Page 43 of Hidden With You

More important, did he even want to?

“Who does know?” Ryan asked.

Holt explained that the publicity department knew. Jamie knew, and so did Evelyn Dodge, who represented both Jamie and Zelda.

“All right,” Jasper said, trying to get his head back in the game, “where’s the overlap? Who knows about this gala and also has access to the graphic that was used in that threat?”

“Anyone could have designed that graphic,” Ryan said. “It’s pretty simple. Hell, they could have just photocopied the book.”

“No,” Holt said. “No, it’s different. Good catch.” He pointed at Jasper, then stood and started pacing. “This could mean something.”

He stopped walking, then frowned. “I don’t know what I’m getting so excited about. If it means something, it’s probably coming from my publicity department.”

“Explain,” Jasper said.

Matthew pointed to the crumpled threat, still on the sofa by Jasper. “We went through about a billion versions of that image. We used it on the chapter headings, and we’re going to be using it on all of the marketing, especially as we get closer to release. The image on that threat isn’t the one that ended up in the book. It’s close, but not right. Not exactly.”

He stood up and crossed to the far wall of the office, lined with bookcases. He pulled down a familiar hardback, then opened it to one of the chapters. Jasper looked at the graphic, then back at the target image on the threat he’d unfolded. At first, he didn’t see the difference. Then he noticed that there were a few extra circles making up the target, some lines were slightly thinner, and one was slightly blurred. “We wanted to give it a hint of motion,” Holt explained.

“That does make it sound like someone in your publishing or publicity department’s behind this,” Ryan said. “Sorry, Matthew.”

Matthew drew a breath as if collecting himself. “Yes, it does.” He sighed. “But it’s not for certain. Anybody on both teams would’ve had it. Zelda, Evelyn. Zelda’s marketing team. During the decision-making process, we shared the folder with all the draft versions of the target.”

“Well, that widens the field,” Jasper said with a frown.

“Yes. But it hasn’t been printed anywhere yet. Which means that it has to be someone who had access to the folder.”

“All right. This is a line to tug on. And in the meantime, we need to be tugging fast,” Ryan said. “When is this premiere?”

“Next Friday,” Holt said. “But as I mentioned, the Intercontinental trailer is a surprise. The guests believe they’re coming only to a premier and a party. We’re not advertising the Intercontinental connection.”

“But people who worked on the film or marketing know,” Ryan said, and Matthew nodded.

“That’s got to be where it’s going to happen,” Jasper said.

He wanted to kick himself. Granted, he hadn’t known about this gala. But she’d written a damn book, and there was a movie attached to it. That meant events. Even small publicity appearances. More book signings.

But did that threat even really exist? Was it just a false lead, directing them away from the one who was supposed to kill her? Directing them away from him.

What if there was no man with a gun? No assassin coming to the premiere? What if this was just the setup of a wild goose chase?

Because the perp they were truly looking for wasn’t a sniper at a gala. Instead, it was the puppet master who was pulling strings, trying to get Jasper to pull the trigger.

And that person was going to be a lot harder to find.

But no, his puppet master was smart. He’d have a backup plan. And when he realized that Jasper wasn’t going to take out Zelda, he’d put that plan in place.

There would be someone at that gala with a weapon. A knife. A sniper rifle. Maybe even poison.

Someone who would take Zelda out, stealing her from him.

And at the same time destroying every chance Jasper had to find out who killed Sandra and Bonnie.

Jasper returned from the meeting with Matthew Holt to find Leah pacing in front of the cottage and fuming.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked. “You’re supposed to be with Zelda.”

She stopped, her eyes slamming against his, fury burning under the surface. “I’ve got eyes on,” she snapped, then nodded to a table by the massive pool and deck that separated the cottage from the house. “But I was told to stay at a distance.”