“Thank you,” she said softly.
“No problem.”
She smiled. “Honestly, I never would be able to sleep without you here tonight.”
“I take my work very seriously,” he teased.
She didn’t respond to that. She did sleep.
Sometime in the night, she awakened, feeling something pressing against her. Liam. She turned into his arms.
Sex with him was delicious even when she was half asleep.
After that she slept deeply.
That was good, because from the moment they reached the studio, the day promised to be long.
The cops were everywhere once again.
Bill Hutchens was in charge. He was polite, courteous, treating them all with respect and consideration. He made use of Joe Penny’s office, going through another round of questioning with everyone regarding the box of candy. Serena, with Liam at her side, told him everything she knew—which wasn’t much. Why she’d thought Jeff had sent it—the brand—and why she was certain after she opened it that Jeff hadn’t sent it—he knew she hated chocolate-covered cherries.
Hutchens didn’t press her as hard as she had expected. He leaned forward, eyes grave and serious. “Stick with Liam. Or me. Or another cop. Don’t be alone with anyone who might remotely be a suspect. Watch every move you make. Don’t trust friends, or family.”
“Yes, Bill, I promise,” she told him.
When they went down to the studio, Joe Penny was glum, sitting on the edge of the cottage set, one leg crossed over the other, leafing through one of the soap magazines.
Liam stopped just off the set to talk to Conar. Serena, in jeans and a T-shirt, sat on the floor near Joe, looking up at him.
“Hey, Joe, we’re going to make it through this.”
Joe shook his head. “Serena, I’m really worried about you.”
She waved a hand in the air, determined not to tell him that she was becoming afraid herself. “We are having some bad days here, aren’t we? Did you get your drink last night?”
“Oh, yeah. I stopped by Amesbury’s.” He slapped the magazine down in sudden anger. “The guy is a true little prick. He was nice as could be, but then he starts telling me he’s a voyeur. Of life, and human foibles, so he says. Men … women too, though they’re not his preference. He says that life is one great journey to be explored.”
She didn’t comment. Joe himself loved to party, and he loved to date. The more women he had around him, the happier he was. She wondered if he had any clue that Kyle Amesbury videotaped his guests. Liam was still keeping quiet about the tape he had stolen that featured Jane.
“Joe, you probably shouldn’t have gone over there.”
“You’re right.” He shook his head again. “Such a pathetic little upstart. I ought to tell him to take Haines/Clark and stick the whole shebang where the sun don’t shine. But do I dare do that now?”
“Joe, money rules Hollywood. And this show brings in many, many viewers. Yes, this is horrible, but we’ll survive it.”
He didn’t even seem to hear her.
“We’re going to, yes. I’m going to make sure that you survive. You’re going to take some time off,” he said with conviction.
“Joe, we have to keep going.”
“Not if something might happen to you. Take some time, Serena. Investigations can’t be done in a day. The cops need time.”
“All right, agreed. I’ll take a break. But before I do …”
“What?”
“Let’s double up on my scenes. Get the tape in the can, and then we’ll be ahead of the game. What do you think about that?”
He smiled slowly. “I guess we could do that. We’ll shoot like wildfire. Then you’ll take a break.”
“We’ll do it,” she said.
He was looking over her head. “Looks like it’s my turn with Bill Hutchens. Like he didn’t talk to me long enough, all those hours at the hospital yesterday.”
“Bill is pretty gentle,” Serena said.
He rose. “Here I go.”
She gave him a thumbs-up sign. “Oh, I called the hospital. Jinx is fine. She’s insisting on leaving the hospital this afternoon.”
“I know. I called too.”
Jim called her onto the set. Before she even set foot beneath the lights, Liam walked over and talked with Emilio Garcia. Everything seemed to be fine. Her scene with Conar went like clockwork. They barely took a break; then she filmed a second confrontation scene with Kelly.
Verona was seriously into conflict these days.
Conar remained with Liam, watching the taping as she worked with Kelly. He smiled at her as she stepped off the set platform and came up to them. “We’ve got to get together soon. Jennifer has been going crazy over this. She isn’t going to be sane again until she sees you.”
She lifted her hands. “It looks like I’ll be available a lot after the next few days.”
“Oh?” Liam said.
“We’re going to double up shooting on my scenes, then I’ll take a few days off. Joe and I just discussed the idea.”
“That might be a really good thing,” Conar said.
“I think I’m going to try calling Melinda,” Serena said. “Just make sure that she’s doing all right.”
She started past them, then paused and turned back. They were both following her.
“You know I’m going where you go,” Liam said.
“And I haven’t anything better to do at the moment,” Conar said.
Serena left the door open, letting them both follow her into her dressing room. “There are Cokes, water, and juice in the little fridge,” she told them, then paused. “Oh, I guess no one wants anything from this room.”
“We probably should clean it out—and you should bring in only what you’re going to use during the day.”
“Or buy a beagle and make him sniff all my food?” she suggested.
“He might slobber on it a lot,” Conar said, taking a seat on her sofa and picking up a magazine from the coffee table.
She dialed her sister’s number. While the phone was ringing, she glanced at a box of mail that had been left on her dressing table. She noted the envelopes, then saw there was a piece of paper wedged among them.
The paper was a huge heart, the kind found in many a box of children’s valentines. The message, however, had not been handwritten. It was from a typewriter, or a printer.
Serena picked up the paper, still listening to the ringing tone on the other end of the phone.
A gasp escaped her. She dropped the phone as she reread the paper.
Roses are red.
Soon you’ll be dead.
Violets are blue.
I’m coming for you.
Chapter 17
BILL HUTCHENS WAS UPSET. When he heard about it, he rushed into the dressing room and slipped the valentine into a plastic evidence bag. He promised to have it tested for prints immediately.
“This has to be taken very seriously. Serena needs to get out of here,” Liam said firmly.
“But that’s your job, isn’t it? To watch her?” Andy demanded.
“I can watch her, but when you see a twister coming, you move out of the way,” Liam replied evenly.
“We’ve all agreed. We double up on the scenes, and then Serena takes some time off.”
“That’s fine,” Serena said. “Joe and I discussed it before I found the note.”
“I told Doug that working on your scenes, all rewrites, everything, was a top priority. I’m working on a new schedule now. You’ll go from eight to six for the next several days, Serena, but then you can take the break you need. Only …”
“Only what happens when she comes back?” Liam asked quietly.
“We’ll hope to have something by then,” Bill said, tapping the evidence bag.
“Serena, we’ll get in another scene today,” Joe told her. “I’ll call Doug, and get a revised draft down to you right away. You have more scenes with Conar, Kelly, Jay … and
Hank. They’re easy scenes; you’ll handle them one, two, three.” Joe paused as his intercom rang. He pressed the button. “Yes?”
“Someone to see you,” came the voice of his assistant.
“I’m busy—”
“You’ll want to see her.”
There was a tap on the door, then Jinx stuck her head in. Serena jumped up. “Jinx!”
Her assistant smiled. “Yep.”
“Young lady, you should still be in the hospital,” Joe said firmly.
“I couldn’t stay there any longer. I’m fine now, really fine.”
“What are you doing at work?” Serena asked her incredulously.
“Well, if you fall off a horse, you get back on, right?”
“But, Jinx, you ought to be in bed,” Serena told her.
“Honestly, in the middle of the night last night, when all the sedation wore off, I felt fine. Tired, and then this morning—hungry. I want to be here. Please?” she asked a little anxiously. “The mail piles up quickly, you know.”
“Speaking of mail …” Bill Hutchens said, walking over to her. “You take care of Serena’s mail, right?”
“And Jennifer’s.”
“Have you ever seen anything like this before?”
He showed her the note.
Jinx read the words through the plastic, paling slightly as she did so.
“Well?”
“No.” She flashed a glance at Serena. “Well, I mean, we do get threats against Serena, or Verona Valentine, but … that’s a valentine.”
“And you haven’t seen anything like it before?”
“No.” Her eyes widened. “This is terrible, Serena.”
She sighed. “Jinx, you were the one something horrible happened to.”
Jinx smiled just slightly. “And Allona. I heard that they pumped her stomach, too. And that she’s still hopping mad.”
“We have insurance,” Joe said simply. “And you’ll receive compensation, Jinx,” he said.
The door to Joe’s office suddenly burst open. Jay Braden came striding in, ignoring everyone there and heading straight for Jinx. “What are you doing here, you little idiot? You should still be in the hospital. You shouldn’t be here!” He glared at Joe, as if the producer had ordered her in.
“Jay!” Jinx protested. “I came because I wanted to—honestly. This place is like home to me. I need to be here, believe me. I didn’t want to stay in the hospital. And I didn’t want to go home alone … please! I want to be here.”
Jay glared at Joe and Andy and even Bill Hutchens. “She really should sue the show. There’s poison in a box of chocolates right on the set.”
Joe looked irritated, as if Jay was really on thin ice.
“Jay, please!” Jinx put a hand on his chest. She smiled brightly at him, then at the others. “Please, don’t you all keep staring at me like that,” she said. “Jay, I’m okay, honestly. I just won’t eat on the set for a while.”
No one, Serena thought, would be doing much eating on the set in the near future. “You were in terrible shape yesterday,” Serena reminded Jinx.
“But I’m fine now.”
“Just crazy,” Andy said.
“I’m fine, I want to work. I don’t need to be compensated,” Jinx said.
“Jinx—” Serena began. “Never mind. We’ll talk.”
Late that afternoon, when she had finished her final scene for the day, Serena found Conar, Liam, and Bill Hutchens waiting for her just off the set. Her last scene had been with Hank. An argument about what she was doing, and what was her sister doing, and a warning that they had better both stay away from David DeVille. All he wanted was their wine. Naturally, she fought her father, telling him people were worth more than wine.
When Jim called cut and told them that the scene was in the can, she walked over to the three men.
“Serena, Conar’s taking you to their place _for a while this evening.”
“That’s really nice, Conar, and you know I love to see Jennifer and the baby, but I’d like to get home.”
“I have some things to do,” Liam said. “You need to go with Conar.”
Serena was alarmed by the instant squeeze that seemed to wrap around her heart.
Jealousy.
He had things to do. Naturally. People did.
She had forgotten that despite how well they were managing to get along, she was still a job for him. Naturally, it was difficult for him to be with her every minute.
She wasn’t going to allow herself to wonder what “things” he had to do. But she didn’t want to be out tonight. She wanted to go to her own home where she could simply get some rest. She’d turn on the alarm and close all the drapes.
“Conar, thanks,” she said. “But I’m sure that Bill can see me home, and then I’ll lock myself in.”
“Jen would really like to have you,” Conar said.
Liam was staring at her. He was irritated.
“Look, I’ll lock the door, I’ll put on the alarm. I’m going to make a salad, and go to bed. I’m tired. Really tired.”
She stared back at Liam.
“Bill has worked hours, nonstop,” Liam said.
“Hey … it’s all right, honest. A cop is never off, you know that, Liam. I’ll get Serena home. I’ll wait around a while … is Ricardo coming on tonight?”
“Yes. I’ll see that he does,” Liam said.
He turned and left. His shoulders were squared, his back was straight. He was angry, Serena thought. He had wanted her with Conar and Jennifer so that he could feel secure about her himself. In his eyes, she was certain, she had behaved like a prima donna.
Well, he tended to act like a dictator.
“Are you ready? I imagine you must be anxious to leave this set these days,” Bill told her.
She shook her head, smiling. “I love the set. I love the show. Except that … why would somebody be doing all these things, Bill?”
“Motive? Come on, I’ll walk you to your dressing room, drive you home, and along the way, I’ll get started!”
Captain D. J. Rigger was sixty, with short-cropped silver-white hair and steel-blue eyes. He was the father of five, grandfather of sixteen, tall, spare, deceptively powerful, and a good judge of character. Liam had made arrangements to see his old captain because he wanted to look over some of his own old files, and he didn’t want to go through a truckload of red tape to get his hands on them.
He asked to use Rigger’s phone first and called Ricardo. When Ricardo picked up, Liam asked him to go on early. “Serena is with Bill Hutchens right now, but I don’t know how long Bill can stay around. She’ll be inside, locked up in bed, but I’d feel better if you can pull the hours.”
“Will do,” Ricardo assured him. “My wife is out right now. The minute she gets in, I’ll head on over.”
Liam thanked him and rang off.
“You’re using Ricardo again?” Rigger said, referring to the occasion when Liam had suggested Ricardo to Conar Markham at the time of the Hitchcock killings. “I’m glad. He needs the extra income—kids are expensive these days.”
Rigger lit a cigarette. There was supposed to be no smoking, but Rigger had pulled out his air filter and closed the door.
“So, you think you can find something new in the files we gathered when you were investigating the Hitchcock killings?” Rigger asked him. “I’m sure you have your suspects.”
Liam shrugged. “Someone on the set has to be involved. I’m inclined to look toward Jay Braden, who has behaved very erratically lately.”
“What about the brother-in-law?”
Liam hesitated. “I can see Jeff maybe coming close to blows with someone because of an argument over an Egyptian deity, but attempting to murder a woman he’s known since she was a kid … it doesn’t gel.”
“So you’re looking at Braden.”
Liam shrugged. “I found some things in here.” Liam picked up Jay Braden’s file. “Went to Harvard,” he murmured. “Started off in law, as his folk
s wanted. Left after his second year to join the chorus of a Broadway show. He started doing underwear commercials … Here it is. He was arrested once for battery. I think I’ll make a point of seeing him, and asking about that situation.”
“If you’re looking for arrest records,” Rigger said, tapping the pile of files, “check out Allona Sainge. Rich—and outspoken. And arrested numerous times. She was involved with actors marching for the ethical treatment of animals. Black Power. Gay rights. Women’s rights. You name it—she’s ready to jump right in. By the way, I checked on arrest records for the lighting guys and the assistants. Nothing on any of them. And I pulled out one more for you. The man you mentioned when you called. Amesbury. Their current liaison with Haines/Clark.”
“He does have an arrest record?”
“He was taken in at a drug bust.”
“What a surprise. Drugs at a Hollywood party.”
“It was a regular cornucopia of drugs. Heroin, LSD, crack, cocaine—uppers, downers, your drug of choice.”
“Was Amesbury convicted of anything?”
“No—a good lawyer gave him back to society.”
Amesbury. Liam wanted to see the man again. He wanted to get into the house. He remembered he had something more to do that night.
He stood up suddenly. “Thanks, Captain. I can keep these?”
“They’re copies. I’ve made sure Hutchens has the originals.”
“They may not give me anything at all,” Liam said.
“Maybe not. Maybe we’re looking too hard at what seems to be obvious. Anyway, if I can help again in any way … I think you need to move as quickly as possible.”
Liam arched a brow.
“The light was well planned,” Rigger pointed out. “But the candy—it was stupid. A dead giveaway. Your killer is getting either more careless or …”
“Or?”
“More desperate.”
“You know,” Bill warned, glancing her way as he drove, “this is really serious. You can’t be careless in any way at all, Serena.”