Jill Churchill: Bell, Book, and Scandal

"So who did?" Corwin asked.

"Who knows?" Jane asked. "Someone with an

entirely different motive, I have to guess. I have no idea who that would be."

"How can we find out?" Sophie asked.

"I'd guess you could ask more questions of the doctors who treated you, Ms. Smith," Shelley suggested.

"They were all idiots. They hadn't a clue," Sophie said.

"But somebody in the hospital probably took all kinds of samples, and since you recovered so quickly they didn't bother analyzing the samples," Shelley insisted. "I think you should contact the CEO or whoever is the head honcho and learn more answers."

"I've already signed out ages ago. They wouldn't keep the samples for that long."

Jane had been thinking of Zac's welfare more than Sophie's.

"We could theoretically ask the police to survey everyone at the hotel and the conference about that parking lot," Jane said. "When and if they used it. If they noticed Zac's van coming or going."

"The same thing applies," Shelley argued. "Zac recovered. If he'd been murdered — forgive me for suggesting that, Zac — but if it had happened, they'd have taken it much more seriously and would have already been knee-deep in an investigation."

Sophie, for once, had waited her turn to speak. "I don't have the time or interest in contacting thehospital. I simply won't eat any edible gift a fan or writer gives me again. I still think Vernetta put something in the chocolates."

"So do I," Corwin said.

"When did she give them to you?" Jane asked. It was worth considering, she supposed.

"When I checked in. Not directly in person though. She had them sent to my suite with a note that they were from her."

"When did you eat one?"

"Oh, a couple of hours later. Quite a bit later, in fact. I'd gone over to that mall to get this dress. After such an early flight, I was tired and hungry and didn't want to wait for room service. They're always so slow."

"How many of them did you eat?" Jane asked.

Sophie looked disconcerted and admitted, "All of them. It was a very little box. Only six Godiva soft centers."

"What did you do with the box?" Shelley asked.

"I threw it away, of course. It's long since gone to the dump."

"So, Sophie is safe," Zac said. "What about me? Who else but Vernetta would want to destroy all of the copies of my books — and nobody say almost anyone who read one, please. I freely admit they were dreck. I'm much better at reviewing than writing my own books."

From what Jane had heard, not only from Felicity but also from other writers, Zac wasn't even a

good reviewer. He was careless with his reading and hated any book by a woman. He only temporarily liked her and Shelley because they'd been of use to him.

Zac went on, "Vernetta took the trouble to see if the books she was stealing were out of print. She's not as stupid as she seems. I don't believe for a minute that she didn't know all along that I wrote it. All three of my books were under different pseudonyms, but copyrighted under my real name. She couldn't have plagiarized without owning a copy she'd found in some secondhand bookstore."

"How did you find out about it?" Shelley asked.

Zac said, "A good friend of mine had seen her book on the Internet and thought the title sounded familiar. He sent me an e-mail of the site. I'd never have known about the plagiarism otherwise. I'd forgotten after I was attacked, until she," he said, pointing at Jane, "showed me a page."

"How many other people have you told about this?" Jane asked.

"Nobody but the people in this room, the friend who tipped me off, and the literary attorney. To be frank, the attorney urged me to wait to file a suit until the book was published and Vernetta had lots more money. That's why I've kept my trap shut. So far," he added. It was clearly a threat aimed at Sophie.

"But you haven't," Corwin said. "If that was what you intended, why did you give Sophie that book of yours?"

Zac sighed and looked at Sophie. "We go a long way back together, Sophie and me. We've known each other since we started in the business. We've visited over the years at these conferences and exchanged a lot of gossip. I thought, in spite of my lawyer's advice, that she should at least have a chance at knowing what she was in for. If she didn't bother to read the book, I'd be off the moral hook."

"I guess I should thank you for that, Zac." Jane didn't think Sophie was even trying to sound sincere.

"When you said the book was missing, I suspected you took it seriously," Zac said. "That's why I went home to retrieve the last copy I'd kept. I'd really like to have it back or at least a Xerox of it."

"I'll make sure you do," Corwin said before Sophie could speak.

"I wonder, too, Ms. Smith," Jane said, "if Vernetta took your threats about the copyright infringement seriously. She seemed to think it was trivial and she was in the clear because the books were out of print."

"She was very cavalier about that, wasn't she?" Sophie admitted. "She'll see that I meant it when our attorneys point out that she has to give back all the money we've already advanced her."

"I imagine she's already spent it on those ridiculous clothes and the architectural drawings of her mansion," Corwin said.

"If Vernetta is an actual threat, won't that make her even more dangerous?" Shelley asked, glancing at Zac as she spoke.

"Not with you two ladies looking after me," Zac said with a slight smile.

"We can't be your bodyguards forever," Jane warned him.

She was realizing this discussion wasn't really going anywhere. She and Shelley had done all they could. She'd irritated Mel to a dangerous extent by snooping and asking favors of him. She hated letting this go. But it wasn't any of their business anymore. It was up to the attorneys now.

She stood up and Shelley followed her lead and rose as well. "We need to go along now and leave it in your hands," Jane said. "Zac, would you like help getting back to your room?"

"No, thanks. I'm feeling a lot better now. I'll stay here awhile. Thanks again."

Twenty-one

Jane and Shelley went clown the hallway to theirsuite. Shelley walked. Jane stomped.

When they were inside, Jane flopped into a chair and said, "If I don't have another RC very soon, I'll go entirely mad and my mother-in-law will finally be allowed to have my children to herself."

Shelley obligingly fixed her one the way she knew Jane liked it — a full can in a big glass with very little ice to dilute it. As she handed it to Jane she asked, "Did you really mean everything you said in Sophie's suite?"

Jane had taken her first big gulp and hiccupped happily. "Thanks, Shelley. Exactly right. Cold and strong enough to take my breath away. As for your question, I suppose I did mean what I said. Maybe. I was just so angry that Sophie, Corwin, and even Zac were talking solely about money and reputations. Corwin doesn't surprise me. He seems such a wimpy toady. But Sophie and Zac both suffered at someone's hands and don't seem

to give a fig for their own safety. How stupid can they be?"

"Remarkably stupid. Either one of them could have died from what happened to them," Shelley agreed. "So why are you so much angrier about it than I am? They aren't friends of ours. Neither happens to have died, though I agree that they could have. Why should you care so much?"

"Because I was the one," Jane said, "who was obviously brushed off like a mosquito. Even by Zac. I'd done a lot to help him. I even paid for his drink."

"Forget about them, Jane. It isn't worth working yourself into a fit of nerves over them. Or even over paying for something on behalf of Zac."

"I know you're right," Jane admitted, sipping gratefully on her own drink. "I've paid more than the drink cost for a good hamburger. If you'd been me, though, you'd be just as angry. It's the principle."