The Secret at Solaire (13 page)

Nancy smiled as she watched Mr. Harper blush at his wife's compliment.

Nancy scanned the crowd warily. Rhonda Wilkins was talking with a group of other guests, looking more fit and quite pleased with herself. Lisette, the tennis pro, looked bored but determined to be polite. Kim wasn't there at all, which wasn't surprising. She'd told the girls that she planned to get twelve hours of sleep and then go visit her mother. There was no sign of the German shepherds, but Nancy was sure that some of the Solaire staff was acting as security. Alain circled the crowd, watching everyone intently. What had Heather planned? Nancy wondered. Maybe Heather's plan would be impossible to pull off, now that she was in custody. Or had the girl simply been bluffing?

“I think the official stuff's about to start,” George said, holding her own heaping plate of food.

Jacqueline and Laurent Rozier stood at the microphone at the front of the room. After Laurent had asked for everyone's attention, he began to talk about the exciting new line of Solaire cosmetics. “I developed these in St.
Martin, specifically with the discerning American woman in mind. You will find our products natural, healthy, and affordable.”

“An itty-bitty bottle of moisturizer for thirty dollars?” George muttered.

“Sssshhhh,” Bess said. “I want to hear this.”

Nancy wasn't really listening to the speech. Her eyes were still moving restlessly over the crowd. Hank and his daughter were safely in custody, but Nancy couldn't forget the sound of Heather's evil laugh.

“Now,” Laurent went on, “we are proud to give you a preview of our ad campaign, which will appear in all the major magazines.” He pointed to an easel beside him, which held what appeared to be several large boards. The top board read Solaire for the Skin, and bore a picture of the spa's sun logo.

With a flourish, Laurent lifted the board to reveal a photograph of a stunning model in an even more stunning swimsuit, applying Solaire sun block.

Then he removed the photograph to show the next one, and a gasp rose from the crowd. This photograph was of a much-younger Laurent Rozier, holding up a bottle of a Jeunesse product. Above the photo, a newspaper headline read, Jeunesse Lawsuit: Charges of Blindness and Disfiguration!

Laurent hurriedly removed the board, only
to reveal yet another. This picture showed a very pretty young woman with badly marked skin. A caption read, Pierre Dennon and Jeunesse did this to me.

Laurent's face was purple. “What is this?” he demanded angrily.

Melina Michaels stood up in response. “Which picture don't you recognize, Pierre? The one of yourself, or the one of my sister?”

The crowd started whispering.

“Security!” Laurent called out. “This woman is not feeling well. Please see that she gets back to her room safely.”

“I'm fine,” Melina said loudly. “The ones who are not fine are the people who believed that Jeunesse cosmetics were safe. You ruined my sister's modeling career. She's the girl on that poster, with the badly damaged skin. She's still living in seclusion in France, afraid to show the world her face. And you blinded Heather Sinclair.” She held up a picture of the sightless girl and showed it to the crowd. Everyone gasped.

“Laurent, aren't you going to answer this woman's charges?” one reporter asked.

“We can explain—” Jacqueline began.

“What about those photographs?” another photographer called out. “How do you explain those?”

Suddenly, Nancy understood. The final surprise
that Heather had promised had nothing to do with endangering guests. This act had one target only: the Roziers. There was no physical danger involved. Melina was simply exposing them in front of the people who mattered to them most. She was simply telling the truth. And whether or not the Roziers were ever prosecuted, their careers in the beauty business were definitely over.

George leaned toward Nancy. “Why didn't Hank and Heather just wait for this press conference?” she said. “Why do you think they were so determined to hurt people?”

“I guess they were just too angry,” Nancy replied. “Remember, there'd been at least one newspaper article about the incident, and that didn't change anything for them.”

“Well, this explains why Melina didn't trust the Solaire mineral mud,” Bess said. She shook her head. “I think I'm going to skip the rest of this party.”

• • •

That evening, Nancy found Bess outside the casita, staring up at the starlit sky. “Are you all right?” she asked.

“I'm fine,” Bess said cheerfully. “I've lost three-and-a-half pounds.”

Nancy grinned. “No, I meant about all the things that have gone on here this week.”

“I know,” Bess said, her tone serious. “I'm glad the Roziers' past caught up with them. But I still think that, in spite of all those awful things Hank did, Solaire is a great spa. I mean, it was good for me to learn how to work out and diet.”

“Do you think you'll keep it up when we go back to River Heights?”

Bess laughed. “Following the Solaire program seems to be a full-time occupation. If I kept up this routine, I wouldn't have time for anything else. Besides, I've been thinking about all of this diet business. Maybe weighing a few extra pounds isn't the worst thing in the world.”

“It's crazy for people to think they have to look like fashion models,” Nancy agreed. “And to be unhappy if they don't.”

Bess pointed to a bright star above. “That's Venus, planet of beauty and love.” She sighed. “You know, ever since we got here, I've been looking at Jacqueline, thinking I'd give anything to look like her. I guess I figured that if I were that beautiful, everything else in my life would be perfect. And then today I saw her up there in front of everyone, lying about some really horrible things . . . . ”

Nancy smiled at her friend. “Oh, Bess, you're a much better person than Jacqueline. I'm glad you're nothing like her.”

“Nan,” Bess said seriously, “there's just one thing I have to ask you. Do you have any of those emergency chocolate bars left?”

“Definitely,” Nancy told her with a grin.

The two of them started back to the casita as the song of the coyotes filled the night.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

First Aladdin Paperbacks printing February 1993

Copyright © 1993 by Simon & Schuster Inc.

A Aladdin Paperbacks published by

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ISBN: 0-671-79297-0

ISBN: 978-1-4814-0950-6 (eBook)

Cover art by Aleta Jenks