Page 42 of Just Curious

Giving Jackson and Casey a wide-eyed look, Willa answered, “Thank you, Mrs. Mayfair. I’m flattered.”

“Call me Beatrice, please. And if my husband is going to go into business with you and your lovely men, I hope I can meet all of you soon. I’ve met Casey already, of course. He’s a doll.”

As Casey rolled his eyes and Jackson smirked, Willa answered, “That would be wonderful, Beatrice. As soon as I can, I’ll make sure you have a signed copy of my newest book too.”

“Thank you, Willa.” She sounded genuinely pleased. “I’ll let you all get back to your conversation now. I just wanted to say hello. Bye now.”

They could hear Cyril’s voice then saying, “She really does love the books. She says they make her feel good.” He let out a hearty chuckle. “But—back to business. I’m sorry you wasted any of your time on those Baxter brothers. They’re nothing but a couple of manipulative, cheating blowhards, if you ask me. Pardon my language.”

Willa, Jackson, and Casey looked questioningly at each other.

“If Beatrice is sold on your books, and I believeLost and Foundwas one of her favorites to boot, I’d love to invest in the project with you. You may not know, however, that I have an affiliation with an indie studio that I think would suit you—and the subject matter—in a more beneficial and enjoyable way. It’s called Twenty-First Century Wolves. Don’t let the name fool you—they don’t just make wildlife documentaries, though if they did, I’m sure they would be top-drawer. They are a couple of brilliant young filmmakers who are always looking for the next great story. Their time is due for a major success, if you ask me, and Willa’s book just may be the catalyst that makes everyone involved a star.”

Chapter 25

Over the next couple of weeks, Willa spent a lot of time talking with lawyers—an activity that drove her to tension headaches—and the two “brilliant young filmmakers” who were a lot more fun. Cyril’s guys turned out to be consummate and creative businessmen with a great eye for talent and a knack for promotion. One of them was Cyril’s nephew, but he assured them that it wouldn’t stop him from voicing independent opinions. With Cyril’s generous backing,Twenty-FirstCentury Wolves had already begun to make a name for itself in the film industry. As Cyril had said, they were on the road to stardom, and he hoped Willa’s book would be just the ticket to get them there.

Plus, when they spoke to Willa, they kept their eyes on her face.

That was a refreshing change.

After tossing around many ideas about the book and the basic story, the filmmakers left it up to Willa to select her own scriptwriter to help her convert the book into a screenplay. They wanted her to be comfortable with the process.

So, Willa considered the writers she knew and researched what they’d been up to lately. Eventually she settled on two women she liked. Calls to them narrowed the decision down immediately, however, because one of them was going to have a baby at any moment and thought her time would be too limited.

“Call me for the next one?” she implored Willa. “I’d love the opportunity to work with you, but it’s just not in the cards for me right now.”

Willa understood and called her other friend Janie Arden, a writer she’d met in college. Her research indicated that Janie was making some inroads in the movie industry.

“Willa! It’s great to hear from you,” Janie greeted her. “When are you going to have another book out? I’ve read all of them so far.”

After a bit of chitchat and reminiscing, Willa got down to business. “Janie, we’re going to make a movie out of my bookLost and Found, and I need some help creating a screenplay. I hoped I could count on you to partner with me on this project, and I really hope you’re not too busy to take this on.” She could hear Janie gasp as she continued, “I have backing and a studio lined up. They’ll be managing the major details, but I need to convert the novel into a usable script for them. I have the bare bones ideas already, but scriptwriting’s not exactly my talent.”

“Willa! That’s the best news I’ve had in months. I’m just finishing up this boring project and I’ll be free in about four or five days. Working with you sounds awesome. Thank you so much for considering me for the job. I’m flattered.”

They discussed some details, and Willa emailed Janie a contract after making plans for them to meet in a week via Face-to-Face. Janie lived up in Paso Robles, and although they discussed getting together in-person, Janie didn’t relish the idea of leaving her dogs, and Willa didn’t want to leave her men. Face-to-Face was a godsend for people who needed to conference remotely.

Janie promised, “I’ll look over the book again before we talk. Thanks, again.”

Even though the meetings with them stressed Willa, the lawyers, Charles and Mckenna, were quite optimistic about Willa’s chances for a successful case against Deb. Deb’s claims that the books were her own were “as flimsy as toilet paper,” as Charles put it. Their sources also indicated that Deb’s personality and likability were “just about as appealing as a slug.” They felt that if the case went to trial, Willa had a great chance of winning.

“I do want to warn you that we can’t predict how a jury might react to you as a person,” Mckenna said kindly. “Sometimes an attractive, successful young woman becomes the bad guy just because people tend to be jealous.”

Charles nodded in agreement. “We’ll want to take steps to make sure that you come across as professional and likable.”

Willa thought she could probably do that, but the whole thing made her nervous.

The police were granted a search warrant and they confiscated a laptop from Deb. She was charged with felony computer crimes under California penal code 502, grand theft of intellectual property, and fraud. Once she was arraigned, however, she only stayed in lockup for a couple of hours before making bail.

Through sources he didn’t name, Cyril learned that the Baxter brothers had put up the bail money. He thought it likely that they were hoping to avoid any scandal that would cast a poor light on their studio. They also hired her the best criminal defense lawyer in California and, since they had the press in their pocket, so far there was no hint of scandal spread around anywhere in the entertainment news. A juicy story about stealing a manuscript from a well-known author and making it into an Academy Award-winning movie was the stuff of dreams to the entertainment paparazzi, so the Baxters were being extremely careful to make sure the news didn’t break.

Willa’s lawyer Charles let her know that Deb resided in Pasadena with her boyfriend Ryker Davies, a self-proclaimed entrepreneur whose business dealings were unclear. Ryker only answered he was “in tech” when asked. As much as Deb came across as sneaky, Charles reported that Ryker was a viper—silent, calculating, and dangerous.

Jackson was certain he’d seen Ryker at DEF CON in Las Vegas. He was one of the black hat hackers who was arrogant enough to show off, and his skill was unparalleled. “Wouldn’t you just know that a woman with Deb’s moral compass would be attracted to a guy like that?” he asked Willa. Jackson shared everything he knew about Ryker with the lawyers, but his knowledge was terribly limited. He was able to tell them that “Ryker is a hacker on the level of international stardom, unfortunately. I’ve been working on a new program that will hopefully shield computers from the likes of him.”

Deb’s fancy defense lawyer ordered her to act like a model citizen and stay out of trouble while he built his case. Unfortunately for her, she was much too emotionally unstrung and pig-headed to follow his advice. Deb was both a pathological liar and a megalomaniac who was convinced of her rights to Willa’s material. And she seemed to have no qualms about stealing Willa’s work.

Her attorney was familiar with the criminal mind, but he was still shocked by Deb’s thinking when they spoke. Deb reasoned, in her own mind, that she’d discovered the first book, and that gave her the claim to it. She argued with her lawyer that, “That child wouldn’t have known what to do with the manuscript on her own.”

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