Estelle unfolded to her full height. “It’s time we talked.”
“This is not a good time.”
“I mean all three of us. There’s something you both need to know.”
Griffin glanced at Lana, who lifted a shoulder in a shrug. Estelle directed them to the sofa, and they sat, she on one wing of the L-shape, Griffin and Lana on the other. Unlike before, his knee didn’t graze Lana’s.
“Firstly, I owe you both an apology,” Estelle began. “My private investigators, at the set—the situation they encountered wasn’t what we expected, and they didn’t handle it well. They didn’t have their sat coms with them and they’d disabled the wi-fi, so they couldn’t check in with me. Unfortunately, that meant that when the situation escalated?—”
Griffin sat forward. “Hang on, what?”
“Please.” She held up the beautiful palm. “Let me explain.”
“Save us the slow reveal, Estelle. Those were your guys? They tased Lana!”
“They said she was about to tase one of them—and in fact she did? And you threw asmoke bombat them? And something about a slingshot and a booby trap? But sure, okay, they could have handled it better—they admit that much.”
“They came after us again today, at the hospital.”
“Came after you? They saved you! Who do you think pulled those paps away so you could escape?”
Griffin double-blinked. “I think you’re going to have to start from the beginning.”
Estelle threw up her hands in slow motion. “What do you think I’m trying to do? Look, we were tracking Vivien’s phone. When it pinged from the set, I sent them to find it, and instead they found Lana, and thought she was Vivien, and then of course, there was the plot twist about the involvement of the great Griffin Hart, so it got out of hand.”
“You’re after Vivien?” Lana said. “Why? Why were you tracking her phone?”
“We are far from the only ones interested in your sister. Though the other party in this intrigue suddenly stopped looking for her, exactly one month ago—on the day she disappeared. What does that tell you?”
“Other party?” Lana’s mouth dried. “Who? Are you saying they’re involved in her disappearance?”
“There are many questions I cannot answer, unfortunately.” Estelle rose and walked to the kitchen, where she got out glasses, spirits, mixers, and an ice tray. “You don’t mind, do you, Griffin? It’s early, I know,” she said, as she started pouring. He made ago-ahead gesture, like he knew she’d do whatever the hell she wanted. “For you, Lana, your sister’s disappearance might be the beginning of this story, but some of us are hoping it will be the end. In fact, we believe it all started with you, Griffin.”
“Who is ‘we’?” he said. “What are you talking about?”
“Myself and a group of … equally concerned individuals. I can’t name names—for reasons that will become obvious, we stay discreet. I had to get permission to share what I’m about to tell you. They’re all people in our situation who have been victims of this other party, including me.”
“A victim—you?”
“The phone hack.” Estelle distributed the drinks and arranged herself on the sofa, a storyteller settling in. “It’s an extortion ring. They make their money in two ways, actually—blackmail, and selling scandal to the gutter media. A large, insidious network that has infiltrated many levels of Hollywood. They recruit hundreds of pawns, whom they pay to spy on celebrities and then blackmail into silence. And they’ve been known to come through on their threats—violently.”
“Pawns?” Lana said.
“Personal assistants, makeup artists, hotel concierges, drivers, nurses, cleaners.” She looked at Griffin meaningfully. “Maids.”
“Maids? You’re not talking about my journal getting stolen?!”
“That was one of their earlier operations. Once they have the compromising material, they either blackmail the person concerned for hush money or sell it to gossip merchants—whichever is the most efficient and lucrative. The money they’ve made is jaw-dropping—hundreds of millions of dollars over more than a decade. We believe Vivien became involved and somehow discovered the identities of the main players—something that people far more powerful and better resourced have been trying to do for years.”
“Vivien?” Lana said. “How?”
“They tried to recruit her as a pawn. She got hold of some compromising dirt on someone very high-profile. Something that could?—”
“—blow lives apart,” Lana finished.
“Yes,” Estelle said, surprised. “We don’t know what it is, but it involves Walter Shepherd.”
Lana started. Her knee knocked the coffee table, and she caught a glass before it tipped. Griffin glanced at her, curiously.
