Bell, Book, and Scandal

Shelley said. “Let’s go to a real dinner. I can’t bear to be in the same room with these people.“
    “Okay by me,“ Jane said. As they were heading for the nicest of the hotel restaurants, she said, “I don’t understand it. Vernetta doesn’t even know how to speak English. And I’d guess she has no idea how to spell anything over four letters long. She’s so utterly ignorant about human nature. Except her own, of course. How could she possibly write a good novel? It seems to me that making up characters that seem real, especially if they’re nothing like the writer who creates them, is the essence of fiction.“
    “That’s exactly what I’ve been wondering. I wonder if it simply has a lot of really good sex scenes.“
    “Shelley!“ Jane exclaimed. “Do you really suppose so?“
    Shelley shrugged. “Who could guess? Maybe we should look it up if it’s still somewhere on the Internet.“
    “I don’t think I could stand to read it,“ Jane said. “Good sex scenes or not. Come to think of it, we don’t even know where to look. I’ve never heard what it’s titled. I wonder if Felicity knows. She hasn’t read it but she said some of her friends had attempted to wade through it. Anyway, since it’s been sold to a real publisher, it’s probably been removed from the site, wouldn’t you imagine?“
    “Maybe so. I think this obsession with costumes means something,“ Shelley speculated. “Like what?“
    “Maybe she has a fabulous imagination hidden under her horrible public personality?“
    “She’s simply an obsessive show-off. Her imagination only runs to crummy costumes,“ Jane claimed.
    As they entered the dining room, Jane spotted someone way back in the corner waving to them. “There’s Felicity. She seems to be inviting us to join her.“
    They told the waiter to take them to her table. “What’s up?“ Jane asked, afraid it was just a friendly wave, not an actual invitation, when she noticed that Felicity had an old book open on the table.
    “Nothing much. It’s just too dark in here to read this tiny print, and I’d rather visit with you two. I haven’t even ordered anything but a drink yet. You were just in time.“
    “We didn’t see you at the snack party,“ Jane said. “I figured Vernetta might turn up.“
    They regaled Felicity with the Dorothy and Tin Man description. “He’d already burst out of his costume and was wearing really fancy underwear,“ Jane said.
    “No!“ Felicity said with a vulgar laugh. She closed her book—an ancient Mary Stewart paperback—and set it beside her at the edge of the table, and it promptly fell to the floor.
    “Let me pick it up for you,“ Jane said.
    “No, I can grab it,“ Felicity said. She leaned over, still laughing, and remained unseen for an unusually long time. She finally came back upright with the book in one hand and several loose pages of it in the other.
    “Glue’s gone. I’ll put the pages in order later.“
    “That’s it!“ Jane exclaimed so loudly that several people looked around at her.
    “What is?“ Shelley asked.
    “Old paperbacks often have pages that come loose,“ Jane said, lowering her voice. “That’s why Zac was holding one when he was attacked. That’s what I’ve been meaning to ask Mel about all this time.“
    “Why?“ Shelley inquired.
    “Because it might mean something.“
    “Like what?“
    “Your handsome detective is in charge of this case but he still gave his talks?“ Felicity wasn’t quite grasping what this was about. It was certainly more interesting than Gaylord’s underwear.
    “No,“ Jane said, surprising Shelley that she’d paid attention in spite of her deer-in-the-headlights look. “He was just called first because he was the closest. It’s some other detective’s case.“
    “Okay. I grasp that now,“ Felicity said. “But what does this have to do with the pages of old paperbacks falling out?“
    “Mel mentioned in passing that Zac was found on the ground just outside his van. He had an old yellowed book page in his hand. That’s what I was trying so hard to remember.“
    Shelley said, “Why is this so important to you, Jane, that you’ve fretted so much about recalling it?“
    Jane shrugged. “I don’t know exactly. I just have a strong feeling that it might be significant.“
    “Nonsense,“ Shelley said briskly. “He was probably waiting for someone and reading while he waited. Maybe he dropped it like Felicity did and was trying to find