Page 15 of For Better or for Ransom

Luke sat back at the table, pointed to the chair in front of him so that she’d also sit. “We talked to Moon today,” he said. His manners were relaxed yet there was a hint of dissatisfaction in his posture. Perhaps it was the hunch of the shoulders or the constant raking of his hair with his hand. “They didn’t want to tell us what the bloody show Leonardo is doing next is going to be about.”

“They made Moon sign an NDA, uh?”

The surprise on his face made it clear: he didn’t expect Sol to know about the NDA. “Is it really such a common practice?”

“I don’t know if common…but with certain kinds of titles, it’s perfectly normal.”

He remained silent for a few seconds. Looking at her, as if trying to read her. “And you’re sure you don’t mind me—and Divya—grilling you for information?”

“I just told you it’s not a problem.” Plus they’d never actually grilled her. They were always considerate, and polite.

“Right. Sorry I was a bore during dinner. I was just thinking,” he finally conceded and his shoulders loosened at last. “Like I said, Divya and I talked to Moon but they refused to tell us about the show until they spoke to Mesflixx’s legal department. We were quite appalled.”

“Of course they didn’t talk to you until they spoke to legal. Their career was at stake!” This had to be at least the fourth or fifth case the Bakshi & Contadino Agency took that had ties to the entertainment business. Yet Luke and Divya still found some common practices bizarre. It was clear to Sol that they needed her help. Now more than ever. The life of Leonardo Pascual could be in danger—and they continued to be clueless when it came to showbiz.

Luke sighed. “After a couple of hours of back and forth with lawyers, Moon finally called us like an hour ago ready to talk. They told us that Leonardo was set to be the star in a dramedy where he’d play the dad of a teenage daughter. Leonardo’s character is a widow.”

“Yeah, that’s all public information.”

He blinked at her, baffled. “Are you kidding me?”

“Afraid not. What else did Moon tell you? I’m sure they didn’t bother their legal department just to tell you something you could have read on the trades—or just asked me about it.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “They told us that the show shoots in London, which I suppose you already knew as well.”

“I do. Give me something we didn’t know…”

He smiled, as if entertained by her sudden sleuthing skills. “Would a title count?”

“Absolutely, even if I don’t know how that’s gonna help us find Leonardo.”

“Us, uh? I don’t know either but it’s how things work in this profession. You gather as much information as possible. Some of it will be irrelevant, some of it will be misleading, but then some of it will be instrumental for solving the mystery.”

Her face probably lit after hearing those words. “Can I have the detective in the book I’m writing next say exactly that?”

His dark eyes pinned her in place. “I thought you were trying to help me, not that you were trying to help yourself write a book.”

“Can’t I do both?” She’d quit pouting and was now openly flirting.

“As long as nothing and nobody is recognizable in your book—I suppose you can. And I should probably add, this is all off the record.” His grin was irresistible—but he knew it.

“Awe, how do you know you should always say that when talking to a journalist about something you don’t want to see published?”

“You told me, cara.”

There was not much Sol Novo liked more than some sharp back-and-forth banter with her lover—sex perhaps—but banter was a close second.

“So, title?”

He stood up from the table, rummaged through the things he’d left on top of the console table at the entrance, and opened his notebook. Sol suspected he was being deliberately slow in his searching. He was aware that she was glued to the chair waiting for an answer.

“And this is off the record?” He had the gall of telling her again, his mischievous smile tugging at his lips.

“Of course it is and you know it!” She slapped his arm, playfully.

“I need to ask because I wouldn’t want Meshflixx’s lawyers breathing down my neck. They sound like a scary lot.”

“Stop stalling. What’s the title?” She was practically beaming. He had that effect on her.