Page 113 of Just Killing Time

He shrugged, completely unconcerned. “You’re worth any risk, Jacey. And they know if you go, I’ll go too.” Then he gave her a cocky smile and lifted a teasing brow. “And Idefinitelycannot go.”

She tilted her head in confusion. “If I go, you…?” Then the truth started to dawn. “Oh, my God, you’re the reason they brought me back. You threatened to quit.”

“Something like that, but not in so many words. Caro went over Watson’s head.”

As she’d suspected, Caro had been involved. But she’d never imagined Digg had.

He’d stood up for her. In all her life, Jacey had never had anyone stand up for her, want to fight for her, to be a hero for her. She stood up on tiptoes and kissed him again, thanking him without words for his trust, his support. And his love.

“Can we really make this work?” she asked, a bit of self-doubt creeping in. “In the real world?”

“They have firemen in L.A., don’t they?” he asked.

His supreme confidence renewed her own. “And they have studios in New York,” she answered with a big grin.

Suddenly, everything seemed possible. The future rolled out in front of them, endless and unexplored. “When do we go?”

“Wednesday morning,” he replied without hesitation.

She nibbled her lip. “We can leave now. Just so, you know, if you ever doubted why I stayed, if you thought it had to do with the money you might win…”

“Ican’tleave.” He chuckled. “Besides, I haven’t won yet.”

“I won’t care if you don’t.”

“Good. Because if I do, a lot of it’s going to charity.”

Perfect. Just perfect. “I’m glad.”

That sparkle appeared in his eye, a boyish excitement that hinted at a secret. He hadn’t told her everything. She thought about his words. How the studio couldn’t let him quit. How hecouldn’t. “Wait a minute. Youcan’tleave?”

He simply watched her, that twinkle in his eye confirming what she’d just realized. He brought his finger to his lips and winked. “Shh.”

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “I won’t tell a soul.”

No, she wouldn’t reveal the truth to anyone.

Digg was the Derryville Demon.

CHAPTER TWENTY

THOUGHT SHE HAD no desire to be away from Mick, Caro had to get back to work on the set Sunday. The pivotal final episode was to be taped this evening. She couldn’t bail on her responsibilities, though it killed her to leave Mick alone for the first time since yesterday. He said he planned to meet his parents for lunch and would come by the set later.

Maybe it was just as well. She didn’t necessarily want their first impression of her to be as the predator whose TV show might kick their daughter when she was already down. And it didn’t look good for Mick’s sister. Even though Louise had gone to the police and told them that she had not left the gun in Mick’s office, they hadn’t released Sophie.

They still had the note. And they found it just as easy to believe Sophie could have gone back to the church office and gotten the gun later. She did have the keys, after all, since she’d been an employee.

When Caro arrived on the set, she realized that exactly what she’d feared was going to happenhadhappened. The media had heard about Sophie being taken into custody yesterday. Though she still hadn’t been charged, that was enough scandal to get the bloodhounds baying. And they were all over the story, digging up everything they could on the famous young author.

Caro was in the production trailer, answering the questions of a hungry reporter fromEntertainment News, when Mick showed up. He walked in just in time to hear her try to deflect a question about R. F. Colt. “We can’t comment on an ongoing police investigation,” she said, sounding stiff even to her own ears.

“Everyone else is commenting,” the reporter said. “They say the author, Sophie Winchester, used the cover of the Halloween party you were taping for your reality show to lure the woman she loathed to the inn.”

Caro just shook her head. “Again, I’m not going to speculate on a murder case. If you’d like to talk about the fictional one on the set ofKilling Time in a Small Town, I’d be happy to oblige you.” She gave a soft, deliberate laugh designed to encourage the reporter’s curiosity. “We have quite an amazing drama playing out here. Bodies and clues everywhere. The stage is set for tonight’s grand finale.”

The reporter took the bait, finally asking some questions about the show. Caro answered them with all the enthusiasm she could muster. She even managed not to flinch when she looked up in time to see Mick leave the trailer. His expression had been unreadable, his body stiffly held.

God, how she’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this. Hoped Sophie would be cleared so Caro wouldn’t be put in this horrible position—firmly between her job and the man she loved.

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