Hot Secret by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online Page A

dear?”
    “I’m fine,” Veronica said, sounding incredibly sober and convincing for a woman who’d downed several double vodkas over the past few hours.
    Despite Veronica’s reassurances, Jeff Meyerson surveyed the trio of onlookers and suggested, “Perhaps, if you could leave us alone.”
    Jenkins looked disgruntled by the dismissal, despite the fact that he’d been on his way out the door not two minutes earlier. Michael nudged Molly toward the door as well.
    “What’s your hurry?” she grumbled as he tugged her along to the elevator.
    “I want to get to a phone,” he replied.
    “Why didn’t you just use the one in Veronica’s room?”
    “I didn’t want Jeffrey Meyerson listening in.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because the last flight from L.A. should have gotten in about three hours ago. Unless that flight was very late, it should have put him in town just in time to have murdered Greg Kinsey.”

CHAPTER
FIVE
    Molly tried not to gloat. She really did. But even though she knew she should leave well enough alone, the first words out of her mouth were, “I knew you couldn’t resist.”
    Michael turned, his expression puzzled. “Resist what?” he asked. He didn’t seem nearly as pleased as she was by the observation.
    “Getting involved.”
    “I am not involved,” he said emphatically. He jammed his hands into his pockets as if that would keep them from reaching for the phone again.
    “Then why are you calling to check on flight schedules?”
    He lowered the receiver of the pay phone back into place. “Instinct,” he admitted. “But you’re right. This is not my case. I’ll find Jenkins and tell him what I suspect. Wait here.”
    Before Molly could protest, he’d stalked offacross the black-and-white hotel lobby that looked like a set from some thirties musical with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.
    “Well, damn,” Molly muttered as she watched him disappear into the meeting room off the lobby where the police had apparently set up a temporary headquarters. This was not what she’d had in mind at all. Obviously, the hook hadn’t sunk in deep enough. Michael had wriggled loose.
    Thoroughly disgruntled, she walked over to the front door of the hotel, expecting to find the throng of reporters still lurking like seagulls awaiting a tasty catch. Instead, they had vanished, either satisfied by statements from the police or in search of more cooperative sources.
    More likely, like Ryan’s photographer, they’d headed for the fire escapes.
    At any rate, outside it looked like any other Saturday night. Molly watched the endless parade of couples in attire that ranged from the downright eccentric to the most stylish available. As their conversation and laughter filtered through the glass, she tried again to sort through the various relationships she’d observed among the cast and crew on Greg’s production.
    Twenty-nine-year-old Duke Lane, of the slicked-back hair and bad breath, had been Laura’s choice for leading man, from what Molly had read in the trades. His box-office following climbed with each new project. While Veronica’s scathing assessment of the way he’d chosen to play the character of Rod Lukens was right on track in Molly’s opinion, therewas no arguing that he was giving a compelling, realistic performance. It was no doubt based on his own experiences. The man had an enthusiastically reported history of charming older women who could advance his career.
    Still, if he hadn’t been the director’s first choice and if Veronica’s complaining was beginning to get through to Greg, was it possible that Duke might have felt he had to kill the director? Molly dismissed the idea almost before it was fully formed. In that scenario, he’d probably have gone for Veronica. Besides, the picture was nearly complete. Greg would not have recast the role at this late date, no matter how he felt about Duke.
    As for assistant director Hank Murdock, he’d get a directing break now that Greg was