The Name of the Game Was Murder Read Online Free PDF Page B

and suspicion had faded, and everyone talked and laughed a lot. Senator Maggio and Buck, who sat across the table from each other, compared notes about bloopers they’d made in high school football, and somehow the senator worked the conversation around to grandchildren and brought out some pictures of two fluffy-dressed little toddlers. He beamed when he talked about the little girls, but since Thea seemed to be the only one interested in them, his grandfatherly bragging didn’t have much of a chance.
    Julia, who was seated next to the senator, sparkled as she discussed book tours and confessed to sneaking under a fence to get away from a pair of excited fans. Laura, on my right, tried to top Julia’s stories by telling us about some of her harrowing experiences on movie sets.
    It was fascinating to me to see some of the celebrity glow peel away like banana skins, giving a glimpse of real people inside; and I wondered if these people often hid inside protective skins so no one could guess their thoughts and feelings. I was just a beginner at this people-watching business, but it was obvious to me that Augustus was the only one who was any good at being famous.
    Julia, the author, was like an actress playing the role of one of her sophisticated fictional heroines, and yet at times she looked unsure of herself, and I saw her watch the others questioningly, as though she wasn’t quite sure they were taking her seriously. Buck, who sat at my left, was just as nervous—maybe even more ill at ease. Hegrabbed a spoon to finish off the sauce, then dropped it and turned red when he saw me watching him. And now I knew what the expression in Laura’s green-gold eyes reminded me of: our neighbor’s dog’s puppies who wiggled and yipped and looked up with huge, begging eyes at everyone who came in sight, as though they were saying, “Love
me.
Oh, please, love
me
!”
    Senator Maggio, no longer a doting grandfather, had become controlled and polished again; and Alex never dropped his smug conceit. Both of them were safe inside their banana skins, and I wondered what it would take to make them come out.
    It had begun to rain, not a soft rain or even a steadily tapping rain. It came in bursts with the wind, whipping against the window like small stones, and I was glad none of us had to go outside in that storm.
    We had just polished off a tart filled with fresh mixed berries and soft vanilla custard, when Augustus’s voice boomed out. “Please give me your attention, my friends. I have an important announcement to make.”

FOUR
    B uck’s water goblet went over, and water sloshed on the table as he grabbed for it. Julia giggled nervously, and Laura sucked in her breath. We all waited quietly as Augustus resettled himself in his chair before he continued.
    “As you are all well aware,” Augustus continued, “I am a novelist. I have never been interested in writing nonfiction.” He paused and smiled. “Until a little over a year ago.”
    As we waited, none of us knowing what we were supposed to say, Augustus chuckled. “For the past thirty years,” he told us, “I have been thoroughly involved in high society’s self-centeredness and hypocrisy. It suited my purposes, and occasionally it provided characters and ideas for my stories.”
    “Oh, my, I knew it. Prince Rainier,” Laura murmured. “Was he the basis for—”
    Augustus leaned forward with a scowl. “I have not finishedspeaking,” he thundered, and Laura cringed against the back of her chair.
    Augustus was silent for a moment, and when he spoke again it was with a smile. “My current manuscript is not another novel. It is a book in which I intend to make public certain shocking behind-the-scenes behavior of a great many very important people.”
    Julia stiffened, and it was obvious that she couldn’t keep silent, no matter how offended Augustus might be. “Are you telling us that we’re included?” she asked.
    Augustus grinned nastily. “Yes and no,”