Sins of the Flesh Read online

  Daniel understood what Reuben meant without having to hear the words. Although they had talked about the war and how it was affecting France, they had never mentioned their time there, never spoken her name aloud—she was always synonymous with their worries about the war raging its way through Europe.

  “I hear a storm in the background, maybe that’s what it is,” Reuben offered gently. “You always hated storms.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say. “Daniel, if there’s anything I can do…if you need me, I can be on the first plane tomorrow.”

  “I know that, and it’s not necessary. I’m sure it’s a combination of a lot of things. As long as you’re all right, I’ll turn in now. It was good talking to you, Reuben. Let’s do it more often.”

  “Daniel,” Reuben said simply, “I talk to you every day in my thoughts. Sleep well.”

  “You, too. Take care, Reuben.”

  When Daniel replaced the phone, the sound of the rain beating across the roof in windy spurts enclosed him. He made a mental note to get together with Reuben as soon as possible. It had been too long.

  As he climbed the stairs to his bedroom, Daniel went over their conversation and acknowledged a certain amount of relief. He peeked into Nellie’s room and found her sleeping soundly. It wasn’t until he settled himself in bed that it occurred to him to wonder if his wife was all right. For all his nervousness and worry, he’d not once considered her as the possible cause of his uneasiness. Carefully he rearranged the pillow behind his head and turned on his side, toward his wife’s side of the bed. The sight of the tidy, unused space didn’t elicit any feeling at all in Daniel. Rajean could take care of herself, as she was fond of informing him.

  Forty-five minutes later Daniel was still awake, the sheets and pillow damp with his perspiration. He couldn’t imagine staring at the shadowy ceiling much longer. Maybe if he got up and took a shower, he’d feel better. The storm was still battering the summer house, which meant Rajean would be out all night. Not that it mattered.

  Daniel had one foot in the shower when the phone jangled. Perhaps it was Reuben, he thought, calling back to see if he had settled down. He picked up the phone, a snappy retort ready, then frowned when he heard the operator’s sleepy voice tell him there was an overseas call for Daniel Bishop. What the hell? No one knew where he was except his answering service and Reuben. “This is Daniel Bishop speaking….”

  “Very good, sir, hold for the French operator….”

  “Jesus Christ! Yes, hello…hello? Speak louder, I can barely hear you. There’s a storm here. Who’s calling, Operator?” A spurt of crackly French came over the wire. “Mickey! My God, Mickey, is that you?”

  “Daniel, please, we may be cut off momentarily…Daniel, please, you must come…I need…” Daniel strained to distinguish Mickey’s desperate words from the relentless crackle of overseas static. “Urgent…please…I beg you…we…we need you…not for myself…for…Daniel…you have to get him out…not safe for him…Daniel…speak to me…”

  “Mickey, what is it?” Daniel shouted. “I can hardly hear you. Take who? Are you all right?” Jesus Christ, of course she wasn’t all right! Germany had invaded France.

  The telephone stabilized, and he heard Mickey’s remembered voice clearly. “You must get Philippe safely to his father….”

  Daniel’s eyes grew wild when he realized the line he held in his hand had gone dead. Desperately he jiggled the hook and tried dialing the operator. But it was no use. “Son of a bitch!” he roared. He stomped around the room trying to make sense of the phone call. Mickey, after all these years…Memories flooded his brain—all the reasons this woman could still hold a special rock-steady place in his heart. She needed him; she wanted him to go to France. “Jesus Christ” he exploded. “How in hell am I going to get to Europe with a war going on?” Why had Mickey called him and not Reuben? The love they had shared had been remarkable. Reuben would move heaven and earth for Mickey, and she had to know that, but she’d called him instead. Why? And who the hell was Philippe? “Take Philippe to his father,” she’d said. Great. But who was Philippe’s father?

  Philippe…He’d heard the name, and not that long ago. Something to do with Fairmont Studios…Of course! He owned 51 percent of Fairmont’s stock, and Reuben owned the other 49. Bouchet! Philippe Bouchet! That was the name. No one had ever met Bouchet, not even Sol Rosen, Reuben’s father-in-law and the former head of Fairmont Studios. Morgan Guaranty Trust in New York handled all Bouchet’s business. Philippe Bouchet wasn’t safe in France, and Mickey wanted him to get him out. But why not ask Reuben to help? Because…because…Daniel’s memory strained. Get him to his father…. Mickey had sounded…as if he, Daniel, should know who Philippe’s father was.

  Suddenly Daniel stopped in his tracks. Oh, Jesus, Jesus…of course! Reuben was…Philippe was…had to be. All these years…it would explain so much. Bebe, Reuben, Mickey, himself. That magic time…France. He must be, how old now? Twenty, twenty-one, Reuben’s age when he…

  Reuben didn’t know…had no idea…That’s why she called me, Daniel thought dizzily. Bebe must have given birth, and…Mickey kept the child. Yes, it made sense. Mickey would keep the child because he was Reuben’s son. She wouldn’t have allowed Bebe to abort or give away the child for adoption. That’s why she never answered…. All these years and we never knew!

  Daniel wept then for his friend Reuben who had never known his son, and for the faceless Philippe who had never known his father.

  Nellie stood in the doorway of the sunroom, watching her stepfather. She’d never seen a man cry before. Surely he wasn’t crying over her mother. When was he going to realize she wasn’t worth tears, or even consideration, for that matter? It was a pity he’d never learned how to play the game. How often she’d been tempted to tell him the rules, but for some reason she’d always changed her mind. She didn’t love her mother. Actually, she detested her. But she was fond of her stepfather because he genuinely seemed to care about her. Yet she didn’t love him, either. If she loved anything, it was money. Money. Jewels. Power. They all went together. When she was ten she’d wanted different colored bicycles. When she was twelve she’d wanted a stable of horses, all jumpers. When she was fourteen she’d wanted clothes and cosmetics and a magnificent bedroom and a swimming pool. When she was sixteen she’d wanted her own car, a fancy roadster that would turn heads. At seventeen she’d still wanted all those things and to be beautiful. Now that she was eighteen she wanted more; she wanted to be filthy rich and to be powerful at a very young age. She had two of the three ingredients she thought would make her happy—she had beauty and brains—but she didn’t have the money.

  Sensing her presence, Daniel turned. He did his best to smile.

  “Here,” Nellie said, handing him a tissue. “Blow your nose, that’s what you always tell me.” She smiled.

  Daniel accepted the tissue. Lord, this stepdaughter of his was a vision of loveliness. The long golden braid hanging down her back and the wispy curls around her face made her look fifteen and so vulnerable. Lashes, thick and dark, complemented her soft gray-green eyes, eyes that were now full of concern for him.

  She was nibbling on her full lower lip, her perfectly aligned teeth, thanks to an excellent orthodontist, reminding him suddenly of Rajean, whose sharp teeth were so white that they were suspect.

  The long braid swished against her silk pajamas as she perched herself on her father’s knee and nuzzled his cheek. “Daddy, don’t worry about Mother, she’s like a pigeon, she always comes home. If you’re upset about her, or if there’s something you know…I wish you’d tell me.”

  “I had an urgent call, and then the lines went down. I feel helpless. I should be making several calls right now, and I can’t.” Long, thin fingers raked at his sandy hair in a frenzy.

  “For heaven’s sake, Daddy, if it’s that important, go down to the boat and use the ship-to-shore phone. Is it serious?” she asked.

  Daniel slapped at his forehead. “Now, why di
dn’t I think of that? Yes, honey, it’s serious, but not for us, so don’t start worrying about things. It’s late, go back to bed, and I’ll go down to the boat.”

  Nellie bent to kiss the top of her father’s head. “Wear your slicker,” she admonished him.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Daniel drawled. How nice it was to know she cared about him. He took an extra moment to hug his daughter and tell her he loved her. He beamed his pleasure when she echoed his response.

  Daniel slogged his way through the driving rain to the pier and climbed aboard his cabin cruiser, the Sugar Baby. When he had his thoughts under control and a cigarette in hand, he began to wonder if he was wrong about the identity of Philippe Bouchet. Should he call Reuben? No, why upset his friend’s world with wild assumptions? First he had to deal with Mickey’s request.

  There was no doubt in his mind that he would do all in his power to help Mickey. He owed everything he had in life to two people: Reuben and Mickey. Without their help and encouragement, their love and support, he shuddered to think what might have happened to him. How he was going to fulfill Mickey’s request was another question. He had a certain amount of clout in D.C., but not enough to wangle transportation to war-torn Europe. And Reuben couldn’t help him with this one. Max, Reuben’s underworld friend, probably couldn’t help him, either. That left only his own influential friends from Harvard days. If there was any way at all to get to Europe, Rocky Rockefeller would find it and Jerry Vanderbilt would ease the path. They wouldn’t ask questions, either, which was all to the good.

  The ship-to-shore operator took down both numbers Daniel gave her and said she would place the calls back to back. When Rocky’s groggy voice came over the static-filled wire, Daniel identified himself immediately. Rocky became alert instantly at the sound of his friend’s troubled voice. After he’d listened to the problem Daniel outlined to him, he didn’t hesitate. “Jesus, Daniel, right now your chances of getting to the moon are better than France. I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise—I’ll do my best. You okay, buddy?”

  “Pretty much so. I wouldn’t ask if this wasn’t…Hey, I didn’t mention that transportation back includes someone else…a friend.” Daniel let that sink in. “I’m heading home first thing in the morning. You can reach me at the office if you need to.”

  “Hell, I wasn’t in the mood for sleep anyway,” Rocky groused good-naturedly. “Did you get to Jerry yet?”

  “No, I’ve got a call in to him, though.”

  “I’ll call him for you. Sit tight and one of us will get back to you.”

  “Rocky—thanks,” Daniel said.

  Rocky laughed. “I always wondered how you were going to call in your favor.”

  “What favor?”

  “You told me I owed you my life for all the clean underwear I used to borrow from you. Remember?”

  “Yeah! And I also remember the pile of dirty underwear…. Listen, seriously now, I’ll owe you my life if you pull this off.”

  “I’ll talk to you in the morning. Try to get some sleep.”

  Daniel canceled his call to Jerry and made himself a stiff drink. The rain had stopped, and a low fog hung over the ocean. The sound of a far-off foghorn nuzzled itself into the surrounding air while the lighthouse searchlight swooped overhead at regular intervals, brazenly passing through the swirling mists. Daniel sat in his spacious cabin and allowed the swaying of the boat to calm his nerves. There was no way in hell he would sleep, so why pretend.

  Paybacks always rolled around, and they could be a bitch. Had he ever given any thought to his and Reuben’s payback? Yes, hundreds of times, but that’s all they were—thoughts. He wasn’t even thinking of financial payback; that one was easy, that one was over and done with. This one, as they said, was the real McCoy. He was piss-assed scared. Not for himself, but for Reuben. And for Mickey, too. Dear, wonderful Mickey.

  It was all so long ago. Maybe he should just sit here and go over everything, clear the air, clear his mind. Get everything in order. What really went on in France after the Great War? He realized now that he might not have all the answers, but he was determined to try to search for them. Reuben and Mickey, Mickey and Reuben. Mickey and Reuben and himself. She’d dubbed them the Three Musketeers…He was getting ahead of himself. He drained his drink and made another. What came first? Reuben and himself…

  The war. He remembered the long lines of recruits, and himself in one of them, finally reaching the desk and getting his equipment for boot camp. The long journey overseas, wide-eyed and full of adventure and shaking in his new army-issued shoes and leg wraps. And then the trenches and the bitter realities of war—death and death. There didn’t seem to be anything else but a thousand ways to die. He’d been reduced to a trembling mass of raw, exposed nerves until Reuben Tarz had entered his life and taken him under his citified, knowing wing like a big, kindly, loving brother. The brother he’d never had. They’d shared rations and fears, the pain of an emotional past and then almost identical physical pain—gassed and blinded in the same overwhelming moment. Recovery at Soissons; the makeshift hospital was like a double-edged sword. Will I be blind forever, and if I recover, will that mean that I’ll be sent back to the front again? To die this time? Reuben had been just as green, just as scared as he’d been underneath that swaggering, city-boy arrogance. He remembered one night in particular when he and Reuben, both scared out of their wits, sat through an unusually fearful blitz. Daniel almost laughed now at the memory. How could you distinguish one night from another? Then he remembered how the body of a young boy had been thrown at him, bleeding open and steaming at the same time, the mingled stench of gunpowder and burning flesh. When Reuben had extricated him from the mutilated corpse, they had stared at each other and voiced the same overpowering fear—that they would die on strange soil with no one but the other to care. They’d shared their youth, their dreams, and their innocence over the next few hours, looking deeply into each other’s souls. When the sun came up they shook hands in open acknowledgement of their friendship. Who could ever forget the unbreakable bond they’d formed that fearful night? It was Reuben who put his ass on the line—or was it his body?—to get them out of the tail end of the war.

  Michelene Fonsard was benefactress to half the United States Army, or so they said. It didn’t take Daniel long to discover that the insinuations concerning her sexual prowess were half-truths. Yes, she was generous; and yes, she was vital; but he could never think of her as promiscuous. That simply was not the way he knew her. Beautiful, kind, wonderful Mickey had taken a shine to Reuben and worked her special brand of magic to get both of them mustered out before the Armistice was signed. They would never have to face the dreaded front again with its death and destruction. She’d taken them to her château and nursed them back to health. She’d royally fed and clothed them as they had never been fed and clothed before. She’d educated them, turned them into gentlemen, and shared her life with them, and she never asked for anything in return except Reuben’s love—and that he had given freely. Daniel knew now, as he had known then, that Reuben had insisted on a package deal before accepting Mickey’s offer. She had told him early on that Reuben had refused to go anywhere without his best friend.

  Daniel loved Mickey, but not the way Reuben loved her. She’d provided them with everything they could have dreamed of needing in those days and months after the war. Incredibly wealthy thanks to her late husband’s lucrative wine business, she shared and gave as though money were no object. She had provided a tutor…an old man with a mind so sharp that by the time they’d been well enough to travel to Mickey’s Paris town house, Daniel had learned enough to study at the Sorbonne, which Mickey and Reuben insisted he do. Orphan that he was, the knowledge that two such wonderful people cared about him, about his future and his well-being, was overwhelming. He’d have done anything they’d asked, but of course, they’d asked nothing in return, except his love. That was the true friendship that existed between them.

  Things chang
ed when Mickey’s niece Bebe Rosen arrived on the scene. Daniel’s eyes clouded at the thought. He almost didn’t want to continue his musings. Get another drink, he urged himself. While he fixed it, he realized it took all the pieces to finish the puzzle. He decided he had to go on.

  Sixteen years old, beautiful, spoiled, and hot to trot, Bebe Rosen set her cap for Reuben the minute she laid eyes on him. But she was just a precocious adolescent! Daniel laughed at the realization that he still tried to defend Bebe, some twenty years later. From what he could remember Mickey felt the same way, but she also felt maternal and jealous at the same time. But he remembered Reuben handling Bebe roughly, refusing to dance to her whims and outrageous demands. Instead he’d paddled her and made her toe the line. After finding himself manipulated by her on several occasions, Daniel had grown to have mixed feelings about Bebe. But, above all, it was Bebe’s determination to have Reuben at all costs that shadowed the end of their days with Mickey.

  Daniel strained his memory to figure out what had actually happened. Before Bebe had arrived, the relationship between Reuben and Mickey had seemed to nourish them heart and soul. Daniel was sure Reuben had asked her not once but several times to marry him, but Mickey had refused. In the hope of changing her mind, Reuben had begun to learn the wine business while he, Daniel, studied at the Sorbonne. According to Reuben, she had refused his offer of marriage to secure his freedom; his whole life loomed ahead of him, she’d explained, and she wanted him to return to America to make something of himself. But never would Daniel forget the joy-filled delight they took in each other, their secret overflowing glances, the way their hands always seemed to meet, and how their eyes always seemed to dance when they were together.

  They’d stayed for two full years, two wonderful years Daniel wouldn’t have traded for anything on earth. Besides molding lifelong friendships out of sincere caring, the time he’d spent in France had formed the bedrock that enabled him to build a life for himself—solid, secure, enduring. But whenever things are too perfect, something is bound to go wrong, and that something was Bebe Rosen.