The next day, Maeva stayed home. It was a beautiful sunny day, as always in Cali. Neve was excited to be in the swimming pool with her mom. Yvonne was also having a peaceful day, drinking fresh lemonade while relaxing on the floating chair. Later on, they had a picnic under the awning. Maeva didn’t write while Neve was napping. She daydreamed, reminiscing of her family’s time here, with Sky. She loved dreaming of him. All the warmth, tenderness and love she had felt in his arms was present as if it was totally real. It was great how your subconscious was able to reproduce those complex feelings in your brain while dreaming. Your amygdala, the emotional center of your brain got stimulated, so did your visual cortex, but the pre-frontal was slightly suppressed. That's  why dreams doesn't usually make much sense, much but felt like you were living them. Those dreams were keeping her sane, alive and hopeful.
 
 
The next day, Maeva had a meeting with the wife of a famous actor who had invited them to a few get-togethers while they were staying at the LA mansion, right after their wedding, once her family flew back home. Sky was quite unwell one night. He had to be carried home by two security agents.

The place was just up the hill from the Lake Sherwood mansion, so she simply walked there. She had dressed the part; white palazzo pants of see-through light cotton with silk liner. Her V-top was from the same weave but, in indigo blue. Her shoes were one inch heel tonged silver sandals, and carried a matching Yves St-Laurent purse. She left her hair casually loose and curly. She rang at the gate. It slowly opened. She slowly walked up the driveway, admiring at all the blooming flowers. The huge entrance door was open, and a maid was waiting for her. She was dressed in a typical black maid uniform down to the frilly white apron. She welcomed Maeva and led her to Michelle.
 
“Ah, here you are. Welcome to my modest home Maeva.”, she said with a sincere smile that was disconcerting as ‘modest’ home didn’t describe this huge mansion.
 
“Thank you. Modest, it is not”. Maeva laughed. “It is downright the most beautiful I have seen in this neighborhood.”, lied Maeva. But she needed to please this lady. Michelle was wearing a Kafka of silk and ribbon work. Very Boho looking. Her bleached wheat colored hair was in a messy bun. There was no effort to impress. Michelle was not a pretty lady, but she had huge blue eyes which she accentuated with navy blue kohl. She was sitting in a garden winged chair. The round space was an inside open roof space. The walls were pierced of numerous windows that gave to the different house spaces. The walls were covered by vines and flower boxes. 
 
“Please have a seat, Darling. What would you like to drink?”, she asked Maeva who looked at what Michelle was having. A glass of white.
 
“Same as you, if you don’t mind.”, Maeva asked politely.
 
“Sure, let me get some for you.”, Michelle rang a bell and the maid appeared in the doorway. “Please bring our guest a glass of Chablis, Lily.”, the maid turned around and quickly came back with a glass of cold white wine. “Thank you. Lily.”, she looked at Maeva. “What can I do for you, Darling?”, she asked.
 
“Well, you heard what happened to Sky right?”, Maeva looked at her to see her reaction.
 
“Yes. All the Hollywood world knows. I am so very sorry, Maeva. Did the police find out more?”, she asked, curious.
 
“I’m afraid not. There are actually no traces of him, anywhere. Apart from him missing, the only other fact is that the horse he went to check up on, is also missing.”, Maeva said.
 
“That horse must have been worth a hefty sum!”, she exclaimed.
 
“Well, it was costly, but not enough to be stolen. The horse was not a racehorse. It was still wild. Sky thought he would be able to train him in time for Neve’s birthday.”, Maeva stopped talking, frowning. “I never even thought this could have happened only because of the horse's worth.”.
 
“Oh, I thought it was a racehorse. That is the rumor that’s going around.”, Michelle took a sip of wine. "Sky was seen at the racetrack quite often".
 
“Really? I didn’t know. I did look at the purchase contract. I can assure you it wasn’t a racehorse. But he was a black stallion from a good lineage. I guess some people could have used him as a sperm donor. As I said, I don’t know much about horses.”, Maeva explained.
 
“Maybe you should visit with someone who does.”, Michelle seemed to be coaxing her into doing this.
 
‘I probably will. Right now, I would like you to tell me what happened when Sky was here and was taken ill.”, Maeva could feel that Michelle was drawing attention to everything but, what she was asking about.
 
“Maeva, were you asked to sign a DNA when you met Sky?”, Michelle asked, looking over her glass as she held it close to her lips.
 
“Sky talked to me about it, yes. But he must have forgotten as I never signed one.”, she answered.
 
“Oh, that is strange. Doesn’t Sky have a lawyer? An assistant?”, Michelle was intrigued. “My husband had me sign the DNA the first time we met. It was quite a bizarre thing. It was as if every time he met someone, his lawyer would appear with a DNA. You had to sign it if you wished to continue chatting with him. If you refused to sign it, he would excuse himself and, simply leave.”, She constantly used her hands as she was speaking. Her glass followed or was put down to allow for more extensive arm movements. Maeva smile internally thinking how cliché this lady was.
 
“Are you trying to tell me that you will not speak because you signed a DNA?”, Maeva asked Michelle directly. The blond lady shrunk her shoulders making an innocent face.

“Michelle, rumors don’t only affect Sky and I. I have heard more than my share of rumors about you, and your hubby.”, Maeva’s tone was slightly threatening.
 
“And what are you trying to insinuate here?”, Michelle tried to remain quite cool, but you could feel the tension.
 
“That you are just as much a target for rumors, then we are. No one is exempt from those. Certainly not in Hollywood.”, Maeva needed Michelle to speak loosely, she needed her to tell her what it was she didn’t want to say.
 
Maeva could feel there was something about that night Sky was brought home by Security Agents. They had to hold him for him to walk. Sky got drunk, yes. He became unfiltered, yes. But she had never seen him passed out or unable to carry himself. Ever. The next morning, he had no recollection of what happened. It sounded like he was slipped a roofie. Suddenly she remembered he went to get tested at a hospital. Not right away, but he did go. She would have to look into that. Michelle was talking about this and that. Anything to not address the elephant in the room. The elephant is right next to you, Michelle. Will you see it if I threatened to drop him on your head?, Maeva thought, but didn’t say aloud.
 
“There is one thing I can tell you, Maeva.”, Michelle said after a short pause. It was a  frequent occurence in this house.”, she said quietly. Maeva looked at her.
 
“You mean it happened to other individuals? Who are they?”, Maeva felt she might have gone too fast with this question. Michelle just nodded her head ‘no’.
 
“No, there weren’t, or no, you won’t say?”, Maeva was now eager to find out. She knew she had been right all along.
 
“I should not say anymore. They are not my stories to tell.”, Michelle looked scared.
 
“If you witnessed something. What you saw, what you experienced is yours. It definitely is yours to tell.”
 
“Nobody wants others to find out humiliating stuff about themselves. I certainly wouldn’t want someone who saw me to repeat it to others.”, Michelle said vainly.
 
“Did it happen to you?”, asked Maeva, surprised.
 
“The first time he brought me to one of his ‘club’ meetings.”, Michelle said with her eyes down.
 
“Were you married?’, Maeva asked.
 
“Yes, we were.”, she answered.
 
“Why would he do that?”, Maeva wondered out loud.
 
“He didn’t.”, she averted her eyes.
 
“Then, who did?”, asked Maeva, perplexed.
 
“I never found out. They don’t tell on each other. That’s a club rule, it seems.”
 
“What club?”, Maeva was really interested now.
 
“I don’t really know. I think my husband started it. I once followed him to see where he went on some weekday nights. He entered a building attached to a royal owned one. There was nothing that jumped at me from that building, except for the top roof border. It had statues at every couple of meters. They looked like some sort of animal, maybe a bird. I didn’t hang out there very long.”
 
“Did you see anyone entering the place?”, asked Maeva. Michelle nodded ‘no’. “So, you assumed that it was members of this club that would use the Rohypnol on some of the  guests? Am I correct?” asked Maeva. Michelle didn’t answer. “Were there women affected? Only men?”, asked Maeva.
 
“Men and boys. Sometimes women and girls”, she said, her voice extremely low.
 
“What?”. Maeva wanted to be sure she heard that right. Michelle repeated the exact same words. “You never reported it?”, Michelle nodded ‘no’ again. “Why would children be there?”, Maeva wasn’t sure she was saying the truth. “Are you talking about underage children?”, Maeva insisted.
 
“I don’t want to talk about that.”, she stopped. “I didn’t sleep well last night and I need to take a nap.”, Lily appeared by the garden doors. “Please accompany Mrs. Hawthorne. She is leaving.”, said Michelle. Maeva looked at her but Michelle didn’t. It seemed to Maeva that she was shaking.

“Goodbye, Michelle. Let’s talk again at a later time. I should be in LA until the next weekend.”, as Maeva turned to follow Lily, she saw a slight change in her vision field. It was a camera in a corner of the awning. It was following her and a tiny green light was on. ‘That’s why Michelle stopped suddenly.’, thought Maeva. ‘The camera must have turned on at that point in their conversation.’ Maeva walked back down the hill. That lady had confirmed what she suspected. She had to find out more about this club.