Finding Forever (43 page)

Brooklyn yawned. And with that she began her daily routine of checking the Hollywood blogs and Twitter on her laptop, where she was greeted by a photo featuring a wide-smiling girl with a buzz cut in a hospital bed flashing two enthusiastic thumbs pointing skyward.

The photo from
STARSTALK
was accompanied by the tweet,
Update: Taylor Prince Still on Mend in Rehab
. No link to a story. No more information. Just a photo.
Smart move.
Whoever was holding Taylor, if indeed they were still keeping her, would invite more questions if they released too much information. But a single image depicting her happy and recovering, her shaven head remaining, could represent a powerful piece of propaganda.

Brooklyn realized that the vast majority of the 7,567,984 followers of
STARSTALK
's Twitter account, including other media members, likely viewed the pic as evidence of yet another pathetic celebrity train wreck who had gone away to a high-priced rehab. Celebrity PR 101 suggested that leaked photos showing the celebrity in a positive light served as a necessary step in the rehabilitation of their image. It was a fundamental step in what had become the Hollywood comeback cliché.

But no one who saw the pic that morning knew what Brooklyn did. They hadn't seen the security footage of Taylor being carried away in that SUV. They hadn't heard the confessions of Pretty Boy Beckett. And they hadn't interviewed her assistant, Simone Witten, and heard her eyewitness account of Taylor's sudden disappearance.

Brooklyn scanned the photo. She could see Taylor's left mid-arm was connected to a clear IV tube, which snaked up to a drip bag, on which was printed in fancy green lettering, “Kensington.”

When
STARSTALK
had broken the story of Taylor allegedly being sent to rehab, it had only identified her as being at an “undisclosed addiction treatment center” in California.

Brooklyn scoured the search engines with keyword combinations. Kensington + IV bags + medical equipment + rehabs . . . Nothing. She even checked online to see if Kensington was among the state's registered addiction treatment centers. Again, nothing.

Bling!
An incoming email alert. She clicked open the new message:

                 
From: Mallory Barrie, Event Publicist

                 
To: Brooklyn Brant

                 
Subject: Media Invite For Red Carpet Event

                 
You have been selected to be among the exclusive list of media invited to cover the red carpet arrivals of the fifth annual Hero Awards Gala tonight at 6 p.m. at the Beverly Hilton. The annual gala, organized by the non-profit Kensington Solutions, recognizes true heroes in the world of media, entertainment, politics, and law enforcement who have made a valuable contribution to promoting values and images that positively impact children and young adults. Celebrity and VIP red carpet arrivals begin at 5:30 p.m. You've also been approved for a one-on-one interview with celebrity attendee Evan Ryan. Please RSVP to reserve your spot on the carpet for this exclusive black-tie event by replying to this email.

VIP AND CELEBRITY ATTENDEES AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS INCLUDE:

EVAN RYAN, Actor

L.A. Police Superintendent HARRY WARD

JONATHAN LIVINGSTON, Supervisor of California State

Prisons and Rehabilitation

L.A. Superior Court JUDGE RONALD OPIN

BLAKE EDWARD, Starlight Movie Studios CEO

L.A. Mayor LUIS SUAREZ

EMILY LAMONT,
STARSTALK
Executive Editor

Brooklyn often received invitations to cover red carpets, which she almost always declined. Reporters rarely broke news through fluffy, publicist-managed red carpet interviews. But this event could be different. Not because of the presence of cops and politicians and wealthy donors, but due to the presence of one celebrity, Evan Ryan.

Earlier in the year, the actor had been rumored to be dating Taylor Prince. He had also reportedly gone to rehab. Other sources close to Taylor so far hadn't delivered a newsbreak. Beckett had gone off the grid for almost a week. Taylor's manager, publicist, and agent—all of whom had fed Brooklyn anonymous tips and information over the years—no longer returned her emails and calls. Simone had passed along Evan Ryan's email and cell that first day she and Brooklyn had met. But Evan had never returned her repeated, pestering reach-outs.

                 
To: Mallory Barrie

                 
From: Brooklyn Brant

                 
Re: Media Invite For Red Carpet Event

                 
Thank you for the invitation. I would love to cover the event, and would like to schedule a one-on-one interview with Evan Ryan. Please let me know if we are confirmed for tonight.

Then Brooklyn texted Holden.

                      
covering my FIRST red carpet event tonight.

                      
Might get Evan Ryan. Need an ‘assistant.'

                      
Wanna join?

Brooklyn felt a strong urge to commence the Fourmation. But this moment, this vital point in her pursuit of what could be the biggest story of her journalism career, required even more drastic measures.

She grabbed her Bible from the nightstand, where passages she had interpreted with the mention of fours were lined over
with a pink highlighter. Then she closed her eyes as if spinning a roulette wheel, and opened to a random page.

No pink section.

She closed the Bible, and again her eyes, before opening it again. This time she landed on one of her Fourmation favorites, Psalm 107. Brooklyn had identified the chapter as the only one in the Bible that contained the exact same phrase four times.

She read aloud the line each of the times it appeared in verse:

Verse 8:
“Let them praise the
L
ORD
for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.”

Verse 15:
“Let them praise the
L
ORD
for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.”

Verse 21:
“Let them praise the
L
ORD
for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.”

Verse 31:
“Let them praise the
L
ORD
for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.”

Brooklyn didn't care what others might have called her ritual. She only cared that during her seventeenth recitation of the line, her laptop alerted her to a new email message—the publicist confirming a one-on-one with Evan Ryan at 5 p.m. later that day. And she felt a sense of purpose and direction and grace that Father McGavin might call “the Holy Spirit.”