Beverly studied the magazine in her hands. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to either discredit her or collect a huge sum of money from her. She wasn't in this pickle by herself, either. Her sister Jeannie was part of it, as was Misty Carter, Daisy Poise, Sugar Chestnut, and Minerva Mallen. So far, the only other people in on what was happening (aside from the crooks, of course) was the Boss, his secretary Sally, Steve Morrow, Henry Chestnut, and Ed Carter. The loop had to stay tight. The more Beverly thought about it, though, keeping the circle small might hinder their search for the inside man who had made possible this situation.
"I know the idea is to keep this under wraps," Beverly spoke to the assembly of friends silently seated around the Boss's desk, "but these pictures aren't of us, they're not real. I know they look it, but they're not. I've been thinking, if we know someone we trust, we can tell them what's going on and they'll help us find whoever did this." Beverly looked at Minerva. "Minnie, your best friend is Wendy. You know she'd help us. Wendy likes to be helpful, so she's always doing the little jobs when she isn't on camera. Running scripts around the studio, getting coffee, carrying things to Wardrobe and even Publicity. She could spy out whoever is behind this and she wouldn't call attention to herself."
"I suppose you have a point," Minerva said, "Wendy wouldn't call attention to herself if she were running around the studio from one end to the other relaying information. Only thing is, if one of us talks to her and the spy sees us, he might figure out we're onto him. We have to figure he knows who all is in this room."
"She's right," Daisy looked defeated, "and we have no way of making contact with anyone who might help. We have to assume the telephone is tapped. They may even have microphones hidden in here somewhere."
"I know it's possible," the Boss spoke up, "but we don't know that to be the case. We make movies for a living. Our thoughts are going to gravitate toward the fantastic. Just because it can happen in a script, there's no reason to assume it's happening here. Now obviously, they're trying to cover their bases since there's so much money at stake, but they can only do so much and not call attention to themselves."
"They're good at hiding," Henry sputtered, "we must assume. If they got pictures of our home life without our knowing it, they must be able to stay low while in plain sight."
"We're usually more relaxed at home," the Boss offered, "particularly when alone with the wife. Unless you knew someone was watching, why would you even consider it?"
"There's more to it than that," Sugar chimed in, "we live on a public street in the suburb area right outside the gates. If something interesting is going on in our house, we make a point to pull the shades. Our bedroom doesn't even have windows. Whoever got private photos of us, they had to go out of their way to do it."
"Yeah..." Henry considered the situation, "I know we haven't seen the pix in question, but we know they've gotten a good look at you, Sugar, because they got the details of the altered photos too perfect for it to just be guess work. When, and where, would those shots have been taken, and where would the camera have been? Even if they don't have the intimate pictures they claim to, we know they've seen inside the house at the right moments."
"There may be a crawl space we don't know of," Sugar tried to think, "maybe over the bathroom."
Misty nudged Ed.
"I think they've seen us, too. These pix in the magazine seem all too accurate."
"Yes," Ed admitted, "I noticed that, too. I didn't want to face it, but the evidence is right there in black and white." Beverly relaxed a little, leaning back into her chair.
"I guess they were only interested in the married couples when it came to getting real pix," Bev was a little relieved though still upset about the situation as a whole, "the shots of me in the magazine seem to be more guess-work."
"Yes," Jeannie nodded as she inspected the magazine, "the specifics on my own figure are a little different, too. Daisy, Minerva, what about you?"
"I can't say for sure," Daisy opened the book again, "they may have guessed, but it was a good guess."
"If they wanted shots they could use to blackmail us," Minerva chimed in, "it makes sense that they'd target the married homes since there'd be different activities there. They're also closer to the studio, I notice. I figure we should assume they've already covered their tracks, though. Now that they've printed the magazine, we'd all be on our guard."
"It may be academic at this point," Henry said, "but I'd still like to know how they got into our house without us knowing it."
"It may not be all that academic," Steve jumped in, "if we can find out how they saw what they did, figure out where they would have placed their cameras, they might have left behind some clues."
"Alright," Ed stood, "we've got some time to act, let's make use of it. Steve, you know cameras inside and out, so you inspect our houses."
"I know cameras, but I'm no spy. I wouldn't know what to look for. I mean, I can help, and I will, but I don't know how qualified I am."
"That's okay," Ed smiled, "I know a spy we can call in. And they're not with the police, so their presence wouldn't tip off the opposition."
"Who?" Daisy asked.
"Roger Ralphwit. During the War, he became involved in espionage activities when he became the contact for a German spy. He was moved into intelligence and stayed there after the War. He was with Army Intelligence for years. He went back to combat duty in Korea, but he's got experience under his belt we can use."
"It certainly sounds like it," Daisy marveled, "he never told me that he was a spy."
"He doesn't talk about his accomplishments very much. I got into a long conversation with him when he was staying at our house just before the wedding. He's been all over the world, keeping an eye on the bad guys. If anyone knows what to look for, it'd be Rog."
"If he was a globe-trotter," Beverly wondered, "why'd he leave the Army and come back to Creek Bend?"
"You know the old proverb that a man on an adventure dreams only of home? He missed the simple life. When his last hitch was up, he moved back."
"I'm certainly game to have him check over our houses," Henry stood, "the sooner the better."
"Let's assume the telephones are tapped," Ed formulated a plan, "here at the studio, and maybe even in our houses. Let's leave casually, go to our homes and wait while I call Roger from the drug store."
"I don't think I could go home," Daisy gulped, "not alone. Not now."
"You and Minnie can come over to our house," Jeannie offered, "until this gets cleared up. It'd be closer to everyone else, too." Beverly nodded in agreement. Minerva smiled in return and accepted. Daisy was quick to follow.
As Minerva, Daisy, and Jeannie walked along the street toward the Baxter house, Jeannie turned back to see her sister lagging behind. Beverly seemed to be taking the situation harder than the others, though all evidence seemed to indicate that she'd actually been spared some of the embarrassment her friends had gone through. Still, Beverly knew what a scandal like this could do to her career. And really, it wasn't her own self that she was worried about -something which surprised even her. It was the kids. All those youngsters who still looked up to Beverly and her sister. If word of this got out, it would shatter their belief in the Baxter girls. Although something like that didn't seem like a major concern in the larger scheme of things, disenfranchising a child was the last thing Beverly wanted to do. Particularly since she'd gotten to know Davy. He looked up to her with such respect. At times, you could even describe it as awe. It was flattering, but Bev could see the bigger picture and knew what her friendship meant to the boy. It had even been helpful to Davy, making it easier for him to cope with the loss of his father. Beverly couldn't stand the thought of Davy, or any kid who might have a bright moment or two as result of her cartoons, having to associate her with the worst part of the human condition. It would be downright cruel to rob them of their innocence, and in such a nasty way.
Beverly kept her hands clasped as they dangled in front of her. Her eyes were aimed at her shoes. Jeannie stopped and watched Bev as she haltingly came her way. Jeannie looked over and saw a flower growing out of the bushes along the sidewalk. Beverly looked up when she saw Jeannie's shoes come into her line of sight. Jeannie stood there, holding the flower, breaking a smile. She extended her arm and handed the flower to Beverly.
"I know it doesn't feel like it right now," Jeannie said, "but you're loved. Don't forget that." Bev needed to hear that. Although she was more concerned about Davy than herself, she really was feeling alone until Jean made this simple but meaningful gesture. Beverly took the flower and held it up to her nose. She smiled. Then she frowned again.
"It just seems like this whole situation is growing out of control. Maybe it's our imaginations working against us, but I feel like we're fighting the Blob or something." Beverly emphasized her point by holding her hands up and wiggling her fingers in imitation of a monster. Jeannie grinned as an idea came to her.
"You may have an idea we can use to turn the tables, Bev!" Jeannie ran off toward the drug store as a confused Beverly turned to see her sister scamper away.
"What? What did I say?" Daisy and Minerva had stopped a little ways up. They were just as confused.
TO BE CONTINUED....
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