“I’m so sorry to hear about Laith,” Roman said. “He was a great producer.”
“We’ll talk to you tomorrow, Roman. It’s important to follow up on this last lead.”
“We’re hoping to resolve the case of the missing page from Sara’s book,” Eleanor added.
“Go on, then. I’d hate to interrupt two such noble investigators.”
“HELLO, STEPHANIE,” I greeted the woman working at the counter of the Days Inn. “Is Cindy still here?”
“Raul and Rosanna already packed up and are gone, but I believe Cindy is gathering the last of her belongings from the conference room. It’s horrible that Sara Knoxville is missing.”
“Actually, she was just found alive with her friends. Stranded on Charity Island, if you can believe that.”
“The poor thing. I heard there are snakes on that island.”
“Eww,” Eleanor said.
We made our way to the conference room, where we heard two very familiar voices.
“Hurry up, Cindy,” Benny said. “We have to clear out before Sara gets out of the hospital.”
“Are you positive she was rescued from Charity Island?”
“Of course I am. We bumped into a few deputies who were talking about it. If Wallace and I don’t get out of town soon, those sleuths will tell Roman all about us. He’ll find out we’re not the ones who he sent for.”
“I don’t want to go to jail,” Wallace said.
“We didn’t do anything to go to jail for,” Cindy said. “So, we were instrumental with ruining Sara’s book launch, but it’s hardly like we murdered anyone.”
“I can’t wait to hear why you’d want to do that to Sara?” I asked, stepping into the room.
“We worked on one of Sara’s movie sets and she got us fired,” Benny said. “We didn’t deserve that.”
“If she had you fired, there must have been a good reason for it,” Eleanor said.
“So we might have stolen a few things from her trailer,” Wallace said. “She couldn’t prove it.”
“So you ruined her book just because of that?” I asked.
“She ruined our chances to work on another movie by filing charges.”
“Then why aren’t either of you in jail?”
“Because she dropped them a few weeks later. She didn’t want to get any bad press with her book set to release. Good thing the files hadn’t been sent to the printer yet.”
“Don’t tell them I exchanged the book files,” Cindy said.
“You already did tell us dear,” Eleanor said, “but why would you do it?”
“I imagine Benny and Wallace here gave you some excuse for why they wanted to get back at Sara,” I choked out.
“Actually, no. It wasn’t supposed to go this far. It was only a joke.”
“The joke is on you, since Sara’s book has sold so well. Actually, she should thank you for doing that.”
“What’s going on?” Sheriff Peterson asked, as he joined us.
I quickly explained what happened and he motioned the trio out of the room. “Let’s head to the sheriff’s department to sort this out and determine if a crime has been committed.”
“They didn’t do this in Tawas,” I said. “But why did you follow us around, Benny and Wallace? Oh and Sheriff, these men weren’t sent here to film us on Roman’s behalf.”
“They’re frauds,” Eleanor said.
“Fess up and tell us the truth. How did you even know Roman was sending a cameraman to follow us around, anyway?”
“I know Roman’s secretary back in Los Angeles. She was happy to pass along the information to us.”
“Besides, the movie would make a good documentary about the demise of Sara Knoxville,” Wallace said.
“You planned to kill her?” I asked.
“No, we wanted to document what happened when her book was released without a key page. But nobody even cared!”
“Nope, but readers certainly are clamoring for copies of her book.”
“I can see that,” Eleanor said.
“Why did you show up here, Sheriff?” I asked.
“Stephanie made a call. She got a little paranoid when you two were standing in the hallway eavesdropping, I’d bet.”
“Thanks for showing up and good luck sorting things out.” I winked as we left.
“WOULD YOU CARE FOR a brownie?” Piper asked me, as we were seated around Rosa Lee’s kitchen table.
“No, thanks. I have a weak constitution,” I said.
Sara shook her head. “I’d love one.”
“There’s no pot in those brownies,” Rosa Lee said. “In case you don’t recall ladies, I’m trying to help Piper out by teaching her the right way to do things.”
“Did she do that to you when you were picking green beans?” I asked Piper.
“Oh, yes, but I did it my own way when she wasn’t looking.”
“Oh, my, what have I got myself into,” Rosa Lee said.
“What’s happening with your tell-all book, Sara?” I asked. “Are you rushing the book for a reprint?”
“Actually, no—or not until the first run of books is sold out. I can’t believe that people are buying my book when it’s missing a page.”
“They probably think it’s a collector’s copy.”
“Is your publisher taking action against Benny and Wallace?” Eleanor asked.
“Not when my book is number one. It’s the greatest publicity stunt and it wasn’t even planned by us.”
“How about fessing up about the man who you had a torrid affair with, Sara.”
Sara sighed. “You know I’ve given this a lot of thought, but I’ve changed my mind about revealing his name. Sorry.” She laughed.
Eleanor groaned, burying her face in her arms.
“Oh, come now, Eleanor. I was sort of expecting Sara not to reveal the man’s name.”
“It’s not fair, I deserve to know.”
“Don’t worry, you’re not missing anything special,” Sara said with a wink.
I smiled. “How about Cindy?”
Sara frowned for a moment. “Well, she betrayed me so I kind of had to let her go, but I helped her find another job, just not as an assistant to another actress.”
“What about Benny and Wallace?”
“They turned over their tapes to Roman to avoid criminal charges. We’re hoping that none of them wind up on YouTube. I don’t think you girls are ready to go viral.”
Well this has certainly been an interesting case. And it sounds like the plot of another great Hollywood movie.
About the Author
http://madisonjohns.com
ALTHOUGH SLEEP-DEPRIVED from working third shift, Madison Johns knew if she put what she had learned while caring for senior citizens to good use, it would result in something quite unique. The Agnes Barton Senior Sleuths mystery series has forever changed Madison's life, with each of the books making it onto the Amazon bestseller's list for cozy mystery and humor.
Madison is now able to do what she loves best and work from home as a full-time writer. She has two children and animals galore that keep her company while she churns out more cozy mysteries. She also writes western historical romances as Clara Kincaid.
If you’d like to receive new release alerts and updates, please sign up for Madison’s newsletter, http://eepurl.com/4kFsH.
Other books by this author
An Agnes Barton Senior Sleuths Mystery Series
Armed and Outrageous
Grannies, Guns & Ghosts
Senior Snoops
Trouble in Tawas
Treasure in Tawas
Bigfoot in Tawas
High Seas Honeymoon
Outrageous Vegas Vacation
Birds of a Feather
Undercover Inmates
Camping Caper
Hawaiian Hangover
An Agnes Barton Paranormal Mystery Series
Haunted Hijinks
Ghostly Hijinks
Spooky Hijinks
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Hair-Raising Hijinks
Ghastly Hijinks
An Agnes Barton Holiday Mystery
The Great Turkey Caper
The Great Christmas Caper
Lucky Strike
Kimberly Steele Sweet Romance
Pretty and Pregnant
Pretty and Pregnant Again
An Agnes Barton/Kimberly Steele Romance
Pretty, Hip & Dead
Petty, Hip & Hoodwinked
A Cajun Cooking Mystery
Target of Death
Lake Forest Witches
Meows, Magic & Murder
Meows, Magic & Manslaughter
Meows, Magic & Missing
Meows, Magic, & Mayhem
Meows, Magic, & Wands
Kelly Gray Sweet Romance
Redneck Romance
Paranormal Romance
Clan of the Werebear
Clan of the Werebear, the Complete Series
Shadow Creek Shifters
Katlyn: Shadow Creek Shifters
Taken: Shadow Creek Shifters
Tessa, Shadow Creek Shifters
Llama and the Lady
Nevada Brides Series
McKenna
Cadence
Kayla
Abigail
Penelope
Brides for the Bart Gang
Nevada Sunrise
Nevada Sunshine
Johanna, Bride of Michigan, is 26th in the unprecedented 50-book, American Mail-Order Brides series
Johanna: Bride of Michigan
Scandal in Tawas Page 15