“Don’t look at me!” Todd protested. “I hate bugs.”
“Kim, you had the suitcase with you once we arrived here,” Esme pointed out.
There was an awkward silence. Esme stared at Kim, who started to say something but seemed to think better of it. She just turned and stalked away. Before she turned, Nancy thought she saw tears in the young woman’s eyes.
“Kim!” Giancarlo cried. “Don’t be that way!” He gave Esme an imploring look. “You know she wouldn’t do such a thing. You should go apologize to her right now.”
“Oh, please,” Esme said with a sigh. “I pay her well enough. I don’t have to apologize to her, too.”
“You’re a cold woman, Esme,” Giancarlo said. His eyes narrowed on her for a moment, and then he went after Kim, who had disappeared.
“Harsh words,” Todd said lightly.
“You’d probably be the first to agree with him,” Esme said, her lips trembling. Nancy felt as though she and Bess were about to witness something very private. She coughed lightly to remind Esme and Todd that they weren’t alone. Then she edged away from them, trying to find a way to exit gracefully. She headed back toward the darkroom. Despite her obvious interest, Bess also did the diplomatic thing and turned her back on Esme and Todd, joining Nancy by the darkroom.
“I’ve told you, Esme, I take the blame for everything,” Nancy heard Todd say. “If I thought you would ever forgive me, I’d be down on my hands and knees in a second. Why can’t you believe it was someone else who did those things?”
“Todd, please.” Esme took a long pause before continuing. “That’s all in the past.”
“But your book—” Todd protested.
“The book will tell only the truth,” Esme countered. “No one can stop me from doing that.”
“Think about what I asked you, Esme,” Todd implored. “If you could simply hold back just a little . . . you and I both know it would help me out a lot.” Todd’s voice grew gentle. “We shared quite a bit,” he said. “I find it hard to believe you can’t remember our good times.”
Esme let out a long sigh. “I do, Todd, I do. Please leave me alone now. So far, this hasn’t been the greatest day.”
“I understand,” Todd said. “Will I see you tonight? Will you save a dance for the man who once had your heart?”
At this, Bess clutched Nancy’s arm and made a face of disbelief. “Can you believe this creep?” she whispered. “Esme’s got to see through him.”
“She made the mistake of trusting him once before,” Nancy reminded Bess, her voice low.
“We’ve got enough shots without the change of clothes,” Janine announced, coming toward the dressing room. “Let’s call it a day. I think it’s time we went back to the hotel and you had a nice long sauna, Esme.”
“That sounds like heaven,” Esme said. Then she called Nancy and Bess over. “You girls are coming to the masquerade ball I’m hosting tonight at the hotel, aren’t you?”
“You’re kidding!” Bess said.
Nancy had heard Bess mention the ball, but it was by invitation only. Excited, Nancy realized it would be a chance to keep an eye on all the suspects—including Kim and Janine.
“But we don’t have costumes,” Bess pointed out.
“I wouldn’t let that stop you,” Esme said with a laugh. “Janine can give you the address of a costume shop where we all got ours. By the way, you have to come dressed as a character from one of my novels, so pick your costumes accordingly.”
“That sounds like fun,” Bess said. “Thanks for inviting us.”
Janine led a weary Esme out of the studio with Todd following. Nancy waited to see if Giancarlo and Kim might appear, but they seemed to have left while Esme was talking to Todd. Nancy and Bess hailed a cab and headed back to the Barrington to pick up Nancy’s car. Bess was eager to go straight to the costume shop, but since Nancy had to stop by the police department to turn the suitcase over to Sam, the girls split up. Bess caught a cab and would pick up two costumes. Nancy was free to drive over to the River Heights Police Department then.
Sam wasn’t in, so Nancy left the evidence with the sergeant on duty, and also wrote a note to Sam about the latest incident, asking him to call when he got in. On the way home Nancy tried to make sense of what she knew so far. It was obvious that whoever was harassing Esme knew her well enough to know her old nickname. That person held enough of a grudge against Esme to want some serious revenge. Most of the harassment was centered around Telling All. The note writer had warned that if Esme went ahead with Telling All, her life would only get more miserable. The question then was, why would someone not want Esme to publish the book? Better yet, who would want to stop Esme from writing it?
One person came to mind right away: Todd Gilbert. He could have a lot to lose personally and professionally if the book painted him in a bad light. But would he go so far as to threaten Esme’s life?
Meanwhile, Kim Scott had the means to put the spider in Esme’s suitcase. There appeared to be more than a little tension between Kim and Esme, but was that enough for Kim to go after her boss? Or was she working with someone else, someone like Todd?
And then there was Janine. The publicist had access to the press room, and also had a key to Esme’s hotel room. She might have gone up to the room and put the spider in Esme’s suitcase.
By the time she pulled into her driveway, Nancy was so keyed up she didn’t feel like sitting around and waiting for Sam to call. After saying hello to Hannah and pouring herself a glass of juice, Nancy sat down in her father’s study and plotted her strategy. It wasn’t too late to make some phone calls to New York. Nancy quickly put in a call to Janine at the Barrington, and five minutes later she had the numbers for Esme’s publisher, editor, and agent in New York.
Conrad O’Brien, Esme’s editor, was actually on his way to River Heights to attend the masquerade ball that evening, but his assistant was able to answer some of Nancy’s questions. Apparently, along with the notes there had also been a series of phone calls made by someone using a voice disguiser. The caller warned that Esme’s life would be in danger if she went ahead with the book. Susan Segal, Esme’s agent, was able to give Nancy an even better lead. Although she hadn’t gotten any phone calls, she had noticed that the notes began to arrive around the time that Kim Scott had called Susan, asking if she would represent her work.
“Kim is a writer?” Nancy asked, perplexed.
“Of course,” Susan Segal told her. “That’s why Kim went to work for Esme in the first place. Esme promised to help her with her career, but Esme didn’t know that Kim wasn’t very good. She’s done what she can to help, but I think Kim holds it against her that she hasn’t been able to do more.”
Nancy thanked the woman, and after hanging up the phone, it rang almost immediately. It was Sam. “I hear there’s a hot party at the Barrington tonight,” he said.
Nancy laughed. “Who told you that?”
“Never mind,” he said. “Since I’m invited and you’re invited, how about going together?”
“As in a date?” Nancy asked.
“Well, actually, yes,” Sam said.
Nancy was surprised to find herself blushing, and she was suddenly aware of what a nice voice Sam had: low and intense. “My friend Bess is going, too,” Nancy reminded him.
“I’ll pick you both up,” Sam said. “I don’t mind the company.”
“I just got off the phone with Esme’s agent.” Nancy then proceeded to explain what she had learned from Susan Segal.
“It looks like we’ve got a solid lead there,” Sam agreed. “Let’s keep our eyes on Kim Scott.”
“Did you get anywhere with the notes?” Nancy asked.
“I’ve scanned them all into our computers,” Sam told her. “We’ve got some great new software that can analyze the threats to determine if they were all made by the same person. If so, the program can also give us a tentative make-up on that person.”
“That’s neat,” Nancy sai
d.
“The computer is running through the threats now,” said Sam. “It should take until tomorrow morning before we have anything solid. Meanwhile, when and where should I pick you up?”
Nancy gave Sam her address and reminded him it was a costume ball. “I have just the thing,” Sam told her. “See you at eight?”
“Sounds great,” Nancy said.
As soon as she hung up, Nancy thought about Ned for an instant. Then she had a strange sensation, and she realized with a start what it was: guilt! She felt guilty about going to Esme’s ball with Sam!
Nancy shook herself, throwing off the thought. It was nothing, just a party. Besides, Bess would be there.
So why was she already imagining her first dance with Sam? Why did the thought send a warm glow through her from head to toe?
• • •
Esme’s ball was in full swing by the time Nancy, Bess, and Sam arrived at nine. Bess had rented a beaded dress for herself, and a blue ballgown, glittering with rhinestones for Nancy. Bess was going to the ball as Billie Kasper, a heroine from Esme’s 1920s historical novel set in New Orleans, Jazz Nights. Nancy’s costume was meant to represent Jewel Trelawny, a feisty character from one of Esme’s eighteenth-century historical romances. Sam was dressed in a dashing maroon velvet suit complete with a flowing white poet’s shirt.
“This is going to be so much fun,” Bess announced as they were about to enter the Barrington’s elegant ballroom.
Nancy, Bess, and Sam stopped in the doorway to take in the transformation of the ballroom into a fantasy of romance and revelry. Panels of sheer gold fabric floated from the ceiling, creating diaphanous walls for the dancers to pass around and through. The partygoers were given handfuls of red, heart-shaped confetti to toss. Already it sparkled across the littered floor. The room was lit in soft blues and pinks, and everyone glowed and looked terrific in their romantic costumes. A big band played slow, romantic standards from a raised platform at the end of the room.
Nancy spotted Esme, resplendent in a flowing white ballgown, dancing with Giancarlo, who wore a tuxedo. Todd, also dressed in a tux, whirled an elegant Helen Klein around the floor. A very Edwardian Bob Samuels came by, in high-waisted pants and a frock coat, to ask Bess to dance.
“How could I say no?” Bess asked.
As Bess whirled off on Bob’s arm, Nancy spotted another woman across the room, dressed in her same costume. “Look,” she said, pointing out the woman to Sam, “There are two of me!”
“I sincerely doubt there could be,” Sam said gallantly. There was a slightly awkward pause, which he finally filled by asking, “Do you want to dance?”
“Sure,” Nancy said. As Sam led her onto the floor, Nancy felt that same warm glow pass through her. Quit it, Drew, she told herself. You’ve got a guy already, and besides, Sam’s older. He’s not interested in you.
Or was he? When Sam took her in his arms, Nancy saw a half smile turn up the corners of his lips. Then he pressed her to him, and Nancy let herself get lost in the music, the moment, and the warmth of his arms around her.
Then she felt someone touch her hand and push a piece of paper between her fingers. Nancy saw Giancarlo whirl by, with Esme in his arms. Before she could say a word to him, they were gone.
She pulled away from Sam, who was surprised to find Nancy ending their dance so abruptly. “Someone passed me this note,” Nancy explained, unfolding the piece of paper.
When she read the note, Nancy’s heart started beating faster, and she had to take a deep breath before she could read it out loud.
“ ‘Only you know how much I care, cara mia. Please do not doubt my love. I promise, I swear—the future is ours! Yours, and yours only, G.C.’ ”
It was a love letter to her from Giancarlo!
Chapter
Six
ACROSS THE ROOM GIANCARLO was having a conversation with the woman who was dressed like Nancy. With a start, Giancarlo saw Nancy glance his way.
“Kim!” Nancy said out loud. The woman dressed like her was Kim, and all at once Nancy realized that Giancarlo must have intended the note for Esme’s assistant.
Sam figured it out as Nancy did. “Come on,” he said. “We’re going to ask that guy some questions. And they won’t be in Italian!”
Giancarlo was standing alone by the time Nancy and Sam got to him. Esme was dancing with Bob Samuels, while Bess was gliding across the floor in the arms of Todd Gilbert.
“Cara!” Giancarlo cried when he saw Nancy. “Did you get my note?” he whispered, his voice low.
“I certainly did,” Nancy replied. “But I’m not convinced you meant me to have it.”
“What?” Giancarlo blinked several times, and held his hand to his chest. “You doubt my affections? You think I would lie?”
“We think you got the wrong girl,” Sam told him. “Our guess is you meant to give that note to Kim.”
“You haven’t shown a single bit of interest in me until just now,” Nancy pointed out. “Kim is wearing exactly the same costume. Why would you pledge your undying love to me? Kim seems more likely.”
Just then the song ended, giving Giancarlo an excuse not to answer. He peered past Nancy to the dance floor, and called out, “Esme! You promised me the next dance. Excuse me,” he said, kissing Nancy’s hand. “I thought you would be flattered at my note. Obviously, I was wrong. I give these notes to women sometimes, to keep their lives full of romance and longing, but I never meant for it to cause trouble—for me, or for you.” Nancy took his speech to be a plea for her not to tell Esme.
“I understand,” she said.
“Grazie,” said Giancarlo. With that, he strode onto the dance floor and took a radiant Esme in his arms.
“Bushwah,” said Sam after Giancarlo was gone. Distractedly he ran his hands through his dark brown hair. “Or, as they say in the streets of Little Italy, baloney. The guy’s a liar. He meant for Kim to have that note, and we all know it.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Nancy said, her eyes on Giancarlo. “What’s going on between Kim and Giancarlo, and does Esme have any idea?”
“And does it have anything to do with the threats against Esme?” Sam finished.
Bess arrived, breathless from her dance with Todd. “It’s hard to believe those things I’ve read about Todd and his temper,” she announced. “As far as I’m concerned, Todd Gilbert’s a dream.”
“That’s not what Esme thinks,” Nancy said.
“I know, and he’s really worried about that,” Bess confided. “Todd’s sure Esme’s going to paint the most unflattering portrait of him and their time together. He’s begged her not to, but she’s adamant about telling the truth.” Bess took a pad and pen from her evening bag and started scribbling madly.
“What are you doing?” Nancy asked.
“Taking notes,” Bess said.
“For what?” asked Sam.
“For the romance novel I’m going to write,” Bess told them. She scanned the room and wrote more. “Esme told me that if you’re going to write, the best thing is to write from experience. So I’m writing down what I remember from the conversation I just had with Todd.”
“When you’re done with that,” Sam told her, “Nancy’s got some good material to add to your novel.”
“Really?” Bess asked, her nose in her notebook.
“Giancarlo wrote me a love letter,” Nancy announced and produced the paper.
Bess stopped writing to read it. “Wow!” she said, glancing up at Nancy with incredulity on her face. “This is unbelievable! Let me copy it down, okay?”
“We should give you the background, Bess,” Sam told her, laughing lightly. “Don’t you want to make sure you have the note in its proper context?”
Bess tapped her pen on her notebook. “You bet I do. Shoot.”
Nancy explained her suspicions about Giancarlo’s meaning to pass the note to Kim. Bess’s eyes traveled the room, first to Giancarlo, who was standing with Esme by the refreshment table, an
d then to Kim, who was just disappearing through the huge wooden doors after giving a surreptitious glance in Giancarlo’s direction.
“Where’s she going?” Nancy wondered aloud, finishing with her story.
“I’ll find out,” Sam said. He took off along the perimeter of the room in pursuit of Kim.
“I can’t believe this,” said Bess, who by now had stopped writing and was simply standing with her mouth agape. “What you’ve told me is better than any romance novel.”
“Let’s get some punch,” Nancy said. “I don’t believe Giancarlo about giving lots of women these notes. I want to try pinning him down before the evening ends.”
“What will you say?” Bess asked, following Nancy to the refreshment table.
“You’re the budding novelist,” Nancy joked. “What do you think I should say?”
Bess thought for a moment. “I know,” she announced. “Call his bluff. Tell him you were suspicious before, but now you’re ready to accept his everlasting love. Tell him that you can’t live without him, that—”
Nancy hugged her friend. “I think that’s enough, Bess. If it’s okay with you, I’ll play it a bit cooler.”
“Suit yourself,” Bess said loftily. “You asked for my advice and I gave it to you.”
Giancarlo was no longer at the refreshment table, but Esme was still there, talking to a group of fans, including a tall, dark-haired man whom she introduced as her editor, Conrad O’Brien. Todd Gilbert was also there, and Nancy remembered that Todd had been cast to play Conrad in the screen version of Telling All. Conrad was younger than Nancy had imagined, and she could see a slight resemblance between him and Todd, especially if Todd wore horn-rimmed glasses like Conrad’s. Nancy and Bess excused themselves to fill their punch glasses. The group around Esme slowly dispersed, until Todd and Esme were alone.
“Promise me you won’t reveal our secret,” the actor pleaded. “That’s all I ask. If you can make me that one promise, I’ll stop bothering you.”
“Oh, Todd,” a weary Esme said. “Did you really think I’d reveal our secret? How would / look if the whole world knew the most intimate details of what went on between us?”