by Peggy Jaeger
Cort called out for Mark and told him what was needed.
Josh’s gaze swept around the set. He spotted a pair of discarded gardening gloves and donned them.
When Mark returned with the plastic bag complete with a zippered lock, Josh gingerly lifted the knife and the rat, supporting its dangling head, and placed them into the bag, sealing it. Mark had also brought a paper bag to camouflage the baggie’s contents.
“What are you going to do with that thing?” Cort asked.
The director’s color was even paler and more ashen than when Josh had first seen him barely fifteen minutes ago. His upper lip and brows were bathed in a fine sheet of oily sweat and he was jangling his keys in his pants pocket.
“You okay?” Josh asked.
“Fuck, no!” One hand swiped at his hair from temple to nape. “This is bloody upsetting.”
“That’s one word for it. To answer your question, I’m taking this to a friend of mine who works at the city’s crime lab. He can see if there are any prints on the knife.”
“Prints? Fingerprints? Why?”
“I think that’s obvious, Cort.”
It took him a second. Through squinting eyes, Cort asked, “Are you a cop?”
“No. I’m not.”
Something in Cort’s eyes shifted. He took a deep breath and asked, “Where’s Kandy?”
“I left her with the aunts and Stacy.”
“I gather the rest of the day is a wash,” Cort said, shoulders slumping. “She won’t want to go on. I know I wouldn’t.”
“I think it’s a pretty safe bet.”
With that, Josh left the roof, paper bag in hand. He stopped outside Kandy’s office and placed the bag on the floor next to the door.
All four women were still in the room and had been joined by a scowling Gemma, who made a beeline for him. “What the hell is all this about?” she shouted.
“Gem, please,” Kandy said from the couch. “Don’t yell at him. It’s not his fault.”
“The hell it isn’t,” she countered. “Weren’t you hired to protect her, keep her safe? You’re doing a lousy job of it.”
Josh’s left eyebrow rose at her words. To Kandy he said, “I guess the secret’s out.”
“I told them,” Stacy said. “Kandy wouldn’t.”
“That was her choice to make, not yours,” he told her cousin.
“It’s okay,” Kandy said. Expelling a huge breath, she rubbed her eyes. “They were bound to find out anyway. Just promise me it stops here,” she said, her gaze traveling from one to the next. “I don’t want anyone else knowing.”
“Not even Hannah?” Lucy asked.
“No!” Kandy cried. “Mom’s the last person who should know. She’ll just make everything worse than it already is.” She tossed off the afghan and stood.
Josh moved in quickly when he saw she was a little unsteady on her feet.
“Take it easy.” He placed a hand on her elbow.
“I’m okay. Really.”
He had to admit she looked better than she had when he’d left her. Her color had returned and her eyes had lost their glazed, frozen stare.
“Stacy, call Cort.” She came around her desk. “I want him to get ready to shoot the pie segment.”
“You’re not serious?” Stacy crossed to her cousin. “Kan, the last thing you need to worry about is work. Take the rest of the day off. Go home.”
“I will not.”
Josh’s eyes widened at the heat in her voice.
“Nothing as stupid as this is going to make me stop production. We have a schedule to keep, a program to wrap, and I intend to do it. We have contracts to honor and I won’t let anything delay the schedule.”
She turned her attention to Josh. “I assume you’ll be taking care of finding out who put that thing in my garden?”
He nodded. “On it.”
“Fine.” She glanced out the office window. “The light’s already shifted, and the clouds are moving in fast, so we can forget about the roof shot now. But I want the pie one completed today. I’ll go down to the studio and start prepping and baking as soon as the kitchen can be readied.”
“Kandy—” Gemma began.
“No.” She threw up a silencing hand. “I’m fine. I want to work. Stacy, notify Cort and the crew. I’ll be ready in a half hour. Aunt Callie, I need to be fixed.”
Callie’s eyes traveled from niece to niece and then to Josh. His small nod was mimicked by one of her own. “Okay, sweetheart. Let’s get you back to your dressing room and get you freshened up.”
“Ladies, I’d like a word in private with Kandy first, please.”
The aunts and a still visibly shaken Stacy exited the office.
“You, too,” he told Gemma.
Arms crossed in front of her, a dour look on her face, she told him, “I don’t get this whole thing. Shouldn’t you be calling the police? Shouldn’t you have from the start?” she asked, whirling to Kandy.
“Please, Gem, not now,” Kandy said, massaging her temples.
“Yes, now. I want answers, damn it. This is your safety we’re talking about.”
“The police haven’t been involved for a number of reasons,” Josh said, interceding, “not the least of which is they’re outsiders. It makes more sense to have me working on the inside, questioning, researching, and keeping an eye on Kandy. People are more willing to talk to someone they don’t consider law enforcement.”
Gemma stared at him for a few seconds, a suggestion of annoyance still hovering in her blue eyes. After a long moment her shoulders relaxed. “That makes some kind of stupid sense.” With a sigh, she turned her attention back to her sister. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Kandy plopped down in her leather desk chair, leaned her arms on the desk, and linked her fingers. “I didn’t believe there was a real problem,” she said, “so I didn’t want to worry anyone unnecessarily.”
“That’s just dumb. If all these things were happening to one of us, you’d be first in line trying to get to the bottom of it. You know it, too.”
She nodded. “I can’t argue with you there.”
“So how come we’re not allowed the same privilege of worrying about you?”
For an answer Kandy shook her head.
Her younger sister moved to the desk and bent down to eye level. “I love you, Kan. I just want you safe.”
Kandy, eyes glistening, placed her palms on Gemma’s cheeks. “I know you do. And that’s why Josh is here. To keep me safe and find out who’s doing all this. Let him do his job.”
He didn’t think Gemma looked all that convinced when she rose and said, “Okay. Fair enough.”
Kandy’s body relaxed. “Thanks.”
Turning to him, Gemma raked her gaze down his body and then back up again. “Hindsight. When I really look at you, you look like a bodyguard.”
“Private investigator.”
She flipped a hand into the air. “Whatever. Just find out who’s responsible for this.”
“Bet on it.”
She slung her bag over her shoulder and exited the office, saying, “Call me later,” to her sister.
When they were alone, Josh moved to Kandy’s side. “You okay?”
She slumped back in the chair and ran her hands through her hair.
“Not really, but they all need to think I am.”
He stared at her for a moment, admiring her honesty.
“Captain of the ship syndrome.” He folded his hands in his pockets.
When she just gaped wide-eyed at him, he shrugged.
“In order to keep order, you need to keep your head; stay calm, maintain a cool attitude, even when it seems impossible to do so. That way, the ship stays afloat; everyone stays composed and focused.”
She stared up at him, amazement on her face. “You continually surprise me.”
“It’s not hard to understand, Kandy. You run a multimillion-dollar business
with your name, and your name alone, attached to it. If you falter, everyone else follows suit. If you stand tall, the line stays stable. It’s one of the first precepts of running a successful business.”
“Not only a business,” she told him, leaning back in her chair, her arms folded across her midsection. “Grandma was always the calm in any storm. With a household filled with hormonal teenagers and unending sisterly fights and drama, she never lost her cool. I can’t even ever remember her crying or raising her voice. When she was calm, it settled the rest of us down. But she had to have been going nuts on the inside.”
Josh stared at her for a moment. “My mother is the same way,” he said. “Unless there was arterial blood splattering or bones were obviously broken, she never got upset, never got emotional. That taught me a valuable lesson about keeping your emotions in check during stressful work situations. But”—he pulled his hands from his pockets and leaned them, knuckles down, on the desk in front of her—“what you’ve been going through isn’t simple everyday family drama or normal work stress, Kandy.”
Her eyes were wary as she looked up at him.
“I can understand you wanting to show a brave front, but this has to be taking some kind of toll on you, whether you’ll admit it or not,” he added when it looked like she was about to interrupt him. “I can’t imagine the level of pressure you’re under. Business aside, you’ve made yourself responsible for most of your family, and that weight alone is heavy. Add what’s been happening to you lately into the mix and I have to wonder how much longer you can carry on the way you have.”
She didn’t answer him. When she pulled her bottom lip under her top teeth and frowned, he knew he should stop.
Knowing and doing were two different things though, so he pushed back upright and asked, “Doesn’t the pressure of being everything to everybody ever get to you?”
“All the time,” she said softly.
He could tell she regretted giving voice to her feelings when she immediately blushed and lowered her eyes.
After a moment she lifted them back to him and said, “Sometimes…”
“Sometimes, what?”
She nibbled at her lower lip again and took a full breath. “Sometimes I wish I could go back to when I could just cook and not have to worry about book deadlines and production schedules. No publicity tours or guest appearances. Sometimes…sometimes I wish Grandma was still here and in charge of the family…instead of me.”
Her blue-eyed gazed pierced him straight in the heart.
“How awful does that sound? Really, how terrible is that? After all I’ve accomplished? All I’ve worked toward? I sound so ungrateful.”
“I don’t think it’s awful at all,” he told her, “to feel that way. I think you’re entitled to.”
She studied her hands, avoiding his gaze again.
“It’s a lot for just one person to handle,” he said. “Being responsible for yourself. For your family. For all the people who work for the show.” She looked up at him, her body perfectly still, her eyes watchful. “Maybe…”
“Maybe?”
In for a penny, he thought. “Maybe it’s too much.. Ever think about that?”
He wasn’t surprised when her eyes widened.
“Yeah,” he said. “I thought so.”
They were silent for a moment, then Kandy, her voice barely above a hush, said, “Sometimes I’m just so scared I’m going to do something wrong or make a monumental mistake and it will all fall down around me. Everything I’ve worked for. Everything I’ve accomplished. If that happens, where will it leave everyone else?”
Her words, and the meaning behind them, shot straight through him. To have to be so strong, so intractable, so focused all the time must be physically and mentally exhausting.
She shook her head and rolled her shoulders.
One thing he knew he could do for her was find out who was at the bottom of all the torment. At least that would give her some peace of mind.
“I’m pretty sure you and every one would bounce back just fine,” he said.
“I wish I was that confident.”
With a nod, he said, “All that aside, Kandy, now that you’re okay and you’re going to be busy filming, I need to leave for a little while.”
“Why?”
Concerned when alarm entered her eyes, he came around the desk and gathered her hands in his. When he felt the frigid chill suffusing them, he rubbed her knuckles with his thumbs and tried to give her back some warmth.
“Couple of things I have to do. One, I’ve gotta get more clothes from my apartment. I brought only the basics with me. Two, I need to get the knife analyzed, see if there are any prints on it.”
She shuddered and then composed herself just as fast.
“And last, I need to do some background checks on a few people. It’ll be easier to do from my office. Plus, I need to speak with my partner, Rick. He’s free at the moment, and can do a lot of the computer research work I can’t, since I need to stay close to you. You’ll be tied up baking and filming for a while and I’ll make sure there’s someone with you every second until I get back. Okay?”
When her throat bobbed, he read the apprehension washing through her. He didn’t want to leave her, and if there were any way he could, he’d take her with him. But he understood how determined she was to move forward and act normally. He admired her for the way she’d stood her ground with her cousin and sister. It would have been easy just to take the rest of the day off and remove herself from the problem.
Josh knew in his bones it wasn’t how Kandy was made. Stacy had described her as stubborn and determined, possessed of a will that at times bordered on the obsessive. Well, right now it was a good thing. Her strength would get her through this. Her determination would give her the fortitude to carry on when a lesser, weaker-willed person would just surrender.
Admiration continued to grow inside him.
“How long do you think you’ll be?” she asked.
“Not more than an hour, two at the most. Here, I wanted to give this to you last night.”
He pulled a small, flip-top phone from his pocket and opened it. “It’s preprogramed to my cell. Just press one and you’ll get me immediately. I’m the only one who has this number. Just me. Don’t give it out to anyone—and I mean anyone, Kandy.”
“All right.”
“You can call anyone you want from it, it’s untraceable. No caller ID shows up. Keep it with you, even on the set.”
“What if it rings while I’m filming? Cort will have a heart attack. No one’s supposed to have a live phone when we shoot.”
Josh handed her the phone. “First of all, you’re the boss. You can do whatever you want.” He put up his hands when she started to interrupt. “And second, I’m the only one with the number, the only one who’ll be calling, and I promise you I won’t. This phone is strictly for you to get in touch with me. To feel safe and connected if I’m not around.”
She looked down at it for a few seconds and then licked her lips. “Okay.”
“Come on. I’ll walk you to your dressing room.”
She stood and slipped the phone into her pocket.
“Remember it when you change clothes,” he said, guiding her from the office, one hand settled on the small of her back.
“Why do you think I’m going to change?” she asked. Nonchalantly he picked up the paper bag and rolled the top down closed.
“You’re going from gardening to baking. My guess is the aunts have a charming cooking outfit all picked out for you. One that’ll make every woman who watches your program want to look just like you in the kitchen.”
He was pleased to see her lips curve into a tiny groove. “I bet you had a crush on Beaver Cleaver’s mother when you were a teenager.”
His mouth split into a wide grin. “God, I loved that she wore pearls when she cleaned. Peg Bundy, too. Always spiffy in a tight, sexy outfit. It was a real turn-o
n to a thirteen-year-old. God bless Nick at Nite.”
“That’s sick,” she said, gazing up at him. After a second, her eyes grew serious and a faint blush spread across her cheeks. “I’m sorry I was such a basket case before. That…thing…caught me by surprise.”
“Totally understandable,” he said. “And normal.”
“I hate rodents.” She shuddered. “Of any kind. My sister has a five-year-old with a pet hamster. I can’t even go into Declan’s room because he keeps the thing’s cage in there. Silly,” she added, shaking her head.
Josh stopped, laid his index finger under her chin, gently lifting it so their eyes met again. A pool of swirling emotions stared back at him.
“I don’t like snakes,” he told her. “Everyone’s got something that grosses them out. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
Because he liked the feel of her soft skin against his fingers just a tad too much for correctness, Josh pulled his hand away.
Silently, they continued down the corridor.
The aunts, Stacy, and Cort were all present and the room grew abruptly silent when they came through the door.
“That’s a classic sign you were all talking about me,” Kandy said, eyebrows arched.
In a throng, they grouped around her, firing questions.
“One at a time,” she said, with a glance at Josh.
He caught Stacy’s eye and motioned for her to follow him.
Out in the corridor he looked down at her concerned face and said, “She’s fine and wants to work. Don’t hassle her on this.”
Stacy ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. “Cooking. Working. It’s always been the way she copes. She gets it from Grandma. Okay. What should I do?”
“Stay with her. No matter what. I need to leave for a while and I don’t want her left alone for a second. Go with her into the bathroom if you have to. No matter what. Can I trust you?”
“Yeah. No problem.”
“Even on set, Stacy. I mean it. Stay with her even if it looks like she doesn’t want or need you there.”
“I get it. Believe me, I’m good at it. Her sister Belinda used to call me a leech when we were kids. Don’t worry.”
