Chapter 3-Scandal
September 1988
"Rory Llewellyn, what is the meaning of this!?"
Riot was lounging by the pool, his sunglasses over his eyes, half-asleep. He was suddenly awakened by the sound of someone waving a magazine over him. Looking up, he saw Jem standing over him, holding a magazine in her hand, a look of fury on her face such as he had never seen before-at least, not on her.
"The meaning of what?" he asked calmly, wondering what had her so upset. Even though she sometimes had mood swings due to her pregnancy, he had never seen her this furious.
Jem allowed a copy of Cool Trash to drop onto his lap. "I think you know what," she said coldly, folding her arms over her chest, her chin trembling.
Riot pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head and picked up the magazine. "Riot's New Love," the headline blared-and there was a photograph of him kissing a brunette. "Jem…this is Cool Trash. You know fully well they make up stuff."
"How do you explain that picture? That is you in that picture, isn't it?"
"Yes-but-"
Jem turned on her heel and went back into the house.
"But I don't recall ever kissing that girl," he finished, knowing Jem couldn't hear him.
He got up and went into the house. Going into the living room, he saw Jem lying on her side on the couch, sobbing brokenheartedly. "How far did you go with her?" Jem demanded, pulling her hand away when he tried to take it.
"I don't even know who that woman is," Riot said.
Jem sat up. "So you don't even know her name. Probably one of many girls you've been with and probably don't remember."
"Jem, I have never, ever been unfaithful to you. I have no idea who that woman is, I've never seen her before in my life!" he said firmly. "And you know fully well that you're the only woman I've ever been with!"
"I wish I could believe you," Jem whispered, the tears flowing down her cheeks. "But the evidence is right there."
"I wish you would believe me," Riot said as he sat down in an armchair. "You're the woman I want. I don't know how they got that picture…but I did not kiss that girl."
"You're going to sleep in the guest room," said Jem. "Until I get to the bottom of this. Riot, I really do not want a divorce…we have a baby on the way…but if you are cheating on me, and you refuse to stop…." She got up and left the room.
"At least you're not kicking me out of the house," he murmured.
He looked at the magazine again. There was something familiar about the picture…he seemed to remember posing for something like that…but who was the girl with him in the photograph?
He and Jem had been married for only five months so far. Was their marriage over before it had really begun?
Suddenly, the phone rang. Riot picked it up. "Llewellyn residence," he said.
"Riot-what's going on?" Minx' voice asked on the other end. "Did you really find another woman?"
"No, I did not find another woman," Riot snapped. "You know fully well how I feel about Jem. Does everyone believe everything they read in those blasted magazines?"
"You'd better turn it on the Harriet Horne Show at any rate," said Minx. "There's something going on."
Riot had a sinking feeling he knew what might be on that show-and if Harriet Horne was involved in any way, there would be plenty of drama. That was a given. He hung up and turned on the television.
Sitting in the armchair next to Harriet's desk, wearing a skimpy outfit, was a green-eyed brunette-and she looked just like the woman in the picture. Jem came into the room just as Harriet was saying, "So tell me, Cassie-how long have you and Riot been seeing each other?"
"The past few months," the girl simpered. "He's talking about dumping Jem to be with me. He says Jem doesn't satisfy him."
There was a collective "Whoooaaa…!" from the studio audience.
"You told me you were working on your album!" Jem snapped.
"We were-I mean, Minx and Rapture and I. We were," Riot insisted as he turned the television off, sensing that the interview might upset Jem even more. "That girl is lying. I have eyes only for you."
The phone rang again. Jem picked it up and listened; then she handed the phone to Riot. "It's Craig," she said.
Riot took a breath. "Riot here," he said as he took the phone.
"Riot, just what do you think you're doing?" Craig demanded. "I can't believe you'd do something like this to Jem-you know she's a friend of mine. Not to mention the Stingers' popularity will go down because of what the front man is doing to his wife! A lot of people have sympathy for Jem because of what she's been through-throw in the fact that she's pregnant-"
"When do I get to tell my side of the story?" Riot shot back. "I've never met that girl. I have no idea who she is. And I certainly wouldn't be unfaithful to a woman I love more than anything!"
"That picture-and now that interview-tells a different story, Riot," said Craig.
"Believe what you want, Craig. Even if it isn't true," Riot said as he banged down the phone.
Jem was standing, her back against the wall, crying. "You're planning on leaving me?" she asked.
"No," Riot replied. "What is it with everyone? I have never cheated on you, I've never met that Cassie, and I'm certainly not going to leave you. I don't know how that picture came about, but trust me, I would not do something like that. I would like to think I am far above that kind of thing!"
"Riot-look me in the eye and tell me you're not involved with anyone else," said Jem.
He went over to his wife, gently tilted her chin up, and looked into her eyes. "I am neither interested in nor involved with anyone else. I have never so much as kissed any other woman since I met you," he said.
"But how do you explain that photo?"
"Someone faked it?" he tossed out. That was the only thing that made sense.
"I really hope you're right."
"Isn't Video an expert on photography?"
"Are you accusing Video of manipulating something?"
"No," said Riot, wondering if Jem even believed anything he was saying. "I'm saying she might be able to tell us if someone else did. Now I'm going to get dressed and I'd like you to accompany me to her apartment. We'll take that magazine with us."
An hour or so later, Jem was with Riot as they knocked on the door of Video's two-bedroom apartment. She wondered what Video might be able to tell them. It was driving Jem crazy, the very thought of Riot in another woman's arms. Riot was hers, he belonged to her, and no other woman had any right to him.
Video opened the door. "Hi, Jem. Hi, Riot," she said as she let them in and had them sit down on the couch. "I heard about what's been going on. I've been going through my studio," she said as she gestured towards the second bedroom, "and I found a photo you'd be interested in. I was about to call you."
Jem's heart started beating faster as Video handed her a photo. She gave a sigh of relief when she saw that it was a photo of her and Riot-in that exact same pose.
"I remembered taking that photo while you two were at the beach, shortly after you were married," said Video. "When I saw the one on the cover of Cool Trash, I knew it looked familiar." She took the photo back from Jem and set it on her coffee table, next to the magazine cover. "It's pretty obvious to me that it's been manipulated. Look at what the girl in the picture is wearing-it's the same thing, your pink swimsuit."
"But who's doing this, and why?" Riot asked.
"Someone who wants to see the Stingers go down is my guess," said Video.
"Now do you believe me, Jem?" said Riot.
Jem put her head down. "Yes," she said. "Riot-I'm so sorry for overreacting."
Riot put his arm around her. "Your reaction was understandable," he said as he kissed her cheek.
"Now we have to figure out who's doing this," said Video. "You and I know that there's been some photographic fakery involved-but the public still thinks that Riot is nothing more than a cad."
"Such as Craig," Riot said pointedly. "He called me up and got on my case. I hung up on him."
"I'll have to give him a call and get on his case then, won't I?" smiled Video. "In his defense, though, he saw what to anyone would be irrefutable evidence. The Holograms were his friends and of course he's looking out for his financial interests."
"I wonder who that girl is," said Jem. "I mean, how did she get involved in all of this? Did someone just take this girl in from off the street one day and offer her something?"
"My first guess would be the Misfits," said Video. "They were pretty steamed when Stormer left their ranks. And Pizzazz still has a thing for Riot."
"Don't remind me," said Riot. He frowned. "Do you think that was Pizzazz in that picture?"
"I have no idea," said Video. "I don't even know for sure the Misfits are involved, but they have quite the record of trying to bring down Jem and the Holograms." Video suddenly sat up straight. "Like the time my cousin Constance-Clash-disguised herself as Jem and made it look like Jem was, well, a complete jerk."
"That was a horrible time," Jem said as she shook her head. "The bad part was-people actually believed it was me, until we publicly exposed Clash." She lifted her head up, a thought having suddenly come to her. "Is there a possibility that Clash is Cassie?"
"Could very well be, since Clash is something of a master of disguise," Video replied. "We need to find out everything we can about this 'Cassie,' then expose her."
"The sooner, the better," said Jem. She was married to a man she loved, was about to have his child-and she didn't appreciate someone trying to undermine her marriage.
"The funny thing is, I don't even have her number," said Riot. "So how do we go about this?"
"Leave that to me," said Video. "First I want to find out if Clash is involved in any way, and we go from there."
"So this photograph was faked," Craig said the following morning as Video spread the photos out on his desk at Phillips Productions. "And I gave the poor guy a hard time last night."
"That's always been something that's concerned me…people seeing photos and videos, and believing what's in them," sighed Video. "They can easily be faked if you know what you're doing. And there's a possibility that someone's posing as a girl named Cassie. My cousin might be playing the part."
"Clash? From what I've heard of her, that's a possibility," said Craig. "Do you have proof?"
"No, but we're going to see what we can do to get proof either way," said Video. "Constance was always pretty good on the stage, and with disguises. It's too bad we didn't get along, because we could have made quite the team. She was born on my second birthday, in fact."
"I have to tell you, Vivian, it's a relief to know that Riot's not fooling around," said Craig. "I owe him an apology. I know before he met Jem he always had this ladies' man image, and it was just that-an image. But the public will see that, along with that picture, and in their mind they're putting two and two together." He leaned back in his chair. "You know, you could just hold a press conference and say that you know that photo's been faked."
"I don't know, it would seem kind of flimsy," said Video. "Anyone could say that we're just making that up."
"But it would be a start. At the very least, damage control. Riot's reputation is at stake here, not to mention the Stingers' popularity. You're known for your expertise in photography and the like, and when you put the two pictures side-by-side, it'll at least raise questions in people's minds. We can still figure out who's doing it."
"I don't know, Craig, it may up the ante. Whoever's doing it…if it comes out about the photo being faked…it's like playing chess with some shadowy stranger and having no idea what move they may make."
Craig thought about that. "You want to go for a surprise attack."
Video nodded. "I think it's best we don't put all our cards out on the table at this point."
"So are you going to track your cousin?"
"Something like that. And that's why I don't want to go public with this information right now-because I think Constance will know that I suspect her. If we play dumb with this, that gives us the advantage."
"That makes sense."
A week later, Video drove to the part of town where she knew her cousin had her studio apartment. She had borrowed a car from another friend so that her own car wouldn't be recognized as she did her stake-out.
Riot had called Lindsay Pierce and told her that he wanted to do an interview with her as soon as possible-and that he wanted Cassie to appear with him. Tonight was the earliest Lindsay could come up with. Craig and Video had come up with a plan, and the interview was part of the plan.
Poor Jem. Poor Riot. The gossip rags were having an absolute field day with this, and Video was more than convinced that Riot was innocent, that he was being set up. It made sense that somehow the Misfits would be behind this whole fiasco. Jem was sure that her husband was innocent, and here people were calling her a doormat, saying she should leave Riot.
"Even if it were true, I take my vows seriously, Video, and I would want to work things out. That's something people don't understand," Jem had told her yesterday.
She had a point. Now, in the 1980s, people lived in a disposable society. Jem had always been something of an upstream swimmer. Her parents had instilled her with values, which seemed to be something of an oddity in today's scene, especially out here. Paradoxically, it had been one thing that had made her so popular as a singer; parents hadn't hesitated to buy their daughters Jem albums.
Video, wearing her own disguise, sat and waited, parked in the street. While she waited she did some reading. If Clash was Cassie, she should be leaving her apartment pretty soon to go to the studio. Craig was watching the Gabor mansion in case Clash was there.
She looked up as she saw someone leave the apartment building. Video quickly picked up her binoculars from the passenger seat and peered through them, saw a green-eyed brunette emerge from the building. Cassie. Or rather-Clash.
Tossing the binoculars onto the seat, Video started her car and headed for the nearest pay phone.
Riot took a deep breath later that evening as he prepared to go on television. Jem stood behind him and gave his shoulders a quick massage. "It'll be all right," she told him. "Just go according to our plan."
He laid his hand on hers, felt the wedding and engagement rings on her finger. "Do I actually have to touch her?"
Jem laughed. "Just think about the reaction you'll get."
"Seems to me this kind of drama would be more suited to Harriet Horne's show. All right-here goes."
Riot went and seated himself on the sofa next to Cassie, who sidled up to him. What he really wanted to do was push her away, but he had to play along. Moments later Lindsay came and sat down in her seat, raising an eyebrow at Cassie.
The show got started. Lindsay introduced her guests. "So, Riot-when did you meet Cassie, anyway?"
"I would say right after we came to the United States…not long after our Le Klub Kool engagement," Riot said, really wishing Cassie would back off. Taking a sidelong glance, he noticed that she looked a tad confused. Maybe she'd come here to brag about having an affair with him-which would be a complete fabrication-and hadn't anticipated Riot telling about how they'd met; very likely she thought she would have been the one to get into the "details."
"We met at a club," Cassie added hastily, as if in a hurry to get her version out there. "I can't remember which one offhand."
"Actually, I remember us meeting at what was then Stingers Sound," Riot said as he stroked her hair. "And I recall that your hair was purple."
He gave a swift tug, and the studio audience gasped as the wig came off, revealing purple hair. "And I believe you were introduced to me as Constance, not Cassie."
Clash shrieked and immediately got to her feet. Lindsay called for a break.
Riot threw his head back and started laughing as Clash made a hasty exit. At the same time, Video and Jem joined him on the sofa. "What a surprise," Lindsay chuckled, shaking her head. "Harriet's going to be envious of tonight's drama."
Once they were back on, Video explained what had been going on and reminded everyone about the time Clash had disguised herself as Jem. "She wants to be part of the Misfits; she's a groupie and won't hesitate to help them take down anyone who's in their way," she said. "She chooses to use her talents to tear down people."
"I'm not surprised," said Lindsay. "Well, let's hope that everything's cleared up and people can stop thinking Riot is a cad."
Later that evening, in the studio parking lot, Craig was getting ready to take Video home. "I can't believe we pulled that off," he snickered. "You should have seen the look on Clash's face."
"I did. It was priceless," Video laughed.
"That's not the only thing that's priceless. This talk about marriage…." He suddenly knelt down on one knee and took Video's hand. "Vivian-will you marry me?"