Page 63 of Pied Sniper

Chapter Thirteen

“Maybe I should call my lawyer before I speak to you.”

We all trooped into the boardroom where Jonathan slumped into his seat once more. Grace pulled a chair next to him and stretched her arm out, wrapping her hand around his. Jonathan looked clammy and pale. I wasn’t sure whether to hand him a trash can or offer to get him some more water. Solomon stood over him, his arms crossed, staring down. It was hard to determine, but I thought Solomon might have been a little pissed when Jonathan sat down in Solomon’s usual seat. Not that Solomon ever seemed to care about physically positioning himself at the head of the table. I and the rest of the staff automatically deferred to him. After all, he was the boss.

“You can if you want to,” I said, taking a chance, “but Tiffany’s apartment manager already told us everything about your public argument. You might as well save us all some time and tell us in your own words.”

“He overheard it, huh?” Jonathan glanced at me, and sighed. “He’s the big dude, right? Tiffany yelled at him.”

“She yells at everyone,” said Grace.

“She yells at Grace all the time,” said Jonathan. Then he hiccupped.

“Which is how the manager heard everything and he already told us,” I said, eager to get them back on topic. Sure, it was a small lie, but I had to get Jonathan talking. Tiffany was still missing and the clock was ticking. Even though I felt reasonably sure Jonathan wasn’t involved in her abduction, he still knew things about her that we didn’t. She seemed to lie to everyone in her personal life as well as her on-screen professional life, which made it difficult to narrow down a suspect.

“Fine.” Jonathan took a deep breath. “Can I get some more water?”

“Start talking,” said Solomon.

“He needs water,” complained Grace. “We could walk out of here any minute, you know. We don’t have to be here. You’re not the police.”

“The minute you walk out, we’ll call the police and turn you both over to them,” I warned her. Catching Jonathan’s eye, I continued, “It really is best if you just tell us everything.”

“Can you get me some water?” Jonathan asked Grace.

She looked at him, then glanced around, apparently reluctant to leave. “I don’t think I should go,” she said, after a long pause.

“Fine. I didn’t want you to hear about this but I guess it doesn’t matter. Everyone is going to know anyway. Tiffany and I were arguing because she stole something from me and I told her to give it back. She was holding it hostage so I’d do whatever she asked me and I finally had enough.”

“What did she steal?” I inquired.

“A ring that belonged to my grandmother. It’s sapphire and diamond.”

“Sounds expensive.”

“Not especially. Mostly sentimental value. I had it at my apartment and she saw it one time and wanted it. I told her no, it was an heirloom, and I wanted to give it to someone. She demanded to know the recipient and I told her it was for Grace. Not that it was any of her business! Anyway, she stole it. I think it was right before she left the city. She came over and insisted I keep up the charade until she said otherwise and told me if I went public with Grace, she’d destroy me.”

“What makes you think she stole it?”

“A few days later, when I realized it was gone, I called her and confronted her and she denied it. I wasn’t sure I could believe her but she was pretty convincing. I hired a construction crew recently to begin renovating so I thought it could have been one of them. I was ready to write it off as lost. Then a week ago, I watched one of her videos and there it was! Right there on her finger! I called her and told her to give it back. She denied it again. Then she threatened to tell everyone I gave it to her and make me look like an ass if I kept demanding she give it back. She said she’d tell Grace it was second-hand and she was second best, which was a flat lie. I said I didn’t care what she threatened anymore, I wanted it back and I was coming over to get it.” He looked up, his face hard in anger. “So I got on a flight as soon as I could and tracked her down.”

“How?” I waited as Jonathan’s gaze slid to Grace. “Ah, of course, Grace told you where she was.”

“It wasn’t any secret,” said Grace. “I’m only here because she wouldn’t let me out of my contract and I can’t afford to be sued. But I found a loophole.”

“You did?” I asked.

“The Grand Canyon of loopholes! Tiffany never signed the contract! I’m free.” Grace grinned.

“Do you know why Tiffany wanted to continue the façade of you two being in a relationship?” I asked, returning my attention to Jonathan.

Jonathan shrugged. “Who knows? The views probably. Our viewers regard us as a real-life soap opera and I’ll admit, it hasn’t hurt my career. But I was so done with the charade. I knew it was over as soon as Grace and I started getting close. I told Tiffany I would expose her if she didn’t let it fizzle out and never talk about me again.”

“What did she say to that?” asked Solomon.

“She threatened to tell everyone I was a loser and she dumped me. She also said she had way bigger storylines than ours for her channel.”

“Do you know what she meant by that?”

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