Betrayal

Jim asked for a glass of water instead, and they walked into her kitchen, which was state-of-the-art, with every piece of fancy culinary equipment imaginable. Everything was done in black granite, even the kitchen table.

“This really is quite a house,” he said in awe, and she beamed. “You must love it here.” He looked envious, which thrilled her and flattered her ego.

“I do. I work hard, and it’s a joy to come home at the end of a day or a trip. Especially if we’re in a hut somewhere in Africa while we shoot, with snakes all over the place.”

“You must be happy to be back from Palm Springs,” Jim commented, taking the glass of water from her.

“Yes, I am. ‘There’s no place like home!’ ” she quoted from The Wizard of Oz.

They went back into the living room again then and sat down.

“So tell me,” Jim said with a sigh, nursing his glass of water in the Baccarat glass she had handed him. “I gather Hunter Lloyd was taking Ms. Jones’s money from you.”

“Yes, he was,” Brigitte said with a disapproving look. “I was very upset about it, and I should have told her, but I was afraid to screw up their romance if I exposed him.” Jim nodded as though he understood completely and admired her for her silence.

“I gather he had a romance with you too,” Jim said, and Brigitte looked as though she were about to fall off the couch.

“Not really,” she said, recovering quickly, “not at all. What we had was a blackmail situation. He got me drunk one night, and I ended up in bed with him, he forced me to have sex with him, and from then on he blackmailed me, and said that if I didn’t continue sleeping with him, he’d tell Tallie we had an affair. I did it to save our friendship and my job.”

“That’s a nasty position to be in,” he said sympathetically. “It must have been rough for you.”

“It was.”

“How long did that go on?”

“Three years,” she said with a martyred look.

“Why did it stop?”

“He got involved with someone else.”

“That must have been a relief for you,” Jim said, and took another sip of water as Brigitte watched him.

“It was. Does Tallie know about this?” Brigitte tried to look relaxed as she asked. “I never told her.”

“No,” he said conspiratorially, “I got it from another source, but I assumed I could discuss it with you.”

“Of course. Actually, it’s a relief not to have to keep it a secret. I would never tell Tallie, though. I think it would break her heart.”

“It probably would. She seems pretty upset about the other girl, the one he left her for, Angela Morissey, the one who’s pregnant.”

“It was a rotten thing for him to do to Tallie.”

“Do you know who told her?”

“I did. I thought she should know. It came out when she asked about the money. I finally had to tell her about that too. Hunt got away with it for four years. And she’s such a good person, she doesn’t deserve it,” Brigitte said with her bright blue eyes. “We’ve been friends now for seventeen years, ever since we went to film school together.”

“I think she started out as an actress, didn’t she?” Jim asked with interest. He looked fascinated by every word she said. And as always, Jack sat in a chair nearby, looking bored and half asleep, but he was listening too.

“Yes, she was in a big movie, as a supporting actress. She was very good. She hated it, though. All she ever wanted to do was direct after that. She had some offers, but acting was never her thing. She made an indie movie and the rest is history.”

“What about you?” Jim asked, and Brigitte laughed, showing rows of perfect white teeth. She had a fabulous smile, and he had to admit she was pretty enough to be an actress; she just wasn’t quite as distinctive looking as her boss. “Were you ever in movies? You should have been.”

“A few minor ones. I kind of went to film school for fun. I was never really interested in making movies, like Tallie. I did some modeling when I was in college, and then I helped Tallie make her first movie, and I had more fun working with her after that. I never had the kind of drive about it that she did.” She implied without saying it that she didn’t need to. “And let’s face it,” she said modestly, “I don’t have her talent.” At least she gave her that, Jim thought. “She’s going to be one of the legendary filmmakers of our time. I’m sure she’s going to win an Oscar one of these days. She deserves it. And she doesn’t need Hunt to make her career. She’s done it all on her own.” Brigitte sounded proud of her longtime friend, and they exchanged a smile.

“What do you think Hunt did with her money that he was taking from you?” He went back to that again, and Brigitte shrugged.

“I have no idea, spend it on other women, maybe.”

“He doesn’t seem to need the money,” Jim said practically.

“Who knows? That’s like all the Beverly Hills housewives who get arrested for shoplifting. Some people just get a thrill out of stealing other people’s stuff.”

“Did he ever give you anything, expensive gifts when you were involved with him?”

“We weren’t involved,” Brigitte corrected him. “I was being blackmailed.”

“Well, did he ever give you anything?”

She shrugged again. “Some nice dinners, a couple of weekends at good hotels. We went to Hawaii once, and to New York a couple of times, when Tallie was on location without me.” Jim didn’t comment.

“Was he generous with Tallie… Ms. Jones…?”

“He paid some of the bills, maid, utilities, groceries, a few things they bought for the house together.”

“And then he’d steal her money to pay for it? What a sleazy trick,” Jim said innocently, and Brigitte didn’t comment. She had said enough. “Did she ever cheat on him?”

“Not that I know of. She’s not that kind of woman. She’s really a very quiet person, and a straight shooter.” In contrast to her assistant, Jim wanted to add but didn’t. He didn’t like this woman, but nothing he was thinking about her showed. He had led her down the garden path very nicely, to all the places he had wanted to visit along the way. She was reveling in the attention, and what appeared to be their common interests and shared points of view about life. Jim had made interrogation an art.

“Can you think of anyone else who might be taking cash from Tallie?” Jim asked with a thoughtful look.

“Victor Carson maybe. He’s kind of a fusty old guy, and he has an expensive-looking younger wife.”

“Yeah, that’ll do it.” Jim laughed at her comment. “We’ve already spoken to him and Hunter Lloyd.” She looked surprised when he said that, and then he flattered her, and she looked pleased. He implied that he was flirting with her, and she clearly liked that too. “We saved the best for last.”

“It all stopped anyway when he left, didn’t it?” she asked with a flirtatious smile.

“It appears that way. But if it’s someone else doing it, or several people, it’ll start up again. Be sure to let us know if that happens. Right away.”

“Absolutely. I had no idea he was taking as much as he did. He took it in relatively small amounts, and it slipped right through my fingers. I never really kept track.”

“And Ms. Jones never pays her own bills or checks her accounts?”

“She doesn’t have time, especially when she’s on location, or even in town.”

“She doesn’t sign her own checks, does she?”

“No, she doesn’t,” Brigitte said primly.

“Does she ever look at her bank statements?”

“She never has. That’s why she has me. I keep it all in good order, and then send it all to Victor Carson.”

“That’s a lot for you to keep track of too,” Jim said sympathetically.

“I love doing whatever I can to help her. We’ve had a wonderful time together for all these years.”

“She told me how much she counts on you. She said she has complete and total faith in you,” he assured Brigitte, and she looked pleased. “She’s lucky to have you,” he complimented her again.

“I’m just as lucky to have her,” Brigitte said as Jim stood up, and Jack appeared to wake up and followed them from the living room back to the main hallway.

“Thanks for the tour of the house,” he said warmly. “It really was a treat. Great house you have here, and you’ve done a terrific job. You can always become a decorator if the director’s assistant market dries up,” he said with a warm smile.