Why was the media presence at Annabelle Shane's funeral "paltry" (p. 181)?
Because the media had already moved from grief to blame, which is why the press was out in full force at Bryan Edison's funeral. More important, the press was slowly drawing a dotted line from Bryan to Hunta, and the Bitch Fiend sex tape would take them the rest of the way.

Did Bryan Edison really rape Annabelle Shane?
I truly don't know because I never intended Scott to find out. But it's obvious that Annabelle was mistreated somehow. And that Bryan wasn't the nicest of boys.

Just what is on Scott's insurance audiotape?
Although the word-for-word dialogue is never revealed, Scott makes it clear that the recording contains indisputable evidence of Harmony's involvement in the plot to frame Hunta (but not to frame Hunta for his own good).

Is there really such a cell phone as the Drug Dealer Special?
There are indeed phones that have been specially engineered to be virtually impossible to trace or tap. These phones are naturally quite expensive. But to my knowledge, they're not all as bulky and colorful as the pair Scott purchased.

But he is right when he tells Harmony that the phones are only safe when they're calling each other. The connection has be secure on both ends.

Who is Harmony all dressed up for (p. 183)?
Although Scott assumes she put on her best outfit for Hunta, the truth is that she was dressed to impress Scott. (It worked.)

Wasn't it a little dumb for Scott to give Harmony his driver's license (p. 186)?
Probably, but Scott was riding high on optimism and self-satisfaction. And as you can see from Chapter 20, he manages to wriggle out of that hole quite nicely.

Is it really common for news magazines to cut and paste their own reporters into canned interviews?
While it's certainly not the norm for TV news shows such as Dateline NBC and 48 Hours to splice their own reporters into pre-filmed interviews, I have little doubt they've done it before. And I have no doubt they'd do it to land a major "get" like Hunta.

The entertainment news programs, like Access Hollywood and ET, regularly loop their people into canned interviews with celebrities. Not that anyone is expecting great journalism from those shows.

At the bottom of page 191, Maxina refers to Scott as "L.A.'s answer to Sidney Falco." Wasn't he the dude who sang Rock Me Amadeus?
No, you putz. Sidney Falco was the name of hapless, harried and morally compromised young publicist played by Tony Curtis in the classic 1957 film, The Sweet Smell of Success. It's a dark and wonderful movie. One of the best films ever made about the PR business.

And at the end of this chapter, Scott raises his glass and toasts "success," just like Sidney Falco did right before his best laid plans went to poop.

What's the special mission that Scott recruits Big Bank for (p. 195)?
Leaking Harmony's story to L.A. Times reporter Gail Steiner, as shown in Chapter 12.

How did Scott guess that Harmony's children book was all about abstinence (p. 200)?
A) he's smart, B) he knows from her conversations and her background that abstinence is a major cause with her, and C) he's really smart.

Does Scott really think her children's book story is a good idea, or is he just stringing her along?
No, he's genuinely impressed by the cleverness and subtlety of her idea. And he truly does believe it could be a smash hit, even though he knows next to squat about the children's book market (nor do I).