Trick-or-Doggy Treat (eBook)

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Michael had no idea how it happened. He woke up on the ground, head pounding, amidst dry bushes in a rocky terrain. Amy Davis was dead, splayed at the bottom of the cliff. The tabloids had a field day accusing him of murder. He had no reason to kill her, but the media had a way of spinning their tales to intrigue the public. Photos of him with the actor having dinner and attending an opening at a high-end art gallery in Los Angeles were splashed across the Hollywood news rags.

The walls of his wood-paneled study closed in on him as he sipped his favorite 25-year-old scotch. He squirmed in the usually comfortable wingback leather chair and reviewed his bad judgment. The small green glass shade of the desk lamp cast him in shadows.

The affair was one thing, but when the starlet turned up dead, Michael Williams knew Dana would cut him off. Not even finding a new movie deal could save him or their marriage. Award-winning actor Dana Wood didn’t need him as much as he needed her, or at least as much as he needed her money.

It wasn’t like he fulfilled her, and Dana didn’t use her A-list acting talent to fake her feelings. He knew that her keen intuition picked up on his infidelity. He could feel her contempt from across the room whenever they were together. His public display with Amy was a mistake, but he had no desire to hide it. The underlying resentment toward Dana stemmed from his own self-loathing.

In Amy, he had found a doting admirer, amazed at his producer status and amused by his humor. His ego required her attention. He smiled easily around her and wanted to be the wonderful person she thought he was. His marital status never came up in conversation, since it was common knowledge who his wife was. Besides, relationship boundaries in the entertainment industry stretched well past the wedding vows for most.

Except for Dana. She had honor and a reputation for integrity. She was a rare person in general, let alone among the Hollywood crowd.

He could say he’d been lonely. Filming on location overseas meant that they were apart for months at a time. In her absence, his job was to find their next project and the financing to go along with it rather than a young lover. Dana always kept her end of the bargain, delivering performances that made the fans want more. He found the money; Dana brought the joy and reaped the awards.

His accomplishments all tied back to his famous wife. She enabled his success, and he’d betrayed her trust.

Despite his affection for Amy, he stayed away from her life celebration service. With the rumors of murder flying around, he thought it best for Amy’s family and his own to forego attending. Her Aunt Zelda would be there, and while he had never met her in person, the stories Amy told him about her constant criticism made him wonder why Amy allowed Zelda to live with her. The woman invaded Amy’s privacy and insisted on being on set with her during filming.

By all accounts, the woman was an odd duck, a throwback from the sixties with her long skirts, round sunglasses, and floppy hat. She lurked around the studio, intently watching everyone as she ate heartily from the free buffet. He guessed Amy’s loyalty came from Zelda being her last remaining relative. No matter, it wasn’t his problem.

Michael Williams took a gulp of scotch in the dim light of the room that used to be his sanctuary. Now it brought no safety, no motivation, no inspiration, only fear and the weight of his choices bearing down on him.

He knew that Dana’s reputation for integrity, professionalism, and kindness would remain intact throughout the ordeal. The darling of the media, they admonished Michael while playing-up Dana’s pain and suffering. They weren’t far off the mark.

Finding out about his fling with Amy Davis and embarrassing her in public was an unforgiveable stupid move. He hoped Dana didn’t divorce him. Or worse yet, never use him to produce any of her other movies. The money would go with her and life as he’d known it over. His mind searched for other vocations he qualified for and landed on salesman. The thought brought a lump into his throat.

He downed the rest of the scotch and refilled his glass. The prenuptial agreement was airtight. He’d be washed up. He needed to convince Dana to leave him with some money before they parted ways.

Nothing could make up for cheating on Dana in full public view. She had come back from Scotland greeted at the airport by reporters and horrific, front-page tabloid headlines screaming his treachery in all caps: DANA WOOD BETRAYED BY HUSBAND WITH ACTOR AMY DAVIS. Amy always said she wanted her name to become famous, and it had. A photo of Michael, his arm wrapped around the shoulder of the starlet who wore a severely low-cut dress, was below. A photo of Dana looking devastated next to it. Dana’s photo was actually from a scene she played in a movie, but it did the job for the gossip-hungry public.

The article speculated what happened. Had Amy blackmailed Michael by threatening to tell Dana about them? Did Dana threaten her husband with divorce if he didn’t get rid of Amy, so he pushed her over the cliff? Had an angry fan of Dana’s hired someone to extinguish Amy’s vibrancy and future and didn’t have time to kill Michael, too? Or was it a jealous boyfriend of Amy’s who caught her trying to further her career by dating Michael?

It was astonishing how conspiracy theories went viral and those without real information started rumors that do extensive harm to the reputations of those involved. The police found no evidence of foul play or of Michael being at fault and ruled Amy’s death a hiking accident. She miscalculated her footing at the edge of an eroding trail and fell to her death. Amy’s blood alcohol level confirmed that she was inebriated. Michael’s was even higher, so they figured he’d passed out before she took the fall and hit his head on a rock.

The tabloid article pulled all the doubts and fears from his own mind. Was it his fault that Amy died? Was there someone hidden in the trees just off the trail, waiting for their chance to kill one or both of them?

He picked at his cuticle and took a sip of scotch, feeling its smooth heat that didn’t quite reach his icy heart. It used to be easy to get the funds they needed before the name Michael Williams became synonymous with underhanded business dealings. And now cheating. It was common enough in the entertainment industry, but in his case, it added to his tarnished reputation.

The conversations about his untrustworthy business practices took place openly these days. In whispers, California investors gossiped about the death of Michael’s last fling. She ended up at the bottom of a ravine in a supposed hiking accident, and suspicions raged despite no criminal charges being brought. Fixers could clean the scene to lead law enforcement astray.

Michael had not the slightest bit of memory peeking through the fog of that afternoon beyond stopping for a picnic and finishing two bottles of wine. He was very drunk at the time and woke up lying on the ground in a stupor. He could see the young actor’s blonde hair splayed around her head, mixed with blood at the bottom of the ravine, but did not understand how she ended up there. He had to hike two miles back to the car to get a cell signal to call 911.

With no one wanting to work with him on the West Coast, Michael needed to fish in a different pond on the East Coast.

Dana Wood had fought hard to rise to her current status. As a female, and a woman of color no less, she had to work ten times harder to overcome professional obstacles than men in the entertainment industry. Dana’s marriage to executive producer Michael Williams got her career a little further along, but it was her veteran actor and executive friends who schooled her on how to succeed, that made her wiser than her 32 years.

Gail Armstrong, her publicist, called during the flight back from Scotland, warning Dana about the headlines involving her husband. Having her personal life displayed as entertainment for all to see went against the idea that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. She only had a few hours to wrap her head around the starlet’s death and her husband’s cheating before facing questions from reporters.

Despite Dana’s award-winning acting skills, she struggled to hide embarrassment and hurt from the persistent paparazzi lying in wait at the airport. The clicks and flashes of the cameras forever captured every reaction and micro-expression. She flooded her mind with images of Scotland and her joy working on an Oscar-quality film, giving her eyes a sparkle she did not feel.

She hurried past the chaotic din, giving brief waves and tiny smiles to the cameras of those she recognized. When Gail’s slender arm waved frantically over the crowd, gold bangle bracelets bouncing up and down, Dana’s chest loosened. Two massive bodyguards parted the invading hoard like the Red Sea, allowing Dana to get through. She released the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. The men closed ranks behind her, blocking reporters from pursuing their target.

Gail hugged her tight, then linked elbows with Dana, rushing her toward the exit where a limo waited. Dana felt her security team on her heels. The driver opened the door, and Gail pushed Dana into the limo, scrambling in behind her. One bodyguard sat up front with the driver. The other went to retrieve their black SUV to bring up the rear. Gail had arranged for Dana’s assistant to pick up her luggage at the...