With no family in the area, Shelly had decided to stay in her apartment with her roommate until the baby was born, then they’d both move in to my place. Apparently the roommate was not keen on the idea of a crying baby. I knew how she felt.
“You know what, never mind,” Caro said.
“You don’t want to see Jane?”
She nodded, her head seeming so much larger now that her body was even smaller. “I do. But I’ll have Betsy ask her to come.”
My discomfort had probably shown on my face. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
“I know. And I thank you for that. But it might mean more to Jane that Betsy asks her. They are sisters, after all, and they won’t have me to facilitate their being together. Time for them to start now.”
It made sense, but I couldn’t help but wonder how Jane would take being summoned to the Stratton estate by Betsy.
But Jane, and how she felt, were not mine to worry about anymore. My choice, yeah, but it still sucked.
The promo for the Joe Stratton interview came on, and I tried to reach for the remote and turn it away, but Caro sat up a bit and slapped my hand away. Didn’t have the strength of a baby bird, but she still had a pretty good swat.
“Wait, I want to see it,” she said. We watched as the clip ran, random sound bites taken totally out of context to make the interview seem more…sensational, I guess.
“They moved the airdate from what they originally thought,” she said.
“Did they?” I hadn’t known the original date.
“Yes, it’s two weeks later now.” She was reaching for the phone, and I handed it to her. “Grayson,” she said when the call connected. “Have you seen the promo? They bumped the airdate.” She put the phone on speaker and laid it on her chest, the effort to hold it up seemingly too much for her. Must have been the hand slap that zapped her of any energy reservoir she might have had.
“Yes, they let us know they were doing that. Said it was because they wanted it to air during their sweeps week,” Grayson said.
“Why wasn’t I informed?”
Silence. “Honestly, Caro, I thought you wouldn’t want to be bothered with something like that.”
She gave me a look like, “can youbelievethis guy?” and I remembered Jane telling me that Grayson and Caro had butted heads more than once in the past. “Do you believe them? That it’s based on ratings week?”
A pause from Grayson. “Maybe. It could also be…”
I didn’t know what he meant, but it was obvious Caro did. “What’s the biggest advantage to them?”
“I’m guessing they had the same discussion. Obviously they thought waiting would be the answer,” Grayson said. “Am I on speaker?”
“Yes, but it’s just me and Stick in the room. So, if I die before it airs, it’s my last interview ever…that’s a big draw.”
“Right. But if you last until it airs, then they tout it as ‘on death’s door’ or something. They’d probably rather have it…after, but they can’t wait too long.”
“Or they run the risk that I give another interview to someone else.”
“That would mess with our exclusive deal with Amanda Teller.”
“But was the deal all-inclusive? Meaning, could justIgive another interview? But the three of us together couldn’t?”
“I’ll check the language of the agreement. Are you saying you’d…be able to give another interview?”
“No, but they don’t know that. Let’s see what kind of leverage we need to control this airdate. We need to make sure it coincides…”
I didn’t hear the last, making my way out of the room. She didn’t need me right now—she was in her element. And honestly, I just didn’t want to hear them strategize about how she could be a bigger asset—dead or alive.
This gig would be over soon, and I would miss Caro. And Dotty. And this house. But I would not miss the world they lived in.
The world Jane would now be a part of.
