The Deception (4 page)

"Thanks for the offer, Louise. I brought my toothbrush, but I don't have a nightgown."

"And I'm afraid that I don't have one to lend you." Now Louise was blushing. "Karl and I sleep in the buff, so you may as well do like we do. There are plenty of extra blankets in the guest room closet, if you need them, so you'll be warm enough."

"Thanks, Louise. I appreciate it. I've been hungry for some real food for weeks now. I've been living on canned soup and TV dinners ever since Doug..." Her smile quickly faded as her voice trailed off and her eyes began to well up with tears.

"I know, Sweetness, I know. It's hard, but you're going to make it through this. You're much too beautiful for other men not to notice you and I'm going to prove it to you. Tonight, after dinner, we'll park Karl in front of the TV while we hang out in my office. The client wants eight photos. Together we'll pick out the best of the best, not only for my client, but for my show at Hanson Sisters too. Sound like a plan to you?"

Carrie felt a tremendous sense of relief. She'd have an opportunity to at least try to keep the most suggestive photos out of Louise's show.

"It does. Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. I'm thinking that tomorrow morning, after breakfast, we'll go out and find you an apartment. One you can move into right away. I don't want you camping out in your studio anymore."

As soon as the dinner dishes were washed, Carrie followed Louise into her office. She pulled up a chair and waited as Louise downloaded all the photos onto her computer. She felt mixed emotions as she watched her weed through them. On one hand, all of them were esthetically pleasing. They showed off the curves and shapes of her body within the context of interesting lighting and shadow effects. On the other hand, many of the poses were very sexual, blurring the line between fine art and soft pornography. Yet somehow Louise had managed to make even the most explicit photos look tasteful.

"My goodness, Louise, I don't know what to say."

"I know today made you feel uncomfortable, Carrie, but you handled yourself like the pro you are. And you're still the most beautiful model I know, regardless of your age."

They turned their attention back the photos. It took some time for Louise to decide on the eight that would go to the client, and the ones she finally selected were the most sexually charged of the bunch. Once again she had to assure Carrie that those particular photos would never be published or displayed anywhere in public. She then asked for her input on selecting five photos to be included in the Hanson Sisters show. It was well after midnight by the time they'd made their final choices, but at least those five were less explicit than the eight that would go to the client. After they finished, Carrie said goodnight and headed off to the guestroom. She took off her robe and crashed into her bed. Within minutes she'd fallen into a deep, exhausted sleep.

C
arrie stayed over for breakfast the following morning. When they were finished, Louise handed her a check and walked her to her car. She immediately headed out to search for a suitable apartment and by midafternoon she'd found the perfect place. It was a furnished one-bedroom in a nicely landscaped, well-maintained complex in a nice part of town. It was also an end unit on the second floor, giving her less noise and more privacy. She signed a year lease and wrote a check for her deposits plus two months rent. The apartment would be ready the following Wednesday.

Carrie spent that Wednesday packing and moving her belongings. Settling in her new home, she decided the time had come for her to resume a more normal life. She gave Allison a call to invite her and Steve to dinner on Saturday night.

Carrie Daniels met Allison Santiago on their first day of high school. Carrie was sitting alone in the cafeteria, when Allison sat down across the table from her and introduced herself. They soon became best friends, and after high school both attended Arizona State University. Allison was now teaching English at a high school in the nearby town of Chandler.

"Merry Christmas," greeted Allison as Carrie opened the front door. "And something sure smells good in here."

"That would be my famous roasted chicken, with all the fixings."

As Carrie invited her friends inside, she noticed Allison was carrying the box for a small, pre-lighted Christmas tree. "Allie, you shouldn't have. I wasn't going to do Christmas this year."

"Yeah, that's what we figured, so that's why we brought it." She looked around for a place to put it. "I know you've had a difficult year, but it's still Christmas and I don't want my best friend becoming Ms. Scrooge."

She set the little tree on the end table next to the sofa and took off her coat. The bright-red sweater revealed underneath hugged her svelte figure. Steve handed her a box of ornaments and she began to decorate it while Carrie got a towel to use as a tree skirt. It was soon ready to be plugged in. Everyone cheered as the lights came on.

"I really don't know how to thank you." Carrie hugged her friends. "It's the most thoughtful thing anyone's done for me in a long, long time."

Dinner was soon ready to be served. Carrie asked her guests to take their seats and joked about her mismatched tableware, explaining that with her limited means she had to purchase all her kitchen items at a thrift store.

"It's all very unique. However, if a dish gets dropped, or a spoon accidentally winds up in the garbage disposal, it's no big deal. I don't have to worry about finding a matching replacement. I just go back to the thrift store and get whatever they have."

Allison looked at Steve. "Now I know what to get her for Christmas. Dishes and flatware."

"No, you don't have to do that. I now have a decent roof over my head. That's enough of a Christmas present for me this year."

"I'm relieved you found this place too," said Allison, as she spooned some mashed potatoes onto her plate. "So how were you able to come up with the funds to move in here?"

"Louise called me. It was the morning after you and Steve ran into her and Karl at Hernando's. She got me a modeling gig. That's how I was able to do it."

"What was the modeling job?" asked Steve.

"Well, it was a different sort of gig."

"How so?" asked Allison.

"It wasn't for a print ad."

"Okay, then what was it?"

"It was an art modeling job for Louise. Some rich couple in California hired her to take some photos to display in their home. She needed a model and I needed the money, so I told her I'd do it."

"What kind of photos?" asked Steve.

"Black and white prints. Of a female model."

"Nude?" asked Allison.

Carrie quickly picked up her glass and started drinking. Allison noticed her face was turning red.

"Nude," she said, answering her own question. "Carrie, you need to be careful about doing things like that."

"It's for Louise, Allie. I know her. She's on the up and up. She said the photos would be for the client's personal use only, and that they couldn't be published anywhere."

"I understand. I'm just saying be careful, that's all. So when's the shoot?"

"It's all ready been done. It was a week ago today, at Louise's house."

"Did you sign a release?" asked Steve.

"Yes."

"May I have a look at it? If you don't mind."

"Sure."

Steve was an attorney who also considered Carrie a friend. He waited while she stepped away to retrieve the paperwork. Once she brought it back to the table, he carefully looked it over. She watched his hand sweeping through his thick brown hair as he read. His looks reminded her of a model she'd recently photographed for an athletic shoe store ad.

"Well, it does appear to be on the up and up, and you're right. You're to remain completely anonymous and the photos can't be published anywhere. The only person who can display them in public is Louise Dickenson herself, and she retains all rights."

"That's pretty much standard business practice," explained Carrie. "She took the photos, so she owns the rights. I use similar release forms myself. I know Louise. She would only use them for legitimate purposes, like her portfolio. She's also including five of them in her show at Hanson Sisters Fine Art in February, but she assured me they'd be sold with the same restrictions as those on the Berkeley couple. The buyers can't publish them or display them anywhere in public."

"Well, that's all fine and good, but just remember, she does retain all the rights. You signed away your rights to your images in the model release form." Both women noticed his eyebrows furrowing. "There is, however, one little glitch, hidden away in the fine print, that does concern me."

"What's that?"

"She can sell the rights to photos to a third party, anytime, at her discretion. Hopefully, this won't come back to haunt you someday."

"What do you mean?"

"For instance," he explained, "let's say Louise had an unexpected financial calamity. I'm not saying she would, but it happened to you, so anything's possible, especially in this economy. She could, if she had to, sell the rights to photos to someone else."

"But wouldn't whoever she sold them to have to honor the agreement she made with me."

"That's not specifically spelled out, however, it certainly could be construed to be within the intent of the agreement she made with you. Problem is, there's always some attorney out there who can sniff out any loophole in a contract and try to manipulate it to his client's advantage. We have a guy in our office who specializes in that very thing."

"What Steve is trying to say," explained Allison, "is that we want you to be careful. Yes, we understand you're in a bad position right now, but please, be aware when doing side jobs like this. Awhile back one of my coworkers had a sister in Los Angeles who was trying to get into showbiz. She was down on her luck and going through some hard times, kind of like you are, so she decided to do a photo shoot for
Gentry Magazine
."

"But isn't that supposed to be a somewhat mainstream publication?"

"It is, but here's what happened to my friend's sister. They did a fairly extensive shoot, but only published one photo. A couple years later her sister started getting guest shots on some prime-time television shows, so
Gentry Magazine
decided to do a feature on her and published more of the photos. After that, the only offers her sister got were for porn films."

"I see."

"I don't think Louise herself would ever intentionally harm you, but like Steve just said, if she ever decided to sell the rights to someone else, then it's entirely possible that the photos could end up in the wrong hands someday. That's the problem with those releases they make you sign. You give up all your rights."

"I know that," said Carrie, "but I trust Louise. I was eight years old when I first started working with her. That was back when I was doing those Mercer's Market ads."

"Mercer's Markets?" asked Steve.

"It was an Arizona supermarket chain," explained Allison. "They were bought out by another company years ago, but back when I was a kid, Carrie was their little spokesperson."

"Yep," said Carrie. "At the end of all their television commercials I'd pop up on the screen and do their jingle. I'd look into the camera and s
ay, 'My mommy shops at Mercer's
Market
s
. You're mommy should shop here too.' You'd also hear a sound bite of my voice, with the same jingle, at the end of all their radio ads."

"And there'd be a picture of Carrie, will their jingle underneath it, in all their newspaper and magazine ads," added Allison. "Louise is the one who shot all the photos for print advertisements. For a time there, Carrie was quite the little celebrity."

"Whose stardom ended at the ripe old age of twelve. By then I was getting too old for their pitch line and Old Man Mercer passed away. His sons were more interested in being real estate developers, so Mercer's Markets was sold to a national chain and my career as a child model was over, which was fine by me. I'd had enough of being in front of the camera. I wanted some semblance of a normal childhood."

"I'll bet you made good money while you were at it," said Steve.

"I did, and my mother invested it wisely. By the time I turned eighteen, I was able to pay for my own college education, and for a long time after that I was sitting pretty. Then Mama had a stroke. She ended up in a nursing home and I ended up in the poorhouse after her insurance ran out."

"What about your dad?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Steve. He walked out when I was five. He hasn't been seen or heard from since."

Carrie noticed everyone's plate was empty so she got up to clear the table. They made small talk over dessert and before long it was time for Steve and Allison to leave. They lived across town so it would take some time for them to get home in all the holiday traffic. She helped Allison with her coat.

"You know, Carrie, I'm sure in this instance there won't be any problem with those photos. Louise will make sure they don't fall into the wrong hands, and that whoever buys any of them knows there are strings attached. But in the future, just be careful, okay?"