10 A Script for Danger (12 page)

“Nancy! What a day, eh? I can't believe that the light almost . . .” Alex shook his head.

I got right to the point. “Did you know that Ronan Beale is in River Heights now?”

Alex looked at me like I was insane. “Are you serious? Did he move back here permanently? And how do you even know about him, anyway?”

“Lali told me he could be a potential suspect,” I replied. “I found his forwarding address in the RHU alumni records. I actually met him for coffee . . . and he says you refuse to speak to him.”

“We haven't been in contact since he tried to sue me over this screenplay.” Alex sniffed.

“He told me to tell you he was sorry.” I relayed the bulk of our conversation to Alex. “I don't think he wanted you to know that he is back in town; apparently he's working on some big project.”

Alex twisted his face in confusion. “That is totally bizarre, Nancy,” he said. His expression darkened. “But Ronan is not to be trusted.”

“I got the impression that he wasn't being exactly truthful,” I admitted solemnly.

“Wait, don't move,” Alex commanded. “I'll be right back.” He hurried over to Lali, who was standing on a chair near the catering tent's entrance, ready to make her announcement.

“Attention, everyone!” Lali said. “This morning Alex and I thought we were going to have to cut the graveyard scene, which as you know is an integral part of the movie. This prankster has delayed our shoot and forced us to burn through our budget. But—thanks to some creative thinking and teamwork—that won't be
the case.” She pointed to Roberta Ely, who I now noticed was waiting at the back of the catering tent, smiling.

“We will be teaming up with the River Heights Carnival Committees,” he continued. “They've agreed to start setting up their annual Fourth of July Carnival a few days early and we decided to use the carnival for our big final scene. That way they can uphold their tradition
and
the film can have a great dramatic ending, even if it takes place at a carnival instead of a graveyard.”

The only person who was visibly angry about the change was Brian. He shook his head and grumbled to Omar under his breath.

“What do you think of that?” I whispered to Bess, tilting my head in Brian's direction.

“He probably just doesn't like the idea,” she replied. “Not
everything
is a clue, Nancy!”

“I liked the graveyard scene too,” George said, “but hopefully this will show the saboteur that it's not quite so easy to shut down
The Hamilton Inn
.”

“Or,” I speculated, “he or she will try even harder.”

“Maybe Roberta
was
guilty all along,” Bess pointed out. “In which case we no longer have a case!”

“That still means a bully got her way,” I mused, “which doesn't feel right at all.”

Despite the news, Lali kept her new “closed set” policy intact. They finished all the scheduled scenes ahead of time and without any unexpected incidents, which was a big relief to Lali and her overstretched budget, as I overheard her telling someone on the phone. By the end of the day, I began to entertain the possibility that Bess was right. With the conflict over the Fourth of July Carnival over, perhaps
The Hamilton Inn
could continue shooting peacefully.

I texted Lali to ask her for a private meeting. I wanted to discuss this Roberta Ely theory with her and put it to bed once and for all.

A few minutes later, when George saw the call sheets for the next day, she let out a yelp.

“It's a night shoot!” she exclaimed. “That means we don't have to be at the fairgrounds until seven p.m.!”

Bess nodded. “So awesome. I love carnivals!”

Meanwhile, Lali had texted back asking me to meet her at her trailer after wrap.

When I arrived, she had the same contented expression she had worn earlier.

“So things worked out with Roberta Ely,” I observed.

Lali gave me a tired nod. “What a relief. That woman was not about to give up.”

“Was she desperate enough to resort to sabotage?” I asked.

“No,” Lali responded. “I even confronted her about it. She seemed horrified that I would ask. The last thing she wants is for River Heights to look bad. Plus, Roberta is all about rules—making them
and
following them.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yes, Nancy.” Lali stiffened. “You're not the only one around here who has experience sniffing out deceitful characters. I have to deal with Hollywood studio executives on a daily basis.”

With Roberta crossed off the list, I refocused all my energy on Ronan Beale. I finally caught up with
Alex in the parking lot as George, Bess, and I were about to leave.

“I'm sorry we couldn't talk more today, Nancy.” Alex sighed as he dumped his bag and folders into his car. “Oh! Maybe you girls can come watch some dailies with me tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to meet my editor at the postproduction facility.”

“What are dailies?” Bess asked.

“Just the footage from the movie at the end of any given day,” Alex explained. “The actual film that was shot.”

“We would love to! Thanks, Alex,” I responded. Bess and George nodded enthusiastically.

“We can talk more about Ronan then,” Alex whispered. “But right now I have to figure out how to change the entire ending of my screenplay to take place at a carnival instead of a graveyard.” He sighed again. “It's going to be a late night!”

“Good luck, Alex,” I said as he climbed into his car and drove away. I was impatient to move the investigation forward, but I could understand how anxious
Alex felt about the sudden change in his story. The mystery would have to take a backseat for now; I just hoped the saboteur felt the same way.

That night as I lay in bed, I mulled over Ronan Beale. He truly did seem to feel remorseful about destroying his friendship with Alex, but Alex insisted he couldn't be trusted. Had this mystery project brought Ronan back to River Heights, and did it have anything to do with the case we were investigating?

I also wasn't quite sure if I believed Lali's conclusion about Roberta Ely. I had no reason not to, but something about this mystery just wasn't coming together, and I couldn't let go of a suspect so easily.

The questions kept swirling in my mind, until the effects of the early morning started to take hold. Soon I was fast asleep.

The following afternoon I met George and Bess in front of the Lightning Post, the post-production facility where Alex's team was working. Alex waited for us just
inside the front lobby with his editor, Krish, who had a tan complexion and a giant spray of untamed black curls bursting from his head.

“I didn't know you were bringing guests,” Krish said nervously after Alex had introduced us. “The edit isn't as far along as I'd like it to be. I'm not ready for an audience.”

“Oh, it's fine, Krish! You're always too hard on yourself,” Alex assured him. “I just want to see how it looks so far so I can wrap my head around this carnival thing.”

“Carnival?”
Krish looked horrified. “I don't remember that from the script!”

“It's a new development,” Alex explained. “Don't worry, buddy. I'll fill you in. Come on, let's go inside.”

“Hey, Krish,” came Cora's voice from behind us. She'd just come into the building. “Lali wanted me to copy some of the behind-the-scenes footage to one of your drives,” she continued, adding sarcastically, “You know, whatever I was able to get.”

She made a point of ignoring her brother and didn't bother to say hello to us, either.

“What's her problem?” Bess whispered under her breath.

“I think she's still angry about Alex kicking her off the set yesterday,” I replied.

“That's not
our
fault,” Bess said, looking hurt.

We all followed Krish through a set of sliding glass doors, which required a pass code for entry. After that, Krish had to say his name aloud into a small security system with a camera and microphone before someone buzzed him into the main floor of Lightning Post. Once inside, Krish treated us to the world's briefest and most awkward tour around the facility.

“That's, uh, the kitchen. The coffee is good, sometimes. And these are edit suites. I'm working over there. Let me get the key to unlock it. Back there is the mixing stage. For, uh, sound. And then we have some visual effects artists, too, in those rooms. They aren't here yet, I don't think.”

He shuffled to the front desk for the key to the editing room, the place where he had been assembling footage for
The Hamilton Inn
.

“Why are we here again?” George was getting impatient. “To look at closed office doors?”

“Don't mind her, Alex.” Bess elbowed her cousin in the side, hard. “She's just mad she couldn't sleep all day.”

Alex smiled. “I promise we'll make it worth your while, George,” he said as we followed Krish inside one of the tiny rooms. Two screens were set up on a desk, with two additional screens mounted on the wall above them. On one wall was a corkboard with index cards arranged on it. Every card seemed to correspond to a scene of the film.

“Krish is an amazing editor,” Alex whispered to me. “He takes some time to warm up to new people, but you should see what he can do with just a—”

“Alex!” Krish turned around, agape. “The drives . . . they were right here when I locked up last night!”

“What do you mean, Krish?” Alex sounded confused.

“I—I mean, they're not here!” Krish pointed helplessly to the desk.

“What is he talking about?” I asked.

“So you're telling me the footage,” Alex mumbled, thunderstruck, “everything we've been shooting . . .”

Cora blurted out, “It's gone!”

“HOW CAN IT JUST BE
gone?” Lali asked incredulously. “How does that even happen?”

A half hour after we'd discovered that the footage had disappeared, Lali met us in the parking lot of the post-production facility. The chaos was distracting everyone else at Lightning Post, so only Krish had remained inside and was going door-to-door to make sure that the drives hadn't somehow been misplaced. Alex was on the verge of a meltdown.

“They can't have gone far,” Lali consoled him, even
though it was clear that she was just as panicked. “It has to be a misunderstanding.”

“I give up,” Alex said, his voice beginning to crack. “If someone wants to ruin this movie so badly, let them!”

“No!” Cora cried in a surprising display of sisterly support. “Alex, you know how hard it was to get this movie made. You can't let this jerk win.”

Alex looked at his sister skeptically. “So now what?”

“Go to the set and start walking the crew through the carnival scene,” Lali told him. “Nancy and I will stay here until Krish has scoured the place.”