The Deception (45 page)

She turned her attention back to the newspaper, noting the date. It was nearly a year to the day since her opening at Hanson Sister's Fine Art, and the year had not been a kind one. First, Hanson Sisters dropped her, and she'd had no luck finding another gallery to represent her. She tried reviving her commercial photography business, but many of her old clientele had either retired or moved away. Many more were working with Carrie Daniels and not interested in coming back. Louise had no choice. She had to put Carrie out of business with her copyright infringement claim. That too had backfired, until fate smiled and someone took a shot at Carrie.

"You know, Karl, I'm thinking of going back to being a free lance photojournalist."

"So where are you going to get the funds to get started? You've squandered away most of our cash on that ridiculous lawsuit, and now you've been ordered to pay for Scott and Carrie's court costs."

"Just because some judge ordered it doesn't mean I have to write her a check right now. I'm going to make them come after me. Meantime, I have to make a very important phone call. Caleb Wyman has wanted to buy the rights to the remaining photos of Carrie for sometime now, but I couldn't sell them because of the lawsuit. Now, all bets are off." She took a sip of her coffee. "You know, maybe it's all worked out for the best. After today, I'll be sitting pretty." She chuckled to herself as she took another sip of her coffee. "I'm going to the arraignment this afternoon. Would you like to come with me?"

"You go ahead. I think I'll pass."

* * *

A deputy escorted a shackled Maggie Andrews into the courtroom and sat her down on a bench. She looked at her attorney
,
who was from the public defender's office. Her thoughts turned to Scott
,
who needed to hurry up and die--the sooner the better. Once she had the life insurance money, she'd be able to get someone like Frederick Lancaster to represent her, and then she could buy her freedom.

Alex entered the courtroom, along with Reggie and Julia, and they took their seats in the gallery. It had been an emotional journey for both him and Reggie. Entering the glass atrium, barely twenty-four hours after the shooting, caused the events of the previous day to play back in their minds. Reggie reached into her purse for another tissue. Alex glanced around and noticed Louise Dickenson seated nearby. No doubt she'd come seeking more publicity for herself. He turned his attention to Maggie. Had it not been for the orange jail suit she was wearing, she could have easily passed for the president of her local
PTA
. How could such a typical, all-American looking woman have nearly destroyed his life?

The bailiff entered the courtroom and all were ordered to rise for the judge. She entered, and ordered everyone to be seated, When Maggie's case was called, her attorney waived arraignment and entered a not guilty plea on her behalf to all four counts of attempted murder. The judge ordered the case to go to trial. It was over in a matter of minutes. The deputy U.S. Marshalls whisked her away, while they exited the courtroom. Out in the hallway, Louise approached Alex and Reggie.

"So, Alex, you may have won the battle, but I'll win the war."

"Whatever, Louise." They began to walk away.

"Hey, don't you go turning your back on me! Aren't you forgetting the fact that I own the rights to all those photos of Carrie?"

All three stopped in their tracks, turning back to face Louise as she casually approached Alex a second time.

"I've been on the phone today with Caleb Wyman. Remember him? He's the publisher of
Gentry Magazine
."

"So what's your point, Louise?"

"My point is, dear Alex, that he and I have made a deal. He's sending me a big fat check, and I'm signing over the rights to all the photos. There are well over a hundred of them, so look for her to be featured in upcoming issues. Just so you know, this is business and nothing personal. Carrie knew I had the option to sell the rights. It was clearly stated in the contract. What's ironic is that I need the money in part, to pay for her legal expenses. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my office. I'm expecting an email with a very important attachment. It's our contact. I have to sign it and get it back to him right away. See ya."

As Louise stepped away, Alex's face flushed with anger.

"Damn it! It's déjà vu
all over again. I need to file an emergency injunction. Louise's contract with Carrie stipulated that the photos were never to be published, and that she'd remain anonymous. I know I can win this thing."

"No, Alex, I'm her attorney now, remember? I'm on it and I'll have an injunction filed by the end of the day. You go take care of her."

They rushed to the elevators, getting out in the atrium just in time to see Louise stepping out of a different one.

"Good luck," she said, rubbing it into their faces before she headed out of the building. She had a bounce in her step as she walked to the parking garage. Once inside her car, she powered up her phone and placed a call to Wyman's office. His secretary informed her that the paperwork had just been emailed. She disconnected the call and drove out of the parking garage, heading for the freeway. The onramp fed directly into the Deck Park Tunnel beneath downtown Phoenix. She merged into the traffic, anxious to get home. She wanted the contract signed and sent back to Wyman before he left for the day.

"Damn it."

She'd just changed lanes, when the semi in front of her abruptly slowed down. She quickly looked for an opening in another lane, but there was heavy traffic on both sides. She turned her attention back to the road, just in time to hear a loud pop. The semi had just blown a tire off one of its eighteen wheels. A huge chuck of rubber suddenly came out from underneath the trailer. Louise automatically swerved to the left to avoid it. She heard the loud honking from the car in that lane. She quickly swerved back to the right, but she overcorrected, nearly colliding with the car on her right. She jerked back the left, overcorrecting again and hitting the tire debris with a thud as her car began weaving uncontrollably. She slammed on the brakes, causing it to roll. She could hear the sound of screeching tires and honking horns, along with the impact of other vehicles colliding with hers. The last thing Louise Dickenson would ever see was the tunnel wall, coming straight at her.

A
lex pulled into the driveway and hit the remote. He let out a sigh as he waited for the garage door to roll up. Carrie had been through too many months of angst over Louise's lawsuit, now he had to tell her that a new, even worse, nightmare might be about to unfold. He grabbed his phone and placed a call to Reggie.

"How's it going?"

"I'm almost done," she replied. "It's coming out of the printer as we speak, then Brenda will have someone run it over to the court. This will definitely put a crimp into Louise's plans."

"Thanks, Reggie, I appreciate it. I know we'll win this one, at least I hope we will. I just hate having to break the news to Carrie. Hasn't she been through enough already?"

"Yes, she has, but she's strong and she's resilient. She'll get through this too."

Alex disconnected the call and went inside the house. As he greeted his parents, he overheard a news bulletin on
TV
about a road closure in the Deck Park Tunnel due to a fatal crash. He quickly excused himself, heading off to the master bedroom where he found Carrie napping on top of the bed. He kicked his shoes off and laid down next to her. The stress and emotional trauma of the previous day had suddenly caught up with him and he felt both mentally and physically drained. He cuddled up next to her, wrapping his arm around her and falling into a deep sleep.

"Alex?"

He was in the middle of a dream, but he could hear her voice in the distance.

"Alex, wake up."

This time he heard the sound of a television set along with her voice. The dream faded away and he opened his eyes. The room was now dark, with the only light coming from the television set. Carrie was sitting up, watching the evening news.

"What time is it?"

"A few minutes past six. Alex, you won't believe this. They're reporting on the evening news that Louise has been killed in a car accident."

"What? That can't be. I just saw her a few hours ago at the courthouse. She came to Maggie's arraignment too."

"They're saying it happened around two-thirty this afternoon. Apparently, she was heading east in the Deck Park Tunnel when she somehow lost control of her car. It rolled and crashed into the wall. She was killed instantly."

He sat up, focusing on the television screen. They were showing a headshot of Louise, followed by footage of her badly crumpled car. It wasn't much more than a big chunk of twisted metal. A few other vehicles were also involved, but fortunately, all the other people had escaped with only minor injuries. The accident itself, however, had caused a major backup on the freeway that was still affecting the evening commute.

"Well, I'll be damned," he finally said. "I guess a higher court has intervened."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll explain it to you later, Carrie-Anne. Meantime, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Alex. I'm not feeling any sense of loss or grief over Louise. I'm sorry she's dead, but after all that has happened, I've learned she wasn't the person I thought she was. I feel bad for Karl, though. He's a decent man."

They turned their attention back to the television set. The media had also learned about Carrie's connection to Scott. She watched in horror as once again, the photos from
Gentry Magazine
, with certain portions blurred out, appeared on the screen. Before either could say anything they heard a knock at the bedroom door. Alex hopped off the bed and answered. His father was on the other side.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course," he replied.

Alex switched on the light as Armando burst into the room. He snatched the remote from the nightstand and turned off the
TV
.

"I don't want you two watching anymore of this. They've been trashing her for the past hour or so. They're twisting everything around and making her out to be a home-wrecker. It's like they're trying to pin the blame on her, instead of Maggie Andrews. I just got off the phone with Jonathan. He's livid, and so and am I. Then, about an hour ago, while you two were still asleep, I went to go get something out of the car, and I got ambushed by a news reporter."

"What!" exclaimed Alex. "That shouldn't have happened. There's a security guard parked in front of the house. He's supposed to be keeping the press from coming onto the property."

"I looked around before I went outside," said Armando, "and I didn't see any news trucks. The man who approached me looked like someone from the neighborhood. He was wearing blue jeans and he was walking a dog. He must have had a hidden camera on him."

"So, what did you tell him?"

"Well son, I looked him straight in the eye, and I told him I was housesitting. I said you'd taken Carrie out of town, but I didn't know where, and I had no idea when you'd return."

"Did he buy it?"

"He seemed to." Armando reached into his pocket and handed Alex the reporter's business card. "He turned around and left. But just to be on the safe side, we've closed all the drapes. You two need to stay away from the windows and not venture outside until this all blows over."

"Thanks, Dad. You handled it perfectly."

"I wonder," Carrie mused, "if I should call a press conference so I can tell my side of the story. "

"No," said Alex and his father at the same time.

"Don't worry," added Alex, " this will blow over, just give it some time."

Over the next few days the news headlines began shifting away from Carrie. Jonathan Fields was released from the hospital that weekend, while Scott Andrews would face a long and difficult road to recovery. Carrie spent the next few weeks bonding with her newfound family as plans were put in place for her upcoming wedding.

Danny was fascinated with his older sister. Along with his passion for golf, he too had an interest in photography. Julia, however, was a little more apprehensive. She didn't want to be perceived as trying to take Linda's place. Her fears soon faded once Carrie told her, and Jonathan, about Bernie Carson, explaining that she and Bernie had become friends as well. She even reminisced about the times Bernie had given her cooking lessons, and how she still missed him, along with her mother. Jonathan was relieved in knowing that Linda had moved on from their failed marriage, and had found some happiness in her life before her untimely death. 

The week before the wedding, Carrie went to Tucson to spend some time with her family and to oversee the final preparations. The small wedding she and Alex originally had in mind had grown bigger than they'd planned with the addition of Jonathan's younger sister and her family coming in from Florida, as well as members of Alex's extended family and most of his coworkers. George and Betty McCormick were also planning to attend.

The day before the wedding Jonathan took Carrie on a short hike along one of the rocky creeks in nearby Sabino Canyon. As usual, she brought along her camera, shooting photos of her father, as well as the spectacular scenery.