Kiss and Tell Read Online Free Page A

fifteen years building.”
    Nancy was about to speak up when Kim, off the phone now, announced, “They’re sending up hot water for your tea and a plate of raw vegetables. Did you want anything else?”
    â€œNothing right now,” Esme told her. “I’ll give you a call if I need you.”
    â€œNo problem.” With a toss of her dark hair, Kim walked toward the door. “I’ll be in my room. Ciao!”
    After Kim left, Nancy spoke to Janine. “Whether or not the publicity is good for Esme, harassment is illegal. Since Esme is willing to let us investigate, I’d like to peek at the notes she’s gotten.”
    With a sigh, Janine opened the briefcase she had with her and handed over a file to Nancy. “Those are all the notes that have been received, including the envelopes. Please be careful. Although I left copies at my office in New York, these are the originals.”
    Nancy took the file from Janine. “Before we leave, I’d like to know if you have any suspicions about who might be spreading these rumors? Who has the most to lose by what you’ve written?”
    Esme shook her head sadly. “Whoever is most worried about the truth, I suppose.”
    â€œWas Brenda right?” Bess put in. “Are you writing about Lee Michelle and Barry Hobbes? Is Todd in the book?”
    â€œAll of them,” Esme confirmed, her green eyes lighting up in amusement. “And others, too. But seriously, Nancy, there are many friends and enemies who have contacted me since I started writing the book, begging me to protect them and their reputations. I’ve told everyone that I’m not open to suggestion, bribery, or threats.”
    â€œClearly someone hasn’t gotten the message,” Nancy said, putting the file in her purse. “I’m going to do my best to find out who that is.”
    Fifteen minutes later Nancy was heading home to pore through the file Janine had given her. She’d left Bess at Esme’s hotel room, since the romance novelist had kindly agreed to answer some of Bess’s questions about the business and how she might become a writer, too.
    Nancy’s father wasn’t home from work, and a note from their housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, told Nancy she’d gone to the store. After checking the answering machine and finding no messages, Nancy climbed the stairs to her room, threw herself down on the bed, and started going through the file. An hour later she realized just how hard the case was going to be. Starting three months earlier, Esme, her publisher, her agent, even prominent reviewers and booksellers, had received dozens of threatening notes. Every single one was typewritten, but the typefaces were all different. Even worse, the notes were all mailed from different addresses across the Midwest. There was no way Nancy could travel to each post office. If she was going to trace the note writer, she would need help.
    Starting with the various kinds of paper the notes were typed on, Nancy made a list of possible clues. Once she’d gotten to the end, her list read: “paper—eighteen different kinds; typefaces—twelve different kinds; addresses—fifteen.” Letting out a long sigh, Nancy went back over each note, searching for telltale clues. Aside from some minor differences, the notes simply warned the person to whom they were addressed not to have anything to do with Esme’s book—that it would be a pack of lies—and threatened that if Esme went ahead with the project, the note writer would make sure her career was ruined. They were all about the same except for the last one. The first time she read it, Nancyhad gotten a shiver. Now, rereading it, she noticed something different, something she should have seen before.
    â€œBlack Widow,” the note read, “I’m insulted. Since you’ve decided to ignore me, I’ll have to make it personal. The threats will stop and the