to recieve the kind of acclaim he’d always sought,”
Winifred went on. “Two years ago he made the short list.”
“Which is?” Judith asked, puzzled.
Winifred offered Judith a pitying smile. “It refers to
those few at the very top of their professions in the film
industry. Like Spielberg or Cameron. And Bruno.”
Quickly, she turned away. “Excuse me. It’s so hard to
think of Bruno going out . . . with a failure.”
“You seem genuinely fond of him,” Judith said, surprised at herself for being so bold, even more surprised
that she was using the word
person.
Winifred drew back sharply. “Why wouldn’t I be?
He gave me an excellent job.”
Maybe it was as simple as that. Maybe gratitude
was possible in the movie business. Maybe something other than ice water ran in the veins of Winifred
Best.
“You’d been with Mr. Zepf a long time?” Judith
said, keeping her voice low and casual.
“Yes,” Winifred replied, still wary.
“You must have had excellent credentials to get the
job as Mr. Zepf’s assistant,” Judith remarked, hearing
a car pull up outside.
“Good enough,” Winifred said, her expression shutting down. “Is that Morris who just arrived?”
“Morris?” Judith echoed, puzzled.
“Morris Mayne, the studio publicist,” Winifred said,
joining Judith at the parlor’s tall window.
“No,” Judith said, recognizing Woody Price’s car.
“It’s a friend.”
Winifred stiffened. “Not Vito?”
“No . . .”
“Who, then?” Winifred rasped out the question.
“Ah . . . An old friend of my husband’s, actually.”
Judith didn’t want to identify Woody as a cop. He had
probably come to collect the physical evidence Joe had
gathered. As much as she wanted to see Woody, she
thought it best to stay out of sight. Joe could handle his
ex-partner’s arrival with a minimum of fuss.
But Winifred persisted. “Why is he here? He’s not
media, is he?”
“Heavens, no!” Judith’s laughter was false. “He
won’t stay. I think he wants to borrow something from
my husband.”
Winifred looked relieved. “Morris has done an outstanding job of misleading the media about Bruno’s death.
So far, they have no idea where or how it happened.”
Judith could hear Joe greeting Woody in the entry
hall. To divert the other guests, she led Winifred
through the parlor door that opened directly into the
