“Mr. Drew Wallace, Counsel for the Plaintiff, will make opening remarks, followed by opening remarks from Ms. Grace Carlow, Chief Counsel for the Defendants.”

Long ago Payne had learned the trick of staying focused. Never look at the opposition when inside the courtroom, but stare them down outside of it. That strategy had served him well in his business dealings. It would serve him even better in this particular circumstance.

The possibility that there might be a stalker within these walls never left his mind. After the experience of tackling that lunatic too late to protect Diane, he had no desire to look into the face of another psychotic woman with the potential to do harm.

This moment hadn’t come soon enough for him or his family. He exchanged a private glance with Drew before his attorney got to his feet.

“Your Honor-Ms. Carlow-my client wouldn’t have pushed for an emergency hearing without just cause. Six months ago he and his fiancée were entering his parents’ home when a stalker shot at them. His fiancée is now in a wheelchair and may never walk again.

“Besides this tragic event, there have been half a dozen other stalking incidences in my client’s past where police had to be called in and people arrested and prosecuted. It’s all a matter of public record which I’ve submitted to the court.

“Two days ago my client discovered he was the man on the cover of a Red Rose Romance entitled Manhattan Merger, which I shall enter here in evidence as Exhibit One. The painting was done without his knowledge or permission.” He handed it to the bailiff who took it to the judge.

“Apparently eight covers have been created with his likeness, all without his knowledge or permission. As you can see by the title of this particular story, it takes place in New York City. If you’ll read the blurb on the back, it mentions a New York Billionaire who has an accident in the Canyonlands of the American West.

“In reading the novel, my client became alarmed by the amount of similarities to his life and that of the protagonist’s.

“I have never been the victim of a stalker, but my client and his loved ones have already paid an enormous price because of the behavior of some crazed people in our society.

“My client has asked for a hearing to determine if this is a case of art imitating life to an uncanny degree, or if there is something more sinister behind so many incredible coincidences.

“Should today’s hearing prove the latter, he wants this dealt with before anyone else gets hurt or killed. On that note I defer to Ms. Carlow.”

Payne gave Drew a satisfied nod.

“Your Honor, I speak for myself and everyone present when I say that we deeply regret Mr. Sterling’s pain and suffering. The legal department at Red Rose Romance should have caught the problem when the first painting for The Star Grazer was shipped to our office.

“I noticed a likeness to Mr. Sterling in his facial structure and body type then, but the hero came from the future. He had red hair and brown eyes. I assumed it was a coincidence. It wouldn’t be the first time a hero or heroine on one of our covers happened to resemble a real person.

“When the second painting of Her Prince of Dreams arrived, I again saw similarities though the hero had black eyes and black hair. However I still didn’t feel concerned enough to say anything.

“It wasn’t until Ms. Bennett had painted Manhattan Merger, that I could see the hero did indeed personify Mr. Payne Sterling. I believed it was because she’d placed him in a contemporary New York setting with the kinds of clothes a man in his position would wear to his corporate office.

“At this point I brought it to the head of the company’s attention. Mr. Finauer said not to worry about it because there’d been no problem with the other covers.

“Though I can understand and sympathize with Mr. Sterling’s alarm, as the attorney for Red Rose Romance Publishers, may I assure the court and Mr. Sterling that there is no stalker in this room as will be borne out in testimony.

“To save the court’s time I’ve already supplied a list of witnesses in the order in which they will appear in this court. I’ve given the same list to Mr. Wallace, and have indicated home addresses, phone numbers and job descriptions.”

The judge nodded. “Then this court will proceed. Ms. Farr, please take the witness stand.”

While the bailiff administered the oath, Payne could see that a sizable group from the opposition had assembled. Red Rose’s attorney had come prepared. He would give them that much credit.

“Ms. Farr,” Ms. Carlow began, “state your full name and job description.”

“My name is Margaret Farr. I’m the head editor for the Touch of Romance line at Red Rose Publishers.”

“How long have you been at Red Rose?”

“Fifteen years.”

“Tell us about your relationship with Bonnie Wrigley, the author of Manhattan Merger. Give the court an idea of the process.”

“Bonnie’s first manuscript came through the slush pile ten years ago. It was a wonderful book and I phoned her to tell her we were going to publish it. Since then she has written twenty-seven novels for us. Manhattan Merger was her twenty-fourth book. It was written for a promotion called ‘Urban Tycoons.’”

Urban tycoons?

“Will you explain what you mean by a promotion?”

“Every month we put out six books in the Touch of Romance line. One or two of these books are usually part of a promotion or theme that has particular appeal for readers around the world. I made the suggestion to Bonnie that she write to the Urban Tycoon theme. She came up with Manhattan Merger.”

“Thank you, Ms. Farr. You can step down. I’d like to call Bonnie Wrigley to the stand.”

To Payne’s surprise the woman who was the next witness looked to be in her late fifties. Somehow he couldn’t see her as a stalker, but he didn’t suppose age mattered if a person were that unstable.

“Ms. Wrigley? Tell the court where you live.”

“Spokane, Washington.”

“Is writing a full-time career for you?”

“No. I’m a full-time Spanish teacher and write on the side.”

“How long have you been a teacher?”

“Twenty-six years.”

“How long have you been a writer?”

“Since I was twelve, but I didn’t get published until ten years ago.”

“Tell the court how you came up with your idea for Manhattan Merger.”

“When Margaret asked me if I’d like to write a book about a big tycoon, I decided he would have to be a billionaire because millionaires are too common these days.

“Since I’d already done several millionaire stories with European heroes who’d come from titled backgrounds, I thought I’d feature an American with ties to the English aristocracy. Someone whose family had amassed a fortune in real estate and shipping on the East Coast and had created a world bank.

“I decided he would have to be plagued by a problem that his billions couldn’t fix.

“I thought, what if this billionaire has been diagnosed with leukemia? What if he decides to take a two week trip away from his fiancée and family to get his head on straight before he tells them what he found out during a routine physical exam? They think he’s gone on another of his business ventures.

“As the blurb says, he has an accident in Canyonlands and is flown to a Las Vegas hospital where his secret is discovered by the attending physician who falls in love with him.

“I pictured her as a hardworking, dedicated young doctor who hasn’t had time for men until now. Realizing the hero needs a bone marrow transplant, she asks everyone on the staff to give blood to find him a donor.

“When it turns out she could be a donor, the transplant takes place. It isn’t until he returns to New York that he learns she helped save his life. When he confronts her, she tells him she did it because she loves him, but never wanted him to know because he’s engaged to someone else.

“He confesses he was already in love with her before the transplant took place. As soon as he returned to New York, he broke off his engagement. Now he’s proposing marriage. It’s a Manhattan merger she can’t turn down, not when they’re joined body, blood and soul.”

“Thank you, Ms. Wrigley. You can be seated. Mr. Felt? If you’ll take the stand please.”

While the third witness was sworn in, Payne leaned toward Drew. “When you cross-examine the author, ask her why she picked ties to the English aristocracy, how she happened to put in the part about archaeological sites. Why did she choose leukemia?”

Drew had already been making notes and nodded.

“Mr. Felt? How long have you been head of the art department at Red Rose Publishers?”

“Twelve years.”

“Tell us what you do. Take us through the process when you handled Manhattan Merger.”

“As soon as a manuscript has been cleared for publication, the art department asks the author to fill out a form telling the theme of the book, the description of the hero and heroine, a short synopsis and a summary of several scenes that might look good on the cover.

“When we receive these sheets, we make a phone call to a freelance artist who does original oil paintings for Red Rose covers. We inform them we are sending information to help them create a painting that will sell books and please the author. We also send a printout of the manuscript for them to read.

“Manhattan Merger was handled like any other manuscript. I phoned one of our artists, Lorraine Bennett, about the project. She was free to go to contract on it. Our department sent her the filled out forms and the printout. She did the painting. When it was finished, she shipped it overnight courier to our office.”

“Thank you, Mr. Felt. You can step down. Will Mr. Goldberg please take the stand?”

So far Payne hadn’t heard anything to sway him either way. The artist was the person he wanted to tear apart with his bare hands. She would follow the next witness being sworn in.

“Mr. Goldberg?” Ms. Carlow began. “Tell the court where you work and what you do?”

“I’m the Vice President of Global Greeting Cards in New York.”

“How long have you been with that company?”

“Nine years.”

“Do all of your employees work in-house?”

“No we contract freelance writers and artists to produce the bulk of our inventory.”

“Is Ms. Lorraine Bennett one of those artists?”

“Yes.”

“Tell us the nature of her work.”

“We send her the words, and she creates the art.”

“Does she do portraits or people?”

“Neither. Her work is restricted to nature, flowers, wooded scenes, brooks and bridges, dogs and cats, that type of thing.”

“How long has she worked for you?”

“Three years.”

“Thank you, Mr. Goldberg. That will be all. Will Ms. Bennett please come to the stand?”

Payne answered some questions Drew had written down for him, then lifted his head. When he caught sight of the woman with the gilt-blond hair taking the oath, he felt a rush of adrenaline.

“I’ve seen that face before, Drew!”

“Where?”

He shook his dark head. “I don’t know.”

It was a fresh looking face. Wholesome. Attractive. So was the rest of her.

While he sat there staring at her, he racked his brain trying to remember.

“Ms. Bennett? Please tell the court where you live.”

“In Manhattan.”

“Have you always lived in New York?”

“No. I was born and raised in Grand Junction, Colorado. I only moved here four months ago.”

Colorado-

Payne had once done some skiing there, but that was years ago. If she’d only been in New York since February, then she’d done all the covers of him while she’d lived in Grand Junction.

So how in the hell did she know what his office looked like? He knew for a fact she hadn’t been to his suite when he’d been there or he would have remembered.

“Did you ever visit New York City previous to moving here?”

“No.”

“How long have you worked for Red Rose Romance?”

“Four years.”

“We know you’re employed by Global Greeting Cards too. Before you started freelancing, what did you do? Give us your background.”

“I graduated from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, with a B.F.A. in Art Education. That included an internship in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy. After graduation I was hired to teach art at a high school in Grand Junction.”

“How long did you teach?”

“Six years.”

Ms. Bennett didn’t look old enough to have been a teacher to a bunch of rowdy high school students for that long a time. Boys that age raged with hormones. With a woman so attractive and shapely, he could just imagine the drawings they’d generated of her. Drawings she would never know about.