Blind Love (27 page)

Tony gave her a quick hug and escaped with Morgan.

The man with the camera stayed.

Fawn wore Rachel’s black miniskirt and a tight, cropped shirt, which wouldn’t have been so bad if she hadn’t also put on high heeled sandals and a ton of makeup and then teased her hair so big. Who in their right mind wore high heels to walk up and down those hills? Catherine wore her yellow sundress and comfortable sandals, something easy to walk in.

She’d brought four hundred in cash with her. That should be enough for her and Jenny and DeeNae to buy a few little souvenirs to take home. But when she looked in her purse, the cash was gone. So were her credit cards and checkbook. Shock turned to rage. To hell with the show. She wasn’t putting up with this. If Fawn was stealing from her and taking Rachel’s clothes, what else had she taken?

While Fawn was still in the bathroom painting her face, Catherine ducked into the next suite and pushed the button on the intercom marked SECURITY. She asked them to bring Henry and Tony.

Two minutes later, a security guard said, “We were told all your people had been investigated.”

“I thought they were,” said Henry.

“Mitzi said they were, but I’m beginning to wonder,” said Catherine. “Fawn was added last, and I’m sure she’s the one responsible. She’s taken most of Rachel’s clothes, and I don’t know what else.”

“I saw her in Rachel’s bathing suit this morning,” said Tony. “I decided then to send her home tonight.”

“In that case, we’ll leave our purses here today. Tony can pay for our purchases, and when Fawn leaves the estate tonight, the police can search her bags. Don’t touch anything until she leaves. We don’t want to tip her off, and no one else has to know what’s going on. The police can have her after the filming tonight.”

“That works for me,” said Henry. He reached in his pocket and gave Tony several bills.

Tony folded the bills and stuffed them in his pocket. “You want receipts?”

“I want you to take care of my girl.”

Tony gazed into Catherine’s eyes until she felt like melting into a little puddle on the floor. “I intend to,” he said softly.

The last woman left in an ambulance. The next one would leave in handcuffs.

Catherine returned to her suite, where Jenny and Fawn were still in the bathroom, making themselves beautiful.

DeeNae grabbed her purse. “I’ll see you downstairs. I can’t stand to be around those two a minute longer.”

Catherine didn’t say anything to DeeNae about leaving her purse in the room. Henry could handle this one. She left her purse in plain sight in the room, touched up her lipstick and ran a comb through her hair, and walked downstairs. DeeNae was on her way up.

“I forgot my purse,” said Catherine.

“We’re ‘sposed to leave ‘em here today. Wait for me.”

DeeNae seemed to have formed an alliance with Catherine, probably because they both hated Fawn and were sick of Jenny and Fawn fighting all the time. Whatever the reason, it was all right with Catherine. Fawn would be gone tonight, and the bickering would stop.
Maybe.
She had a feeling the sweet little Southern girl could get nasty if pushed. At that moment, Catherine wasn’t so sure about Jenny.

They piled in the waiting limo, the girls jockeying for space beside Tony. Catherine sat in the corner and stared quietly out the window while DeeNae, her accent deeper and softer than ever, turned on the charm and captured all Tony’s attention. The miniskirt Fawn wore was too tight and kept riding up. Spandex would only stretch so far. Jenny glanced at Catherine and rolled her eyes.

Catherine sighed. This was going to be a long day.

<>

The limo dropped them off in downtown San Francisco. Tony’s ears were already burning from the incessant chattering. DeeNae had a pleasant voice, but she never shut up. Jenny was pouting about something, Catherine had shut herself off from the others, and then there was Fawn and her high-class hooker outfit. He didn’t even want to be seen with her.

“Looks like we missed the cable car,” said Catherine. “Why don’t we shop until the next one comes along?”

DeeNae clung to Tony’s arm. “Have you been here before?”

“Sure, with my cousin. He and his wife have a house about an hour from here.”

“I’d love to meet them, Tony.”

Tony gently extracted his arm and walked over to Catherine, who was window shopping at a jewelry store. She pointed to a jade necklace and whispered, “For your mother?”

“We’ll get two. One for Megan.”

The smile she gave him shut out DeeNae’s chatter and Fawn’s complaining. He dropped a quick kiss on her mouth and walked inside to buy three. One for Catherine. He liked a woman who knew what she wanted, and this one did. She wanted hotels and kids. And
him
. She wasn’t here just to fill in for someone. She wanted him.

What would she do if he chose Jenny?

Three of the women followed him inside and oohed and aahed over the jewelry in the display cases. Catherine waited outside. “Tony, the cable car is coming,” she called.

The man behind the counter handed him his package and change, and Tony practically tripped over Fawn. She had deliberately blocked him from leaving.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

“Why don’t we let them go on without us?”

The little Chinese man behind the counter said, “You no hook in here. Go down street.”

Fawn’s face darkened with rage and a stream of vulgarity spewed from her mouth, worse than anything Tony had heard on any construction site, and he’d heard nearly everything on construction sites.

He put his face in hers. “If I ever hear you talk like that again, I’ll leave
you
behind.” Fawn’s jaw clenched and her lips pressed together into a tight little line. She was clearly angry, and he didn’t care. She’d dressed like a hooker and worn enough perfume to make his head ache. What did she expect people to think? Tonight wouldn’t come too soon for him. Catherine was right about Fawn. He should have eliminated her way back when.

By the time the cable car turned around at the bottom of the hill and came back, Fawn had composed herself. DeeNae jumped on first, and then Jenny and Fawn. Catherine grabbed the pole and took one step up, and Fawn dug the heel of her shoe into the top of Catherine’s foot. Catherine screamed and fell back against Tony, who was getting on beside her. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her on with him. Her foot was bleeding and he could see the pain in her eyes.

“Oops, sorry, Catherine.” Fawn didn’t look or sound sorry, and Tony was livid. Fawn had deliberately hurt Catherine, probably because she was angry with him. He knew she’d been stealing, and he knew she didn’t like Catherine, but he never suspected she’d physically attack her.

He had to get Catherine to a doctor.

The cops could deal with Fawn.

At the next stop, Tony jumped off and scooped Catherine into his arms. The others followed them off the cable car, and the director immediately phoned for the limo to pick them up. A minute later, the limo pulled up.

Tony said, “I hate to ruin your day, so you stay and enjoy yourselves. I’ll get Catherine to a doctor.”

The director shook his head as if he couldn’t believe they’d lose the San Francisco scenes, and Catherine knew she had to do something to save the show. “No, Tony. You go with Jenny and DeeNae and have a good time. Fawn will come with me.” She stared at Fawn. “Won’t you, Fawn?”

Before Fawn could respond, Tony said, “Thanks, Fawn. I know you didn’t mean to hurt her.”

“Of course not. It was an accident.”

Like hell.
The bitch did it on purpose.

Catherine slid into the limo and scooted as far away from Fawn as she could get. Tony put his face in Fawn’s. “If you so much as look at her funny, you’ll spend the rest of your life regretting it. Do you understand me?”

Fawn clenched her jaw and sat in the limo. Catherine lifted her palm to Tony, and he lifted his back. DeeNae and Jenny called, “See you later,” and the director closed the door. Catherine blinked back tears. So far this had been a shitty day, and it didn’t look like it would get any better. Tony was spending the day with her competition, and she’d spend the day in a hospital waiting room with the bimbo bitch from hell. Catherine’s foot throbbed with pain.

If Fawn touched her again, she’d have a fight on her hands, because Catherine wasn’t about to let that bitch hurt her again.

The limo driver sped to the emergency room of the nearest hospital, where Catherine’s foot was x-rayed, the wound cleaned and treated, and she was given a bag of ice and a pair of crutches.

Without a purse, checkbook, cash, or credit card, Catherine had no way to pay the bill. She didn’t even have any ID with her. The limo driver, a man who worked for the Andrews Estate, made a phone call and then spoke with the woman behind the desk. Later, he told Catherine that Henry had taken care of the bill.

Two hours after the incident, Catherine and Fawn were back in the limo with Tony, DeeNae, Jenny, two cameramen, and the director. Henry had ordered the day’s shooting cut short, so Catherine could come back and rest her foot. She knew everyone was disappointed, but nobody blamed her.

Tony pulled Catherine on his lap and she stretched her injured foot out on the seat. “Is it broken?” he asked.

“Just mangled. The doctor said to keep it elevated and stay off it for at least a week.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.” DeeNae launched into a description of her aunt’s problems with gout.

“Good thing you’re going home tonight,” said Fawn.

Catherine glared at her. “I should have had you arrested for assault.”

Tony held up his hand and everyone shut up.

Even DeeNae.

Back at the estate, Catherine took a pain pill and sat in the sitting room, with her foot propped on the ottoman. Fawn said, “It’s a good thing you’re already packed, because you’re leaving tonight.”

Catherine glared at her, and Jenny and DeeNae refused to speak with her. They all watched her dig through Rachel’s clothes, looking for the right dress to wear tonight. Rachel’s clothes were a size too small for her, but Fawn didn’t seem to care.

She’d care tonight, when the cops took her out of here in handcuffs.

<>

That evening, Mr. Pettibone brought a wheelchair for Catherine, and she rode the elevator downstairs. Before the camera was turned on, Jenny and DeeNae helped her down the steps to stand beside the fountain. Her foot throbbed, but she didn’t want to stand in front of the camera leaning on crutches.

Tony walked out and stood before them. His smile was gone, and his jaw clenched in anger. Catherine knew Tony well enough to know that he blamed himself for not protecting her, but he couldn’t have predicted what Fawn would do.

Tony looked into the camera. “What should have been a wonderful day in San Francisco turned into a disaster when Fawn stepped on Catherine’s foot. Before the accident, Catherine bought a gift for her mother and one for my mother. Later that day, DeeNae bought some beautiful fabric from China, and Jenny bought toys for her daughter.”

He didn’t have much to say about Fawn, but Catherine knew that was coming. If the bimbo bitch from hell thought she could chase everyone else off and keep Tony for herself, she had more serious problems than Rachel. Tony would never put up with the things Fawn had done today.

“Tonight, I’m sending another one of you home.” Tony looked at each girl and stopped on Fawn. She froze and stared at Tony.

“Fawn,” he said. She stood there looking stunned, and then she walked down the steps and over to Tony.

With all the other women he’d sent away, he’d taken their hands and kissed or hugged them, but he didn’t touch Fawn. He’d seen what Fawn was really like today.

Fawn moved closer and put her hand on his chest. “No, Tony, you don’t want to do this.”

“Yes, I do.”

“But I thought we had something going.”

“I thought so, too, but your behavior today ended it for me. Goodbye, Fawn.”

As Fawn walked away, the pain in Catherine’s foot became too much to bear. She sat on the step behind her. Jenny and DeeNae helped her up and Tony carried her up the steps to the main floor, where Mr. Pettibone stood waiting with a wheelchair.

And the cameras captured it all.

<>

Fawn was so angry, she practically ran down the path. She wanted to go upstairs, get her things, and get the hell away from this place. Catherine Timmons was responsible for this, and she would pay.

Two men in uniform, one on each side of the path, stepped out of the darkness toward her, and she froze. “Fawn Daley, you’re under arrest,” one of them said. The other officer pulled her hands behind her and cuffed them, while the first one read her rights.

She’d told Mitzi her name was Fawn Bailey, but the cops knew her real name. She was in deep trouble, especially if the cops searched her car and her purse and her bags.