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Ace, good, kind, innocent Ace was the one who asked. ‘What experiences, Dad? What happened to them?’
The desire to talk to the table and focus on the knots in the pine was immense but Joe had to look his son in the eye when he answered, he owed him that. ‘From what Gus was told, the women, who were minors at the time, were often trafficked, some by their agents. They were models and actresses, sold the dream of stardom, enticed into a world of sex, drugs and rock and roll when they should have been at school, not being raped, or abused, fed lies and pills and booze then cast aside when they were all used up. And now they are going to name and shame, and one of the names will be NorthStar.’
The room was completely silent. Apart from the low mutters from Nanou who was translating for Silvestre, those gathered around the table were lost to whatever questions were swirling around in their heads.
Then Lance slammed his hands on the table, his expression scathing, his voice scornful. ‘Oh, for pity’s sake! These women are just out to make a fast buck and have their five minutes of fame… like they have a leg to stand on after all these years. Nobody in their right minds will take notice of a bunch of teeny-hookers and groupies, and how are they going to prove what happened? It’s just a pack of desperate lies that the press will feed on for a while, a total waste-of-time mindfuck.’
For a heartbeat, Joe was stunned by the ferocity of Lance’s outburst then immediately was saddened by his son’s jaded and blinkered view; and surmised that Gus felt the same because he was gripping the stem of his wine glass. It was then that Joe knew what he had to say, and in doing so, there was no going back. He would have to stand by what he said forever, no matter the consequences.
‘The thing is, son, that’s where you’re wrong because they’re not lies and what a group of teeny-hookers and groupies, as you so crudely called them, are saying, is actually true. And now, it’s coming back to bite the rock world on the arse, and it’s going to sting. It’s going to sting like hell.’
Nobody spoke. It was as though the room had been deprived of air and everyone in it was struggling to breathe, Joe most of all. Once he’d given them a minute to digest his words, and himself to pluck up courage, he was going to do his best to explain to the people he held most dear in his life that he wasn’t a monster.
