“Maybe.” Although I couldn’t imagine Vera’s relatives having any more interest in the book than Vera had had, other than the money they could make by selling it.
I pictured the beautiful book with its dazzling original cover painting and stunning craftsmanship. Then I pictured the hideous Jones brothers. Grizzly, standing on the street, threatening me. His equally disgusting brother, Lug Nut, grabbing me, bruising my arm, and smacking down Benny the guard.
On one hand, the precious book. On the other, the repugnant thugs. The two images were so incongruous, they made me dizzy. But I needed to figure out the connection between them before I became a target again.
Derek pulled to a stop at the red light at Sixteenth and DeHaro Street. “Love, perhaps it’s time you did a little more research into the book itself.”
“I was just coming to that same conclusion.”
? ? ?
Everyone I met in the studio wanted to talk about Tish. Most of the women were still worried about security in the parking lot.
In an effort to quell nerves and get people back to work, Tom gathered the entire staff and crew together on the stage to make an announcement. “I just heard from Kenny. Tish is doing great. She’s sitting up in bed and demanding that he get her the hell out of there.” Everyone laughed and some began to applaud.
“But the doctors want to keep her there for one more day,” he continued. “Just to make sure her concussion isn’t more serious than they think.”
Low murmurs of concern escalated quickly through the crowd.
“Hey, hey, it’s just a precaution,” Tom added quickly. “She’s feeling great and expects to be back here working by Thursday.”
This seemed to satisfy everyone enough to drop their security issues for the moment and they ambled back to work. I was thrilled to know that Tish would recover completely, but the knowledge did nothing to ease the guilt that was causing my stomach to twist and dip. Because, let’s face it, she was in the hospital because of me.
“No,” I muttered aloud. She was in the hospital because of those jackass Jones brothers.
That thought intensified my desire to seek a solid connection between the Thug Brothers and The Secret Garden. I headed for my dressing room to spend some time doing research on my computer, but when I got there, I found it packed with people.
“Oh, hello,” I said. I’d forgotten Derek had chosen my room to meet with his small security force and introduce them to Tom.
“Brooklyn,” Derek said, grabbing hold of the knob to keep the door open. “Let me introduce you to everyone.”
I walked in and was soon shaking hands with George, Barbara, Steve, and Mindy. They were all in their late twenties or early thirties and looked smart and capable. Each wore casual street clothes except for George, who was wearing the same style guard’s uniform that Benny wore.
“George isn’t quite as undercover as the others,” Derek explained. “I thought it would calm some of the frayed nerves to have an outward show of increased security on the set.”
“I’m sure it will,” I said. “Tom and Walter should be here any minute. I just saw them out onstage.”
“Good,” Derek said. “Before they get here, I want to reiterate that we’ve two security objectives. First and foremost, Brooklyn.”
I waved weakly. “That’s me.”
Derek shot me a wry smile and then sobered. “We believe the man who attacked Tish last night is the brother of the man who assaulted Brooklyn last week. Brooklyn’s assailant is currently in jail, but his brother is still on the loose. He’s a dangerous thug who goes by the street name of Grizzly. I e-mailed descriptions of him and a short video to all of you last night.”
“Grizzly.” Mindy frowned. “His name suits him.”
“It does,” I assured her, glad that Derek had shown them the video from my phone.
“So he’ll be hard to miss,” Barbara added.
“He’s a big, ugly sucker,” I said. “There’s no disguising his height and weight. Be careful if you run into him.”
It was probably an unnecessary tip. These women—and men—worked security for Derek so they had to know every form of self-defense move known to man. Unlike me, I thought. But that would change soon. I couldn’t wait for Alex to show me some moves that would make me feel a little more kick-ass and less wimplike.
Derek switched subjects. “Tom Darby and Walter Williams are the show’s producers and you’ll meet them in a moment. They’re the only ones who know your true reason for being here. You three will be introduced to the other staff and crew members as new production assistants and you’ll be expected to do whatever the job entails. George, you’re the new security guard Tom hired. You’ll act accordingly, patrolling the stage areas, keeping your eyes and ears open for any trouble. If any of the women want to be escorted to their cars, go ahead and do that.”
“It’ll be my pleasure,” George said smartly.
Mindy batted her eyelashes. “Who doesn’t love a man in uniform?”