Kiss of Death

FOR NANCY’S SAKE, to help make things pleasant with the daughter of the man she loved, I put on my “welcome” expression and met Didi and the former Mrs. Rose at the elevator.

Mother and daughter were the same height, about five feet three, but Didi’s build was slim and strong; her mother’s body was more delicate. I couldn’t picture Veronica Rose doing anything more athletic than shopping.

“You’re in luck.” I glanced at the wall clock. “He’ll be taping a scene in a little while. You can watch, if you want to.”

“Oh, I do!” She was practically jumping up and down with excitement. “This is so cool!”

With her glossy chocolate brown hair, big brown eyes, and heart-shaped face, twelve-year-old Didi Rose was showing unmistakable signs of the grown-up beauty she would become.

Politely, I extended my hand to her mother, who was watching me with a calculating expression in her eyes.

“Call me Veronica.” She spoke so softly I had to lean forward to hear her. “It was so nice of you to invite us to your studio.”

“I’m delighted to have you here,” I lied. “Didi impressed me with her comments about the show.”

Didi’s voice was natural and enthusiastic; her inflections ran all up and down the tonal scale. In sharp contrast, her mother’s voice was almost a whisper. I imagined Veronica practicing that breathy, little-girl quality, for the seductive effect it had on some men.

Arnold’s ex-wife flashed a smile that revealed two rows of sparkling white teeth, but not a hint of warmth. “You must be busy, doing . . . what you do. If you’ll just have someone show Didi what she wants to see, we won’t have to trouble you.”

“Didi especially wants to meet Link,” I said, referring to actor Link Ramsey who played Cody. “When Link’s taping, they can watch from the control room.”

Betty led Arnold’s daughter and his ex-wife toward Studio 36, where Link would be blocking the scene he’d tape later.

Our office was empty, but I saw Tommy had stuck a note to my monitor. “Gone for a massage. Don’t forget to come back from Arizona,” it said. I was glad to have the privacy. There was a lot of work to be done in reintroducing Evan Duran to the audience.

Privacy lasted for ten minutes. There was a knock on the door, followed immediately by the entrance of Veronica Rose. Alone.

As if she didn’t know. “Yes, it’s Morgan. I am very busy, but what can I do for you?”

Uninvited, Veronica perched on the edge of the visitor’s chair closest to my desk and said, “I want to do something for you, or rather, for someone else. Didi says you’re friends with that tall girl who works in my husband’s office.”

I kept a grip on my temper. “You’re referring to Nancy Cummings? She’s a highly regarded corporate attorney.”

She dismissed that with a wave of one perfectly manicured hand. With a jab of apprehension, I noticed that Veronica wore a diamond engagement and wedding ring combination on the third finger of her left hand.

“I’m afraid Nancy’s going to be terribly hurt,” she said. “Perhaps, for her own good, you could have a little talk with her.”

“Your friend seems to have a serious crush on Arnold. It’s happened to quite a few girls who’ve worked in the office. Arnold enjoys the attention. He’s only human, after all. But now I’ve moved back to New York.”

“I left Arnold. He’s never really gotten over me. I’m unfinished business, you see. And we have a child we both adore. That’s a bond between us that no other woman will ever break.”

Having planted her little bomb, Veronica got up. “I’m merely trying to save your friend some pain. Arnold has led vulnerable young women on before.” She flashed a smile with those unnaturally white teeth and glided out of the office.

Arnold’s ex was as transparent as a freshly washed window. I knew she expected me to tell Nancy what she’d said. Her game was to stir up trouble, but I wasn’t going to play.

Then, suddenly, I wondered: Was there any truth to what Veronica had said? I didn’t want there to be, because if there were then Nancy would be in for terrible heartbreak.

No! I refused to believe Veronica because I’d spent time with Nancy and Arnold, and never saw anything that made me doubt he loved Nancy. And I knew how much she loved him. Arnold’s ex-wife probably regretted their divorce and wanted him back. I was sure her phony sympathy—trying to get me to “warn” Nancy, was just an act of manipulation.

Putting Veronica Rose out of my mind for the next two hours, I concentrated on writing dialogue inserts for scenes that would be taped the following week. Characters would talk about Evan Duran, establishing him in the minds of the audience, before he appeared on-screen in scenes he would begin taping in two weeks. A lot of rewriting was needed, but the publicity of bringing back an original actor from earlier days would be valuable.

I’d have to create Garwood’s first few scenes myself. It would be quicker than explaining to the associate writers on the staff what I had in mind. Future scripts would be assigned to others, after Garwood was on the Love of My Life canvas. By then the writing staff would have had a chance to study the actor, to catch his rhythms, and they’d know the story I had in mind for the Evan Duran character.

I was printing out the inserts when Betty came in. “You’ve got to leave for the airport.”

“I know.” I removed the last of the pages and handed them to her. “Would you put these inserts into the revised scripts—I’ve indicated the particular episode numbers at the top of each page—and then distribute them?”

A half smile curved Betty’s lips. “Little Didi reminds me of an old joke about a man who didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘tact.’”

“She told Jay Garwood—about his beard—that he looked like he was wearing a squirrel on his face.”

“He laughed, but I think he was trying to impress Mrs. Rose with what a good sport he was.”

Betty grimaced. “She’s one of those greedy women who’ve got to have every man in the room wanting her. Link didn’t pay any attention to her display of charm, but when she gave Jay Garwood a blast of it, Jay looked at her like he was a hungry dog and she was a sirloin steak.”

I stuffed two white legal pads and a handful of my favorite pens into my tote bag; they were the materials I’d need for writing on the plane to Arizona. “He didn’t do or say anything inappropriate, I hope.”

Betty shook her head. “Perfect gentleman. Anyway, I think she was just practicing on the poor guy.”