Page 97 of Child of Mine

Eyes on the card in his hand, he punches in numbers. “Fixing the problem.”

Crossing the short distance between the door and his desk, I press the switch hook button before he can finish dialing. “Henry, this is complicated. You can’t just jump in and call people.”

He drops the receiver back onto the cradle. “Well, I can’t do nothing.” He sweeps a hand around his office. “I fix things. It’s my job.”

“I am not your job,” I grit out.

He crosses around the desk to take my hand. “But if I can do something to make this go away, don’t you want me to?”

“Maybe we could discuss what you plan to do first?”

“Right. Sorry.” Running a hand through his hair, he winces. “Now that I think about it, I’m afraid this might actually be my fault.”

I take a step back. “Did you tell someone about my addictions?”

Hand up between us in that defensive gesture I haven’t seen for weeks, he says, “I didn’t, but my mom guessed. She noticed I wasn’t drinking and just put two and two together.”

“But why would she blackmail me?”

“She wouldn’t.” He shakes his head. “But she is a blabbermouth. Who the hell knows what she said on her plane trip home or to any of her friends?” He runs a hand over his face, and when he drops it, his expression is pained. “I’m so sorry, Bel.”

My own hands are shaking as I make my way to the couch, the place where he told me he loved me just days ago. Wishing we could go back to that day, wishing we could just stay there, I collapse onto it and close my eyes.

An arm drapes over my shoulders. “We’re a good team. We can figure this out together. I promise I won’t do anything without talking to you first, but this is what I have in mind.”

I keep my eyes closed as I listen. By the time he’s finished, I have a few ideas of my own. When I open my eyes again, the world has stopped spinning.

After kissing my cheek and my forehead, he whispers, “You might have to remind me to slow down at times, but I’m here, Bel. I’m on team Dabba Dabba Do for the long haul.”

* * *

HENRY

A quick call to my mom where she swears up and down that she didn’t let Bella’s alcoholism slip is a relief and takes her out of the running, but by the time we’ve sat down with Carol and talked through the possibilities, the list of potential blackmailers includes way too many suspects.

“Before we go any further, you should see this. It came in with the packages after you left my office.” She upends an envelope and a stack of photos falls onto her desk.

Picking up a faded Polaroid, I squint at it. “Is that you?” I ask.

Bella picks up another. “This one sure is.”

Flipping through the pile makes me nauseous. Shot after shot of the girl I think of as Izzy, half of them with a guy or two groping her. If these got out,Boomwould most assuredly take a hit.

“These could help us narrow down the list,” I say, my voice shaking slightly with suppressed rage. “If Bella can tell where they were taken or with whom, we might be able to figure out who took them.”

“Good luck with that. It’s bad enough when people tell you about the crazy things you did during a blackout,” she mutters. “It’s worse to actually see the evidence.”

Carol shakes her head. “It’s still so disturbing to me that so many crew members and other cast members—people who should’ve been mentors to you—would be supplying you with illegal drugs.”

Bella gathers the photos into a stack before setting them carefully onto Carol’s desk. “Not to excuse anyone’s behavior, but it was the climate back then. Our shoot days were so long, and the pressure was high. Coke to keep you going, Valium or a shot of whiskey to calm you down… it was a vicious cycle.”

I scan the list again, which includes pretty much every line on a production call sheet. “What about your agent?”

Bella folds her arms across her chest, hugging herself like I’d like to right now. “She was a little upset when I ended up pregnant and decided to retire, but I really don’t see what she could gain from this. Anyway, she’s pretty direct. If she wanted something from me, she’d just pick up the phone.”

“I guess the question is why now?” Carol asks. “Why not years ago?”

“Maybe someone saw my name in a press release about the newBoomand…”

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