Theo’s hand. ‘I’m great,’ she responded, gazing into his eyes. ‘Theo and I … He’s so wonderful, Georgie. I really want you to meet him.’

Theo lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.

‘Does that mean you’re coming over?’ Georgie asked, sounding hopeful.

‘Not yet. We’re working really hard on trying to get this screenplay together. It’s such a wonderful experience, collaborating like this. He’s so patient and kind and clever …’ She laughed as he bit gently into her hand. ‘I’m learning so much about so many things. I’m starting to understand what sharing and togetherness is really about.’

‘That’s good,’ Georgie responded. ‘I’m happy for you.’

Beth laughed softly. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘But actually, that’s not the real reason for calling. I just wanted you to know the way things are
between us. How special he is.’

‘Come to the point,’ Theo chided.

‘OK. Well, Georgie, we’ve had a really good idea. One that could make all the difference to our screenplay and our lives together.’

‘Oh?’ Georgie replied.

Beth’s eyes remained on Theo’s as she related the details of the plan. It was as though she was seeking reassurance, needing to know she was explaining it correctly, wasn’t missing anything out, or giving it the wrong slant. His occasional nod and squeeze of her hand told her she was doing just fine, and by the time she’d finished her heart was warm with the joy of doing this for him – for them both.

At her end Georgie remained silent.

‘So what do you think?’ Beth prompted. ‘It could make all the difference in the world if I do this.’

‘Is Theo there? Can I speak to him?’ Georgie said.

Getting up, Beth went to sit on his lap. ‘She wants to speak to you,’ she told him, but before handing the phone over she kissed him lingeringly on the mouth. ‘Oh, by the way,’ she said down the line to Georgie, ‘he calls me Beth now so you don’t have to worry about the Ava thing.’

At her end Georgie waited as they murmured and laughed some more, then Theo’s voice said, ‘Hey, Georgie. How are you doing?’

‘I’m fine,’ she lied. ‘Is she serious about this?’

‘We’ve discussed it a lot, and she sure seems to be,’ he answered, watching Beth as she strolled out to the pool, wearing a plain navy swimsuit and low-heeled mules. Her scars, though still horribly noticeable, were healing well, and the way they
were getting it together with the script, and their relationship, had to be helping the process.

‘So you’re happy to go along with it?’ Georgie asked.

‘Whatever makes her happy,’ he responded.

‘But she’s doing it for you.’

‘I know. But I think it’s going to be good for her. She wants to do it.’

‘Is she physically up to it?’

‘I think so.’

‘What about mentally?’

‘You just spoke to her. How does she sound to you?’

‘To be frank, I’m not sure. Maybe I need to see her.’

‘She’s doing great,’ he assured her. ‘No drugs. No alcohol, except wine with dinner. No parties. It’s just the two of us, and the nightmares seem to be easing off since we got into this project. It’s giving her something else to focus on.’

Georgie was struggling for more objections, more reasons to say why this wasn’t a good idea. But in the end she had to accept that maybe she was just being overprotective, that if Beth really wanted to do it, then why not let her. After all, Theo could be right, it might help in the end.

‘OK,’ she said finally. ‘I’ll call you back after I’ve spoken to Laurie Forbes.’

Laurie had just finished talking to an extremely helpful reporter from the
LA Times
, who’d managed to get her Mitzi Bower’s private number, when her phone rang again.

‘This is Laurie,’ she answered chirpily,
mimicking the response of the
Times
reporter.

‘It’s Georgie Cottle. I hope it’s all right to call. Bruce gave me the number of your mobile.’

‘Of course it is,’ Laurie responded warmly. ‘How are you?’

‘Confused,’ Georgie confessed. ‘I’ve just spoken to Beth and she’s come up with an idea that’s stunned me a bit.’

Laurie could hardly contain her eagerness to know more, though her voice was perfectly controlled as she said, ‘What was it?’

‘Well, I don’t see why there should be a problem, if you’re willing to do it her way,’ Georgie said.

‘Do what?’ Laurie prompted.

‘An interview.’

Laurie’s eyes closed as triumph flooded through her like a giant rush of speed. ‘She’s willing to do an interview?’ she said, wanting to make absolutely certain she had this right.

‘Actually, I think it’s more Theo’s idea than hers, but yes, she says she’s willing to do it. However, there are conditions,’ she cautioned.

‘Such as.’

‘Well, to begin with she’ll only talk to you if Theo’s there, and it has to be in the LA house.’

‘No problem,’ Laurie assured her.

‘She doesn’t want to discuss Colin at all. You’re not even to bring his name up.’

‘If that’s what she wants,’ Laurie responded, deciding to worry about that
after
she’d got a foot in the door.

‘What she wants you to do,’ Georgie continued, ‘is a kind of glamour spread with lots of photos showing how happy she is in Hollywood, and
what a wonderful man she’s found, how they’re working together on the screenplay of her book. She wants you to write a lot about that, make it the main focus really, because I think she’s hoping to find another publisher.’

‘Then I’ll need to read it,’ Laurie pointed out.

‘They’re prepared to send you a floppy disk of the manuscript,’ Georgie answered.

Laurie was almost reeling with how well today was progressing.

‘She wants it to be your paper because it’s got class,’ Georgie told her. ‘No tabloids, no cheap publicity magazines. A serious broadsheet, she says, though she’s happy for it to go in the weekend colour supplement. She also wants full copy approval and to retain all rights to the photographs.’

Deciding that now was obviously not the time to reveal her true status with the paper, Laurie said, ‘It sounds as though she’s got it all worked out.’

‘I think we can safely assume that Theo’s advising her,’ Georgie said. ‘But don’t forget who her husband is. She’s far from naïve in these matters.’

Laurie hurriedly scribbled a note to Murray and shoved it in front of him as he passed:
Got interview with Beth Ashby!!
Reading it, Murray punched the air in victory.

‘How is she?’ Laurie asked Georgie, grinning.

‘Theo insists she’s doing well, but without seeing her myself it’s hard to say. Certainly she sounded more like her old self, but there’s still something there – or should I say, Ava’s still there – because a spread of this nature just isn’t Beth’s style. She’s normally terribly private, and the idea of this sort
of exposure would have been complete anathema to her once.’

‘Maybe there were things about the Ava experience that are worth hanging on to,’ Laurie suggested.

‘Maybe,’ Georgie conceded with a sigh. ‘But do you know what I think this is really about? Or at least partly about? Colin. I think she’s going to use this to send him some kind of message.’

Laurie was instantly curious. ‘Really?’ she said.

‘Well, he’s saying he wants a divorce, so now she’s saying, “I don’t need you, look how well I’m doing without you. In fact, I’m shouting it from the rooftops how well I’m doing with my glamorous house and pool in Hollywood, with my new-look hair, improved bust-line and handsome producer boyfriend. How are you getting on in your little cell, dear?” Or something like that. That’s not Beth, but she’s changed a lot since Colin’s arrest, and after the way he’s treated her, if that is what she’s doing, I’m not really sure I blame her.’

‘No,’ Laurie murmured. She mulled that over for a moment, then said, ‘So when does she want to do it?’

‘Provided you agree to her terms, as soon as you like.’

Still not quite able to believe that she was about to scoop the most coveted interview in the entire Ashby affair, Laurie grinned again. ‘OK. I’ll call you when I’ve got my flight details and hotel sorted out,’ she said. ‘And, Georgie? Thanks.’

‘I hope you’re still saying that once this is all over,’ Georgie responded, ‘though I’m beginning to wonder if it ever will be.’

After ringing off Laurie danced around the office with Murray, then got him to rustle up a couple of his legendary martinis while she called Rhona to make sure she could look after the house and cat while she was away.

‘What time does Elliot arrive in New York?’ she demanded, laughing as Murray performed his very own martini tribal dance with the shaker.

‘Twenty-three hundred hours our time,’ he responded. ‘Then he’s going straight to a meeting.’

‘Damn! I really want to talk to him. This is going to blow his mind.’

‘Well, we can go ahead and book your flights and everything,’ Murray suggested.

Laurie winced as she thought of her empty savings account. However, she had credit cards, and though LA was expensive it didn’t even come close to London, so she should be able to get by.

‘Have you been there before? Do you know where you want to stay?’ Murray asked, presenting her with a clear, conical glass then pouring in the martini.

‘Yes, I have been there before,’ she answered. ‘But I was reading the other day about a new hotel called W in the Westwood area. Do you know about it?’

‘Oh yes. Very chic. Absolutely the place to be seen,’ he assured her.

‘I wonder how much it is? It looked very stylish and Zen, which probably means it’s way out of my budget.’

‘Leave it to me. By the time I’ve finished you’ll probably be in for free.’

Laughing, she picked up the martini, then
moaned with pleasure as the smooth, fiery vodka snaked through her like a lit fuse. ‘You’re a genius,’ she told him. ‘Where’s Gail, by the way?’

‘Out earning us a crust. Elliot’s put her on other duties while the rest of you concentrate on this, with occasional back-up when any of you need it. Now, what about the flight?’ he said, getting busy with his computer. ‘We’ve got our deals with Virgin and American, which would you prefer?’

‘Stop! Stop!’ she laughed. ‘I want to speak to Elliot first, see if there’s a chance of him meeting me out there.’

All that weekend Laurie worked on preparing for the interview, searching out as much information as she could find on Theo Kennedy, from his place of birth – Oxnard, California; to his college education – UCLA; to his invalid mother – died when he was fifteen; to his two divorces, third in the works; to his not unimpressive feature film record. This she added to the substantial amount she already had on Beth Ashby, which ran the full gamut of birthplace, boarding school education, her career as a kindergarten teacher and, of course, her marriage to the famed Colin Ashby. She then wrote an extensive piece covering what she knew of Beth’s movements and career since her husband’s arrest. It proved an extremely valuable exercise, for it helped focus her mind on the vital task of getting to the heart of the woman.

‘Of course what I really need to ask about is Colin,’ she grumbled to Elliot when he called on Sunday night. ‘But I’m hoping once I’m in there and we get talking she’ll open up anyway.’

‘People almost always say more than they mean to,’ he reminded her.

‘Which is why I’m preparing for all eventualities.’

‘What time’s your flight tomorrow?’

‘Eleven.’

‘Stan’s going with you?’

‘Yes. And guess what I’ve got to read on the plane?
Carlotta’s Symphony of Love and Death
by Ava Montgomery. It arrived by courier about three hours ago.’

‘So have you looked at it yet?’

‘No. I’m saving it.’ Then hoping her next question was going to sound totally professional, with no undertones of personal interest, she said, ‘Has Tom Maykin managed to set it up for you to meet his LA contact?’

‘Actually, he has,’ he confirmed. ‘But I won’t be there until Wednesday. Something’s come up in London that’s got even greater priority.’

‘Oh?’ she said, intrigued.

‘I’ve just had a call from Marcus Gatling. He wants to meet on Tuesday night.’

This news was so unexpected, so earth-shattering, in fact, that for several moments it stunned her into silence, and even then all she managed was, ‘Oh my God.’

‘We’re making some serious inroads over here,’ he told her.

‘You must be to get a call from the man himself. So what have you got that’s winkled him out of his shell?’

‘Possibly the real motivation behind trying to destroy the euro. It’s got nothing to do with introducing the US dollar, and everything to do
with installing their own choice of leaders into key European nations. There’s not really any doubt now that they’ve already got their people in power in the US, so if they can wipe out the euro they’ll create the kind of economic downturns and political insecurity that’ll enable them to do the same in Europe. In some cases we can even identify the men and women they’ve got in line for the new positions.’

‘That’s unbelievable,’ she murmured. ‘I mean, what you’re saying is that they’re operating as some kind of exclusive world government.’

‘I suppose that’s one way of putting it,’ he responded. ‘It’s still hard to prove anything, or actually hook up the connections, but we’re working on it. And this invitation from Gatling tells me we could very well be a lot closer than we realize.’