Betty Jean is eighty, but she’s not the kind of eighty-year-old who shows you pictures of her grandchildren and offers to make you chicken noodle soup when you get sick. She’s originally from Boston and has been married and divorced four times. There are three things Betty Jean loves most in the world: the Red Sox. Prepping for any kind of natural disaster. And younger men. She’s a prominent member of the Gray Flamingos, a local senior citizens activist group, and if she feels like she’s been slighted in any way, no one at the AARP is getting any rest until the issue has been resolved.
“Aren’t you excited about my book club meeting tomorrow night?” she asks. “I told you I’d get J.W. Quicksilver.”
I wonder just how smug Betty Jean would be if she knew that whoever she has coming to her book club meeting is nothing but a big fat impostor. I should warn her, but I can’t do that without exposing Will.
“Well—”
“Oh, c’mon, Lucy. Say it. You didn’t think I could get him here, did you?” she crows, only there’s something off about her expression. It’s like that smirk has been frozen on her face.
“Betty Jean, did you get Botox?”
She lifts her chin in the air and turns her face from side to side. “I look twenty years younger, don’t I?”
“Well … sure. Whatever you say. Um, so I take it you’ve met this J.W. in person?”
“Not yet,” admits Betty Jean. “But I’ve spoken to him over the phone.” She exchanges a sly look with Brittany.
“I’ve spoken to him too.” Brittany giggles like she and Betty Jean share a secret joke. How irritating.
“And?” I ask impatiently.
“Tonight, all will be revealed,” Betty Jean says mysteriously.
“What will be revealed?”
“The reason why J.W. Quicksilver is such a recluse. And that’s all I’ll say on the matter.”
“Are you sure I can’t torture it out of you?” I ask, only half-joking.
“My lips are sealed. Let me just say that you won’t be disappointed.”
Her lips aren’t exactly sealed, but the Botox is making them—wait. “Why will all be revealed tonight? I thought the book club meeting was tomorrow.”
“Oh, it is,” says Brittany, “but that’s what we came to tell you. I’ve arranged for J.W. to do a reading and a private signing tonight.”
Private signing? “I don’t understand. When did all this happen?”
“After J.W. got in touch with Betty Jean, she gave me his information and I was able to put together this fabulous event at Daddy’s restaurant. It sold out in less than an hour, but that was to be expected since J.W. is a literary genius.”
“I thought you didn’t like his books.” Just the other night at my parents’ house, Brittany was dogging on the latest J.W Quicksilver novel. I think she was doing it to score points with Will, who openly disdains anything the man writes. If only Brittany knew the truth.
She flushes. “Did I say that? You must have heard wrong because I love his books! He’ll be doing a reading, and there will be hors d’oeuvres and champagne. It’s like not
hing Whispering Bay has ever seen before. It’s a huge PR coup for me … I mean, for the town. Once word spreads that J.W. Quicksilver has come to Whispering Bay, then I expect other big-name authors to follow.”
“I’ve already extended an invitation to Lee Child,” says Betty Jean. “Hopefully, I’ll hear from him soon.”
“I just hope Lee Child gives us more advance notice than J.W. Quicksilver,” says Brittany. “Do you know how hard it is to plan an event like the one at Daddy’s restaurant in less than twenty-four hours? Good thing I have all those years of experience putting together sorority mixers.”
“Lee Child?” I sputter. “As in the Lee Child who writes the Jack Reacher books?”
Betty Jean looks amused. “If I can get J.W. Quicksilver, why can’t I get Lee Child?”
I take a deep breath and try to reason with her. “Betty Jean, have you asked yourself why a highly popular reclusive author that no one has ever seen before is going to come out to the world here in Whispering Bay, Florida? Why isn’t he making his first public appearance on Good Morning America or on Oprah?”
“Honestly, Lucy, my book club has much more clout than you’re giving it credit for. Do you know that I’ve had to turn down a dozen people wanting to join just in the past few days? Besides, Oprah only picks books that no reads on their own. J.W. doesn’t need her endorsement.”
“Plus, I’m pretty sure Oprah doesn’t have a show anymore,” adds Brittany.