Bell, Book, and Scandal

“I’m sorry,“ she said to her captor, “I have to leave now.“
    Walking quickly and followed by Jane and Shelley, she headed for the elevators. They had one all to themselves. “Come up to the suite and take those high heels off,“ Shelley said.
    “Thanks,“ Felicity said when they were safely alone.
    Shelley started pouring them drinks, this time wine. “What’s going on down there in the lobby?“ she asked as she handed out the glasses.
    “All hell has broken loose, a wildfire of gossip is spreading about Vernetta. They’re saying she plagiarized at least half her book from an old one of Zac’s.“
    “It’s true,“ Jane said.
    “Vernetta’s been stomping around accosting anyone she can find, vehemently denying it.“
    “What’s the costume this time?“ Jane asked.
    “None. Bulging old jeans and a sweatshirt with the name of a singer who does songs for little kids on the front of the shirt. Is it really true about her?“
    “Yes,“ Shelley said. “But I wonder how it circulated.“
    “Shelley was the one who discovered it,“ Jane said.
    “How?“
    “With a copy of that page that was in Zac’s hand when he was found,“ Shelley said. “I found Vernetta’s book on the Internet and did a search for a distinctive phrase from the page.“
    “So you two started this wildfire?“
    “We tried not to,“ Jane said. “We only told one person who’d helped us. And she promised she wouldn’t say anything about it to anyone else. I don’t believe she did.“
    “I’d like to know who did. I’ll bet it was that woman I think is Miss Mystery. It’s exactly the kind of thing she’d love to pass around.“
    “But where would she have found the information?“ Shelley asked.
    “Probably eavesdropping on you,“ Felicity said. “Where were you when you told the one person?“
    Shelley and Jane looked at each other in horror. Jane said, “In the food court in the tunnel.“
    “Was that woman I pointed out to you there?“
    “We didn’t even notice who else was there,“ Shelley said. “I’m afraid we may have stupidly started this. We certainly didn’t mean to. Oh, we considered shooting off our mouths about it, but decided it wasn’t a nice thing to do. We’d have seemed to be the worst gossips in the world if we did.“
    Felicity took another sip of her drink and said, “You’re really not to blame. It would have come out somehow. Who else knew this?“
    Jane ticked off the names. “Vernetta and Gaylord, Sophie Smith, Zac, and Corwin. They were all determined to keep it quiet for stupid reasons of their own. All of them were only thinking about the money and their reputations instead of concentrating on the perp of Sophie’s sudden, unexplained illness and the attack on Zac.“
    “Of course they were,“ Felicity said. “All but Vernetta and Gaylord are pros in the business. That’s their priority, however blind that kind of thinking is. What was Vernetta’s reaction when she was told she’d been caught out?“
    “Complete denial. She claimed it was from a book she knew to be out of print so she was entitled to use it,“ Shelley replied.
    “That’s crazy,“ Felicity said.
    “We know. But she didn’t. Still, it proves she’s not entirely blockheaded. She apparently believed being out of print for a long time made copying it okay,“ Shelley explained. “It wasn’t entirely convincing.“
    “But when Sophie accused Vernetta of poisoning the chocolates she had given her and attacking Zac, the denial sounded slightly more sincere,“ Jane explained.
    “Sophie hit her with all that? All at once? Good for the old broad. I guess you two heard it all? Were you convinced she really wasn’t responsible for anything but the plagiarism?“
    “At first I was,“ Jane said. “But Shelley steered me out of being that dopey.“
    “How did this confrontation come to take place?“ Felicity asked. “Spill the beans.“
    Shelley and Jane walked her through the whole thing, and Felicity was delighted to hear the details.
    “May I share some of this with my close writing pals? Without using your names, of course. The basic premise of the plagiarizing won’t be a secret in the business for long. I give it until Monday to be all anyone talks about in publishing circles. But I’d like to share the news that friends of mine ferreted it out all by themselves.“
     

Twenty-three
     
    After Felicity departed, Jane and Shelley halfheartedly started to pack for the trip home