The production assistant arrived to escort Betsy back to the guest hall. I wished her good luck as she strolled away.
I spotted Derek talking to Bruce at the far end of the stage. I was tempted to storm across the space like an army general so people would sense my fury and clear the path. But I couldn’t do that. Instead, I walked casually, professional and composed as I passed the friends I’d made over the past few weeks. But as I approached the two men, Bruce must’ve seen something scary in my eyes because he made a quick getaway. I figured my true feelings had sprung loose.
“You won’t believe this one,” I said to Derek. My jaw was clenched so tightly, I wondered if my skull would crack. In a low voice but with many hand gestures, I repeated everything Betsy had said. It wasn’t easy to rant quietly, but I tried.
“I’m wondering why you’re so surprised.”
“Good point.” I shook my head in dismay. “Nothing about Minka’s behavior should surprise me.”
Minka had devised a scam to rip off the guests. Betsy hadn’t realized what was happening or what she was saying, but it had been clear to me instantly.
“She’ll pay them some lowball amount and then turn around and sell the book to a legitimate buyer for twice as much money.”
“Yes,” Derek added quietly. “And there’s the not insignificant fact that she has defamed you on several occasions now.” He took my arm and led me away from the main stage to a deserted area backstage.
“I want to catch her in the lie,” I said, thumping my fist into my palm.
“I do, too,” Derek said. “I think this calls for a covert sting operation.”
“I really like the sound of that.” I was still angry, but now I could smile. “What do you have in mind?”
? ? ?
Minka was fired the next day.
Derek’s security operatives each played their roles to perfection. He’d brought in another female agent from his company to play the role of book owner. I supplied the book from my own library and made up some background information for her. Minka fell right into the trap, offering a lowball figure for the book on the condition that the owner would sell it to her instead of going on the show. Minka told her it was probably her best option because I wasn’t capable of assessing it properly. And then she made up a bunch of lies about my own experience and how shoddy my appraisals had been.
If I were the violent type, I would’ve been tempted to go after her with a baseball bat. But I was all about peace and love. Still, I was thrilled that our little sting was successful and that Minka had been dumb enough to play right into our hands. She had insisted that it was all her cousin’s idea. She never would’ve taken the money. Liar.
Earlier, Tom had called the four guests who had worked with Minka. After a few discussions, it became clear to Tom that Minka had been lowballing the worth of the owners’ books and then offering to buy them for more money than she’d quoted. One man claimed that she’d followed him all the way out to the parking lot, trying to get him to deal with her.
Now, as the police dragged her out of the hall, she pointed at me. “I know this is all your fault! You set me up!”
“You tried to defraud these people,” I said, not mentioning the fact that minutes ago, she’d tried to blame her cousin. “Maybe it’s time you took responsibility for the fact that you’re just a lousy grifter.”
“I’ll get you for that!”
“Oh, shut up,” I muttered, but still refused to be too angry when the moment was so sweet.
One of the cops pushed her head down and shoved her into the squad car. She howled in protest and twisted and squirmed as the two officers jumped into the front seat and drove away.
As they left the parking lot, the sun came out from behind a cloud and birds began to sing. It was a beautiful day.
Soon after Minka was gone, I ran into Angie inside at the catering table.
“I heard you were the one who recommended Minka for the job,” Angie said as she stirred sugar into her cup. “Did you know she was like that?”
I looked at Angie in horror. “You heard wrong. I would never recommend her for anything. She’s my worst nightmare.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I thought she was kind of mean.”
“She’s criminally insane,” I said, pouring myself a cup of decaf. “There’s no other way to spin it.”
Angie held up her hand to stop talking as she listened to her headset.
That’s when I remembered that I owed her an apology.
“I’d better get back to the stage,” she said.
“Wait. Do you have one quick minute to talk? I have a confession to make.”
“Ooh, boy. That doesn’t sound good.”
I laughed, then lowered my voice. “You know that someone has been stalking Randy, but what you don’t know is—”
“Stop.” She squinted at me. “What did you say?”
Whoops. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you didn’t know.”