Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star (61 page)

She trembled with fear, not knowing what she was going to do. She needed a lawyer, that much was clear, but the only attorneys she knew were her uncle and the lawyer for LBS. She didn’t even know if she could afford a lawyer. Then she remembered with a pathetic chuckle what the police at the airport had recited to her: “if you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided to you.” Elizabeth felt tears pricking her eyes and she bit her lip hard, trying to keep control.

A bored-looking officer calling her name interrupted her thoughts. She followed the woman to another room where she was photographed and fingerprinted.

***

As the elevator doors shut, Charles drew his love into his arms. He needed the reassurance of her touch as much as she needed his. Gently he lifted her chin up and softly kissed her, savoring the taste and feeling of the one he loved best.

“It’s going to get wild for a little while, baby. Are you going to be okay?” He looked at her carefully, studying her and measuring her distress.

“Charles.” Her voice was weak and frantic.

“I know, I know, angel.” He soothed her as he rested his large hands on either side of her head, his thumbs rubbing her cheeks. “I know. And I’m going to do everything I can to get her back. Try not to worry.”

Jane responded to the strength and authority in his voice. Instinctively she trusted him to know what to do. She nodded, pulling herself together.

“I’m going to be busy, but if you start to lose it or need me to hold you, tell me. Don’t wait. I’m going to be there for you.”

Jane nodded again, even managing a weak smile. Charles made her feel infinitely better. She now had someone to trust and something to hope for. As Charles released her with a final kiss, she watched him turn toward the doors and square his shoulders, preparing for the emergency waiting for them. She couldn’t help but smile to herself, knowing with sudden clarity that this was the man she would spend the rest of her life with and that she had made the right choice.

As the doors opened, the first thing Charles saw was Tommy. He was waiting at the end of the gallery, clearly functioning as gatekeeper, providing security as he always did. Charles nodded and was informed that Alex was in the kitchen and the rest were in the living room.

Charles nodded his thanks and stepped forward, Jane’s hand in his own.

Alex was talking on his cell as they passed by the bar, and Charles gave him a nod and moved on. In the main room, he found Caro and Rebecca both on their phones while Rachel sat at the table next to Darcy, pale and staring into oblivion. Faust was standing by the kitchen entrance, watching and ready to help where needed.

Charles caught Caroline’s eye and gave her a nod. She returned it while speaking into the phone. Jane let go of Charles’s hand, sitting down on Darcy’s other side, and gave him a hug. Darcy’s awareness seemed to return and he hugged Jane back, exchanging a few low words with her.

“I found her,” Rebecca announced as she hung up the phone. The room stilled and Alex appeared. “She’s been turned over to NYPD and they have her at the 114th in Queens.” Rebecca seemed pleased with her discovery until she noticed the look of distress on the others, and her mood sobered.

Caroline relayed the information to whoever she was talking to and hung up. “We’re in luck. Linda was nearby for a seminar or something. She’s on her way here.”

“Do we know what she was arrested for?”

“They found 500 grams of cocaine in her bag,” Rebecca announced in a professionally indifferent tone. “A dog sniffed it and Elizabeth probably never thought to refuse the search because she thought she was clean.” She shrugged. “Actually, that may help her case. She doesn’t have any previous convictions, does she?”

Jane shook her head no.

“That’ll help too.”

Darcy went even paler at her words.

The shrill of Darcy’s phone shattered the silence. He answered it quickly, exclaiming, “Lizzy!” when he recognized the voice at the other end.

“Will,” Elizabeth said in a calm yet brittle voice. “I need help.”

“Are you okay?”

“They found drugs in my bag. I have no idea how they got there. It’s a mistake. I’m so scared.”

Darcy’s heart was breaking at the terror in her voice. “I know, love. We think George planted them on you. Listen, the best lawyer I know is going to be there soon. Her name is Linda St. Andrews. She’s going to help you.” His voice ran down. “I love you, Elizabeth.”

“What’s going to happen?”

“We’re going to get you out, Lizzy. You’re going to be released and you’ll be all right.” Neither of them was convinced by his words.

“Oh God, Will,” she whispered.

“Lizzy, listen to me. You have to be tough. I’m going to get you out of there. No matter what I have to do. Do you understand?”

“Okay, I’ll be tough.” Her voice sounded more like her usual self. “But please hurry.”

“I will. I love you!”

There was a pause, and then Elizabeth said, “I have to go. Bye.”

“Bye.” He turned to see Richard watching him. He had clearly just arrived with Charlotte.

“Lizzy?”

Darcy nodded.

“Is she okay?”

Darcy nodded once, then shrugged and turned away.

Charlotte passed by her brother, touching his arm supportively, and placed her flower in the refrigerator. She noticed the bouquet of roses intended for Elizabeth lying forgotten on the counter and began unwrapping them. Silently Richard joined her, reached into a cabinet, and brought down a crystal vase.

“That’s lovely,” she said softly.

Richard gave her a slight smile as he put some water in it. “Aunt Anne always had great taste.”

Charlotte smiled gently back to him and began arranging the roses. She longed to do something more, but recognized that she couldn’t and was grateful she could occupy herself with this simple task.

The elevator rumbled and opened and a woman entered the loft, talking on a phone. She was tall and slender, in her midthirties, with blonde hair that was wrapped in a neat twist at the back of her head. She was the top criminal attorney in the law firm that handled De Bourgh Records and had a long history with Slurry. She hung up as she reached the living room and walked right into Darcy’s arms.

“Damn, Will. What happened to you? You look horrible,” she commented after releasing him.

“Linda, thanks for coming.” His eyes were haunted. “You have to help her.”

Linda nodded. “I’ve been talking to my friends downtown; I’m on it. The deputy DA who’s been assigned is a good guy. It’ll be okay.” She smiled and looked around. “Charles, could you introduce me to the people I don’t know?”

Charles quickly took care of the introductions. Linda nodded to LBS, making a silent observation on the pairing-up that was going on. “It’s nice to meet you all.” She walked Darcy to the table and pulled out a chair. “Now, I want you to sit down and tell me what you know.”

Darcy settled into a chair, with Charles joining him. Linda sat across from them and crossed her legs, waiting.

“It was Wickham,” Darcy said without preamble.

Linda’s face changed in a flash. “That asshole?! How the hell did he get involved? I thought it was part of your contract that he got nowhere near you?”

“Lizzy is a part of Long Borne Suffering, the warm-up band on our tour. The Wickham rule doesn’t apply to them,” Charles explained quietly.

“What happened?”

“Wickham was hired to direct LBS’s video.”

“And why don’t I believe that was a coincidence?” Linda interrupted “Oh, wait, I know! It’s because he’s a scumbag who would do anything he could to screw you over.”

Charles hid the smile he couldn’t repress behind his hand. “We suspect Wickham learned about Lizzy and Will’s relationship, but that’s just a guess based on what he told us.”

“Go on.”

“LBS flew down to Tampa yesterday to shoot a video. Everything was fine until today, when Elizabeth was stopped at the airport, searched, and found with drugs.”

“Help me out here; is there any chance the drugs were hers?”

Darcy’s eyes narrowed as Charles answered, “None at all. She’s clean.”

“And Wickham?”

“Wickham was on the flight back to New York with them.”

“He rode with Lizzy to the airport as well,” Jane volunteered.

“Why was she in the same car as him?” Darcy hissed.

“Winnie was there as well,” Jane answered softly.

Linda continued. “Now, we know that Wickham was in the car and on the flight with Lizzy. Do we have any other reason to suspect him?

“He said some pretty provocative things at the airport,” Richard answered.

Linda was making notes on a legal pad. “What kind of comments, how provocative?”

Richard shrugged. “Enough that I punched him in the jaw.”

Linda looked up and held out her palm to Richard, who slapped it. “Wish I was there.”

“He said she would be going to prison,” Darcy said quietly.

Linda looked at Darcy and lifted her eyebrows. “Well, that’s pretty telling, isn’t it?”

“Wickham was searched but he was clean.”

“Sadly, he’s not that stupid. If he was, my job would be a lot easier.” Linda looked at her notes. “Okay, I think I have enough. I’m going to go over there now.”

“I’m going with you,” Darcy announced firmly.

Linda looked at Caroline, then Charles.

“No, Darcy. You can’t do that,” said Caroline.

“Why not?”

“Because, they won’t let you. She only gets to see her lawyer, and besides, Will, right now this is nothing. It’s probably not even going to be picked up by the press. But if you go, it’s going to be news. Big news.”

“Charles is right,” Linda added. “Write her a letter, and I’ll slip it to her.”

Darcy looked from Linda to Charles. Charles nodded and, frowning, Darcy walked to his library.

“Okay,” Linda said, turning to Charles, “who is she to him?”

Charles smiled. “She’s the love of his life. Can’t you tell?”

Linda sighed. “She must be to make him act like this.”

“I better check on him,” Charles said as he followed Darcy into the library.

Darcy sat at a desk, staring into space, a blank sheet of paper in front of him. “I don’t know what to write. What do you say in a situation like this? I want to apologize and beg her forgiveness, but…” He sighed, disgusted with himself.

“Don’t beg for her forgiveness.”

Darcy ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “You’re right.”

“Good. Now, write this down.”

Dearest Elizabeth,

I wish I could be there with you, but I can’t. This note is all I can do. Linda is the best lawyer I know. I trust her completely and you can trust her too. I will not rest until you are back here, safe in my arms. Please be brave, and know that I’m with you in my heart.

All my love,

Fitzwilliam

Darcy handed the note to Charles, who read it, sealed it in an envelope, and gave it to Linda, who was waiting in the living room. He then returned to Darcy and shut the living room door.

“Will, let me help. I know what you’re feeling.”

Darcy looked at him in disbelief. “How? How can you know?”

“Because I’ve been there. Remember? My dad? I went through all of this. You’re feeling angry, terrified, guilty, and helpless.”

Darcy looked down at his desk and his hands began trembling. “She trusted me, Charles. She trusted me, and I let that monster destroy her.” His voice was a harsh whisper. “I’m so afraid. She’s in jail, all alone. I would give anything for her to be here, and safe. What if, what if she’s…”

Charles could see what Darcy was so afraid of that he couldn’t even say it. Charles put his hand on Darcy’s shoulder. “I know. It’s hard. Get it out. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I’m afraid that she’ll be convicted, that she’s going to prison. What if Wickham is right? What if she does go to jail and it changes her? What if she blames me?”

Charles nodded. “Those are all reasonable fears and I don’t blame you for being terrified. It sounds like you are afraid of losing her as well.”

“I am going to lose her,” he said in a dead voice. “I can’t expect her to forgive me for this. It’s just like before. I just got a chance to love her, and she’s being ripped away.”

“Do me a favor. Try to reverse the situations. Imagine that an old enemy of hers framed you. Would you hate her? Would you even blame her?”

Darcy looked at Charles incredulously. “Never. I love her. I will always love her.”

“There’s your answer, Will. If I know Lizzy, she probably just wants to get back to you, not to hate you.”

Darcy put his head in his hands and thought. “All right.”

“Are you going to deal? ’Cause Elizabeth needs your help.”

Darcy nodded. “I don’t know how I’m going to cope if she’s not released.”