“Kristen Montgomery, who’s a college student up North. Dallas has done a good job of keeping her away from her job and out of the limelight.”
“How did you find all this?”
Cain told her about Nathan and how he’d helped Dallas with the identity she’d used to build her new life. “If you couldn’t find her, then I figured there were only a few ways she could’ve managed an identity that’s stood up this long. I started with the best and lucked out.”
“How’d she afford that?” Remi asked, sounding as if the answer was something she needed to hear but dreaded at the same time. “Something like that isn’t cheap.”
“You have to meet Nathan Mosley. He made a deal with her, and she kept her end of the bargain. Otherwise he would have sold her out. The new identity holds up only if Nathan keeps a client’s secret.”
“What’s going to stop him now?”
Cain laughed as she headed to the bar. “My reputation is good for something, and Nathan seems to genuinely like her.”
“After you get to know Dallas you’ll understand why,” Remi said. She accepted the glass Cain handed her. “And I imagine what you’ve told me so far is just the fluff of this story.”
“You should’ve asked yourself how a girl you can’t find ended up on the screen. Where’d she get her start?” Cain raised her glass and encouraged Remi to take a drink. “Nathan didn’t know the whole story, but he knew enough to give me a place to start. Sweet China was the name she used in a short stint in the porn industry.”
“What?” Remi screamed.
“Think about the position she was in, and imagine what drove her to have to do that. She took what she learned in that life and created one she could live out with a lot more dignity. What’s wrong with that?”
“I’m not knocking her, but why in the hell did she think she needed to hide that? These days, she probably could’ve gotten bigger roles if people
Remi’s rage was hard to miss, and Cain gave her a few minutes to calm down. “While I can see where she wouldn’t be proud of that period of her life, I think she needed Nathan for another reason. To find that answer we need to go back a little further. This had to have begun in Sparta.”
“Where in the hell does Bob fit into all of this?”
“From what Nathan told me, he was there from the beginning, but only Dallas can tell us what that beginning was. I assume Bob knows every secret she wanted to bury. But I don’t think he knows about Dallas’s sister.” The cigar Remi had been holding was now in two pieces on the floor. “And we’re going to work together to make sure it stays that way.”
“How do we discover the rest?” Remi asked, pressing her fingers to the sides of her head.
“I’m going to have Muriel locate someone I can talk to.”
“If you do, this will be in the tabloids by tomorrow afternoon.”
Cain shook her head, pulled out a twenty, and handed it to Remi. “There’s more than one way to keep someone quiet.” She held up the bill.
“You can offer money to anyone, but if the story’s good enough, someone’s offer will be that much better.”
“Remi, if I give you this bill and tell you something, you probably wouldn’t tell anyone if I ask you not to, right?”
“You know it.”
“But how could I guarantee that you wouldn’t, legally, that is?”
“If I’m your attorney you could give me the money as a retainer,” Remi said, shaking her head and laughing.
“Don’t worry. I hit you with a lot tonight, and eventually you’d have figured that one out on your own. I’m going to hire a local attorney to do the digging for me. If the attorney-client privilege doesn’t convince him to keep quiet, my threat to rip out his tongue with a fingernail clipper might do the trick.”
Remi stood up and held out her hand. “Thanks, I owe you.”
“You owe me nothing.” Cain shook her hand and started for the door. “Does this change how you feel about her?”
“Not in the way you think. I’ve held back because I was wary of her, but now she’s exactly what I hoped she’d be. If I’m lucky she needs me in her life just a little.”
“I saw how she kept her eyes on you all through dinner. You don’t have a thing to worry about.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Remi passed the door of Dallas’s room and paused before continuing to her favorite spot in the penthouse. With the lights off inside, the traffic on the river was easy to see, as was the skyline of the downtown area and the aquarium. Here, twenty floors up, she couldn’t hear any noise from the Natchez Steamboat’s organ or from the tourists milling around having a good time. The quiet in the midst of all the commotion let her think.
Since they’d gotten back from Cain and Emma’s, Dallas had said little as she walked around and peered at the view. She seemed tired and withdrawn and hadn’t wanted to talk after the conversation they’d had when they got home, so Remi had walked her to her room and told her good night. The one thing Dallas had accepted before Remi closed the door was a kiss and a long hug.
To get Dallas to trust her, Remi had done something highly unusual for her. She’d given Dallas a clear picture of who she was, and hadn’t hidden behind innuendo or conjecture. If Dallas chose she could use the truth Remi had
