The Deception (12 page)

"Did you tell her that?"

"No," she replied. "I didn't want to tip my hand. I simply said it wasn't correct and I gave her my real email address. They sent me the release form a few minutes later. As soon as it arrived I printed it out."

She reached into the satchel again, handing the release form to Alex.

"Look closely at the signature."

She reached into her purse, retrieved a pen and asked for a piece of scratch paper. As soon as Steve handed it to her she signed her name on it and handed it to Alex.

"Now that's my signature."

Alex studied the two side by side. "It's not that good of a forgery. Whoever did this may have thought they were being smart, but it's the work of an amateur. We'll turn this over to our handwriting expert."

"Then this arrived in my apartment mailbox this morning." She handed Alex a business-sized envelope. It bore the logo of another law firm.

"It's from Louise Dickenson's attorney," Alex said to Steve as he opened the letter. "No surprise here. He's letting her know they intend to file a case against her. I'll get a letter off to him in the morning, along with a copy of the release form, and let them know it's a forgery. Hopefully, they'll back off."

"What happens if they don't? When Louise called me, I tried to tell her I'd been set up, but she wouldn't listen to me. She intends to destroy me. She's got a vindictive side to her I've never seen before."

"We're going to take care of you," replied Alex. "Carrie-Anne, you're not alone here. We know that you didn't do anything wrong, and we're here to help you. We're also going to find out who did this to you. Identity theft and forgery are both state and federal crimes, and I'll do my best to see to it that whoever did this will end up serving some hard time."

"Okay." She took a deep breath. "I was afraid of this. So I need the two of you to understand something. It's about your fee."

"Carrie, listen, I--"

"Please, Steve, just hear me out. I wanted you to know that I've made arrangements to pay your fee."

"How? You're broke."

"Steve, listen to me, please. I did everything you told me to do after I got off the phone with you. I took down my website and went straight home. As soon as I got there I went to my laptop to check my email. Before my website went down a film company in California contacted me, so I gave them a call. I'm driving to Los Angeles next week to meet with them. They've offered me a significant sum of money, and once again, I'm desperate."

"What kind of film company, Carrie-Anne?"

"What kind do you think, Alex? It's an adult film company. They've offered me enough to cover your retainer, as well as to pay down some of the balance of my mother's nursing home bill."

The two men looked at one another in stunned disbelief before Alex finally spoke up.

"Not on my watch."

"Look, Alex, I think we've already established the fact that I've fallen from grace, and now my photography business is, for all intents and purposes, shut down. I have bills to pay and no money coming in my door."

"No way." Alex held his ground. "I'm not going to sit back and allow my best friend to turn herself into a prostitute."

"Do you really think I want to do this? I don't have a choice."

"It's still a form of prostitution, Carrie-Anne. You're being paid to have sex with someone, whether it's a man, another woman, or maybe both at the same time. The only difference is that someone is filming you while you're lying on your back so that other people can watch it later on, and somehow that makes it all legal. I'll be damned if I'm going sit back and allow you to do that. You haven't signed a contract have you?"

"Not yet, but I have it with me."

"Let me see it."

Carrie sighed as she pulled it out of her satchel and handed it over. Alex looked it over before turning to Steve.

"I'll let them know, in no uncertain terms, that the deal's off." He placed it into her file. "Just so you understand, Carrie-Anne, even if you had signed this, I still would have tried to break it."

"You know, Alex, it's really easy to be virtuous when you have food in your stomach and a roof over your head, but right now I don't have that option. I just got another letter in the mail. The nursing home was threatening to turn my mother's account over to collections, so I had to use my grocery money get them off my back. Like Old Mother Hubbard, there's nothing in my cupboard."

The room began to spin around her. She grabbed the edge of the table, trying to steady herself as she began to sway in her chair.

"Carrie-Anne, are you all right?"

"I'm okay, I'm just really stressed out, that's all."

"When was the last time you had anything to eat?"

"The day before yesterday."

"What!" Alex looked at Steve.

"I'm on it." He raced out of the room.

"Where's he going?"

"To the break room to get you something to eat. Carrie-Anne, you're in way over your head. You can't handle this on your own anymore. I'm your friend, so please, let me help you."

Steve rushed back in with a couple of bananas, an apple, and a bottle of fruit juice. Carrie eagerly reached for one of the bananas and quickly began to peel it.

"Not too fast," warned Alex. "You don't want shock your system. But while you're eating, please listen to what Steve has to say."

"From time to time, Carrie, we take pro bono cases. Alex and I had a discussion about this before you got here. We can prove your signature was forged and your identity was stolen. If Louise is smart, she'll drop her vendetta against you and work with us to find out who the real culprit is. If not, and she decides to pursue you anyway, then she's a fool, because she can never win. So, if she forces the issue, we'll file a motion requesting that you be awarded attorney fees. If the judge agrees, then it will be on Louise's nickel, not yours."

"We need to find out who set you up," said Alex. "You said Louise promised you'd be anonymous, but obviously someone knows. Did you volunteer any information or tell anyone that the photos were of you?"

"The night at the gallery, when Louise's show opened, you were there, Steve." She looked at him as he nodded. "A friend of Allie's was also there. She introduced us. His name was Scott Andrews. We talked for some time, and he offered to take me to dinner. I ended up going out with him a couple of times."

"Did he know you were the one in the photos?"

"Yes. While I was talking to him, he recognized me as the model. He even bought two of the prints."

"Which two?"

"I can't remember."

"Are you still seeing him?"

"No. It was, for lack of a better description, a fling. I'd just ended a ten-year relationship and he told me upfront there would be no long-term commitment. It was what it was."

"Which one of you ended it?"

"Officially, he did," she replied. "All though it happened several weeks after I'd stopped contacting him. He stopped by my office one day out of the blue. Needless to say, I was surprised to see him there. He said he'd reconnected with his old girlfriend and he was leaving town to be with her. He seemed happy, so I wished him well. We shook hands and he left. I can't think of any reason why he'd want to do this to me."

"Carrie," said Steve, "I hate to have to tell you this, but from everything you've told Allie and me about your relationship, Scott fits the profile of a married man."

"What? No way! I sent Allie a text message before I left the gallery that night. I asked her if Scott was single. She said he was. I don't date married men."

"I know that, Carrie." Steve tried to calm her down. "That's what we all believed at the time. Unfortunately, it turns out that we didn't know him as well as we thought we did. By the time we figured out he was married, Allison said you'd already decided to move on, so we let it go. At that point, we saw no need to bring it up, and we didn't want to upset you."

"Damn. I thought I was a better judge of character than that."

"Don't go beating yourself up, Carrie-Anne," added Alex. "I have a hunch he's probably done this a time or two before."

"So what do we do now?"

"We have some paperwork for you to sign. Then, when you're done, I'm giving you a ride home. You can leave your car here overnight. After I drop you home, I'll go out and get you a decent dinner."

"And tomorrow I'll ask Allie to go over to your place," said Steve. "She'll help you pick up your car, and then she'll take you shopping so you can get your kitchen restocked. You can return the favor some other time."

"Guys, I appreciate this, I really do, but it's my problem. I'll handle it."

"How? By starving yourself and making porno films?" She heard the frustration building in Alex's voice. "I guess some things never change. You're just as stubborn as you ever were."

"Look, you're in no position to argue," added Steve. "We're you're friends, so let us help you."

Alex handed her the paperwork. She let out a loud sigh as she grudgingly began filling it out. As soon as she finished Steve gathered it up and said goodbye. She turned her attention back at Alex, who stared back at her.

"So, have you finished pouting yet? If not, I can wait."

He leaned back into his chair, putting his hands behind his head. They stared at one another until Carrie finally started laughing in spite of herself. Alex reached across the table and patted her hand.

"Okay, Carrie-Anne. If you're ready, I'll run you home. We have ten years of catching up to do."

A
lex dropped Carrie off at her apartment and she changed into a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. She came back to the living room to lay down on the sofa. After going for two days without eating she felt light-headed and exhausted. That afternoon's meeting had zapped what strength she had left. She must have dozed off, because the next thing she knew she was waking up to sound of someone knocking on her door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

She opened the door to Alex's smiling face. He was carrying several grocery bags.

"Alex? What are you doing here?"

"Did you forget? I was going to bring you something to eat, remember?"

"Oh, right. Sorry, I'm not all here right now."

He stepped across the threshold, heading straight to the kitchen and setting the bags down on the counter. He glanced over and noticed she was laying down on the sofa. She looked tired and pale. He pulled a carton of orange juice out of one of the bags, poured her a glass, and brought it to her, along with an apple. She sat up to take a drink.

"You remember my mother's famous homemade macaroni and cheese, don't you?"

"Yeah. It was my favorite."

"Well, I make it just as good as she did. It got me through college, and law school, and it'll be just the thing for you."

"Thanks, Alex." She finished the juice and bit into the apple as he glanced around the room.

"Aha, I see, you've got one."

"What?"

"Your boom box has a slot for an iPod." He whipped out his iPhone. "Remember how my mother was always playing this for us when we were kids? It was our song."

He punched a few buttons and dropped his phone into the slot on the boom box. Moments later they heard The Hollies singing, "Carrie-Anne." Carrie laughed as he sang along and danced to the beat for a moment or two before returning to the kitchen to begin preparing dinner. As he was working he noticed her cupboards and refrigerator really were empty. The years had not been kind to Carrie. She'd enjoyed so much success in her youth. She was the last person he would have ever expected to end up this way. It was heartbreaking for him to see. He heard the sound of the kitchen timer going off. He took the boiling pasta off the stove and dumped it into the colander. As it drained he looked back at her. She appeared to be asleep on the sofa. He grabbed the juice carton and quickly refilled her glass.

"Alex?"

"Yes, Carrie-Anne?"

"I've missed you. A lot."

"Me too."

He returned to the kitchen, quickly dumping all the ingredients into a baking dish and topping it with breadcrumbs before popping it into the oven. He set the timer and came back in to join Carrie on the sofa. She sat up to make room for him, leaning her head on his shoulder as soon as he took his seat.

"Something's missing here." He glanced around the room. "You don't have a television set."

"No, I'm afraid not. I'm a pauper these days. I don't have the money for a
TV
set, so I download shows on my laptop."

"Yeah, but then there's no remote control. I'm a guy. How can I possibly live without a remote control?"

Carrie started to laugh. It felt good to have Alex back in her life. "So Alex, is there anyone waiting at home for you?"

"Not anymore. Like you, I seem to be in between relationships at the moment."

"I see. So what's your story? What have you been doing for the past ten years?"