Bell, Book, and Scandal

you poisoned me with the chocolates you had sent to me. And you could have killed Zac by attacking him for that book. You’ll go to jail for this.“ Sophie’s voice had risen to a shriek. “You’ve made a fool of me. Nobody makes a fool of me. I’ll watch every step you ever take when you get out of jail someday.“
    Vernetta crossed her arms over her heavy breasts and sneered. “You’re wrong about all of this. This plagrizing stuff is crap. It was a pair of really old books. I checked on the Internet and both of them were out of print. They didn’t belong to anyone anymore. It was okay to use them. And I know Zac didn’t write that book. It was some other guy. Somebody named Howard or Harold or some such smarty-pants name.“
    She slapped her large red hands on the table and went on, “And I didn’t do anything to your candy and you bet I paid a bundle for it. I even paid extra to have it gift wrapped. I never stole a book from you. I didn’t even know what happened to Zac until word got around the conference. You ain’t got a leg to stand on, you old tart.“
    She stood up, her bosom bouncing violently. “C’mon, Gaylord. We’re gettin’ ourselves a lawyer right now.“
    She stormed out, dragging Gaylord in her wake.
    Silence reigned. Jane, Shelley, Zac, Corwin, and
    Sophie looked as if they’d been poleaxed.
    It was Jane who spoke first, in a faint voice. “I suspect she was telling her version of the truth.“
    “God help us all if she is,“ Shelley said.
     

Twenty
     
    “You can’t mean that,“ Sophie said. “It’s clearly pla giarism.“
    “Oh, that part is absolutely right. She is a plagiarist. She’s admitted it even though she doesn’t realize it,“ Jane said. “What I meant is I believe that she didn’t steal the copy of Zac’s book. She didn’t poison your candy. She isn’t responsible for the attack on Zac himself. She was much too confident on those points. Didn’t you notice the change in her voice and stance? It was obvious. She didn’t even grasp the concept of copyright infringement, or that it was important.“
    Shelley stepped in where Jane left off. “We just assumed that since she’s immoral—more accurately, ignorant about copyright law, and terribly vulgar—that she’s prone to violence. We all have the proof of plagiarism. We have no proof whatsoever that she did any physical harm to anyone.“
    “So who did?“ Corwin asked.
    “Who knows?“ Jane asked. “Someone with an
    entirely different motive, I have to guess. I have no idea who that would be.“
    “How can we find out?“ Sophie asked.
    “I’d guess you could ask more questions of the doctors who treated you, Ms. Smith,“ Shelley suggested.
    “They were all idiots. They hadn’t a clue,“ Sophie said.
    “But somebody in the hospital probably took all kinds of samples, and since you recovered so quickly they didn’t bother analyzing the samples,“ Shelley insisted. “I think you should contact the CEO or whoever is the head honcho and learn more answers.“
    “I’ve already signed out ages ago. They wouldn’t keep the samples for that long.“
    Jane had been thinking of Zac’s welfare more than Sophie’s.
    “We could theoretically ask the police to survey everyone at the hotel and the conference about that parking lot,“ Jane said. “When and if they used it. If they noticed Zac’s van coming or going.“
    “The same thing applies,“ Shelley argued. “Zac recovered. If he’d been murdered—forgive me for suggesting that, Zac—but if it had happened, they’d have taken it much more seriously and would have already been knee-deep in an investigation.“
    Sophie, for once, had waited her turn to speak. “I don’t have the time or interest in contacting thehospital. I simply won’t eat any edible gift a fan or writer gives me again. I still think Vernetta put something in the chocolates.“
    “So do I,“ Corwin said.
    “When did she give them to you?“ Jane asked. It was worth considering, she supposed.
    “When I checked in. Not directly in person though. She had them sent to my suite with a note that they were from her.“
    “When did you eat one?“
    “Oh, a couple of hours later. Quite a bit later, in fact. I’d gone over to that mall to get this dress. After such an early flight, I was tired and hungry and didn’t want to wait for room service. They’re always so slow.“
    “How many of them did you eat?“ Jane asked.
    Sophie looked disconcerted and