Nashville Nights (8 page)

“Thank you so much,” Faith said. Her voice sounded tired. She gave Aly and AJ a sad smile. “Sorry we didn't get to go shopping.”

“Don't even worry about it,” Aly said. “You're safe and Parker's in custody. That's the main thing.”

“Just go home and get some rest,” AJ said. “I know that's what we're going to do.”

Faith and Hope squeezed the sisters in big hugs. “You two are like our guardian angels, honest,” Hope said. “I don't know what we'd have done without you.”

“We'll see you on Friday morning,” Aly said. “Call us if you need us, okay?”

Faith and Hope nodded. Aly and AJ walked outside to find Jim waiting for them.

“I have strict orders from your mom to bring you back to the hotel,” he said.

Aly and AJ gratefully climbed into the car. The whole incident had left them drained.

“No argument here,” Aly said. “We're not going anywhere tonight.”

As soon as they got back to the hotel, Aly and AJ each took a hot bubble bath, climbed into their pajamas, and ordered room service. Soon they were sprawled out on their beds with Caesar salads and ice cream sundaes. Aly picked up the TV remote.

“Let's watch a movie,” she suggested. “I just need to veg out for a while.”

“Excellent idea,” AJ agreed. “See what's on the movie channel.”

Aly scanned through the movie titles on the screen. She stopped at one titled
Cat Burglar.

“Ooh, I wanted to see that!” she cried. “A police detective falls in love with this mysterious woman, but he doesn't know that she's a cat burglar robbing all the rich people in town. It's action-packed and romantic at the same time.”

“Let's do it,” AJ said. She dimmed the lights in the room, and Aly ordered the movie.

They watched, talking back at the screen like they had since they were kids.

“Ooh! I want that dress she's wearing!”

“How can he not know she's the cat burglar? He's not stupid!”

“There's no way she'll get away with it!”

At one part in the film, Jade, the cat burglar, recruited two women to help her with a big jewelry heist. AJ shrieked and pointed at the screen.

“Hey, that's Sabrina from HeavenSent!” she cried.

“That's right!” Aly said. “I read she was trying to start a movie career. I wonder if she's any good?”

“Ssshhh. She's on!” AJ hissed.

Sabrina was dressed in a tight leather jumpsuit, her dark hair in a long braid down her back. She walked up to the back door of a museum in the moonlight. Then she opened a metal canister hanging around her neck and took out something that looked like a lock pick. She began to pick the lock on the door.

“Pause it! Pause it!” AJ screamed.

Aly used the remote to pause the film. “What's the emergency? Bathroom break?”

“No, silly!” AJ said. “Look at Sabrina!”

Aly looked at the screen. “Yeah, she's picking a lock.”

“Exactly!” AJ said. “And the person who stole the video had to pick a lock to get to it.”

“But this is just a movie,” Aly pointed out. “She's not picking the lock for real.”

“Maybe not, but actors always learn how to do things for real to make movies more realistic,” AJ said. “Like sword fighting and stuff. Maybe Sabrina took a lock-picking lesson to get ready for her role.”

AJ grabbed her notebook from the nightstand and began to write furiously.

“You're right,” Aly agreed. “But I'm pretty sure Parker Mackenzie is the one who stole the tape, don't you think?”

AJ put down her pen. “Oh, right,” she said. “I guess so. But we won't know for sure until the police search his apartment. If he didn't do it, then I say Sabrina is a good suspect. HeavenSent still has the best motive.”

“Agreed,” Aly said. “But as far as we know, the police are handling things now. Can't we just watch the movie and forget about being detectives for a while?”

“Fine,” AJ said, but Aly noticed she still held her pen and notebook.

Aly fell back against her pillows, laughing. “You are hopeless!” she teased.

The phone in their hotel room rang the next morning. AJ answered it.

It was Faith. “Parker Mackenzie is still in jail,” she told AJ. “But the police searched his apartment, and didn't find the tape. They say Parker claims he didn't steal it. He didn't even know it was missing.”

“How are you feeling today?” AJ asked.

“Still a little shaken up,” Faith admitted. “Hope and I are going to take it easy today. We want to look good for the video shoot tomorrow.”

“Good idea,” AJ said. “Aly and I are pretty excited about tomorrow. We'll see you in the morning.”

AJ hung up the phone as Aly walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel.

“I was thinking maybe we could try to go to the guitar factory again today,” she said. Then she noticed the serious expression on her sister's face. “What's up?”

“Parker Mackenzie didn't steal the tape,” AJ told her. “The police searched his house.”

Aly shrugged. “Okay. But the video is being reshot. So everything's turned out all right in the end, hasn't it?”

“But it's not the end yet,” AJ pointed out. “The National Music Awards might not even air the new video. And we know that someone was trying to sabotage Faith and Hope. What if they mess with the video reshoot somehow? I'd feel better if we knew who did it, and why.”

Aly sighed. “I guess you're right. I'd hate to reshoot the whole video for no reason. Faith and Hope would be crushed.”

AJ opened her notebook. “The way I see it, Sabrina and Eve are still suspects because they have a motive. Sabrina is a bigger suspect than Eve, because she might have learned how to pick locks when she filmed
Cat Burglar
.”

“Right,” Aly agreed. “And Cadence and Calista are suspects, too, because they've been acting so weird. Plus, they had the opportunity to steal the tape. They just don't have a motive, as far as we can see.”

“Maybe we should split up,” AJ said. “I'm really curious about Cadence and Calista. Maybe I can talk to them, and you can talk to Sabrina.”

“Sounds good,” Aly said. “Now all we need to do is track down three super-mega celebrities and get private meetings with them. That should be easy.”

“Ah, but we have a secret weapon,” AJ reminded her. She held up her cell phone.

Aly was confused for a minute, but then she got it. “Jim!”

AJ dialed the number. “Jim, are you busy? Aly and I need a little favor . . .”

Three hours later Aly sat in the back of a taxicab, driving through downtown Nashville. Jim had really come through. He'd made a call to one of HeavenSent's personal assistants and charmed the girls' schedule out of her. He'd learned that Sabrina had a lunch date at Rush, a trendy eatery nestled between funky shops in a strip of brick buildings. Aly noticed a sweet pair of jeans in a shop window and made a mental note to check them out on her way back.

Hey, focus, Alyson,
she scolded herself.
You've got important work to do here. Faith and Hope are counting on you.

She had spent the last hour figuring out what to say to Sabrina. Should she pretend their meeting was a coincidence? Should she boldly accuse her of stealing the tape, and see if she admitted it? She still wasn't sure.

“Guess I'll have to wing it,” she muttered as the cab pulled up in front of the restaurant.

She paid the driver and stepped out into the Nashville heat. She walked into the restaurant, a cozy place with small tables and brightly colored abstract paintings of city buses and cars on the walls. She scanned the room and saw Sabrina in the corner, facing the door. Her hair was pulled back in a scarf, and she wore dark sunglasses. She was talking to a man whose back was to Aly.

Here goes nothing
, Aly thought. She walked toward Sabrina and saw the singer gasp when she spotted Aly.

“Okay, Aly,” Sabrina said, taking off her sunglasses. “You've got me! I'm guilty!”

“You stole the master tape of Faith and Hope's video?” Aly asked. Getting a confession had been easier than she thought!

Sabrina looked puzzled. “Tape? What are you talking about?”

Now Aly was confused, too. “Well, you said you were guilty . . .”

Sabrina shook her head. “Oh, great! I just gave myself up for no reason.” She pointed to the man in front of her. “Aly, meet JB Rawlings.”

The man in the chair turned around and gave Aly a bright smile. He wore a stylish blue silk suit and gold chains around his neck.

JB stood up and extended a hand to Aly. He slipped a business card into her hand. “Pleasure to meet you. You and your sister are very talented. If you're ever looking for a new manager, give me a call.”

Suddenly, everything made sense to Aly. Sabrina wearing sunglasses and a scarf. Meeting a talent manager in a restaurant . . . without her sisters.

“I get it,” Aly said. “You're looking for a new manager. And you don't want your sisters to know.”
Just like Holly,
Aly added to herself.

“It's true,” Sabrina said. “I'm tired of being known as ‘one of those girls from HeavenSent.' Most people don't even get our names right. It's time for me to step into the spotlight.”

JB nodded. “That's right where you're going, baby. Just leave it to me.”

Sabrina gave Aly a pleading look. “Please don't tell anybody! JB and I are finalizing our deal. I'll let my sisters know when I'm ready. I know they'll be shocked. I just want to spare them any extra pain, if I can.”

“Your secret's safe with me,” Aly said. “But maybe you shouldn't worry so much. Your sisters might not be as shocked as you think. I can usually figure out what's going on in my sister AJ's head, even if she won't talk to me about it.”

“Thanks,” Sabrina said, smiling warmly. “I'd ask you to sit with us, but . . .”

“No problem,” Aly said, thinking of the jeans she'd seen in the shop window. “I've got some shopping to do, anyway.”