At the start of the video clip, Tanya seemed hesitant, and almost alarmed at her visitor’s arrival. “Oh my God, Rooney!”

Letty looked at Joe. “So it was him.”

Rooney pulled Tanya to him, and after a brief hesitation, she crushed herself against him, and their kiss was so long and passionate, Letty wanted to look away.

The next bit of video was inaudible.

They finally separated. He looked around at the opulent surroundings, the marble floors, the massive rock-crystal chandelier, the floor-to-ceiling windows hung with silk draperies, and the over-the-top furnishings. He said something that was garbled, and then, “… you really lucked into a sugar daddy.”

Tanya pretended to pout. The first part of her sentence was inaudible, but it ended with her saying, “… worked hard for everything here. I damn well deserve all of it.”

Rooney’s laugh was low and somehow menacing at the same time. “Define ‘work.’”

“You’re still such a dick. You know that? How did you even find me?”

He was slowly walking around the room, taking it all in, mentally adding up the cost of such a place. His back was to the nanny cam hidden inside the stuffed elephant, and his answer was inaudible.

“No. Seriously,” Tanya insisted. “I need to know who else might try to find me up here.”

When Rooney turned around and smiled, Letty shuddered. He had the smile of a python. Even though she’d already viewed the video earlier, she leaned forward again to hear his response. The first part was garbled, but then: “… checked your IMDb page. Found out your agent’s name.”

“I don’t believe you. He’d never just give some random stranger my phone number.”

There was that same closed-mouth smile again. “You forget how good I am at what I do.”

Rooney caught Tanya’s hand in his and brought it to his lips. He kissed her open palm, and then she abruptly pulled away, walking far enough from the nanny cam that they could decode only part of her response.

“I’m still furious … And Chuck … leave me like that?… a week in jail!… threatening … federal prison … sick … puking up my guts every morning. It was the worst experience of my life.”

Rooney’s deep voice was much clearer as he spontaneously laid on the Irish brogue. “Aah, well, darlin’, we had no choice. Chuck and I, we’ve got a little history with the criminal-justice system, but you, on the other hand, had none. We knew with your pretty face and acting abilities, you’d find a way out of a jam.”

Tanya walked back into camera range. “Don’t start that phony Irish crap with me, Rooney. I know better.”

“And yet, here you are today.” He gestured around the room. “Not exactly a shitty motel room at the Murmuring Surf, is it, Tanya, my love?”