Free Fall Read online

  "Unbelievable," Karen muttered under her breath. "You're in on it too, aren't you?"

  "You need to move on, Karen. I suggest you find someone you can talk to. Someone who can help you face reality."

  "You, you duplicitous little fag!" Karen said.

  "Karen," Peter raised his hands helplessly. "You know for a fact that I'm not gay."

  "You disgust me, you know that? I never liked you, and I don't need you. The only thing I need is payback." Karen stood up and charged out of the office.

  This is the last straw! For eight months she had put up with the stigma of Joseph breaking up with her. She'd been publicly humiliated and ostracized from the community. She couldn't get a job anywhere and now her agent had dropped her.

  Deep down inside she knew that she was finished in Hollywood. Everyone on the set had avoided and ignored her because they knew Joseph had dumped her. They all knew about the restraining order, too. Because of the scene she had caused and then leaving the show so soon after, she knew that word would have spread like wildfire. Everyone and their grandmother would know all the details and the story would have been embellished with each telling. Now she was turned down and turned away everywhere she went. She did not imagine the invitations drying up, the calls to friends never being answered or returned. Everything was ruined. It was over for her. The stress of Joseph choosing that woman over her, the aggravation of her sister, the humiliation of being disfavored had diminished her state of mind. She no longer had the power to enthrall. She just wasn’t feeling it.

  Despite what Peter had said, she fully expected to get word that her movie had been shelved or the release date delayed. Her first lead role in some movie with B list actors was not going to change anything, anyway, especially since she'd just lost the backing of a big name agent. She didn’t care anymore. And her future with Joseph as her leading man was not going to happen, she realized that now. But she wasn’t going down without a fight. That woman was going to pay. There was no way in hell she'd let her live happily ever after with Joseph. She was going to hurt her in a way that would affect the rest of her life. It was time to take action.

  At home she changed into a pair of apple green pajama bottoms and a white tank top and got down on the floor to start on her daily one hundred crunches. As the burn spread through her midsection she maliciously thought of that woman and her fat belly.

  On the seventieth crunch she heard her cell phone ringing. She stood up and was pleased to notice that she was hardly sweating at all. I bet that bitch can’t pull off seventy crunches and not break a sweat she thought arrogantly. She saw the word Sleazebag on her caller ID, the contact name she had given her sister. "Oh, no you don’t", she said out loud as she let it go to voicemail.

  She showered, dressed in a plain white t-shirt and jeans, and packed two suitcases full of all her favorite outfits and designer dresses, underwear, socks, several toiletries, the black wig she had worn in Las Vegas and other miscellaneous items she thought she would need. In her bedroom closet, she reached up into a cubby hole she’d scraped out of the plaster board in the upper corner above the sliding door. She had a roll of money, about three thousand dollars, that she'd socked away the last couple of years for emergencies. Inside her lock box were all her personal documents. She slipped these into a large Ziploc freezer bag and zipped them into a pocket in one of the suitcases. She turned on her laptop and transferred all her money from her checking and savings account into another offshore bank account she had set up at the insistence of one of the stock brokers she had dated before she met Doug. The twenty-five thousand dollar minimum balance had made a big dent in her savings at the time, but now she was glad the stock broker had talked her into it. Things were going to go south pretty fast and she was going to need the money that had accumulated there.

  She carried the laptop into the kitchen and got a hammer. Then she stepped outside to the fenced-in back patio and easily removed the back off the computer. She set it on the flagstones and used the hammer to smash the mother board over and over until there was nothing left but little pieces. She put the fragments into a trash bag that she would take with her to dump somewhere along the road. She got a warm weather jacket with a hood out of the closet and took one last look around before she got into her car.

  She knew she was never coming back. But that was okay. She had set it up this way in case she needed to do something drastic. Nobody was going interfere now. Nothing was going to stop her. She didn’t need Louis, or any other brainless idiot to help her. She was in control, and she had a plan.

  The next morning she arrived in downtown Seattle. She drove around aimlessly and ended up on a hill where there were hospitals and medical centers. She saw a group of people standing on the side of the road at a bus stop. She took a right and pulled into the parking lot of a place called the Polyclinic. Wearing the black wig, she got out of the car and approached the people at the bus stop.

  "Do you know where I can find a park and ride lot near here?" She asked.

  An overweight woman in blue scrubs said, "There’s the Northgate Park-and-Ride, which isn’t too far. But you better hurry if you want to get a space."

  "Is it a big one?" Karen asked.

  "Yes, it’s a big garage," the woman said.

  Karen pulled out a pen and wrote the directions on the palm of her hand. "Thanks," she said. As she walked back to her car she saw a security guard coming towards her.

  "Are you a patient here?" he asked.

  "Sorry! So sorry," Karen said, quickly getting into her car. "I’m moving!"

  "There’s no parking here unless you have business at the clinic," the security guard continued, bearing down on her car.

  "I’m sorry!" Karen said again. "My mistake."

  Damn! She pulled out of the clinic parking lot. The security guard watched her leave. Parking police! I wasn’t even there three minutes!

  Twenty minutes later she parked her car on the top floor of the park and ride. She slipped the strap of her purse crossways over her body and went to read the sign for rules and regulation on the lot. She had twenty-four hours, maybe more, before anyone would notice her car there. She went down the stairs and crossed the bus lanes to the transit center. With her slim figure and striking face, she attracted several looks from the crowd of people waiting for busses. She avoided eye contact and walked on to a bus sign that said downtown Seattle. The bus pulled up shortly and she boarded it, plucking some bus schedules from the holder by the door as she headed to the back of the bus. A couple of people were in the seats next to her but she adopted and an attitude of ‘don’t talk to me’ and kept her eyes out the window.

  Several people got off at Second and James downtown, so she followed them off the bus. There was a Starbucks a little ways down the street, so she went inside and bought a latte, a chicken sandwich and the Seattle Times newspaper. She sat there, slowly nursing her coffee and eating her sandwich for two hours, poring over every item in the newspaper. In the entertainment section there was an ad for the Live Wire getting special attention because some famous local artist was performing there that night. My lucky day, she thought. There was an excellent chance that woman would be there tonight.

  She left the Starbucks and stood at the bus stop to wait for the Northgate bus. She went back to the park and ride to her car and put the passenger seat all the way back so she could lie down. She was tired from the all night drive. She would get some sleep and then go back downtown to the Live Wire at dark.

  Nina waddled through the door to the Live Wire. It was the third week of December and the air was crisp and cold. Live Wire often had headliners that performed impromptu, to the pleasant surprise of everyone in the audience. Tonight would be the first planned and advertised event. Cover charge at the door was raised to twenty dollars. The place was already packed. Live Wire would make a killing tonight.

  Joseph had left early that morning to fly back to LA. The show was now on hiatus and he was going to shut up his house and dri
ve his car back to Seattle so he would have a vehicle while he was here. He had worked hard and was extremely proud of the new TV series, which was still climbing in the ratings. Nina missed him already, but stoically accepted that this was part of their grand plan. They would make this work. After the baby was born they would set a date to get married and work out a schedule between LA and Seattle so they wouldn’t have to be apart for any length of time. After all the obstacles that had been put in their way they were determined that distance was not going to be one of them.

  Nina felt a great deal of satisfaction that Joseph was feeling at home in Seattle. Luke, George and Trish came over often to help with decorating and have dinner and Joseph got along with them fine. He had become a familiar fixture at the club. The house was coming along beautifully. It was hard not to feel a joyous anticipation each day when they woke up together in their bed to the view of Puget Sound out of their tall bedroom windows. At Thanksgiving she and Joseph celebrated with her family at Luke's house and announced that they were engaged and were hosting a New Year’s Eve/engagement/house warming party for everyone.

  Joseph told Laura and his parents about the pregnancy and the engagement. Laura was over the moon and she and her husband were flying out for the party. Joseph’s mother and father were also coming from Michigan. Nina was a little nervous about meeting them for the first time. Joseph admitted that his father wasn’t as supportive as his mother, who was ecstatic at the thought of being a grandmother. He was sure his father would come around when he saw how happy they were together.

  "My father is kind of uptight," Joseph explained after the conversation with his parents. "He firmly believes in social mores and family values. First get married, and then have children. I’m sure he thinks I’m irresponsible."

  "Yes, but we didn’t plan it this way. In fact I was on the pill but I still got pregnant the first month we were together. Does he think we shouldn’t have had sex until we got married?"

  "God, I hope not!" Joseph said. "Either way he’s out of luck. It’s a done deal and he will just have to accept it."

  "It was just meant to be," Nina sighed contentedly.

  "Yep, pretty freaking amazing!" Joseph said. "My little swimmers just got up in there and staked their claim."

  "Don’t forget that it was my bodies’ decision to drop an egg when medical science told it not to."

  "Yes, indeed. The stars were aligned perfectly."

  "Cosmic." Nina smiled.

  "Destiny." Joseph smiled back.

  "Seriously, Joseph. I think I conceived right before you left to go back to LA. How cool is that?"

  "That," Joseph said, taking her into his arms, "is cooler than shit!"

  "What are you smiling at?" Trish asked as Nina came around behind the bar.

  Nina came back down to earth and shrugged enigmatically.

  "Cut it out, will ya? I can’t stand all that happiness in my face today." Trish said with a scowl.

  "What’s up your butt?" Nina asked cheerfully.

  "I got a call from Lamont today and he wants me to fly down to LA and take that cruise to Puerto Vallarta."

  "That’s great! What’s wrong with that?"

  "Well," Trish hesitated. "I’ve seen him a few times since. He's been coming up here to visit me."

  "What?" Nina said. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

  "Well, I didn’t want to take anything away from your big moment. And then you kept on having big moments and I just wanted you to… have those moments."

  Nina put her arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "My beautiful sister," she whispered, her eyes watery. "Thank you! But why is this making you so cranky?"

  Trish hastily stepped away. "Don’t make me cry!" She carefully used her fingers to wipe under her eyes and expertly avoided smudging her eyeliner. "I'm" she paused. "I think I’m in love."

  Nina threw back her head and laughed out loud. She raised both arms towards the ceiling and cried out, "Hallelujah!"

  "Shhh! Shut up!" Trish grabbed her arm and led her back to the kitchen.

  "Sorry," Nina said. "I’m just so incredibly happy for you. We’re on the same page now! We've come full circle. It’s fantastic! We’re living the dream, baby!" She went in for a hug and awkwardly pressed her friend against her pregnant belly.

  "I don’t like it," Trish said. "I feel all anxious and insecure. I’m worried—me actually worried—if he feels the same way."

  "It had to happen sooner or later. Remember all the conversations we had about Joseph and the conversation we had at his house the day before we went to the party?"

  Trish nodded.

  "So, you know what I’m going to say, right?"

  Another miserable nod from Trish.

  "I say take your own advice and go for it! Take it! Grab it! Get it before you lose the chance. Take the risk!" Nina looked her straight in the eye. "And no matter what happens, come hell or high water, I will be there for you. You will always, and I mean always, have me. I am your friend for life."

  Trish finally smiled. "Thank you, Nina. That means a lot to me. I feel the same way about you. I guess I will let it ride out and give it my best shot. I'll call him back and say that I’m going. Don’t worry, I'll be back in time for your party. I wouldn’t miss that for anything. Can I invite him to come?"

  "Of course you can. I would like that very much. We’ll get him fine and fully acclimated to Seattle, won’t we?"

  Trish smiled bigger. "Yeah, he won’t know what hit him!"

  Karen awoke in her car and looked at her watch. It was six thirty. She needed to get back down to Seattle so she could get into the club before it got too crowded. She searched her purse for her cell phone. She knew that she shouldn’t use it, shouldn’t have even brought it. She, like anyone else over the age of fourteen, knew that cell phones have GPS and can ping off cell phone towers to show the location of any phone. But, they were going to know that she'd been in Seattle anyway, and she planned on destroying the phone without using it again. First, she just wanted to look at her messages.

  There were three voice mails from her sister. The first one was placed while she'd been at home. The other two were when she was on the road coming to Seattle. She listened to the messages, her lip curling at the sound of her sister’s voice.

  "Karen, mom is in the hospital. You need to call me back immediately."

  Then: "Karen! Mom has had a major stroke and is in California Hospital’s intensive care. You need to come down here now!"

  And finally: "Karen. Where are you? There’s no easy way to say this in a voice mail, so I’ll just say it. Mom passed away at ten o’clock from an aneurysm in her brain. I’m making arrangements for her body. I need you. Please, call me back as soon as you get this."

  Holy shit! Karen sat for a minute and then got out of the car. She removed the back of the phone, took the battery and the SD card out, and stomped on the phone several times. Then she picked up the pieces and threw them and the battery in a trash can. She tucked the tiny SD card into a sleeve in her wallet and thought about the death of her mother.

  Oh well, she mentally shrugged. Probably died from a result of the fifty thousand gallons of booze she had swilled down before she got sober. Too bad, so sad. Actually this unexpected event was a plus in her favor.

  She got into a suitcase and zipped open a pocket on the side. She pulled out a switchblade knife with a four inch blade and put into her front jeans pocket. She'd found the knife while going through her sister’s duffel bag looking for drugs, hoping to find a reason to kick her sister out. When she'd found the knife she'd kept it for her own protection. Never could know what some junkie might do. Sneak up on her in her sleep. Get so high she wouldn’t know what she was doing.

  She'd also found an old pocketbook in her sister’s things. In it were several pieces of personal information. That's when the idea had sprung to life in Karen’s mind, though she never thought that she would be utilizing it so soon. She took the old driver’s license of her s
ister’s, her social security card and her birth certificate. Thankfully, there was no indication of multiple births on the certificate. The photo on the driver’s license was before Karla took her downward slide into drug addiction, so she looked reasonably healthy. It was no trouble at all for Karen to pass herself off as the Karla in the picture. The department of licensing took a new photo of Karen for a passport/enhanced driver’s license under the name Karla Eve Wassenbaum. With the passport in her possession she was able to obtain a copy of Karla’s social security card, making sure to check the mail each day until it arrived. Her sister, who had so unexpectedly remained clean, had obviously had no more use for the knife because she didn't notice it was missing. The other documents she simply returned to Karla’s pocketbook after she was finished stealing her identity.

  She opened another zipper pocket to be sure she still had the half-filled bottle of Rohypnol from the Las Vegas incident. Next, she took out a pink tank top with sparkling gold edging around the sexy low cut neckline, swiftly put it on and zipped her coat over it. She locked the car and got back on the bus to downtown. In her seat she applied some makeup using her compact mirror, and then got off at the same place as before. She walked the four blocks to the Live Wire.

  As she approached the club she saw that people were already standing in line to enter. A bouncer in the doorway was using a metal detector and checking people’s bags. Damn! She walked away and around a corner into an alley looking for a place where she could stash the knife. Two homeless looking men were standing, heads together, beside a dumpster. Karen watched them for a moment and realized a drug deal was in progress. Inspiration struck. She got out her money and separated eight twenties from the wad. The homeless men had spotted her and were turning away to evade exposure.

  Karen thought quickly. Before they could get away she went over to the dumpster and carelessly asked, "Do you know where I can get some H?"