Death Logs In by E.J. Simon

return for his fixes, he knew that he was about to betray Michael Nicholas and, worse, the memory of Alex Nicholas and all he had done for Lester during the forty years of their friendship.
    After today, he knew he would be stepping into the abyss. Rizzo would own him, forever.
    As he sat at his desk staring at the list of today’s games and the betting confirmation sheet he was about to prepare to ensure Rizzo’s winning day, he knew he was about to lose the last shred of dignity he had left.

Chapter 20

    Chapter 20
    New York City

    M ichael knew it would be a special evening. He couldn’t wait to see the legendary French actress, Catherine Saint-Laurent and her young American lover, Jennifer Walsh. They were another part of Alex’s life that he had inherited.
    Jennifer had been Alex’s mistress. A beautiful blonde in her early thirties, she was a downtown Manhattan beautician known as the “hairdresser to the stars.” It appeared to Michael that Alex loved Jennifer as much as he loved any other woman. Michael soon discovered that Alex’s liaisons with Jennifer often included Catherine Saint-Laurent.
    He was even more surprised when he later learned that Catherine and Jennifer were lovers.
    Michael had never met Jennifer until she contacted him after Alex’s murder. It was over lunch and cocktails that she had revealed the existence of his secret Apple laptop and the passwords necessary to enter into the world of artificial intelligence and computer imagery that Alex had created. Jennifer was the only person Alex had trusted with his secret. Without her help, Alex would have truly died the night he was murdered.
    Michael was impressed with Alex’s mistresses. He often wondered why Alex married bimbos but had affairs with smart, impressive and accomplished women.
    Few women were more successful than Catherine Saint-Laurent. In her mid-sixties, alluring and classically beautiful, she was a French Hollywood legend. Alex had agreed to help finance the movie she hoped would launch her revival. He died before the funds were ever paid out. Once Michael decided to take over his brother’s enterprise, he immediately backed Alex’s commitment, investing three-quarters of a million dollars in Mirror Image , the film now being shot in Cannes, starring Catherine Saint-Laurent.
    He was already seated in Le Bernardin’s main dining room enjoying a glass of rosé champagne and watching the parade of the glamorous—and sometimes gaudy, when he observed a buzz around him. The attention of the other diners turned toward the two women approaching his table. All eyes appeared to be focused on Catherine Saint-Laurent and Jennifer Walsh as they made their entrance.
    Catherine was stunning in her simple, long, white sundress. Her smile, so familiar from the screen, endless magazine covers, and classic movie posters caused Michael to reflect on how incredible it was it was that this famous star was about to sit at his dinner table.
    She began their conversation while she was still yards away. “Michael darling, Jennifer and I just saw a fabulous exhibit at your favorite gallery, Staley-Wise. I simply adored a Harry Benson photograph of JFK and De Gaulle in a Paris motorcade. It’s such a classic image and, of course—being a French classic myself—I couldn’t help but buy it.”
    As soon as Catherine sat down, she appeared to admire the mural of the tempestuous sea that dominated the room as though it were the ocean itself. Jennifer Walsh’s face had never appeared in print, but she looked as beautiful as any movie star. As she moved to embrace him, Michael could smell her familiar Chanel No. 5 and felt the stirring and titillation that must have captivated his brother. The heat from Dr. Simonetti’s perfectly sculptured breasts pressed through Michael’s fine cotton shirt.
    “You look terrific,” Jennifer said. Sometimes I feel like I’m just looking at a younger version of your brother. He was so good-looking, when he