Embrace You: Book (Loneliness) (8 page)

"Ewww," I say, wrinkling my nose.

"And use Johanna's reaction," Laslow suggests. "As you begin building up to that, drop little hints here and there into your conversation. Johanna, do just that expression - that wrinkled nose and downturned mouth. Perfect!"

I think about their suggestion. Taking the recommendations each had made, I look at them from all sides. Looking at Marcus, I see he's doing the same thing. I look into his eyes after a few minutes and give him a slight nod.

"Okay, then, that's settled. Here's what I'll do. I'll talk to the barrister and let him know what we've talked about. We'll talk about this 'big reveal' being my 'sudden memories' of going to school with Cara and hinting that I'm going to admit to past communications. If he is okay with it, I'll come back here with that news. And Johanna and I will begin working on an interview we could plausibly have with them," Marcus says.

"Good! You know, I think that, as long as the barrister knows we're not going to totally destroy Cara during an interview, he'll be all right with that," Tim says.

"I think so, too, but I just don't want to end up hauled in front of him for something for which I'd end up behind bars," Marcus says with a shiver. "That's the last thing I would want. I can't stand to be away from my wife and little girl."

At home that night, Marcus and I worked on dinner, then my parents' came over to eat with us. After a lovely meal, Marcus helped my parents' and sister set up security for all their computers. After completing this, we reiterate that we're only going to communicate with them via email.

"Our phones are already deactivated. They can't get anything and, hopefully, everything we've texted is completely off-topic and nothing they'd be interested in," I say.

After my family leaves, we spend a little time working on a probable interview script, then we go to bed...well, after making sweet love to each other, which we really needed after a stressful few days

Marcus and I are sitting in a dingy, out-of-the-way diner as we talk to reporters from two rags - tabloids. They have set small recorders in front of us and I see the spindles rotating slowly as they record everything we say.

"No, I remembered that I did have contact with Cara in secondary school. However, I was in the college group and she was in the vocational, I believe. What I remember, mainly, is that she would send me small smiles. I'd nod my head to her in passing, but that's the extent of it...except..."

I turn my face to Marcus and the corners of my mouth edge down. I see the reporters watching my face very closely, so I carefully maintain that expression as I gaze at my blushing husband.

"And...?" the tall, skinny reporter prompts.

"Well..." Marcus looks at me, almost furtively. "I, um, I decided that I wanted to have some form of communication with her..." His voice falters as he sees my expression darkening.

In agreement with what we had decided earlier, I shudder delicately and say, "Ewww. I don't know how..."

Marcus looks at me and says, "But luv, I just wanted to let her know..."

"Know what?" I ask.

"That...that I'd always found her..."

I
gasp suddenly, waking myself up. As I sit up, Marcus wakes up, too.

"Johanna, what is it?" he asks me quietly.

"I was dreaming about having the interview. You were about to admit that you'd always found her to be pretty," I said, holding my hand over my pounding heart.

"Come here. Lie down. Be calm and try to relax. I can't wait until we have this interview and it's all done and history!" Marcus says as he sighs heavily.

I'm still exhausted from the lack of sleep. I cuddle into Marcus' warm side and try to fall asleep again.

The next day, Linny is sick, so practice is canceled. I work on voice exercises at home so I keep my singing voice healthy. After a couple hours of practice, I take the baby and bundle her up, telling Marcus that we'll be outside, enjoying the sunlight. It's early autumn and she's already ten months old! Still, it's been cold lately and we haven't had very much sunlight. We're playing outside when I hear the sounds of reporters just beyond the tall wall. Swallowing my fear, I grab Lizzie and hightail it back into the house.

"What? What happened?" Marcus asks in alarm. My face obviously gives me away.

I get control of my breathing.

"We were playing just outside and I heard some reporters saying, 'She's outside with the kid! Come on!'"

Marcus smothers a swear word and peeks through the sheers. He runs to the closet in his room and pulls the house phone out and plugs it in.

"Call the police. When you and my daughter can't even enjoy a sunny autumn day..."

I call. Ten minutes later, the tall ladder comes down. The police ring us on our cell phone.

"Hadley residence, Marcus speaking. Yes, officer. If you'll come to the rear gate, I'll let you in."

Inside the house, the responding officers tell us that they've made the reporters leave. Still...my enjoyment of the sunny day is now ruined. After the police leave, we stay inside and make sure the sheers are securely shut.

"I think we should leave just the phone connected for instances like this. I hadn't thought of events like this. No voice message machine. We all need our sleep. I'll turn the ringer off. We're only making outgoing calls, not receiving any calls," Marcus decides. I quickly agree and Marcus plugs back in all the phones.

Our CD is now ready for release! Accordingly, Nigel, our business manager set up big CD release parties in the U.S. and here in the U.K. A press release goes out ahead of the big day, generating publicity and creating buzz so that music lovers would buy our newest release.

We make plans to attend both release parties. Because the criminal trials for both Cara and Melanie are still a few months away, we are safe to travel. We hire a top-notch security firm to patrol inside and outside the wall of our house to keep snoopy reporters out. Before we leave, we give them instruction to call us if they catch anyone trying to get into the property or house. For this, we buy and activate international cell phones.

In the U.S. several event planners have created a huge release party. We are set up to perform a few songs from the new CD. My mum goes with us so she can take care of our healthy little girl. Lizzie hasn't begun to walk, but she is definitely mobile!

The U.S. CD release party is a huge success. Many celebrities, musicians, actors, actresses and film stars are present. We are an international sensation. Everyone who hears us play, love us. Our CD is a big hit, leading to huge sales in music stores and online all throughout the U.S.

We return to the U.K. and rest for a few days before the U.K. CD release party. There we also have major celebrities and sports stars in attendance. Once both CD release parties are over, our business manager reports that our CD is selling very well - we are already in double-platinum numbers and well on our way to triple-platinum numbers! No doubt, we have arrived musically! I am thrilled! This is everything we have been working so hard toward.

Now, we focus on our pending European tour, set to begin right after Christmas, when the baby will be one year old. Because of the continuing insistence of the tabloid reporters, the security stills tries to fend them off, both at our house and at the studio. Now we are so well protected, we are able to focus on the music and taking care of our baby.

Finally, the criminal trials for Cara and Melanie are set to start. They will be held consecutively, so I hope this will speed things up. I don't want Lizzie exposed to the public, so mum and I arrange for her to take care of the baby while I'm in attendance at the trials.

"Johanna, I will watch the baby like a hawk. She'll stay inside unless I know I can safely take her to the yard while you're out." Mum has offered to drive over here to our house in Saint Albans. She will have the protection of the security detail, which patrols 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

On the first day of the trial, Cara's attorney alludes to a possible mental health diagnosis, saying that, because she is mentally ill, she should not be convicted of the crimes for which she is charged. Hearing this, I am forced to school my facial expression. Marcus and I know that, if we show any negative emotion, this will make it into the press. For this reason, I look down at my notepad, scribbling notes. Literally! I am drawing musical notes on my notepad! This will help me to present a positive face while in court, more than anything else could. I feel Marcus nudge my ribs. Looking at him, I see a question in his deep-green eyes.

Do you want to stay?

Yes, Marcus. I want to be here every day. I need to know what's happening so I can protect you and our little girl.

Okay. I'll be here with you, too. I'll work at night and on breaks here in court.

We smile at each other, then face the front of the courtroom.

During the trial, the barrister prosecuting the case presents evidence that shows how Cara worked to track Marcus down. He calls us both to the stand and takes, first, me through my testimony.

I describe how I first spotted Cara and alerted Marcus to her presence.

"What did your husband say about the defendant?"

"He said he didn't remember her."

"At what point was he able to remember her?"

"After we found out that they had attended the same secondary school, he looked through the school's yearbooks. Once he saw her, he vaguely remembered who she was."

"Did he tell you his impression of her?"

"Only that he had no memory of who she was or of anything she did in school. He didn't even remember what she studied."

A few days later, Marcus is on the stand, describing how Cara would find out where we lived at the time, what we drove and what our daily schedule was.

"My wife was dumping our rubbish in the bin outside when she saw Cara across the street, just staring at our flat."

I happen to glance over at Cara. The sight makes me go cold all over and shiver. She's staring vacantly at Marcus with her mouth wide open. Nothing else gets her attention, not even when someone drops a pad on the floor.

"What did you do when she told you she had seen Cara outside?"

"Made sure the sheers were closed and called my dad. We moved to a temporary place that same day. I was not going to expose my family to anything she might be capable of," Marcus says.

I sigh in relief. He had promised not to mention the baby and he stuck to that.

"How did the defendant next track you down?"

"I was at home - in the temporary place - working. My wife had gone to buy food. She walked out of the shop and saw her - the defendant - across the street, just watching our car. She had managed to find out what we drive," Marcus said.

"How did she do that?"

"She waited down the street for us to get into the car, then she would follow us."

"I want to talk about the day your child was almost kidnapped. Would you take us through that day?"

This is where things get really dicey for us. We don't want to mention Lizzie's name, so we have decided we would just say, "baby" or "child."

"I had decided to start driving my wife and our child to the group's practice studio. It is safer that way. We got to the studio and they were practicing. I was set up in a corner with...the baby's play pen set next to my table. My wife had just finished feeding the baby and changing her nappy. Shortly after she put her into her play pen, I got a call from a client who was trying to get more in his tech articles than what we had contracted for. I was trying to explain that he had paid for one package and he wanted the higher priced package - without paying the additional price. Our discussion became heated, so I moved slightly away from the play pen. I didn't want to wake the baby, who had by now, fallen asleep. That's when...she...the defendant moved in. She was waiting just inside, hidden in a small alcove. She saw that my back was to the baby and she moved to the play pen and grabbed her, then ran outside. I heard Johanna scream and saw her run outside. The boys - the band members all ran out with Johanna, behind the defendant. She pushed the baby into the back seat of her car, dropping her blanket. It...it was a cold day that day, so she grabbed the baby's blanket. That's when one of the boys moved in and grabbed the defendant, to keep her from leaving. Laslow, my brother, opened the car from the other side and grabbed the baby and gave her to Johanna. One of us called the police and, from there, the defendant was taken to jail. That's when all of us found out about her friend, Melanie, who had helped her to plan the kidnapping in the first place. Ever since then, we've been just waiting for the trials to begin," Marcus finished.