I gestured for Bailey to come over and take charge of Tammy Susie and pulled Erica aside.
“Is there bad blood between you? Any chance he might see you as a threat, want to get you fired?”
“No way. I’m just a PA. In fact, there’re rumors Mike’s going to get promoted to co-executive producer next season. And Sasha’s sleeping with him, so she’s good.” She paused, looking perplexed. “And I’ve never had any problems with either of them. So…”
I left Erica with Tammy Susie and went to bring Bailey and Toni up to speed. I’d just finished when Babu came in.
“Do you mind my asking who you just called?” I said.
“Yes, I mind,” Babu said. “What is this, Nazi Germany?” She jerked her head toward Erica. “That Erica Garber?”
I wondered what was with the sudden attitude. “Yes-”
“They want her to bring Tammy Susie back to the hotel, pronto.”
“Who told you that?”
“Someone who works on the show. Obviously.” Babu folded her arms across her impressive bosom. “And that’s all I’m going to tell you.”
There was no point in trying to pry any more answers out of Babu, so we called a cab and headed out. On the ride back to the hotel, new suspicions began to run through my mind. Erica and Tammy were in the front seat with the window rolled down. I leaned forward and spoke into Erica’s ear so Tammy Susie couldn’t hear. “How come Tammy Susie’s parents never called to ask about her?”
She shrugged and whispered, “Probably busy taping their own segments.”
I told Bailey what Erica had said, and Bailey shrugged. “I guess they wouldn’t have any reason to worry if that producer guy, Mike, didn’t say anything to them.”
“But why didn’t Mike say anything to them? Know what I mean?”
Bailey looked at me. “Shit.”
I leaned forward and spoke to the driver. “Could you let us out here, please?”
He nodded and pulled over. Erica turned back to us. “What are you doing?”
“Yeah, what are we doing?” Toni said.
“Just checking something out,” Bailey said. “Erica, we’ll see you back at the hotel.”
One hour later, with Erica in tow, we marched into the suite of Randall Kraft, executive producer-top dog of Tammy Susie and Company. Toni, Bailey, and I made it a point to start by simultaneously flashing our badges. Kraft’s stricken look was gratifying.
“This morning, about five minutes into our vacation, your PA, Erica Garber, came to us, panicked by the disappearance of Tammy Susie,” I said.
“What?” Kraft said. “Tammy Susie was missing?” He turned to look around at the other producers. “Did any of you know about this?”
