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He took off his fashionable gold-rimmed sunglasses and polished them on the hem of his shirt. He was dressed eclectically, with a sleeveless pink silk shirt, gold-embroidered waistcoat and his hair shaved above his ears and standing up like a rooster’s comb. Not unlike Jeb’s style of dress, even though the director was the actor’s senior by a decade.

“I always considered Jeb a member of my family. Our daughters are the same age, and Fae and Lucy have been best friends for years, as are my wife Suzy and Helena.”

“It is rumored that you and Jeb had a falling-out, though. Is that true?”

He fixed her with a bleary eye.“Privacy is dead, isn’t it? Have a fight with your best friend and the whole world sticks its nose in. Tell me, Miss Poole. If you and your best friend quarrel, would you enjoy reading about it in theNew York Post or theNational Enquirer? I don’t think so. But I had to read all about my tiff with Jeb. Every last detail. And the only person who could have supplied those details was me or Jeb, as we’d been the only ones present. And since I never breathed a word about it to anyone, the conclusion is obvious.”

“Jeb could have told a friend, who could have told a reporter.”

“You’re right,” he conceded. “And I know I should have talked to Jeb before jumping to conclusions. Still, it wasn’t a nice surprise to read my own words, spoken in anger, plastered all across theNational Enquirer’s front page in big, bold lettering.”

“The fight was about Jeb’s divorce?”

“Yes, it was. I thought he was being a damn fool to leave Helena for a treacherous gold-digging bimbo like Camilla Kirby. It was obvious to me—in fact it was obvious to anyone but Jeb himself—that the only thing Miss Kirby was interested in was the raised profile marriage to a megastar like Jeb would bring. Once that was accomplished, she dropped Jeb like a hot potato. Now she was playing leads in global blockbusters whereas before she was only known to a handful of people in the industry, featuring in indie movies and making no money. So mission accomplished, I would say, except for Jeb, because he has now become a pariah, his career a shambles, his present a pitiful afterthought to an otherwise stellar past.”

“Why did Camilla destroy Jeb’s career? Or is it possible he really was abusive to her?”

“I don’t think so. Of course, it’s very difficult for an outsider to know what goes on inside a marriage, but Jeb is not a violent man. He’s prone to temper tantrums, but he’ll never take them out on anyone. He’ll close up like a clam and retreat from the world. At heart he’s a benignsoul and I don’t recognize him in the stories that have been written about him.”

“Only now he’s being accused of having murdered Camilla.”

“Impossible,” said the director. “Jeb? Murder? Out of the question. There must be some other explanation. And that’s where you come in, don’t you, Miss Poole?”

“The police are convinced he did it, though.”

“Yes, well, the police are not infallible. The truth will out, and when it does, I’m one hundred percent certain it will exonerate Jeb completely.”

“Some people say that you might be the one behind this whole plot to implicate Jeb,” she said. “What do you have to say to that?”

He laughed.“Priceless!” He pressed a hand to his chest. “Me? A murderer? Absolutely priceless. Who told you this?”

She shrugged.

“Why would I ever want to hurt Miss Kirby? Or Jeb, for that matter?”

“Because Jeb didn’t just wreck his own career when he divorced Camilla, but yours as well. Your last high-profile project was three years ago, an eternity in Hollywood. And as far as I can tell there’s nothing on your slate. So it’s not just Jeb who’s been turned into a pariah in his own industry. The same goes for you, Mr. Priestley.”

He stared at her for a moment, his jaw working. It was obvious she’d touched a raw nerve. “Myes,” he said finally. “It is true that Jeb’s tribulations reflect badly on me, as he’s always been what some people would call my muse. But Jeb doesn’t define my career. I’m still the one in charge of my own destiny. Directors have had muses and then replaced them with others. Martin Scorsese replaced Robert De Niro with Leonardo DiCaprio. Alfred Hitchcock exchanged Grace Kelly with Tippi Hedren… I’ll survive this temporary setback.”

“I hope you do. I really enjoy your movies, Mr. Priestley.”

He flashed a quick and rare smile.“Thank you. That’s nice to hear. At any rate, the fact that I haven’t had a movie made in three years is not entirely Jeb’s fault. I’m as much to blame as he is. The fact of the matter is that my wife has been facing some health issues lately, and they’ve demanded my full attention.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

He leaned forward.“Please don’t print any of this, Miss Poole. Yes, I know you’re a reporter as well as an amateur sleuth. Which explains my outburst earlier. I’m not the media’s biggest fan right now. And this is all strictly private. So if you print a word of this…”