Lucky Charm (Lucky 1)

Derek shook his head. “It won’t do any good. My father has a shorter memory than his old dog’s.”

Gabrielle chuckled. “At least Kayla won’t have a difficult time weeding out who she can use in the documentary. I gave her a list of people who knew me, in the past and in the present.”

“So Hank just might be in luck after all.”

Gabrielle was certain Derek was right. His father was a prime candidate to talk about Gabrielle’s past in Stewart and the curse as it pertained to her book. Ironically, she was the one who wasn’t in the mood to discuss the damn curse. Her mother, in asking Derek to promise he wouldn’t hurt Gabrielle again, had brought up Gabrielle’s greatest fear. And Derek’s answer—or rather his nonanswer—said it all.

As soon as Gabrielle was safe from Mary Perkins, Derek planned to walk away.

Again.

Unless she could convince him that by eliminating Mary Perkins as a threat, the curse, or rather the p

erception of the curse, would disappear with her.

One way or another, Gabrielle would know whether she was successful soon enough.

“Okay, folks, here’s the story.” Kayla’s voice interrupted Gabrielle’s thoughts.

For the past half hour, Kayla had walked around the Wave, surveying the bar and the people. She was all business, and she struck a commanding presence just as she intended. With her straightened strawberry-blond hair and white pantsuit, she stood out in the crowd.

When she barked orders, people listened. Most of the crowd stood in silence, waiting for her to continue. “As far as the camera crew is concerned, we’re concentrating on scenery for today. I want you to shoot footage of local hangouts, this place included. While you’re at it, get Gabrielle interacting with the locals. Tomorrow when we’re all fresh, we’ll move onto specific interviews. I want to work on the local flavor first.”

Billy, her head cameraman, nodded and began directing his crew.

Kayla was a pro at handling people. Gabrielle wasn’t bad herself, but she’d always admired her friend’s ability to deal with a situation by reading the people involved. Watching her work was a treat.

“Gabrielle, you go about your day, business as usual. Juliette, we won’t get to you today, but we can shoot you first thing tomorrow if that works. Otherwise you name the time and I’ll work around you. I’m sorry I made you come out here for no reason today. I never know what I’m going to want to do first until I get the lay of the land.”

Gabrielle’s mother, who’d taken a seat at the bar and was chatting with George, didn’t seem to mind that she’d driven out here for nothing. A people person, Juliette was enjoying herself immensely.

“How the hell are you going to go about your business with camera crews everywhere?” Derek asked.

Gabrielle shrugged. “Good question. I guess I’ll just do the best I can. I’ve seen Kayla work miracles with harder subjects than me. I’ll just try to ignore them.” She pulled out her laptop and was about to flip it open when she caught sight of the woman she’d come to think of as public enemy number one. “Look. Mary Perkins just walked in,” Gabrielle whispered to Derek.

He stiffened. Gabrielle knew he was still unhappy with the idea of antagonizing Mary Perkins, tempting Fate and the damn curse, but they had no choice.

“I have to admit that was faster than I thought it would be,” Gabrielle said. “I figured she’d lay low and see what the TV people intended before showing up.”

As they watched, the mayor, dressed immaculately in a summer linen suit with a flower pinned to her lapel, headed directly for Kayla, the head interviewer and lead on this project.

“Are you sure Kayla can handle her?” Derek asked.

“Yes. She’s been well versed on all the issues. Kayla might have come here to do a story on a local author, but she also knows the reason I asked. I’ve informed Kayla about our suspicions regarding the mayor, and told her to expect Mary to want to get herself featured prominently in the story. Since the subject is ‘A Day in the Life of an Author,’ Mary is going to have to be creative. I assume that she’ll want to give her opinion on my latest book and offer herself up as the resident expert on the curse—which is my current work in progress,” Gabrielle whispered, explaining to Derek what she’d told Kayla when pitching the project.

“So at a minimum, Kayla is getting herself a local-interest piece on a bestselling author. At best, she’s going to get a scoop on abuse of power at a local level?” Derek asked.

“Yep. Complete with bribery, blackmail, sabotage and much, much more. Everything hinges on how far Mary Perkins can be pushed. The plan is to keep her out of the spotlight and ignore her so-called power and authority.”

As they spoke, Gabrielle and Derek kept an eye on Mary Perkins. As if scripted, the mayor had already approached Kayla and introduced herself. As planned, Kayla shook her hand and excused herself, walking away from the mayor.

Kayla headed straight to Gabrielle’s table, where she paused, leaned over as if she had something important to discuss, and winked at Gabrielle before zeroing in on someone else.

The mayor tried once more to talk to Kayla, but found herself brushed aside for Gabrielle’s mother. Kayla continued to make notes and book interview times—with everyone but the town’s long-standing mayor.

Derek placed his hand on the back of Gabrielle’s chair protectively. “She doesn’t look happy,” he said, sneaking a glance at Mary Perkins, who’d turned her attention to the sole cameraman at the Wave.

As per instructions, he was to keep the long-distance camera angle on Gabrielle at work, not on the mayor or anyone else.