Cast An Evil Eye (12 page)

As they entered Renee’s apartment Zack felt a welcome sense of ease and relaxation. The place was done in impeccable taste. Elegant, but at the same time, homey. The decor was French, of course, with beige carpet throughout. The walls were papered in a soft blue damask pattern, and the doors and trim were painted white. A soft comfortable sofa backed up to a picture window that looked out on a park, and was upholstered in a blue velvet with a white and dusty rose petal design. Built into the divan were two recliners.

Renee went immediately into the kitchen to make their breakfast. “Sit down,” she called to Zack. “I’ll take care of things here.”

The aroma from the kitchen was heavenly. To the egg mix she added some grated onions. In ten minutes she had two plates filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, and country fries. And a pot of hot coffee and hot French bread oozing with butter and jam. She brought them into the living room and put them on the coffee table.

“Breakfast is served!” she announced.

Zack hadn’t thought he was hungry, but he relished every bite. When they were finished he rose to take the dishes into the kitchen, but Renee stopped him. She brought him a blanket.

“Stretch out and get some rest,” she ordered. She elevated the footrest on the recliner, covered him with the blanket, and removed his shoes. “I’ll wake you when it’s time to go back to the hospital.”

It was cozy and warm in the apartment. Zack put his head back against the recliner and closed his eyes. The tick tock of the grandfather clock in the corner lulled him to sleep.

When he awoke four hours later, he looked around and realized he was alone. He was just about to put on his shoes and leave for the hospital when the door to the apartment opened, and Renee entered with her arms full of bundles.

“You’re awake!” she exclaimed.

“Where have you been?” Zack asked.

She laughed. Her laughter sounded like music to Zack. “I had some errands to do,” she told him. She put the bundles down and looked at her watch. “It’s almost noon. Time for some lunch. I have some sliced turkey in the fridge. We’ll have some sandwiches and wine. Is that okay with you?”

“Maybe we should go back to the hospital,” Zack suggested.

“I checked while I was out and they told me your friend is still resting. They said not to come back for a couple of hours. We have to eat.” She went into the kitchen.

Zack took the bundles from her and followed her into the kitchen. “Let me help,” he said. “I’m used to this. Bachelors have to fend for themselves. I’ve done it for years.”

“You’re not married?”

“Never have been,” Zack told her.

“Why not?”

“Never found the right one. I’m still looking—at my age.” He laughed, thinking how ridiculous it must have sounded to her.

“Neither have I,” she told him. “And I’m still looking—at my age,” she said, laughing. She sliced some French bread. “Here, you can warm the bread in the oven. I turned it on.”

As soon as the bread was warmed Rene put some slices of turkey on two pieces, some cheese, and mayonnaise. She covered these with the other two slices and cut them in half. She reached up in the cupboard, took down two goblets, filled them with delicious French wine, and took them into the living room. Zack brought the sandwiches and deposited them on the coffee table. They sat down on the sofa where they’d be comfortable while they ate their sandwiches and sipped their wine.

Zack looked a little sheepish. “Sorry for the way I broke down this morning. I’ve never done that before.”

“Hey, he’s your friend. You’ve known him for a long time. There’s nothing to apologize for. You care. Period.”

“Thanks.” Zack was quiet for a moment, thinking. “Tell me about yourself. What did you do before you became a cop?”

“I was a model for a number of years for the leading department stores here in Paris,” she answered in between bites of her sandwich. “Then I got too old. I’ve always wanted to help people, so I decided the best thing I could do was to become a gendarme—a cop, as you say in America.” She looked at him searchingly. “How did you happen to become a detective?”

Zack smiled. “Same reason you became a cop. I wanted to help people.”

Renee was silent for a long moment, then looked directly at Zack. “I’ve tried to be patient, but I think while we’re waiting it’s time you told me why you’re here and what Gus has to do with it. The whole story. I’m not prying. There’s been an attempted murder in my precinct. I need to know what I’m investigating and why. Besides,”—she looked at him coyly—“it’s a good excuse to find out all about you—what makes you tick. I’m sure you’ve had a very interesting life and I want to hear all about it.”

Zack proceeded to tell her about his dear friends in the States; how he met them, all about Hildy and Jay, Cammie and Jeremy, Andre and Fran—and now Courtney. And why Gus was here. “I have the most awful premonition that Courtney is walking into the same kind of trap that Hildy and Cammie did. I don’t know how or why. It’s probably off the wall, but I’ve learned to listen to these feelings when they come. So far, I’ve never been wrong.”

Renee listened with rapt attention as Zack told her everything.

“Manny Kasnov introduced himself to us at the airport as we were boarding the plane here in Paris,” Zack continued. “That’s probably not his real name. Gus told me that Manny has used several aliases. Gus was trying to tell me something else when someone attacked him. Until he regains his memory he can’t tell me what it is that he uncovered. I may have to start from scratch to find out what’s going on.”

Renee had been taking notes on a pad of paper. “Is that all,” she asked, “or is there more?”

“There’s more. A lot more,” Zack continued. “I’m quite concerned about Courtney. She’s so young. Manny hypnotized her, but I don’t know why. He also hypnotized the Stuart’s dog—Angus. When Manny came to the house I watched to see how Angus would react. Dogs have an uncanny sense when it comes to people.”

“Yes. I know they do. Good thinking!” Renee interjected. “So what happened?”

“Angus stood in front of Manny, sizing him up, then gave a low growl. He didn’t like him. Then a weird thing happened. Manny stared at Angus for a few moments, and suddenly Angus whimpered. He walked away with his tail between his legs and curled up in a corner of the room.”

Renee’s eyes widened. “Go on.”

“Jay thought he might be sick and took him to the vet. Dr. Drake knew immediately what had happened. The vet was able to bring him out of it.”

“Maybe this Dr. Drake could help Courtney!” Renee suggested.

“I asked him about that. The vet said he could bring her out of the hypnotism, but only if he could see her in person, and I don’t know if Jay was able to get her over there. I left in a hurry when Gus called me in Los Angeles.”

“Why don’t you call Jay from here and see what’s going on?” Renee suggested. She handed him the phone. “It’s okay,” she assured him when he started to object. “It’s police business.” It took only minutes for the call to go through to Scarsdale. Jay answered. “Zack!” he exclaimed. “Did you find Gus? Is he all right?”

“Yes, and no,” Zack replied. “He’s in the hospital. We’re going over in a few minutes to see him. He’s lost his memory, Jay. If it returns it will be a big help. If not, I’ll have to start all over and look into things myself. In that case, I’ll be here for a while.”

“I’ll be helping you, Zack,” Renee reminded him.

“Is there someone there with you?” Jay asked.

“Uh—yes.” He hesitated. “I have a detective here who’ll be working with me.”

“That’s great!” Jay enthused. “What’s his name?”

Zack hesitated. “Her name is Renee Aumont.”

“She?” Jay asked.

“Yes. She’s been a big help. Uh—Jay—we have to leave for the hospital. Is anything else happening? Did you get Courtney over to see Dr. Drake?”

“Yes. He brought her out of the hypnotism in a matter of minutes. She’s back to normal now.”

“That’s a relief!”

“Let’s hope she stays that way. I’m doing my best to keep Manny away from her.”

“Is he giving you any trouble?”

“He calls every day wanting to talk to her, but she’s busy rehearsing for the lead in ‘Déjà Vu.’ The one who was playing the role left to do a movie. It’s a blessing in disguise—the best thing that could have happened to her. I wish you could be here. She’s wonderful! You should hear her sing! I’m doing my best to keep Manny from interfering. It isn’t easy. I’ll fill you in later.”

“I’ll be in touch,” Zack promised, and hung up. “Things are okay back there,” he told Renee. “We’d better get over to the hospital and see how Gus is doing.”

CHAPTER XVII
 

I
t was opening night for Courtney—her debut in “Déjà Vu.”

She was showing all the classic signs of opening night jitters. It was her first performance in a bonafide theatre, and she was positive she would “lay an egg”—and not a golden one at that.

The makeup artist was busy putting the finishing touches on her face and hair, while Cammie was trying to calm her down.

“Mom, I know I’ll be a colossal flop,” Courtney moaned. “I’ll never live up to any of your performances.” She jumped up and began to pace. “I should never have agreed to this! I’ll put you all to shame!” She turned to Cammie with a desperate gesture. “Is my understudy here? Maybe she should go on instead of me.”

Cammie did her best to hide her amusement. How many times she had said the same thing many years ago! “Courtney, you don’t want to disappoint everyone, do you? The people came here to see you perform. You!”

“That’s what scares me, Mom!”

There was a knock on the door. Courtney opened it to see Glen standing there. As if her heart wasn’t beating out of her chest already, scared stiff that her performance would fall flat on its face, it picked up even more speed at the sight of him.

Glen smiled broadly at Courtney. “How’s the new star?” he asked. “Only ten minutes to curtain time.”

Courtney rushed into his arms. “Please,” she begged, “can’t my understudy go on? Just for tonight? I’ll go on tomorrow—”

Glen held her off and looked firmly into her eyes. “Courtney—if you don’t go on tonight you’ll keep finding excuses not to. We’ve rehearsed hard for this. You’re fine. Pull yourself together! Everyone goes through this, but the minute you hear the overture and are on stage, all the nerves will melt before the applause. I promise you! Just think what pleasure you’ll be giving everyone. Not to mention saving my neck! Come on, Courtney! Do it for me!”

Courtney resigned herself. “Okay. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Glen planted a kiss on her lips. “That’s for good luck,” he said. “I’ll be sitting in the front row with your folks, cheering you on. You’re not alone. We’re all behind you, supporting you.”

As he left, Courtney lifted her hand to her lips. They tingled from Glen’s kiss. This was an emotion she had never felt before, and she didn’t quite understand it. Whatever she had felt for Manny seemed far away. This was different, and she liked it. She liked it a lot!

The stage manager was at the door again. “Five minutes to curtain time,” he announced.

Courtney panicked and looked for the nearest exit, but Jeremy, who had just appeared, stood in her way.

“Daddy!” Courtney cried. “I can’t do this!”

He looked at Cammie who was sitting quietly in a corner. She gave him an encouraging nod. “Yes, you can,” Jeremy assured her. “And you will! We’re all depending on you! Are you forgetting that you’re saving ‘Déjà Vu?’ You don’t want all the people in the cast to be out of a job, do you?”

Courtney relented. “Oh, Daddy—I know.” She threw back her shoulders and lifted her head in an air of false bravado. “I’ll do it.” Then she wilted. “But don’t blame me if I don’t pull it off.”

Jeremy hugged her. “If you sing the way you sang last night, you’ll more than pull it off. You’ll be the hit of Broadway!”

“Two minutes to curtain time,” the stage manager announced as he appeared at the door for the third time.

Glen took her hand and led her to her place in the wings. The orchestra struck up the familiar chords to the overture—her cue to begin singing as she entered the stage. She gave a last helpless look at Glen, and made her entrance to thundering applause. This was all she needed to urge her on.

A feeling of exhilaration swept over her. Mom was right! she thought. This is great! I’m giving these people so much joy!

Her voice was as pure and clear as a bell.

By the time she finished the first number all fear was gone! In its place was an emotion so strong she felt this was her destiny. She was thoroughly enjoying herself!

The scene ended, and the first person she looked for as she ran off the stage was Glen, who was standing there waiting for her. She ran into his arms and sobbed from sheer joy and relief.

He held her tightly. “Hey—hey,” he said, comforting her, “you were great! Didn’t I tell you? I knew you would be!”

The backdrop went up and another came down in preparation for the next scene.

For a moment Courtney found herself wishing she never had to leave Glen’s arms. They were so protective, and she felt so safe. But the cue came. She smiled up at him and entered the stage for the next scene.

Scene after scene went off without a hitch. At intermission as she took a bow, the applause was so loud that if volume could bring down a theatre it would be lying at their feet in splinters. She couldn’t believe that all this was for her!

The whole family was waiting for her in her dressing room. Hildy, Jay, Cammie, Jeremy, Fran, and Andre. And Glen! Dear Glen! Her heart picked up speed just thinking about him. The only one missing was Zack. How she wished he were here, too! She had no idea why he had left Stuart Manor in such a hurry. No one had explained it to her.

She missed him, but in spite of that she danced into the dressing room right into Glen’s arms. Her eyes sparkled. She had overcome the tremendous fear of performing, and she felt strong and free. She had leaped over what had seemed an insurmountable hurdle, with herself the victor.

It seemed no time at all when the stage manager was at the door announcing that intermission was over, and the curtain was going up for the rest of the show. Courtney couldn’t wait to get on the stage again.