“Unfortunately, yes. It seems the castle is surrounded by reporters. Apparently poor Archie got a slew of inappropriate questions about you when he arrived at work a few hours early this morning.”

“About me? I’ve never met the man.”

“No, but apparently the reporters are eager enough to pounce on anything out of the ordinary, and a lone man in a suit arriving at the castle, briefcase in hand, shortly after dawn, set them off. Perhaps they mistook him for a lawyer or a public relations person. I’m not certain, but apparently they suspected he’d been brought in to extinguish a fire.”

“Did they get word of what happened on set yesterday?”

“I don’t know what they know, but something’s made them think there’s a scandal brewing, so Archie called Brogan, afraid there might be a problem with Emma’s movie. Emma, having a more complete picture, immediately called Charlie about moving my car, but he didn’t have the keys anymore. He went back to the castle intending to sneak in through the back way only to find the garden entrance completely surrounded as well.”

“So, Brogan called you about the keys?”

“I wish.” Vic kissed her forehead this time. “Archie may’ve been the first person to draw a connection to Emma, but he wasn’t the last.”

The tension knotting Sophia’s stomach ratcheted up another level. “They went to Emma’s and found your car?”

Vic nodded. “The town’s overrun with snooping press, but the Friday Club has managed to gather downstairs, and as we speak, they’re no doubt hatching cloak-and-dagger plans to smuggle us out of here.”

Sophia groaned. “Just what we need, amateur sleuths fighting amateur paparazzi. What a clusterfuck.”

“My sentiments exactly, even if I’ve never used that particular term before, but at this point I fear amateur help might be better than no help at all. Plus, Brogan’s making coffee.”

“I hate that we’ve dragged your friends into the crossfire after they were so wonderful to us last night, but you may be right. Friends who hold off the press and brew you coffee are the best kind of friends to have.”

“Indeed.” Vic rose resolutely and began to gather her clothes from the night before. Sophia followed suit, hating the sense of dread that chilled her more than the early morning air. Vic pulled on her pants and shirt, then turned back to Sophia as she did the same. “You know I’m going to protect you, right?”