Rebecca Winters - Manhattan Merger

“No.”

“What about the dog in the picture?”

“No.”

“Will you explain why you inserted a scene in your book where the hero comes across an ancient burial ground and has it designated as an official archaeological site?”

“Yes. When Frontenac came to the Eastern seaboard on an exploration expedition for the King of France, he discovered this was a land filled with the bones of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children who’d died in great battles of extinction long before the white man came here.

“The State of New York is really one massive burial ground. Every so often a farmer is digging in a field and finds the remains of bodies thrown in haphazard piles, the points of their weapons of war still embedded in their bones.

“In Manhattan Merger my hero heads a corporation that develops land, but he’s a man who respects the first inhabitants of this land. That’s why I have him heading a foundation for the preservation of all ancient artifacts, mounds, burial grounds, observatories found in New York.”

“Did you know of the name Payne Sterling when you wrote your novel?”

“I had no knowledge of his name or existence until yesterday when I received a phone call from the company attorney, Ms. Carlow.”

“One last question. Why leukemia?”

“Years ago our daughter died of leukemia. That was something my husband and I couldn’t fix. It was the first thing that came to my mind when I was considering what kind of illness to give my hero.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Wrigley. You may be seated. If Ms. Bennett will please take the stand one more time.”

While Payne sat there mulling over Ms. Wrigley’s answers, the adorable looking artist whose figure transformed the skirt and blouse she was wearing, walked to the front of the courtroom and sat down.

“Ms. Bennett? You’ve done seven other covers with this man’s picture. Why is that?”

“Red Rose Romance has nine lines of books. Each line has a different readership. Of course there are crossovers, meaning people who read more than one line.

“If a certain face is popular, it is used more than once because it sells more books. Every time this man’s face appeared on a cover, the sales climbed, so I was asked to do more pictures. I’ve been told Manhattan Merger is the biggest seller to date.”

“How did you happen to put a ship on the wall of the hero’s office?”

“It seemed logical that a man whose ancestors crossed the ocean and built a shipping empire would have such a picture to remind him of his heritage and his love of the sea.”

“How did you happen to paint that particular ship?”

“I did research to find the right kind of vessel for the time period Ms. Wrigley mentioned in the book.”

“Why the lighthouse too?”

“One of my favorite living artists is Thomas McKnight. He did a surrealistic painting of a lighthouse on Nantucket. I adore that painting.”

Payne happened to love that painting too.

“While I was working on the cover for Manhattan Merger, a lighthouse just sort of slipped in there while I was painting the ship.”

“Explain the reason you put a dog in the picture on his desk.”

“In Ms. Wrigley’s novel, there’s a part where the hero has just found out he’s dying of leukemia. Memories of his past life flash through his mind. One of them is running along the beach with his dog when he was a boy.

“This hero is a loner by nature. Obviously his dog meant a great deal to him. That’s why I painted it in.”

“Did Ms. Wrigley mention the breed?”

“No.”

“Then why a bulldog?”

“For years I’ve had an English bulldog named Winston, after Winston Churchill, my favorite figure in history. At present the dog is staying with my parents until I can find a place that will allow pets.

“While I was doing the painting for Manhattan Merger, Winston happened to be sitting on one of the kitchen chairs watching me. He was so darling, I put him in the picture without even thinking about it.”

Incredible. Absolutely incredible. Payne could only shake his head.

“Ms. Bennett, you testified that you’d never been to New York before you moved here. You also testified you went to school in Italy. Did your flight involve a stop in New York?”

“No. I took a nonstop charter from Denver to Frankfurt, Germany, and from Germany back to Denver when school was over. You can contact the art department at Colorado State to verify everything.”

“Thank you. Will you tell the court the location of the eight paintings with my client’s likeness?”

“Five of the authors have bought the paintings from me. I own the other three, one of which is Manhattan Merger. They’re hanging in my apartment.”

“According to the testimony we’ve heard, you only saw my client in a photograph for a few minutes, then painted him from memory.”

“Yes.”

“If Your Honor will permit, I’ll ask the bailiff to give this sketch pad and pencil to the witness.”

The judge nodded.

“Now if Your Honor will assist me by picking another person in the photograph from Exhibit Two? Show it to the witness. Let her study it for a moment, then ask her to draw this person from memory.”

Payne whispered an aside to Drew. “If Ms. Bennett can pull this off, then we have no stalking case, thank God.”

“Amen,” Drew muttered.

First five, then ten minutes went by while the room sat in frozen silence waiting for her to finish her drawing. Payne watched her face and body change expression several times. Her concentration was almost as disarming as her femininity.

Finally she looked over at the judge and rendered him the sketchbook. He studied it and compared it to the photograph.

“You not only have a photographic memory, Ms. Bennett, you’re a very gifted artist.”

“Thank you.”

“You may step down.”

He signaled the bailiff to take the sketch and photograph to Drew. An impatient Payne was forced to wait until he could examine both items for himself.

“Good grief-” he blurted when Drew moved aside. “It’s Mac- She’s done a perfect likeness of him!”

“Her talent is remarkable.” Drew turned to the judge. “I have no more questions of these witnesses, Your Honor.”

“Ms. Carlow? Do you wish to make your closing remarks now?”

“Yes, Your Honor. I believe the facts speak for themselves. In future, Red Rose Publishing will require every artist to use licensed models for their covers. Needless to say, Mr. Sterling’s likeness will never appear on another cover of a Red Rose Romance.

“I instructed Ms. Bennett to bring all drawings and disks with Mr. Sterling’s likeness to this court. They can be turned over to him, or Red Rose can destroy them. Whatever the court wishes.

“It’s worth noting that the cover of Manhattan Merger won first prize out of all the romance covers printed in the United States within the last twelve months.

“Ms. Wrigley also won first prize for the best Touch of Romance novel for Manhattan Merger. Both women were going to be honored at a banquet this fall.

“Under the circumstances they’ll forego those awards in order to spare Mr. Sterling any unnecessary publicity or exposure. Our company will instruct the people at the U.S. Romance Author/Publisher Convention to pick two other winners.

“As for the books already in print and shipped out through the book club, it would be impossible to judge how many readers would know the man on the cover is Mr. Payne Sterling.

“Your Honor?” she said after taking a drink of water. “Would it be permissible to ask how Mr. Sterling came to find out his likeness was on the cover of Manhattan Merger? ”