Couples

Chapter 52

Ginny lays bridal gown pattern books out on her kitchen table for Alexis to explore. "I already have your measurements, so we'll know what will fit. The fabric store let me borrow these. I'm an excellent customer. Pick whatever makes you happy. If you can't find exactly what you want, I can alter the pattern closest to it to make it work for you.

Alexis flips through pages, quickly dismissing some of the most popular dresses until she finds a section marked "Classic Elegance." The gowns are like the ones that invade her dreams, invoking visions of gliding down the aisle to her happily ever after. She points at one that just brushes the floor on a model about her height. "This would be perfect, except that it doesn't fit our shell theme."

"Easy fix," Ginny declares. "See the beading cascading down the skirt? When you decided on your theme, I checked. We can get drilled shells I can use to bead the dress. It will mean a lot of detailed sewing, but I have friends who have already volunteered to help. They love Dana and want to make sure that the wedding is as perfect as it can be."

Alexis swipes at the moisture unexpectantly filling her eyes. "It will be."

Tailor extraordinaire Benton Quayle carefully examines the fit of the suit that his customer, on urging from his fiancée, agreed to purchase. "Of course, I'll hem the pants, and I shouldn't have to make too many adjustments. You can use a little more room in the back and in the direction you dress."

Lanie slaps a hand over her broadening smile at the implication of Lorne's dimensions. She pulls in a deep breath. "Can you get that done tonight?"

"Normally, I'd ask you to pick up the suit tomorrow," Quayle replies, "but you're friends of Mr. Castle's, and he's always taken very good care of me. Perhaps you'd like to go to dinner while you're waiting. I'm told that the Impertinent Parrot at the end of the block is very accommodating to our customers. I'll have our manager give the host a call. You shouldn't have any trouble getting a table, and I'll have the work completed by the time you return."

Lorne rubs his hands together. "Sounds good."

Lanie gazes at the colorful décor of the recommended eatery. "This place looks like Toucan Sam meets Treasure Island."

Perhaps there are secrets hidden in the entrées," Lorne suggests.

Lanie picks up her menu. "That's what I'm afraid of. 'Pirate's Booty Beef.' That sounds like the title of a porn movie."

"You want to go somewhere else?" Lorne offers. "There seems to be at least one nice restaurant in every block around here."

"Too nice. They probably all need reservations, and we don't have one," Lanie points out.

"Then let's look at being here as an adventure," Lorne proposes, "like sampling the cuisine of an alien crew member on a starship."

Lanie rolls her eyes. "You're sounding like Rick again. All right, the Festival of Fateful Flavors is a dish for two. We might as well take the leap together."

Lorne reaches across the table. "I'll hold your hand."

"You'd better."

When talk show host Bucker Carlin first went on the air, no one took him seriously. Many reviewers found the curly hair peeking out from under a cowboy hat and the smarmy expression either ridiculous or revolting. Carlin's fans couldn't care less about the reviews. The fact that critics they regarded as snobs poured hate on the show might even have driven them to watch it. Those are the people Victor Barron loves.

It's not as if he has anything in common with them. He spends more on golf balls than most of them make in a year. But somehow, he's managed to convince them that he's the unfair target of a conspiracy. Carlin's viewers see the world as full of evil cadres aiming to keep them down. With Bucker's help. Barron's managed to make them see him as their Don Quixote tilting at windmills. That their knight could buy those windmills for weathervanes on the roofs of his Barron towers doesn't seem to bother them.

Victor settles into a $2000 chair designed to look folksy, next to Bucker's signature knotty-wood desk. "It's a relief to be away from all the so-called journalists and their fake news."

"I'm sure it is," Bucker agrees. "Another attack story about you came out today."

"From the failing Ledger, right?" Barron responds. "That paper doesn't print any real stories. They just make stuff up."

Bucker's hat tilts forward as he nods emphatically. "This particular story claims to be based on evidence submitted to the U.S. Attorney concerning tax and insurance fraud committed by the Barron Organization. According to the Ledger team, the Southern District of New York obtained records from your former lawyer. As part of his plea deal, he testified that you undervalued your properties for tax purposes and overvalued them when you took out insurance. Since the transactions took place in New York, the Manhattan District Attorney's office is looking into them as well. What can you tell our viewers about that?"

"Only that it's a complete fabrication. And I will point out that the D.A.'s office has every reason to put out publicity against me. The D.A. is trying to steal the job of a fine governor, E.C. Burrell. And that assistant district attorney Eli Douglas is looking to fill the slot. He's behind the charges against me, Burrell, and the most maligned of all, my friend Jupe Gaetz. Jupe threw an innocent party, and the next thing he knew, he was unjustly arrested for sex trafficking. We've all been treated incredibly unfairly. It's disgraceful, just disgraceful. I'm just glad I can expose Eli Douglas to your audience as the liar and fraud that he is."

Bucker turns to the camera. "You're listening out there, right? Don't let Eli Douglas destroy Victor Barron and the other champions of your rights. Let's put an end to his campaign right now and show the Ledger you won't accept any more of their lies. We'll be right back."

Bucker grins at Victor during the break. "That should do it. So, where is that beauty queen you lined up for me?"

Victor returns a slimy smile. "I put her in your dressing room."

Rick grits his teeth as he and Kate watch a video Lana attached to an email. "This thing should come with a warning to have a barf bag ready. Do you think Barron stirred up Bucker's viewers enough to have them actually go after the paper or Eli?"

"It could happen," Kate admits. "Remember that guy who started shooting off a rifle in a pizzeria because he thought there was a child sex slavery ring in the basement? Not only weren't there any enslaved children, there wasn't even a basement. But he wasn't the only one who believed the crazy story that made him grab his gun. The Ledger already has security. But I'm going to check if dispatch can beef up patrols in that area. Lana may already have said something to her supervisor about it. And she's staying with Eli. The unis might want to keep an eye on Eli's campaign headquarters too, and the D.A.'s office."

"You think that's going to be enough?" Rick asks.

"I don't know," Kate confides. "But at least the N.Y.P.D. will be on the alert for trouble. Hopefully, our people will be able to respond to anything that happens."