The Tolling of Mercedes Bell: A Novel (27 page)

“Yes.”

“Tony will try to ferret out the facts before then so Darrel and Stuart can get the witnesses on record. Tony’s connection may even give up the names of the boys.”

“Oh dear.”

“Did you ever meet them? Would they be able to identify you?”

“Certainly not. As I told you, I have no taste for that sort of thing. My sole concern was the pleasure of my employers and to ensure they got what they wanted.”

“Could anyone at the escort service identify you?”

“No. I never met any of them.”

“Good,” Jack said with relief. “And that’s the way it must stay, do you understand? No matter how bright a spotlight they shine on you,
you were in no way instrumental in arranging the events that transpired in the suite.” He stood and steadied himself by gripping the back of the chair between coughs. “Your only sin was surmising what went on and keeping it to yourself. They had to
suspect
you knew or we can’t get to retaliation. This is critical for your case.”

“You are quite a chess player, Mr. Soutane. My lips are sealed.”

C
aroline and Mercedes sat on the redwood deck overlooking the wooded hillside behind Jack’s house in Montclair, drinking lemonade at the outdoor table. Anne and Germaine were inside. Profuse giggling spilled out of the open French doors.

“Those two! Always laughing,” Mercedes said. She slid back in her cushioned chair and extended her legs across the edge of the table. Deep blue lobelia and bright yellow marigolds filled all the pots along the deck and down the wooden stairs to the yard. The wisteria cloaking the canopy over the hot tub was beginning to show its lush violet blossoms. It was a warm, languorous Sunday afternoon for late April.

“How’s the wedding planning going? Only eight weeks away, right?”

“Just about there. We’re down to the details now. I’m probably the first bride in history whose fiancé has done most of the wedding planning.” She put on her sunglasses with satisfaction. Caroline poked her.

“What about your gown?

“Eleanor flew in on a shopping blitz a few weeks ago. Our dresses are being finished as we speak.”

“She must be overjoyed about Jack.”

“She’s happy, for sure, but she’s equally thrilled about being on center stage at a big wedding her friends will be attending.”

“Her approval must be a relief.”

“It won’t last. I know how this works.”

“What do you mean?”

“As long as she’s in the spotlight, she’ll be pleasant and strive with all her might to remain the center of attention. As soon as the focus shifts, forget about it.”

Caroline looked at her friend in disbelief.

“The minute we’re back from our honeymoon, things will change, mark my words.”

“I hope you’re mistaken. Has she seen the house?”

“Not the inside. Jack’s tenants were still in here when she was in town. But we drove by it, and she liked the neighborhood.”

“Well, I love your house.” More laughter pealed out of the open doors.

“The scenery is definitely refreshing,” Mercedes remarked, “although I do miss the gunshots and the neighborhood fights.”

“Oh, you do not!”

“The used condoms and empty liquor bottles in the park—they were special.”

“Oh my God!”

“And let’s not forget the occasional home invasion—those I probably miss the most.”

Caroline laughed.

“Seriously, I feel like nothing anyone could do will ever upset me again. I know this state can’t last, but whoever would have imagined things would turn out like this?”

Caroline nodded. “It is pretty amazing.”

“Jack had this whole house painted inside and out as soon as it was vacated. Then he hired movers to come to our little place, pack everything, and move us in here. It only took a few hours. We hardly lifted a finger.”

Just then Germaine came running out, with Anne hot on her heels. The two raced past their mothers and clambered down the stairs onto the lawn. Anne overtook Germaine and beat her to the swing, then scrambled onto it.

“The house is great, whatever it took you to get here. What a yard.”

“It’s all Jack’s doing. I guess he plans to move in right before the wedding. I just can’t wait to live with him. He is the kindest, sexiest, most generous man. He asks almost nothing of me and is grateful for anything I do. I can’t believe my good fortune.”

“You’re not living together before the wedding?”

“Evidently not, although
I
would. He wants to wait, since we’ve done everything else ‘by the book.’ My parents are coming to stay in the house with Germaine while we’re on our honeymoon—to Tuscany!” She clapped her hands together. “Germaine is delirious. Many of her friends from school live up here, and the neighbors have been very welcoming.” They looked down at the two girls. Germaine was pushing Anne, whose feet almost reached the branches at the top of her arc in the swing. Her blond braids flew behind her head and her purple hair ribbons fluttered in the wind.

W
HEN MERCEDES PASSED BY JACK’S
office the next day, he was speaking quickly into his Dictaphone, head down, with pages of his scrawl all over the top of his desk. She heard Germaine’s name, so
she stopped and backed up to listen. Germaine Llewellyn, residing in Oakland, California, was to be the beneficiary of the Soutane Family Trust.

Mercedes’s heart quickened. She listened a moment longer until Melanie came around the corner and spied her. She motioned Mercedes into the conference room and closed the door.

“What’s he up to?” Mercedes whispered.

“I’m sure he’ll tell you. He’s working on his estate plan to take care of you and Germaine. Don’t tell him I told you. He’s been revising his will.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re about to be his wife, Silly.”

Mercedes scratched her head. “I wonder why he hasn’t mentioned it.”

“I don’t know, but when he does, please act surprised.”

“Of course.”

Later that afternoon, after Simone and Lindsay had both gone, Mercedes was standing at her desk organizing summaries of the New York depositions in the Taylor case for Darrel. She sensed Jack nearby before he entered the room and turned to meet his gaze.

“Bella, that’s a beautiful dress on you.”

It was a simple black sheath with a bateau neckline.

“Say, would you mind marrying me?” he said, kissing her.

“Oh, if you insist,” she retorted, and returned his kiss, buffing her ring on the soft surface of his dress shirt. “You’ve been busy all day, dictating away every time I’ve been by. Are you coming up for dinner? As your rent-free tenant that’s the very least I can offer.”

He kissed her again. “And what’s the most?”

“Come up and find out.”

“Actually, I need to finish up some work here. I wonder if you’d mind going over some papers for me and filling out a form.”

She followed him to his office, where his desk was even more buried in paper than it had been earlier.

“What’s going on in here? It looks like you’re in charge of some major acquisition.”

He smiled. “In a way that’s true. The acquisition is you—and vice versa.”

“Is this what happens when lawyers get married? A tide of yellow paper is unleashed upon the world?”

“I wouldn’t know. It’s a first for me.” He turned suddenly serious. “I’m making arrangements to protect you and Germaine should anything happen to me once we’re married. You’ve been through it once, so you know what happens when there’s no plan.”

“And no assets. And no job.”

“Exactly. I’ll explain it all to you when I’m done, but it would be very helpful if you’d fill out this application for life insurance.” He handed her a long multipage document. “Germaine will be the beneficiary.”

“You mean
would
be
if
something happened.”

“Someday, something will. No one lives forever, my love. And when that day comes, the life insurance proceeds will be held in a trust for Germaine.”

“How very thoughtful of you.”

He waved off her compliment. “I’m applying for one too. Before we fly off to Europe, I want to know that she’s protected. And there’s something else. I’m drafting a separate property agreement.”

“Okay,” she said hesitantly.

“It’s not what you think. Let me explain.”

“You don’t have to explain anything. I’m not marrying you for your money or your property. That’s not what life is about for me, and I can take care of myself.”

“I know that. But here’s the deal. I’ve done some things in
business I’m not exactly proud of, and I don’t want you and Germaine to be in any jeopardy if I should die prematurely and someone decides to come after my assets. It’s been known to happen.”

“What are you talking about? What things?”

“I’d rather not go into it right now and it doesn’t concern you. I promise I’ll tell you about it sometime. For now I’m setting up a trust, so I need you to review these documents and fill out the form and sign before a witness.”

She searched his face, but he looked down at the documents in his hand. On top was a draft prenuptial agreement.

What have you done that you’re not exactly proud of?
“Everything about you concerns me. Don’t you know that?” she asked.

“Well, it needn’t—not the unpleasant things.”

“What unpleasant things?”

Color rose in Jack’s face, and he set his jaw. She could see she was getting nowhere and only adding to his distress. Perhaps there was the tiniest glint of anger in his eye, which only roused her curiosity further. His Majesty’s dark side—unexplored territory.

“Look, I appreciate your consideration for Germaine and me, and I love it that you’re working on an estate plan before we’re even married. Of course I’ll do whatever you wish.” She took the documents out of his hand and put her arms around his waist. He drew her close and put his head on top of hers. He seemed hot and his heart was beating faster than usual.

“Whatever you’ve done, whoever you’ve been, I don’t care. I’m not afraid and I want you to tell me,” she offered. “Whatever you want to know about me, I will tell you. Our marriage should be completely frank and based on truth, and we should go into it with our eyes wide open. I love all of you—freckles, warts, gray hairs, and all.”

“I’m not used to this—this—closeness, this trust. Bella, I
will
tell
you—just not right now. I really do want to finish this work tonight.” He raised his head. “Remember the night at your house when you told me what you’d gone through after Eddy died and left you high and dry?”

“Of course.”

“Well, that preys on my mind. I can’t imagine a more horrific thing for a young mother to go through, and it was unforgivable for that asshole to be so irresponsible—especially when it was avoidable.”

“We had no money for a lawyer, and we were very young.”

He stared at her, unmoved.

“I’m not making excuses for Eddy. It’s just that having a will and life insurance is not at the top of your list when you’re poor—and one of you is an alcoholic.”

“So we’re not going to have that situation in our family, okay?”

“Okay! I’ll leave you to your work. I have to go pick up Germaine now.”

Why did she feel she’d done something wrong by questioning him on a topic he’d raised in the first place? She slipped the papers into her briefcase and tried to put them out of her mind as she drove to Germaine’s school. Whatever it was could wait. But Mr. Perfect-Bridegroom-To-Be was indeed concealing something—and the less she kidded herself about it, the better.

G
ERMAINE WAS GNAWING ON AN
apple with her nose in a book when Mercedes pulled up in front of the school. Her short haircut was now a smart chin-length pageboy. As she walked to the car, Mercedes realized that her daughter had grown noticeably in just a few months. She saw the teenager who was about to burst forth from a girl’s gangly body.

They ate dinner at the kitchen table, which was nestled into the nook they both loved, with its view of the house’s sylvan setting. As the sun set, a young doe stepped into the yard and began nibbling flowers from the pot at the bottom of the stairs. In moments her fawn appeared and followed its mother’s example. The bright white spots of the young one made it easily visible in the dusk. Mercedes and Germaine sat transfixed, knowing they should save the flowers, but unwilling to disturb the enchantment of the moment.