Bell, Book, and Scandal

admitted, “All of them. It was a very little box. Only six Godiva soft centers.“
    “What did you do with the box?“ Shelley asked.
    “I threw it away, of course. It’s long since gone to the dump.“
    “So, Sophie is safe,“ Zac said. “What about me? Who else but Vernetta would want to destroy all of the copies of my books—and nobody say almost anyone who read one, please. I freely admit they were dreck. I’m much better at reviewing than writing my own books.“
    From what Jane had heard, not only from Felicity but also from other writers, Zac wasn’t even a good reviewer. He was careless with his reading and hated any book by a woman. He only temporarily liked her and Shelley because they’d been of use to him.
    Zac went on, “Vernetta took the trouble to see if the books she was stealing were out of print. She’s not as stupid as she seems. I don’t believe for a minute that she didn’t know all along that I wrote it. All three of my books were under different pseudonyms, but copyrighted under my real name. She couldn’t have plagiarized without owning a copy she’d found in some secondhand bookstore.“
    “How did you find out about it?“ Shelley asked.
    Zac said, “A good friend of mine had seen her book on the Internet and thought the title sounded familiar. He sent me an e-mail of the site. I’d never have known about the plagiarism otherwise. I’d forgotten after I was attacked, until she,“ he said, pointing at Jane, “showed me a page.“
    “How many other people have you told about this?“ Jane asked.
    “Nobody but the people in this room, the friend who tipped me off, and the literary attorney. To be frank, the attorney urged me to wait to file a suit until the book was published and Vernetta had lots more money. That’s why I’ve kept my trap shut. So far,“ he added. It was clearly a threat aimed at Sophie.
    “But you haven’t,“ Corwin said. “If that was what you intended, why did you give Sophie that book of yours?“
    Zac sighed and looked at Sophie. “We go a long way back together, Sophie and me. We’ve known each other since we started in the business. We’ve visited over the years at these conferences and exchanged a lot of gossip. I thought, in spite of my lawyer’s advice, that she should at least have a chance at knowing what she was in for. If she didn’t bother to read the book, I’d be off the moral hook.“
    “I guess I should thank you for that, Zac.“ Jane didn’t think Sophie was even trying to sound sincere.
    “When you said the book was missing, I suspected you took it seriously,“ Zac said. “That’s why I went home to retrieve the last copy I’d kept. I’d really like to have it back or at least a Xerox of it.“
    “I’ll make sure you do,“ Corwin said before Sophie could speak.
    “I wonder, too, Ms. Smith,“ Jane said, “if Vernetta took your threats about the copyright infringement seriously. She seemed to think it was trivial and she was in the clear because the books were out of print.“
    “She was very cavalier about that, wasn’t she?“ Sophie admitted. “She’ll see that I meant it when our attorneys point out that she has to give back all the money we’ve already advanced her.“
    “I imagine she’s already spent it on those ridiculous clothes and the architectural drawings of her mansion,“ Corwin said.
    “If Vernetta is an actual threat, won’t that make her even more dangerous?“ Shelley asked, glancing at Zac as she spoke.
    “Not with you two ladies looking after me,“ Zac said with a slight smile.
    “We can’t be your bodyguards forever,“ Jane warned him.
    She was realizing this discussion wasn’t really going anywhere. She and Shelley had done all they could. She’d irritated Mel to a dangerous extent by snooping and asking favors of him. She hated letting this go. But it wasn’t any of their business anymore. It was up to the attorneys now.
    She stood up and Shelley followed her lead and rose as well. “We need to go along now and leave it in your hands,“ Jane said. “Zac, would you like help getting back to your room?“
    “No, thanks. I’m feeling a lot better now. I’ll stay here awhile. Thanks again.“
     

Twenty-one
     
    Jane and Shelley went clown the hallway to their suite. Shelley walked. Jane stomped.
    When they were inside, Jane flopped into a chair and said, “If I don’t have another RC very soon, I’ll go entirely mad and my mother-in-law will finally be