The Girl Who Knew Too Much(16)
Nick stabbed an accusing finger at her.
“Well, that’s not the case, is it?” he said. “The piece in Whispers says that Maitland and I were rumored to have had an affair and that I’d recently ended the romance. Everyone who reads that story will assume that Maitland followed me here to Burning Cove. That she threatened to make trouble for me. And it’s all true, damn it. Talk about a motive for murder.”
“I’m sure everything will be all right,” Claudia said. She was practically pleading now. “The police are calling Miss Maitland’s death a tragic accident. No one has labeled it murder.”
“No one except a third-rate gossip rag. That’s all it takes.”
“I telephoned Mr. Ogden again a few minutes ago,” Claudia said, striving for a soothing tone. “He said there’s nothing to be concerned about. He said you are to go on with your vacation here in Burning Cove as though nothing happened. He says if you check out before you were scheduled to leave, it will only stir up more speculation.”
Nick gave her a savage glare and then stalked across the villa’s main room, stopping at the glass doors that opened onto a private patio.
The outdoor sitting area was enclosed with a walled garden. A sweeping view of the cove and the Pacific Ocean beyond was visible through the decorative wrought iron. The glare of the light dancing and flashing on the surface of the water was so bright it hurt Claudia’s eyes.
The knowledge that Nick was seething was more than enough to tighten her already strained nerves to the breaking point. She had a job that almost any other woman in America would gladly have sold her soul to obtain—she was Nick Tremayne’s personal assistant. If only those other women knew the truth. Her dream job had become a nightmare.
He had been a supporting player in his first film, Sea of Shadows, but he managed to steal every scene in which he appeared. He’d been cast as the lead in his second film, Fortune’s Rogue. The movie catapulted him to instant stardom. The gossip magazines couldn’t get enough of him. Female fans adored him. There were rumors that Stanley Bancroft, the star who had been expected to get top billing in the film, was drinking heavily and turning to cocaine to alleviate his depression.
“Ogden was supposed to deal with Maitland before she made real trouble,” Nick said.
He gazed grimly at the view through the open doors. Claudia watched him carefully, trying to gauge his mood. Stars were notoriously temperamental and Nick Tremayne was no exception. The disconcerting thing was that he could switch from laughter to rage in the blink of an eye. It was part of his talent but it was also unnerving.
“Mr. Ogden said that he gave Miss Maitland the money she demanded,” Claudia said. “He was certain that she would disappear.”
“But she didn’t disappear, did she?” Nick did not turn around. “Instead she followed me here to Burning Cove. And now she’s dead and that damned reporter from Whispers has as good as implied I’m a murderer.”
“Mr. Ogden said the hotel management would protect you from the press. The studio will take care of everything else.”
“Easy for Ogden to say. It’s not his future on the line. What am I supposed to do for the next two weeks? Hang around the hotel pool and drink martinis while I duck the press? Or maybe I should schedule a massage. That would certainly make for some interesting gossip, don’t you think? I can see the headline. Actor Enjoys Attentions of Lovely Masseuse in Spa Where His Lover Drowned.”
“I’m sure everything will be all right. Mr. Ogden will deal with the police and the hotel management. He’ll take care of the editor of Whispers, too. That’s his job. The studio pays him to fix problems like this. He knows what he’s doing. I’m sure he’s handled far worse situations.”
“Worse than an accusation of murder?” Nick swung around. “Ogden is powerful in L.A., but we’re in Burning Cove. Things may be different here.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Claudia said quickly. “Money talks and Mr. Ogden has the resources of the studio behind him. He can buy off the L.A. police and judges. He can certainly afford the Burning Cove cops.”
“I refuse to sit here in this villa while that Whispers reporter sabotages my career. I’ve worked too hard to get this far. Damned if I’ll stand by and let that Glasson bitch destroy me.”
Claudia clenched her fingers very tightly around her notebook. “What do you want me to do?”
Nick looked at her with blazing eyes. Unlike many of Hollywood’s leading men who got by on their looks and minimal talent, Nick was a genuinely gifted actor. He was endowed with an uncanny ability to project a variety of emotions ranging from smoldering passion to bone-chilling fury. It didn’t hurt that he was breathtakingly handsome with a classically carved jaw, high cheekbones, and a trim, athletic physique. His dark hair was cut in the sleek, brushed-back style made fashionable by the likes of Cary Grant and Clark Gable. It gleamed with just the right amount of hair oil.