Bell, Book, and Scandal

of the questions really didn’t have anything to do with mystery books.
    She stuck it out as long as she could, then wandered back to the lobby. It had pretty much cleared out when the sessions began. She went up to the suite briefly to retrieve one of the two books she’d kept there and went back to the lobby to dip into it while she waited for Shelley to turn up for the next session.
    A woman came and took the chair next to her. Jane was already caught up in her book and didn’t even look up to see who it was. People with good manners didn’t interrupt people who were reading.
    But this woman did. Good manners weren’t her forte.
    “Excuse me, but I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Lucille Weirather.“
    “I’m glad to meet you,“ Jane said with barely concealed horror, and pretended to go back to reading. It was the woman Felicity and Shelley had pointed out as the probable Miss Mystery. Jane oozed slightly to the right and turned her name tag over so the woman couldn’t read it.
    “What is your name?“ the woman persisted.
    “Why do you want to know?“ Jane said, knowing she was sounding like Shelley did when she was approached by a stranger she’d taken a dislike to. Over the years, she’d learned a lot about self-protection from Shelley.
    “I overheard you and your friend speaking to Ms. Jones in the food court, and you never called each other by name. I wondered if you could tell me more about the plagiarism.“
    Jane turned and pointed out the sign at the registration desk. “Have you read that? And I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me for someone else. I know nothing about it and don’t even want to. I don’t even know what you mean about a ‘food court.’ “
    The woman stood up and said with a wicked grin, “Sorry to have bothered you, dearie.“
    Not as sorry as I am, Jane wanted to shout after her.
    Jane tried to go back into the book and calm down, but the woman had spoiled it for her. She closed the book and glanced at her watch. Shelley ought to be turning up pretty soon if she meant to attend the next session.
    A moment later Shelley appeared, walking noisily on her heels and flopped down angrily in the chair across from her. “I’m so angry. That awful woman that Felicity and I think is Miss Mystery cornered me as I was stopping at the drinking fountain.“
    “She caught up to you, too?“
    “What do you mean? Has she been harassing you as well? What did she ask you?“
    “She wanted to know my name and all about the plagiarism thing.“
    “You didn’t tell her either, did you?“
    “Of course not. I turned over my tag and told her she’d mistaken me for someone else, and I didn’t even know what she meant by food court much less plagiarism and didn’t want to know.“
    “Good for you!“ Shelley exclaimed. “Almost word for word what I told her. Except I wasn’t wearing my tag in the shopping area.“
    “She obviously wanted to name the two of us as her source.“ Jane paused, then exclaimed, “Oh, no! We have to find LaLane and tell her what the woman is doing.“
    Shelley leaped up as if her chair had exploded. “You’re right! Do you know where she is or her room number?“
    Jane remembered the room number and they called her from the nearest house phone.
    “LaLane,“ Jane said when she answered, “this is Jane Jeffry.“ She went on to explain what had happened and begged LaLane not to give Miss Mystery their names. “She claimed her name was Lucille Weirather. That’s probably not her real name either. So just don’t tell our names to anyone who asks you, if you don’t mind.“
    “My lips are sealed. And I assure you I wasn’t the one who let the information out.“
    “We never doubted that,“ Jane said.
    “We never doubted what?“ Shelley asked when Jane hung up.
    “That she’d spilled the beans.“
    “I suspected her briefly,“ Shelley admitted. “But you convinced me it wasn’t her.“
     

Twenty-four
     
    “Who else knows us by name?“ Shelley asked.
    Jane smiled. “I’ve introduced myself to several dozen people after taking your advice to mingle. None of them remembered my name. Only Felicity. And she wouldn’t tell Miss Mystery.“
    “No, but she might slip up and tell someone else sent in by Miss Mystery,“ Shelley warned.
    “I guess we should catch up with Felicity. Wonder where she’d be. Want me to call her room?“
    Jane didn’t have to.
    “Do I hear my name being taken in vain?“ Felicity said from behind them