Dying to Have Her Read Free

do you hear me?”
    Jinx was almost smiling. “Thanks. But if you need me for anything—”
    “I’m going to go home; the show will wait, and the mail will wait. We’ll make it all up when this is over—”
    She broke off when she spied Jay Braden coming down the hallway. Dark-eyed, tall, and sleek, he was the actor who portrayed Randy Rock, muscled hunk and estranged husband of Jennifer’s character on the show. Seeing him these days still gave her a start. Last year he’d had sandy blond hair. Because his character had gone through an almost-twin plot twist a few months back, he’d gone back to his own deep brown color. He looked good that way, she thought.
    She thought that he had already been questioned.
    “Jay, did they call you back?” she asked.
    He shook his head. “I was about to head out. I heard you wound up at the tail end of the questioning since that cute lady cop had checked your hair and head for glass again. They should let you go. I mean, you were right there …”
    “I’m all right. Really.” Was she? She would never forget the look on Jane’s face. Never forget the way her eyes had closed, the light fading from them. She’d still had a pulse, but standing there, watching as the paramedics worked, she had known that the pulse would fade, just as the light had faded from Jane’s eyes.
    “Jinxy, you okay?” Jay asked softly.
    Jinx nodded. “Of course.” She didn’t look or sound all right.
    Serena met Jay’s questioning gaze. “Why don’t you see Jinx home, Jay?”
    “No, no, I don’t want to be any trouble,” Jinx protested.
    But over her head Jay nodded at Serena. “Jinx, it’s no trouble whatsoever. Let’s get some fresh air, eh?”
    “All right. Thanks. Maybe I am a little too shaky to drive. My car will be all right in the studio lot.”
    “Okay, let’s go,” Jay said.
    Jinx flashed a weak smile at Kelly and Allona, and moved past them.
    Watching Jinx and Jay leave, Allona let out a long sigh. “You do need kids,” she said, studying Serena with a sage appraisal. “The maternal instinct is all over you. Poor little Jinx, hell. I promise you, the writers won’t be getting any breaks for emotional adjustment. We’ll be up for days. We have to totally redo all the scripts.”
    “They’re not going to hire a replacement for Jane?” Kelly asked.
    “The producers closeted themselves right away and the answer to that is no. We want to show our care and compassion to the world,” Allona said.
    “Miss McCormack?”
    At the sound of her name, she nearly jumped out of her seat. George Olsen was calling her in. He was a pleasant-looking man with large jowls, short-cropped white hair, and a coffee stain on his blue tie. He was probably good at his job, she thought. His voice was so carefully modulated, his expression so benign, that talking to him seemed like talking to a grandparent.
    “Watch it,” Allona warned softly. “He looks like Santa Claus, but I’m betting he knows how to go right for the jugular. Look how Jinx came out of that office!”
    “Be strong,” Kelly told her. “She’s right. Think of Jinx.”
    “Jinx is shy and young. I’m not shy, and—well, I’m not young either,” Serena murmured.
    “Hey, we’re talking about the queen of daytime television,” Allona told Kelly. “She’ll put those cops in their places.”
    Serena made a face at her and entered the office.
    The detective offered his hand. “I know how upset you must be, Miss McCormack, but of course, as you already know, we have to question everyone about this tragic circumstance.”
    “Of course.”
    He was silent for a minute, smiling. “Do you wear contacts, Miss McCormack?”
    “What? No. Why?”
    “Nothing.” He shook his head and smiled ruefully. “I admit I’m not a soap fan, but my wife is. She loves this show. Still, in person, Miss McCormack, you do have the most extraordinary eyes. Aqua. Like the Caribbean Sea.”
    “Thanks. Thanks very much.”
    “And