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Glancing at his watch, he realized the afternoon had gotten away from him. He checked his look in the bathroom mirror, brushed his teeth, and headed for the hotel, but more than that, he was headed to Lori. He arrived just in time to slide into the casual party of VIP readers and the authors they obviously followed.
Ryker, seeing Lori surrounded by adoring fans, realized she had a real knack with people. She was warm and genuine, and they all clamored for her attention. It occurred to him that she really was an up-and-coming star in the literary world. He slid in behind her, wrapping both arms around her and kissing the top of her shoulder as she sagged back against him. She was tired. Last night, the murder, and everything else that had happened had taken its toll.
“Ladies? Would you all mind if we moved over here to this large table? I think Lori needs to get off her feet for a few minutes.” They all gathered closer, offering sympathy and assistance.
“I’m fine. Ryker’s just feeling guilty. He’s largely responsible for my not getting much sleep last night.”
Her readers all laughed with her.
“As I recall, you were a more-than-willing participant.”
“As I will be tonight,” she teased.
He led her over to a large round table and made sure she was comfortable. “Let me go see what I can do about getting some refreshments brought in for all of you.”
Ryker walked out to the front desk and got hold of the sales and event people. He arranged for snacks and cold drinks to be delivered to Lori’s table. He entered the room with the catering people, pointing towards Lori’s table and heading Lockwood off.
“I didn’t authorize this,” Lockwood started.
“No. I did. I made it very plain that I was responsible for the bill.”
They could hear Lori laughing, and her reader group was continuing to grow. One-by-one, readers and then the other authors joined her until they were all having animated conversations. Ryker pulled up a chair beside her.
Leaning her head back to rest on his shoulder for a minute, she whispered, “Thank you.”
“No problem. Have you read Cobain’s newest book?”
“No, have you?”
“I skimmed it this afternoon. I think he may have had a ghostwriter or unacknowledged co-author…”
“That’s what authors who don’t want to acknowledge they have a ghostwriter call their ghostwriters,” said Lockwood.
“Did Cobain have a ghostwriter?” asked Lori, clearly surprised.
“Oh, don’t look so askance,” answered Lockwood. “Some of the people who do rapid release or have been writing for a long time have ghostwriters, and most people know that. Not all, and maybe not even most, but some most certainly do.”
“Do you think Cobain had one?” asked Lori.
“One? No, my dear, I suspect he had more than one. If you read his novels carefully you can start to pick out the differences.”
“Like the use of a woman protagonist in a book that has a distinctly feminine voice?”
“You’ve read Liar’s Game?” asked Lockwood with a malevolent chuckle.
“I skimmed it this afternoon,” answered Ryker.
“Then you have your answer. And if you want to know more about ghostwriters and typewriter ribbons, you might want to talk to Ezra Kane and Annette Hart, who owns a vintage shop here in Bleak Ridge and specializes in vintage typewriters and ribbons—both used and unused.”
CHAPTER 14
LORI
They spent the better part of the afternoon with Lori’s readers and fellow authors. One-by-one, they all filtered away, including Lockwood and Kane, until only she and Ryker remained.
Pointing to the crumbs, crumpled napkins and discarded cans and bottles, she said, “Thanks for that. I’m not sure I would have made it through.”
“How about I get you upstairs so you can get some rest. We can go to dinner or order in or whatever you like.”
