“This.” Esme said. Her green eyes brimming with tears, Esme threw open the door for them to see.
Inside, wherever there was a picture or poster of Esme, someone had scrawled the word Liar or Fraud across it in huge, red letters. Even worse was the banner that hung above the podium on which the phrase Coming Soon: Esme Moore Tells All had been changed to read Tells Lies!
“Find the person who did this,” Esme said to Nancy, her voice high and thin with frustration and anger. “Find whoever is trying to ruin me—before he or she succeeds!”
Chapter
Four
WHILE JANINE AND KIM continued to clear the room of all the ruined press materials, Nancy surveyed the damage. Along with all the photographs and the banner, press kits and releases had to be thrown away, too. Until now this had been a case involving harassment, but with this act sabotage was involved. Nancy knew it was time to call the police.
Esme regained her composure after her initial outburst, and gave Nancy a frustrated and disgusted tour of the damage. “Who would do such a thing?” she asked, her pearl and diamond earrings glinting in the soft morning light. “My life and work are about romance and adventure and fantasy—about escaping this kind of ugliness and hatred. Why is this happening to me?”
“Esme!” a woman called out. Nancy turned to see a well-dressed, middle-aged couple approaching. The woman was tanned and fit and dressed in an expensive-looking gray cashmere blazer, a white silk blouse, and jeans. The man had on similar attire, and was carrying a briefcase on a strap over his shoulder. “Darling!” he said. “We’ve been searching all over for you. Our plane just got in. We’re exhausted, but we couldn’t wait to see you!”
“Bob, Helen,” Esme said wearily. “I’m so glad you got here. Look at this mess. Look what someone did, and right before my press conference.”
“What about our announcement?” Helen asked, fingering the ruined banner. “I’m sure you realize this is not good, Esme, not good at all.”
Esme turned to Nancy and Bess to introduce them all. “Helen Klein and Bob Samuels are from Klein-Samuels Productions, the company that’s going to make the movie version of Telling All. I hate to ruin the surprise, but we were going to use this press conference to announce that the film has been cast.”
Bess could barely contain her excitement. Nancy saw she was itching to ask if Todd would be in the movie. Before she could say a word, Bob asked Esme, “Who are these girls?”
For a long moment Esme was silent and acted uncomfortable. Nancy could tell she was debating how much to reveal to Helen and Bob. Finally she took a deep breath and said, “Nancy is a detective. She and her friend Bess came for the press conference today and Nancy has kindly offered to help me find out who might be trying to make my life difficult.” Esme didn’t mention the notes or problems the night before. Clearly, she was playing it low key.
“Did she?” Helen Klein asked, giving Nancy a withering look. “Listen, Esme, I hate to be a wet blanket, but don’t you think we should call the police? They’re more experienced at this sort of thing.”
Nancy cleared her throat. “Actually, I was planning to get in touch with my contacts in the River Heights Police Department.”
Esme wanted to stop Nancy. “Do you really think we need to?”
Nancy and Helen Klein were on the same side. Simultaneously they both said, “Of course.” Nancy offered to make the call, while Bess stayed behind to help Janine and Kim and Esme conferred with Helen and Bob. Nancy found a phone in the hotel lobby and quickly put in the call. B.D. Hawkins, Nancy’s best contact, wasn’t at his desk, so she had him paged. Even though B.D. was in Homicide, he could recommend someone on the force to help with their sabotage case.
“There’s Jack Henley,” B.D. said when Nancy told him what was going on. “But he’s kind of a relic and I’m not sure you’d get along. Paula Jablonski—no. I got it! There’s a new kid assigned here. Sam Fanelli. You’ll love him. The guy’s a crackup. He’s cute, too.”
“Thanks, B.D.,” Nancy said. “But I don’t care how cute he is, just that he’s good.”
“He was top of his class,” B.D. assured her. “I’ll put in the call to his superior right now. Hopefully, he’s available. If not, I’ll find someone else, don’t worry.”
Before heading back to the room, Nancy started some preliminary investigating. At the front desk, she questioned the day manager, a young woman named Terri, who put her onto the person in charge of all the conference and meeting rooms. When J.J. Vaz came to the front desk, Nancy told her about what had happened to Esme’s press materials.
“I can’t believe it,” the woman said. “I was in there at eight and everything was fine. Then I made my rounds of the hotel from eight until nine, and then I took my breakfast break. I just got back.”
So someone got in there between eight and nine, just before Esme, Janine, and Kim arrived, Nancy determined. “Was the door locked?” she asked.
J.J. shrugged and expressed her regret. “Unfortunately not. It’s hotel policy to keep conference and meeting rooms locked, but Janine Halpern requested that it remain open so that early arrivals would be able to let themselves in. I told her she’d have to take responsibility if anything happened. I’m so sorry about this,” J.J. said.
Back in the press room, there was little evidence, if any, of what had occurred. Bess, Janine, and Kim were rearranging the few press materials that had not been damaged, and Esme was cheerfully greeting the arriving guests, reporters, and photographers. Giancarlo had arrived, and was dressed to kill in an expensive gray wool suit. He stood by Esme as she said her hellos and posed dutifully for the cameras. Finally Janine called the press conference to order. One last person sneaked into the room before Janine closed the door. Janine greeted the late arrival with a cheerful hello and personally escorted her to an available seat. Nancy was shocked to see that it was Brenda.
Bess, who was standing with Nancy at the back of the room, didn’t miss Janine’s greeting. “Why is she suddenly so friendly to Brenda Carlton?” she whispered to Nancy.
“You got me,” Nancy said, bells going off. Janine had asked that the press room remain unlocked. Janine had also said that no publicity was bad publicity. Now Janine was acting friendly toward Brenda Carlton, despite the fact that it was Brenda who’d been a nuisance at the book signing the day before. Plus she’d made no effort to stop Brenda during her attack.
As soon as Esme stood before the press podium, the room became quiet. “I’ll take your questions in a moment,” the romance writer said, her voice hushed and sultry. “But first, I have an important announcement to make.” Esme paused. “Helen Klein and Bob Samuels have come to some final decisions about the cast for the movie version of Telling All,” Esme told the crowd. “I’m pleased to announce that Giancarlo will play the part of himself, my husband, and Todd Gilbert has been cast as my editor, Conrad O’Brien.”
A murmur of surprise went through the crowd. As photographers snapped away, both Giancarlo and Todd came up to the podium to stand beside Esme. Todd was wearing tinted glasses that made him look more bookish but Nancy knew they were just a prop to hide what was probably a black eye. He was beaming for the photographers. Esme’s husband, on the other hand, seemed to be furious about sharing the podium with Todd.
“He doesn’t seem very happy,” Bess said.
For the next half hour Esme, Todd, and Giancarlo answered questions from the press. During the conference, a young, good-looking guy let himself into the room and stood at the back near Bess and Nancy. He took a pad from the pocket of his tweed jacket and started jotting notes.
“Who’s he?” Bess whispered to Nancy. “He’s cute.”
“I’m not sure,” said Nancy.
The woman sitting next to Nancy dropped her purse on the ground. Nancy reached down to pick it up and hand it to her. The woman was wearing a big floppy hat with flowers on the brim and large eyeglasses.
“Thank you so much,” the woman said in a refined
voice. She had graying hair and smooth, pale skin. “Are you a fan of Esme?” she asked.
“Sort of,” Nancy said. “My friend Bess is the one who reads romances. How about you?”
The woman crossed her long legs. “I’m one of Esme’s oldest fans,” she said in that same quiet, refined voice. “Pia Wieland.” She reached out a gloved hand to introduce herself.
“Nancy Drew,” said Nancy. “And this is my friend, Bess Marvin.”
Bess smiled and nodded at Pia. By now, the conference was breaking up, and the good-looking guy in the tweed jacket and denim shirt approached Esme and Janine. Nancy saw Janine point in her direction, and the young man started over to them. Just as the guy approached, Nancy noticed Pia quietly leave the room.
“Detective Sam Fanelli,” the man said, holding out his hand. “B.D. sent me.”
B.D. had said that Sam was young, but Nancy hadn’t expected someone who appeared to be her own age. He barely looked twenty, but Nancy knew he had to be at least twenty-five. Maybe it was his slow, shy smile, or the eager expression in his chocolate brown eyes, but Nancy found herself surprised to be talking to a police officer who felt more like a friend. With Bess filling in, Nancy quickly gave Sam the details of what had happened so far.
When Nancy was done, Sam looked over his notes, chewed on his lower lip, and said, “They trained us about the m.o.’s of stalkers and harassers. Usually these criminals seek revenge for imagined wrongs. Often they just want to ruin their victims’ personal lives, that sort of thing. But they can also be dangerous. We can’t be too careful here. Do you have those notes you mentioned?”
“No,” said Nancy. “Since they’re originals, I left them at home—just in case.”
“Good,” Sam said, his voice low and his expression intense. Then suddenly he smiled and said, “Can you tell I’m new to this duty? I’ve been practicing my serious voice on you.”
Sam laughed and Nancy and Bess joined in. Nancy had to stop herself from thinking it could be fun to work with Sam. “I’ll get you those notes,” she told him. “Maybe you’ll see something I might have missed.”
Kim Scott came over, her arms full of press materials. “Esme has a photo shoot for the movie deal scheduled for after lunch. She told me you’re welcome to come along if you want. We’re going to take a limo from the hotel at noon.”
“Thanks,” Bess said. “We’ll be there.” Kim walked away and Bess asked, “Is that okay, Nancy? I mean, we can watch out for Esme that way.”
“Sam and I should go over the notes,” Nancy said, thinking aloud. “We only have about an hour until lunch.”
“I can start on the notes while you and Bess are at the shoot,” Sam said. “That way, you can keep an eye on Esme.”
“Great idea!” Bess cried.
Nancy hurried home to pick up the file Janine had given her before racing back to the hotel. Luckily, the traffic wasn’t too bad, and she made the round trip in less than forty-five minutes. Bess and Sam were waiting for her when she got back beside two stretch limousines, which were lined up at the curb. Behind them was a beat-up compact. Nancy pulled alongside it to allow the valet to park her Mustang. Then she handed the notes to Sam, who took them with a smile.
“See ya,” he said, climbing in behind the wheel of the compact. After he was gone, Nancy checked her watch and said, “We have time for a quick bite.”
“I’m too excited to eat,” Bess said. “Going to Esme’s photo shoot—and in a limo!”
“Well, I’m starving,” Nancy said. “There’s a coffee shop across the street. I’ll pick up a couple of sandwiches.” By the time Nancy had ordered and paid for the two tuna salad sandwiches and iced teas to go, one limousine had already pulled away from the curb in front of the Barrington.
Bess was breathless when Nancy returned. “I thought you’d never get back,” she said. “Esme and Janine have already left with Todd and Giancarlo. Kim’s waiting for us.”
Nancy and Bess stepped inside the spacious limousine and the driver closed the door behind them. Kim smiled, then gave the driver instructions to a photographer’s studio across town. After that, she sat back and studied her fingernails the rest of the trip and didn’t say another word.
When they arrived at the studio, they saw Esme already posing with Todd and Giancarlo. Janine was giving the photographer, a young woman in a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and cowboy boots, instructions on how to pose the three and which angles were Esme’s best. Bess turned to Nancy and said, “Isn’t this exciting?”
Nancy opened up her sandwich and began to eat, smiling at her friend’s enthusiasm. Truthfully, she found the whole process pretty tedious. Every time Janine asked for another shot, the photographer and her assistant had to move the lights and reset the meters and the cameras. Then the camera would need to have a new roll of film and Janine would change her mind again and the whole thing would be repeated. For a while Nancy watched, but soon she was strolling around the spacious studio, checking out the various props and backdrops. She passed by the darkroom at one point and saw that the lights were on. Kim was chatting with the photographer’s assistant, a young man in jeans, a black T-shirt, and a single hoop earring.
“I don’t know why everyone doesn’t just see right through her!” Kim cried. “I mean, she is so fake. Did you see her posing with Todd and Giancarlo, like she’s crazy about both of them? You want to know the truth?” she asked.
“Mmmm,” the young man replied, evidently more worried about the film he was loading than Kim’s complaints.
“The truth is, she can’t stand Todd, and doesn’t care a bit about Giancarlo. She’s only out for herself—”
“Kim!” came Janine’s voice. “We need that suitcase. Where is it?”
“Coming!” Kim replied.
Nancy darted out of sight as Kim scooted past her carrying a suitcase that Nancy remembered her having in the limousine. For a moment Nancy wondered why Kim hadn’t just put the suitcase in Esme’s dressing room. Kim strode over and handed Esme the suitcase. Apparently it contained a change of clothes, because by the time Nancy returned to Bess, Esme had gone off to the dressing room and Janine was scolding Kim for wandering off with Esme’s change of clothes.
“If she doesn’t like it, she can fire me,” Nancy heard Kim grumble.
“She’s got attitude,” Bess whispered to Nancy.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Nancy said. She was about to pull Bess aside to tell her about what she’d overheard, when Esme’s screams filled the studio.
“Help!” she cried. “Someone help!”
Nancy was the first to react. She raced to the dressing room and frantically knocked on the door.
“Esme, it’s Nancy. Are you okay?” she asked. “Is something wrong in there?”
Esme, who was still dressed, threw open the door and rushed out of the room. Her hair was disheveled, and her face contorted with fear.
“In my suitcase!” she cried, barely getting the words out. “There . . . there . . .”
“Esme, calm down,” Janine said as she approached. She put her arm around the romance writer. “What’s wrong?”
Carefully Nancy and Bess walked into the dressing room and stepped over to the suitcase. Then they saw what had made Esme so frantic. Nestled among the folds of Esme’s white lace blouse, they spotted a black mound with eight hairy legs.
It was a deadly black widow spider.
Chapter
Five
LOOK AT THAT!” ESME said, pointing out the spider to Janine and Giancarlo. “They’re poisonous. And they bite! Think of what could have happened to me.”
Nancy started to slam the lid on the suitcase, but just before she did, she noticed a typewritten note in the suitcase: “How does it feel, Black Widow, to know you’re a liar?”
With a shiver, Nancy pointed out the note to Esme. Now, the romance novelist let out another wail, one that brought Helen, Bob, Todd, and Kim to the dressing room.
“What’s going on?” H
elen asked. She took one glance at the distraught Esme and shot her partner a look of dismay. “Are you okay, dear?”
Esme quickly put up a hand and patted her hair, laughing nervously. “I must look like a mess. I was in the middle of changing when I found that in my suitcase. Needless to say, it gave me a shock!”
Nancy stepped back to let the group view the black widow spider before slamming the lid of the suitcase. “It can’t hurt us now. What I’d like to know is, how did it get into Esme’s suitcase?” Nancy made a point of directing her gaze at Kim as she asked the question.
Helen Klein smiled grimly. “I hope you find out, kid.” She checked her watch and, giving her partner a knowing nod, said, “Bob, we’d better go if we don’t want to miss that meeting.”
“Right,” Bob Samuels agreed. He pecked Esme on the cheek. “Keep a stiff upper lip, Es. We’re going to need you to write that screenplay. Take care of her, G.C., would you?”
Giancarlo put his arm around Esme. “I intend to, you can be sure.”
As soon as Helen and Bob left, Janine went off to give instructions to the photographer, leaving Nancy, Bess, Esme, Giancarlo, Kim, and Todd standing outside the dressing room.
“I think you’ve got a few questions to answer, young lady,” Esme said to her assistant. “You were responsible for that suitcase. Would you care to explain how someone managed to slip a deadly spider—and a threatening note—inside it?”
Kim crossed her arms and narrowed her dark eyes on Esme. “Your guess is as good as mine,” she said.
“That’s no answer!” Esme cried.
After pouting, Kim then addressed the rest of the group. “After I packed the suitcase, I left it in Esme’s room during the press conference. Where I thought it would be safe!”
“Obviously someone broke into Esme’s hotel room during the press conference and put the spider inside the suitcase, or else it happened here at the studio,” Nancy concluded.
“But that would mean it was one of us,” Bess concluded.
Kiss and Tell Page 3