Perfect Target, page 22
"We'll play it by ear, but that's the game plan. Let's go get my tuxedo and then we'll head back to my house to change."
"Okay, but Beck?"
"Yes?" he asked, seeing the worry in her eyes.
"I'll try to do everything right. I'll work the party, work the guys; I know how to do that. But if I start to fall off that cliff, could you pull me back?"
He saw the desperation and fear in her eyes. "I will pull you back, Piper. I promise."
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Cawley estate was at the top of a hill in the exclusive community of Calabasas. It spanned over ten acres with a three-story mansion, two-story guest house, two tennis courts, a basketball court, and a swimming pool that meandered through man-made caves and grottos. Beck had checked out several photos of the estate before they'd left, so he was ready to be awed. But it took a while to get past security, which started at the neighborhood gate and ended at the gates in front of the estate.
They left their vehicle with a valet and then waited in line to be admitted to the party. He'd stowed his weapon in a lock box in the vehicle, hidden out of sight. He felt a little uneasy to be without it, but there was no way he would be able to get through the metal detectors with a gun, and he did not want to announce that he was an FBI agent, a fact that would probably get them kicked out faster than anything.
It took about twenty minutes to go through the metal detector and bag check, and Piper blew out a breath of relief when they were finally able to move away from security personnel.
"I'm glad that's done," she said, as they walked along a gravel drive toward the entrance to the gardens.
He was, too. She opened her clutch purse. "Would you like some mints?"
"Thanks."
She handed him a tin of mints, in which he'd find the bugs. "Are you sure you want to be the one to do it?" she asked.
"I am." He put the tin in his pocket. "You're going to be the distraction."
Piper gave him a nervous smile. "How do I look?"
"Spectacular," he said honestly. She wore a glittering gold gown that clung to her breasts and offered a high slit to show off her legs. When she'd first come down the stairs, he'd literally lost his breath. It was barely there now. Her makeup was heavier than usual, but it was perfect, with long lashes framing her blue eyes, and just a hint of pink on her cheeks and her lips. She looked stunning. "You're transformed."
"The old Piper Nolan," she said with a wry smile.
Her look tonight reminded him of the girl he'd had a crush on for most of his later teen years, and it felt a little strange to be with her when she was in this persona.
"You look handsome, too, Beck. People will probably think you're an actor."
"Tonight, I'll just be your boyfriend who works in finance. I'll be vague and boring enough that no one will care that much."
"I don't think you'd ever come across as boring." She cleared her throat and held out her hand. "Since you're my boyfriend tonight…"
He took her hand and gave her a smile, feeling like he was starting to walk the edge of that same cliff she'd spoken about earlier. He could not let himself forget he was playing a part, too. But for the moment, he would just enjoy it.
They entered the gardens, and he was surprised and impressed by the floral colors, the finely trimmed hedges, the ornate design that led them through one bower of roses to another field of lavender. The gardens led into the pool area, which was just as he'd seen in the pictures, an endless flowing river through dark, vine-covered grottos.
They stopped at the first one to get a drink. Piper grabbed a sparkling water, and he did the same. Then they continued through the gathering crowd.
"Piper! Oh, my God! Is that you?"
They stopped abruptly as a beautiful and very tall redhead with pale skin and green eyes came running over to greet Piper.
"Hi Melody," Piper said, as they exchanged a brief hug. "How are you?"
"I'm great. I can't believe you're here. I thought you were done with Hollywood, although I saw you were on the morning shows today. Also, I just ran into Lauren, and she said you're looking at a script for her."
"I might be," Piper said vaguely.
"You're going to start auditioning again?"
"We'll see. I haven't decided."
Melody turned to him. "And who is this hunk of a man?"
"Beck Murray," he said.
"Melody Crenshaw," she replied, her hungry gaze running down his body in a way that actually made him uncomfortable.
He cleared his throat. "I know who you are—the star of the new Marvel movie," he said. "I saw it two weeks ago. You were great."
"And you're very sweet and sexy. I love that combination." She gave him a flirtatious smile. "Do you work in Hollywood?"
"No," he said shortly. "I'm a bean counter."
"Well, I like beans."
He laughed, amused not just by Melody's obvious flirting, but also by Piper's increasing annoyance.
"There's someone I need to see," Piper said. "We'll talk to you later, Melody."
"I'm sure we will. Good luck on that script, Piper, but don’t be surprised if you have competition. I might go out for that part myself."
"Really?" Piper asked.
"In case you haven't noticed, with your head buried in an oven, I'm the new IT girl, Piper. Everyone wants me, including John Nicholson, and I don't recall him being a big fan of yours. You were always so…difficult."
"And you were never difficult," Piper countered, a bite to her tone.
"I know how to handle myself. I'll see you later." Melody abruptly turned and walked away, leaving a strong scent of perfume behind her.
"She doesn't like you," Beck commented.
"She's afraid of me. I always did better than her. Whenever we went up for parts, I won. But that was years ago. She is big now. I'm sure she could beat me."
"You don't care, do you?" he asked, giving her a thoughtful look. "You don't actually want that part."
"No, I don't. I just never liked her, so I'd still like to beat her."
He laughed at her candor. "I appreciate the honesty, something Melody does not have. She seemed fake in a lot of ways."
"Definitely her breasts and her lips," Piper said. "I'm surprised you noticed she was fake. She was practically purring at you."
"Jealous?" he teased, liking the annoyance in her eyes.
"Hardly. And don't lose focus on why we're here."
"I never lose focus. Let's head up to the house." As they started walking, he added, "What Melody said about Nicholson not liking you—what was that about?"
"He fired me from a project right after The Carmichaels ended. It was during the smear campaign against me. He said he couldn't work with such a difficult actress."
"Did he ever hit on you?"
"Yes."
"Can you give me a few more details?"
She let out a sigh. "We met in his office a couple weeks before that yacht fire to discuss the project. He sat on the couch next to me and put his hand on my leg and told me he could help me go from being a teen star to an adult star. He wanted to portray me as the woman I was turning into and not the young girl I used to be. He reminded me how difficult it was for girls to transition from being a child star. To do that, he wanted to get to know me better. It was very uncomfortable. Thankfully, his assistant interrupted, telling him that my mom was there and wanted to join the meeting. I had stupidly kept my mom out of it, thinking I wanted to take meetings on my own, but that day she probably saved me, even though she didn't know it. Anyway, Nicholson said he didn't have time to talk to my mom and that I'd be right out. Before he let me go, he invited me to have drinks with him that weekend. He gave me a hug and a slobbery kiss, and I left."
"Did you meet him for drinks?"
"No. I said I couldn't do it. My mom was negotiating with his lawyers and didn't want me to talk to him until we had a deal. The yacht fire was a few weeks later, and then my career was in ruins, and he bailed. I hadn't seen him since that day in his office until the other night when I catered for his party."
"What did he do then?"
"He gave me another slobbery kiss and pretended like he was thrilled to see me." She shuddered. "He's even more disgusting now. And I had to be nice to him. I had to thank him for hiring me. I wanted to throw up."
"I wonder why he did hire you," Beck mused. "That job was booked before Larry was killed, right? Your newfound media attention hadn't started."
"I reached out to Lauren, asking her to forward my catering information to whoever was planning Nicholson's parties. I got a call back soon after for his birthday party. When I got to the party, Lauren told me she had a part that might be right for me, and Nicholson was open to it because everyone likes a redemption story. I decided to be interested since I wanted to get into his study."
"What is your relationship with Lauren? You used to work with her, right?"
"Only briefly. She had a small part on the The Carmichaels one year. Then she turned from acting to production and worked for various companies before eventually landing with Nicholson. I've seen her around town a few times, but we haven't spent any time together."
"Would she give you dirt on him?"
"I doubt it. Lauren is very ambitious, and it's not like there haven't been rumors about Nicholson over the years. The fact that she was willing to work for him leads me to believe that she'd be loyal to him."
"I'd like to meet her. She could be helpful at some point."
"I just told you I don't think I can trust her."
"It's not always about trust. It's about finding out what someone else wants, and how what they want can benefit you. If Nicholson's reputation was ruined or he was to go to jail, that might leave some opportunities for Lauren."
Piper gave him a sharp look. "I never thought of that angle. Pretty good for a bean counter."
"I better get back in character, huh?"
"Yes."
When they reached the back patio, the doors were wide open, so they moved inside, setting their empty glasses on a tray by the door. Then they moved further into a grand living area with massive fireplaces, couches, and chandeliers. It was pure opulence and about as far from the life he'd lived as anything he could imagine. But this was the world that Piper had grown up in. She'd been eating caviar and drinking champagne when he'd been eating mac and cheese out of a box. But the glamour hid a dark underbelly, he reminded himself. He hadn't had to worry about the things she'd had to worry about.
They moved down the hall, pausing as a short woman with curly brown hair came out of what looked like the billiards room. She stopped abruptly, surprise in her gaze. "Piper," she said. "Wow, you look amazing."
"Hi Lauren," Piper said.
"I didn't know you were going to be here. I was hoping you were at home reading my script."
"I took a look at it. I'm interested."
A happy light came on in Lauren's eyes. "That's good to hear."
Piper pulled him closer to her. "This is my boyfriend, Beck. Lauren works for John Nicholson."
"Hello," he said with a smile.
"I didn’t realize you had a boyfriend," Lauren said. "What do you do, Beck?"
"Finance."
"In Hollywood?"
"No. I work with insurance companies."
His answer made Lauren immediately lose interest.
"That's great," she said. "I better mingle. I'll see you tomorrow night, Piper."
"You will. Is John here tonight?"
"Of course. He's probably in the whiskey lounge. You should stop in and say hello. He'd be happy to see you're getting back into the scene. Have fun."
After Lauren left, Piper gave him a questioning look. "What next? Whiskey Lounge or Billiards?"
"The pool action is closer." He tipped his head toward the open doorway.
"Let's do it."
They moved into the room, which was large enough to hold two tables, and both were being played.
"That's Ethan Cawley," Piper murmured, tipping her head toward the thin, wiry man with the pepper gray hair. "I can try to distract him if you want to look around."
"Good idea," he said, immediately moving away from her. He ordered a drink at the bar, taking a longer look at Cawley, who was fit and tan and looked like a man born to wear a tuxedo and live in a house like this, which, of course, he was. His family had been wealthy for three generations.
He saw the moment that Cawley noticed Piper, the subtle glance he exchanged with the man standing next to him, a younger man he didn't recognize. And then Cawley set down his cue and walked over to her.
"Piper Nolan," Ethan said. "You're as beautiful as ever." He opened his arms to her. Piper stepped forward to give him a hug, but he could see the stiffening of her body. He hated that she had to put herself through any of this, and for a second, he was tempted to grab her and get her out of there. But he had to play this out. Piper was doing her job; he needed to do his.
While she was talking to Cawley, he slipped out of the room and headed down the hall. He'd looked up specs on the house, and he knew the general layout. The study was in the far corner of the first floor, and the master bedroom was on the second floor. First, the study.
Unfortunately, there was a man standing in the hall who appeared to be security, so he made a quick detour toward the stairs.
There was another man stationed at the bottom of the steps. Damn!
He took a wide circle around the staircase and saw a beautiful vase on a side table. He pushed it over, sending it crashing to the ground. Then he ducked out of sight. As the guard went to investigate, he moved back to the now open staircase and jogged up the steps, moving quickly up to the second floor. There was no one around, and most of the doors were closed. He made his way to the master and slipped inside.
He quickly attached a bug to the underside of the nightstand and another in an adjacent sitting room. Then he left, not wanting to push his luck. As he exited the master, he moved down the hallway, seeing a back staircase. There didn't appear to be anyone at the bottom of that stairwell, which was right outside the kitchen.
He got down to the first floor without being noticed and slipped into the kitchen, which was busy and chaotic. He moved through the kitchen, out the patio door, then made his way around the house. He walked back inside, taking a quick moment to plant another bug under the coffee table in the living room. When that was done, he went looking for Piper. She was no longer in the billiard room, although Cawley was back to playing.
He frowned, wishing she would have waited there for him. As he left the room, he passed a waiter and asked him where the whiskey lounge was. He was told it was outside in the greenhouse.
Following directions, he left the house. He found the lounge. No Piper. He thought he recognized John Nicholson, who was surrounded by a group of people hanging on to his every word. But he was more interested in finding Piper than talking to Nicholson.
As he left the lounge, his worry increased. He never should have left Piper alone. He tried to tamp down his anxiety, but it grew with each step.
There were more people now at the party, probably over a hundred. Piper was nowhere to be seen. He tried calling her phone, but she didn't answer, and a terrible fear ran through him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Beck was almost out of ideas when he saw the guesthouse on the edge of the gardens, and he hurried toward it. The front door suddenly opened, and to his surprise and relief Piper came rushing out. She stumbled toward him, a glass in her hand. She looked dazed and unsteady.
He ran toward her. "Piper?"
Her gaze was cloudy when she saw him. "Hey, where have you been?"
He didn't like the slurred words. "Looking for you. What were you doing in there?"
"I—I'm not sure. I was talking to uh…" She couldn't seem to find a way to finish that sentence.
"To who?"
"I don't remember."
"What's wrong with you? Why are you drinking?"
"It's just soda water."
"I don't think so." He took the glass out of her hand, careful not to spill it. Piper's eyes were dilated, and she looked high. He needed to test the drink, but first he had to get her out of there. He put his other arm around her. "Let's go home."
"But we just got here," she protested. "We have things to do."
"Already done. Don't worry."
"Okay good." She let out a sigh. "You're so attractive, Beck. Did I tell you that? God, I feel so dizzy, like the world is spinning. I haven't felt like this since I used to drink. Where did you say we are going?"
"Home. Just keep walking."
"I'm kind of tired. Can I sit down?"
"No, I need to get you out of here." He paused, giving her a little shake. "Piper, look at me."
"I can't stop looking at you," she said. "You're even in my dreams, Beck. How did you get into my dreams?"
"I don't know, but you're in mine, too."
"Am I? I like that."
"Listen, you need to pull it together. We're going to walk out to the car and you're going to stop talking. Okay? You're just going to walk. It's important that we look normal."
"I'm not normal; I've never been normal," she said, shaking her head.
"Well, you will be tonight. It's critical that you do what I say."
"You sound so serious."
He blew out a frustrated breath. "I am serious. Please do what I say."
"Okay, okay. No talking. Just walking," she said.
He walked her shaky body through the shadowy gardens, trying to keep out of the lights. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to see her, to snap a photo of her, to make up another story. Maybe that's what this was all about, getting her drunk, drugged, out of control. Maybe that's why she'd been invited.
Luckily, she had him, and hopefully she hadn't drunk too much.
It seemed to take forever to get back to the front gate. Finally, they made it to the valet. Piper was leaning on him more heavily now. A female guest gave them an odd look, so he pulled Piper closer and gave her a kiss that was probably longer than it needed to be. But when they finally broke apart, the woman had gotten into her vehicle and was driving away.
