“Whoever told him where he could find you also told him you’re taking care of a pet parrot through Christmas. He just doesn’t know for whom, or he wouldn’t have been asking if anyone has seen you. He would’ve been asking where Maxi lives.”

That made sense, but how did this paparazzo get so far so fast? “I can’t remember telling anyone about Kiki. You know what it’s been like for me. I rarely even look at my phone.” But she had to have mentioned the parrot to someone, or this wouldn’t have come up.

“Do you have any idea how many people in this town are familiar with Maxi’s pet?”

She rubbed her temples as she tried to think. “I have no clue. I guess we could ask Maxi. But I can’t imagine he ever takes Kiki out, so even if he’s mentioned her, I’m not sure many people will remember.”

“I can tell you he doesn’t talk about her much. I didn’t even know about her, and I was coming to stay at the house.”

“Who could’ve given me away?” She was talking more to herself than Seth, but he lifted his hands in a defensive position.

“Just so you know, it wasn’t me or Eli or anyone else in my family. If it was one of us, this dude would’ve been knocking on your door, not asking around the most popular bar in town.”

“I’m not accusing you,” she said. “I’m just...dumbfounded. I’ve had such limited contact with my friends since the accident. It couldn’t be any of them.”

He got up and grabbed a business card from the counter, which he slid across the table to her. “This is the guy,” he said. “Do you recognize the name?”

She stared at the bold black lettering: Ray Kouretas. “Never heard of him.”

“You haven’t told anyone you’re here?”

“Barbie, my friend, knows I’m here,” she replied. “But I can’t believe she’d give me away.”

“She knows you’re house-sitting for Maxi?”

“I don’t remember giving her Maxi’s name, but I might’ve said I’d be pet-sitting for my producer.”

The beard growth on Seth’s face rasped as he rubbed his chin. “I got the impression that Kouretas is paying for the information he’s receiving. Does your friend need money?”

Barbie lived an unorganized life, couldn’t seem to stay ahead. But she’d been doing better since getting with Mike. She loved him so much. And she had a heart of gold. “Like most people, she could use it,” she admitted. “She’s a struggling actress who hasn’t been lucky enough to get the kind of break I did. Not yet, anyway. But she would never sell me out.”

“Then, there has to be someone else.”