No Humans Involved (Otherworld 7)

A howl of laughter.

"Found it," the guard said. Then, after a moment, "Holy shit."

"Did I mention it was imaginative? I don't know where I got those missiles." I waved at the picture, then at my chest. "But apparently there's more to me than meets the eye. A lot more."

As they laughed, Angelique passed the door, heading for the dining room. I jumped off the desk.

"Angelique!"

She stopped, frowning as she saw where I was.

"I need to talk to you. Someplace--" I glanced at the guards, "--private. Sorry, guys. Maybe there's an empty room someplace--"

"Take this one," the head guard said. "We'll clear out."

"Are you sure?"

They were. As they left, I thanked them and agreed to come by later with more stories. They waved Angelique in and closed the door behind them.

"We're supposed to stick to the common rooms," she said.

"Do you know why? I'll show you in a minute." I moved behind the desk and sat. "But first, I bet I know who fed you stories about me. It's either Becky or Will, but my money's on Will. He tried the same shit with me the second day--hinting that you were talking about me behind my back. I wouldn't bite, but if I had, I can guarantee you'd have seen my response on the show."

Confusion, then dawning horror.

I continued. "Whatever you said about me, Angelique, it's now on film. And when it airs, you won't see what led to your comments, just the end results. Just you spouting seemingly ungrounded insults and accusations."

Her face paled. I waved for her to sit down.

"Whatever you said about me, I don't care, but you won't see me saying a word against you because I haven't. I've been around long enough to know better. I also know better than to do anything that will make me seem too good, and risk pissing off my costars. For example, sneaking a peek at a file on potential subjects. Did Becky tell you I did that?"

"Will. But he said he wasn't supposed to tell--" Her pretty face hardened. "That was part of the setup, wasn't

it? Let on he's sneaking me secrets, and I won't go after you about it. They played us against each other."

"Becky did get me to look at a memo," I said. "Accidentally. On Gabrielle Langdon. That's why I tried to pass you the tips. And that's why I wouldn't make contact myself. It wasn't fair."

She flushed. "Guess I haven't been very fair myself. But Todd Simon warned me I had to be on the defensive, especially against you. He said everyone's out for blood in this town, and I'd get eaten alive if I didn't come out swinging."

"Well, you can stop swinging now, because I'm not your enemy. As for why I told you all this in here, let me take you for a little stroll. Show you a few features of the house they didn't cover in the tour."

I SHOWED her the hidden cameras in the common areas. She managed to hold it together until we were back in the guard room, then collapsed into a chair.

"I can't believe...my dad said I wasn't ready for Hollywood, but I was so sick of the revival circuit. I thought this was going to be my big chance." A strained laugh. "My big chance to make a fool of myself on national television."

I took the chair opposite hers. "Maybe not."

AFTER TALKING to Angelique, I tracked down Becky and apologized for my poor performance the day before. I promised to do better that afternoon.

"I just...I guess I get nervous about contacting famous people who died fairly recently. With a case like Gabrielle Langdon, it was all over the news and so many people know the details. If I get them right, I'll look like I'm just remembering the case. If I screw up, everyone will know it."

She nodded. "I can see that. But you won't need to worry about that this afternoon. This guy hasn't been in the news for..." She calculated. "About thirty years."

"Thank God."

She checked her PalmPilot, then said casually, gaze still down, "You live in Chicago, don't you?"

"I do."