by Kathi Daley
Gracie looked shocked. Almost as if she had never really stopped to consider the fact that while we believed my parents died from the curse, we’d never attributed the curse to Penelope’s death either.
“I take it this has to do with Cass,” Gracie said.
I nodded. “To a point. I love him. I’ve tried not to love him, but I do. And I know he loves me. Don’t worry, we have no plans to marry or produce offspring, although it did occur to me that we might raise Paisley together. I don’t think that would ignite the curse. You raised mom, Aunt Penelope, and me with Tom’s help, and neither you nor Tom met with premature death.”
Gracie didn’t respond, but I could see that she was really thinking things over.
I continued. “Of course, asking Cass to live with me and help me raise Paisley as nothing more than friends is really asking a lot, which I guess is what has me asking all these questions. Is it really necessary to avoid a relationship that involves intimacy? If we simply live together as a couple but don’t marry, will that alone be enough to activate the curse, or is it a marriage that is the trigger?”
“I suppose those are good questions, but I’m afraid I don’t really have an answer.”
I shifted slightly on the bed. “I know this is none of my business, and I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable, but it seems obvious to me that while you and Tom never married, you have been intimate.”
Gracie didn’t verify my comment, but I could see it was true.
“I guess the two of you and the relationship you share has me wondering if something similar wouldn’t be possible for Cass and me. I do love Cass. There is no denying that. But I know you love Tom as well. Looking back, you probably have for years, so love doesn’t seem to be the thing that sets the whole thing in motion. If not love and not intimacy, then what?”
“I see you’ve given this a lot of thought,” she finally said.
“I have. If there is any chance at all that my loving Cass or being intimate with him would result in his death, I’d end things, walk away, and never look back. But if love and intimacy are not what triggers the curse, then why should I sacrifice what we have? I’ve gone over this again and again in my mind. I’ve tried to figure out how it all works. All I really know is that a curse was voiced, and people who I loved died. That was enough for me until now. Until Cass. But now, I find I want more, which has me thinking about things in detail. I thought about Penelope and the fact that she was still a young woman when she died. If Penelope hadn’t been married or even been in love when she died, why are we so certain that it was the curse and not simply circumstance that was behind the accident that killed my parents?”
Gracie slowly shook her head. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve never considered Penelope’s death as part of the equation.” Gracie glanced at the clock. “I need to go, or I’ll be late for my volunteer shift, but I think we should discuss this at another time. It’s important. To both of us, I think.”
I nodded. “Yes. I agree. It is important to both of us. I know for me, figuring out where Cass might be able to fit into my life for the long haul is probably the most important thing on my mind.” I leaned back into the pillows. “I can’t help but visualize the life Cass and I could have. The life we could share with Paisley. I want us to be a family, but after a lifetime of avoiding any action that might activate the curse, I can’t easily give that up either.”
“I understand,” Gracie said, turning to leave.
“Cass doesn’t believe in the curse. He isn’t afraid to take the chance.”
“Tom, either.” Gracie paused at the door. “I guess, as the last remaining Hollister women, it’s up to us to decide how much we are willing to risk to have our heart’s desire.”
Chapter 8
Monday
When I arrived at the Eagle Ridge Ski Resort on Monday, I was shown to a production trailer that had been outfitted with desks and computers. I assumed the trailer was going to be used as a makeshift office. A blond-haired woman of medium height introduced herself as Penny Goldberg. She informed me that she was a publicist for the project and that she was the person I would go to if I had questions or needed to set up interviews with the actors and actresses. After asking me a few basic questions about myself, she handed me a press pass on a lanyard and then offered to give me a tour of the operation. As I’d already learned, the movie being shot over the next two weeks was a murder mystery starring Logan Underwood and Victoria Medford. The movie was a locked room sort of mystery where the resort the characters were visiting was so isolated that no one could arrive or leave unless transported by helicopter. I had to admit that the movie sounded fun. I loved mysteries where the potential killer could be readily whittled down to a handful of suspects.
As I walked around the set and was introduced to many of the non-actor crew members, I couldn’t help but be drawn in by the overriding frenzy that seemed to accompany the arrival of the film crew and cast. I noticed a security team checking ID’s for everyone who entered the resort, and was told that the actors and actresses who’d already checked in or planned to check-in today would be staying in the rooms not being used for the filming.
I knew Harrison Roberts and Jennifer Ashford were in town since they’d been seen with Bill at the steakhouse. I’d noticed a helicopter dropping someone off shortly after I’d arrived and had been told that Sloan Kingston and Dirk Coven had been onboard. It seemed like there were a lot of people milling around considering the movie, or at least the portion of the movie, being shot at the resort, featured only twelve main characters. Of course, there were dozens of supporting characters, and I figured each of the stars probably had a stunt double, stand-in, and personal assistant. Add in the cameramen, special effects people, and set folks and I supposed it really did take a lot of people to make a movie, even one which by virtue of the script utilized few actors and actresses.
“Each set has these red chairs,” Penny said. “Only the director, camera personnel, and other essential staff are allowed beyond the chairs during filming, so no matter which set you might be watching from, you need to be sure to remain well behind the red chairs.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll be sure to stay out of the way.”
“There is to be no photography during filming, and any photos taken on the set during non-filming times need to be approved before they are distributed. You can mingle, but if you are going to be looking for formal interviews with the actors and actresses, you will need to set that up through me. The food, which will be set out, will be for anyone, so feel free to help yourself. There will actually be a lot of downtime between shots, and that would be the best time for you to mingle with some of the other staff if you have general questions.”
“Okay. And thank you so much for all your help.”
“It’s my job to make sure the press is able to cover the process without getting in the way.”
“Do you film every day?” I asked, wondering about weekends.
“Most of what we’re here to film will take place outdoors, so we will film every day that the weather permits. However, if all goes as hoped, the filming won’t take the entire two weeks the site has been reserved for. Quite a few scenes will be taped in other locations, so we’ll probably only be here at the resort for a week to ten days.”
“Okay, thanks. It’s helpful to know that.”
Penny took me by the arm. “So, are you ready to get started?”
“I am.”
“Great. The two women standing over near the ski lift are playing supporting roles. If you want to get your feet wet, chatting with Lola and Rene is a good place to start. Both get killed off early in the movie, but both have worked on crews I’ve worked with in the past. They will be good people to talk to if you need direction.”
“That’s perfect. Thanks again.”
As it turned out, Lola and Rene were a hoot. Both women played roles considered to be expendable. Lola played a maid at the resort where the group of twelve would meet a
nd become trapped, and Rene played one of the kitchen help. Lola told me that her character was killed off twenty minutes into the movie, while Rene’s character made it to about the half-way point. Both women had played dozens of these types of roles in their careers, and both had worked with one or more of the movie’s stars in the past, which gave them a unique perspective into the personalities of some of the bigger names involved. It was fun and entertaining to listen to their stories. I wasn’t certain how I would approach the story I would need to turn in at the end of the week, but I figured that it was this sort of human-interest stuff that would really grab my readers’ attention.
“Look who just showed up,” Lola said to Rene.
I looked in the direction Lola had nodded toward and saw Harrison Roberts chatting with Jennifer Ashford.
“Have you worked with them before?” I asked.
Lola nodded. “I worked a movie with Harrison last year. I’d been cast as a restaurant owner who’d witnessed a mass murder, along with a lot of other people who’d been dining at the time, and Harrison had been cast as one of the shooters. It was really a pretty bad movie that ended up tanking at the box office, but there were a few decent actors and actresses in it. One of the actresses who’d been cast and actually brought a touch of class to the movie was Giovanna Pierce.”
I knew who Giovanna Pierce was. She’d actually been in some really popular movies.
“Anyway,” Lola continued, “Giovanna came down with a virus she couldn’t quite shake, so when it looked like she was going to miss the first week of filming, they decided to recast her. The actress they cast in her place was Jennifer Ashford.”
“I worked with both Jennifer and Harrison three years ago,” Rene said. “It seemed like the pair might have been dating, although they tried to pass off their relationship as very casual. In fact, they tried to make it seem as if they barely knew each other, but I saw them talking late one night out behind the trailers. Their conversation appeared to be very intimate and animated, and not the sort of conversation one might have with someone they shared a strictly professional relationship with.”
“Maybe they were friends or even lovers, but wanted to maintain a professional distance while on the set, so they acted as if they really didn’t know each other all that well when in the presence of others,” I suggested.
Rene shrugged. “Maybe.”
I watched as Harrison and Jennifer went their separate ways. I really wanted to speak to Harrison, and it looked like he was alone, so now seemed as good a time as any. I turned to Lola and Rene, pulling my phone out of my pocket. “I need to make a call, but I really appreciate the two of you taking the time to help me get the lay of the land. I’ll look for you tomorrow.”
“We’ll be here,” Lola said.
With that, I took off in the direction I’d seen Harrison heading. When I caught up to him, he was standing near the gondola boarding area, smoking a cigarette.
“Robert,” I said.
He turned in my direction, slowly blowing out a trail of smoke. “Callie Collins. I heard you were back in town.”
“You remember me.” I walked up and stood next to him.
“Sure, I remember you. We had chem lab together. How’ve you been? I heard you made a career out of your love of the piano and moved to New York.”
“I did, but I moved back last year after I was injured in a car accident and could no longer play at concert level. I was so surprised when I heard you were going to be in this movie.”
He laughed. “I’m not quite the same guy you remember, am I?”
“Well, no. I mean, I’m sure you’re the same guy, but you just seem so different. I didn’t even know you were into acting.”
“I wasn’t.” He slipped the cigarette between his lips and inhaled. He blew it out slowly. “At least not during high school.”
“So, what happened? I guess I always figured you’d end up working in one of the fields of science.”
He took another long drag and then tossed the cigarette on the dirt and then ground it out with his foot. “When we were in high school, I was planning to be a physicist. I even went to LA so I could study physics at Cal Tech University. While I was living in LA, I ran into Bill Fuller. Do you remember Bill? He was in calculus with us.”
“Yes, I remember Bill.” I thought it was odd that he didn’t mention the accident, but he might not have heard about it, and I wanted to see what he was going to say, so I didn’t bring it up.
“Anyway, Bill and I had been friends in high school. Not super close, but friends nonetheless. Bill was attending UCLA, and I was attending Cal Tech. We were both feeling somewhat out of sorts in LA, so we started hanging out. He had a girlfriend who was trying to get into acting. She was really more of a waitress at the time, but she was determined to get her big break, so she went to auditions all the time. The problem was she had an old car that was always breaking down and was forever asking Bill and me for rides. Anyway, she had this one big audition and needed a ride. Bill was busy, but I had some free time, so I offered to help her out. The audition was across town, so I decided to wait. While I was sitting there, this man walked up to me and asked if I was there to read for the role of Stephan. I told him I’d given a ride to a friend and wasn’t there to read. He told me I had the overall appearance they’d been looking for and encouraged me to give it a try. I got the part, and as they say, the rest is history.”
“Wow,” I said. “That is quite some story.”
He shrugged. “Life is strange sometimes.”
“And your friend? Did she get the part she was after?”
“Unfortunately, she didn’t, but she decided that getting the part probably wasn’t meant to be, and a few weeks later, she and Bill eloped.”
“So, she quit acting?” I wondered.
“For a while. Things didn’t work out with her and Bill, and they divorced. After Bill left LA, I helped Jennifer get a small part in a movie I was doing, and that seemed to be enough to get her started.”
“Jennifer? Do you mean Jennifer Ashford?”
“Yeah. Do you know her?”
“No. Not really. I just know that she’s doing this movie and that she was friends with Bill.” I supposed, based on what Robert just said, they’d been more than friends. It sounded as if Jennifer was Bill’s ex-wife.
Robert laughed. “I wouldn’t say friends exactly, but they do have a past. I sort of thought Bill might show up today, but I haven’t seen him.”
I nibbled on my lower lip, trying to decide whether or not to fill Robert in about Bill’s death, and decided that it couldn’t hurt since he would find out anyway. “I’m afraid Bill was involved in an auto accident. I probably should have said as much right away when you mentioned knowing Bill, but I’m not really sure how widely known things are or how much of what I know is privileged information.”
“Privileged information? What happened? Is Bill okay?”
I had to admit he genuinely looked upset by the news. “Actually, the accident was fatal. I’m afraid Bill passed away Thursday night.”
He paled. His bushy brows drew together, and his face hardened. “Thursday night? What time Thursday night?”
“I guess around eleven.”
“Was he run off the road?”
“Not as far as anyone knows.” I decided not to mention that I knew the two men had gone to dinner together. I was interested whether or not he’d bring it up.
“I had dinner with Bill Thursday,” Robert informed me. “He was totally fine when he left the restaurant around ten o’clock. I wonder what happened. He only lived a couple miles from the restaurant.”
“His car was found out on the old highway.”
He furrowed a brow. “What on earth was he doing all the way out there?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “As far as I know, no one knows. Do you remember Cass Wylander?”
“Sure. I remember Cass.”
“He’s in charge of the local sheriff’s off
ice, and he’s been looking into things. If you know anything that might help him figure out what occurred in the hours before Bill died, you might want to call and talk to him about it.”
He bowed his head, shook it a bit as if trying to rattle things into place, and then looked back in my direction. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll call and talk to Cass. Do you have his number?”
“I do. I can text it to you if you’d like.”
“Yeah. Okay.” He provided his digits, and I sent the text.
“At this point, it looks as if Bill was simply distracted and ran off the road, which led to his hitting a tree, but if you have any reason to believe anything other than a simple accident might have occurred, I know Cass would be interested in hearing what you have to say,” I added.
“I might know something, but I need to talk to someone first. Just to be sure. I’ll call Cass either way. We always did get along. I was actually planning to look him up while I was in town anyway. Maybe have a beer and shoot the breeze.” He shook his head again. “Man. I just can’t believe Bill is gone.”
Chapter 9
Later that evening, Cass came over, and the five of us had dinner. During the meal, I shared my impressions after my first day on the movie set, Paisley told us all about her first day of rehearsal since taking over the role of Adrianna, Tom shared his progress in readying the flowerbeds for the first snow, Gracie updated me on the plans for the Halloween Festival now that the Harvest Festival was in our rearview mirror, and Cass shared a story about a puppy he’d rescued from an old well.
As the five of us sat around Gracie’s table eating meatloaf and baked potatoes, I found myself cherishing the family that seemed to have formed since I’d returned to Foxtail Lake. As I joined the others in the sharing of the day’s events, I found myself longing for a reality that would include the five of us coming together as a real family in the days ahead.
