Only if they didn't catch sight of his King Arthur wardrobe choices first.
"I'm sure that's not true," I said. "Everyone knows your name. You're literary royalty."
He narrowed his eyes at me again. "Are you trying to flatter me because I'm holding a gun?"
Turns out, he was more perceptive than he looked too.
"N-no, of course not. Just speaking the truth." I shot him a big sugary smile. Okay, I tried to shoot a smile, but it might have come out more of a grimace. My arms were really getting tired.
"Look, you trespassing trollops. I don't know who killed Frost…maybe it was you"—he pointed the gun at Dana—"or maybe it was you!" The gun swiveled my way. "But I know whoever wiped that plague of a man from the face of this earth did us all a giant favor in the name of literature."
I shot Dana a glance. I wondered if maybe he wasn't talking about himself.
"You don't happen to own any medieval swords, do you?" I asked, not able to keep my eyes from straying to his outfit.
"Several. All authentic replicas of the originals. Why?"
"Just wondering. You know, if maybe you had any up here in Moose Haven with you. Maybe you even had one with you and felt like visiting the movie set a couple of nights ago…"
"What exactly are you getting at?"
I licked my lips. "Nothing. Just sort of wondering if you might have possibly visited Frost on the night he died and discussed his lack of artistic integrity in person?"
That did it. Any semblance of composure shattered. His eyes took on a dark, wild quality, and his grip tightened on the shotgun. "That's what I thought you were asking me. You've got a lot of nerve, coming onto private property and accusing me of committing a crime!"
"She didn't mean that," Dana began.
But he wouldn't be placated. He pointed the shotgun at us again. "You have exactly ten seconds to get off this land, and if I ever see either one of you again—"
We never heard the rest of the threat because we'd already fled back into the woods, practically stampeding over fallen trees to get away from him and back to the relative safety of the car. By the time we'd gotten inside and locked the door behind us, my poor heels would never be the same, but at least I didn't have a shotgun hole in my back.
"That was a close call," Dana said, putting her rental in reverse and hightailing it back down Crossbow Trail, leaving a plume of dust in our wake. "That guy is seriously unhinged."
"Aren't all writers a little eccentric?" I asked, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. A small benefit. But he was, after all, my favorite author.
Dana shot me a look across the interior of the car. "Eccentric? Maddie, he shot at us!"
"I think it was a warning shot," I mumbled. Maybe. "Okay, you're right, he was totally unhinged."
We turned off Crossbow Trail onto paved road again. Gradually, the forest gave way to the comparative metropolis of Moose Haven, and my heart rate began to return to normal.
"Well, if that was any indication of how Ravensberg acted on the set, I'm not surprised Frost threw him off of it," Dana noted.
I had to agree. If I'd been Frost, I'd have wanted security to escort the author away too. "But just because it was justifiable doesn't mean Ravensberg didn't resent it."
"You mean resent it enough to come back and stab Frost with a sword?" Dana said.
I nodded. "Tell me you couldn't see him doing that?"
Dana shrugged. "I can't. Because I totally could see him doing it. In full medieval dress no less."
I smirked. "Minus the shoes."
"Right?" Dana turned to face me. "What was up with those? Did he mug one of Santa's elves?"
I laughed. "I don't know, but they looked almost as impractical for the forest as these," I said, pointing to my poor abused pumps.
"Oh, Maddie, your shoes." Dana frowned.
"Your boots don't look a whole lot better. We're gonna need some retail therapy after all of this."
Dana nodded. "If we ever get out of Moose Hell."
I was about to respond when my phone rang from my purse. I extracted it, saw my mom's face on the readout, and swiped to take the call.
"Did she answer?" It was my mother's voice.
Before I could respond, another voice came on.
"I can't hear anything," Mrs. Rosenblatt said.
"Dahling, are you there?" Marco called.
"Of course I'm here, but I can't hear Maddie." Mrs. Rosenblatt.
I bit back a sigh. "Hello, Mom. Marco. Mrs. Rosenblatt."
"Oh, thank goodness," Mom said. "Are you okay, Maddie? Were you able to bail her out? How is she doing?"
I frowned, confused. "Bail who out?"
"Dana," Marco said. "We saw that the cops are calling her a suspect in Jasper Frost's murder!"
"And a person of interest!" Mom added. "I watch cop shows. I know what that means!"
"They gotta a lot of chutzpah slandering her good name that way!" Mrs. R chimed in.
"Did they do something awful like drag her off to jail in the middle of the night," Marco asked. "Or perp walk her through the hotel lobby at high noon?"
I glanced at Dana, sitting rigid behind the wheel. Sorry, I mouthed.
"She's not in jail," I told them. "She's sitting right beside me. We were just…" I hesitated. No point in telling them about our encounter with J.R. Ravensberg. Really no point in telling them about our encounter with his shotgun. "…discussing shoes," I finished lamely.
Dana shot me a look.
I shrugged and did a palms-up thing. It was kinda true.
"Well, it's clear you two need us," Marco decided. "I've been looking at flights to Saskatchewan—"
"No!" That might have come out a little more forcefully than I'd meant it. "I mean, no, we're fine. No need to fly anywhere."
"Maddie's right," my mother piped up.
Thank goodness.
"There's no need to fly when we could take the train!"
Thankfulness retracted.
"Mom, I don't need you to—"
"It's so much more relaxing. And sophisticated. And we can enjoy the scenery on the way."
I mouthed the word help to Dana.
"Hi, Mrs. Springer," Dana said into my phone.
"Dana? Is that you? Oh, we're all so worried! You are not a suspect in our eyes, Dana! We believe in you!"
"Hashtag, I stand with Dana!" Mrs. R shouted.
I rolled my eyes.
"You know, if we change planes in Denver, Austin, and Ontario, it's really not that expensive. I mean, we'll be flying for 36 hours, but they have cocktails," Marco said.
"Really, we're fine. No need to fly out here. The media have blown this all out of proportion," I assured them.
"I'm sure Albert could clear this all up for you, Dana," Mrs. Rosenblatt piped up again. "We could drive up in my RV."
"That rickety thing?" my mother said. "Does it still even run?"
"Does it have one of those itty bitty showers?" Marco asked. "Because I can't use those bitty, little showers. Marco needs room to maneuver."
"It's a shower," Mrs. Rosenblatt said. "It's not So You Think You Can Dance. And I'll have you know my RV is not rickety. It's a top of the line Road Hog Supreme. It belonged to my dear departed husband, who had impeccable taste."
"Which one?" my mother asked. "Carl?"
"Alf," Mrs. Rosenblatt said.
I closed my eyes. "Listen, guys, I appreciate the offer, but truly, we're fine here. No one is taking a train or a plane or an RV anywhere."
"No offense," Mrs. Rosenblatt said, "but that's easy for you to say. It's not your name all over the news. When poor Dana tells us not to come, then we'll listen."
"Don't come," Dana said immediately.
Silence pulsed for a few seconds.
"That's just the stress talking," Mrs. Rosenblatt said.
"She doesn't know what she's saying," my mother said.
"She's in denial," Marco said.
"What's that?" I asked, holding the pho
ne away from my ear. "You're breaking up. I can barely hear you."
"Maddie, don't you dare fake bad reception on me—" Marco began.
I disconnected the call.
Dana shot me a look. "That wasn't very nice."
I looked over at her. "Do you want those three to come to Moose Haven?"
She shrugged and nodded. "Okay, maybe not nice but necessary," she conceded.
Fifteen minutes later, we parked safely in the lot of the Big Moose Hotel. We were just crossing the lobby as Jaden, the Evil Prince, came through the doors. He looked up and pointed my way. "You get over that little scare okay?"
"What?" I blinked at him, wondering how on earth he could have heard of Ravensberg shooting at us already.
"The snake?" he reminded me.
Oh. That.
"Yes. Yeah, I'm fine. No worries. But thank you for your help last night." I turned to Dana. "Jaden was the one who got rid of it."
Dana nodded. "That must have been scary."
"That snake was pretty freaked out, too," Jaden said with a wink. "I left him the pillowcase for that touch of home. You'll probably get charged for that."
It was worth it to have my room to myself again.
"Well, if he comes back," Jaden said, "just scream some more four-letter words and I'll come running."
I hadn't reacted quite that badly, but I just gave him a smile and nod, not ready to make an enemy. You know, in case I did need more snake wrangling.
He turned to Dana. "Are you coming to the meeting?"
"What meeting?"
"Patsy just called. We're all summoned to the Tipsy Moose again starting in"—he glanced at his watch—"right now."
"Well, then, I guess I'm coming," Dana said, sending a questioning look my way.
I shrugged, tagging along as we about-faced and followed Jaden out of the lobby and toward the street.
Jaden glanced down at Dana's mud-caked boots as he held the door for us. "Where've you guys been, anyway? Out camping or something?"
"We just went for a hike," I said.
"In heels?" he said. Then he reached out and pulled a pine needle from Dana's hair.
"It was impromptu." Dana fluffed her blonde locks with both hands to dislodge a few more needles. "What do you think is going on with Lord now?"
"I dunno," Jaden said. "Maybe they caught Frost's killer."
Dana gave me a worried glance.
Jaden must have noticed it, as he added, "Don't worry. I don't believe a word of what I read on Facebook. We all know you're innocent, Dana."
"Gee, thanks," she mumbled, though I could see her cheeks going red.
We followed Jaden across the street, only parting ways when a few of the Prince's legion hailed him inside the door to the tavern. Jaden joined them, and Dana and I found an empty table against the wall. All the cast and crew seemed to be in attendance—the Bobbits taking their usual spot at the bar, the crew standing along the wall on the outskirts of the group, the Elven warriors and Dragon Queen's minions mingling at tables. Alia stood near the jukebox alone, eyes on her phone.
I took the moment to study her without her knowing. Even in the dimly lit, moose-infested tavern, she stood out as strikingly beautiful. And young. I wondered if she was really twenty-three or if she'd made that up to seem older. Heck, I almost wondered if she was even legal age.
"Can I have your attention, please?" Tarrin clapped her hands, moving toward the center of the room with a clipboard wedged under one arm. Beside her stood Elora, her ever-present phone clamped to her ear.
"Everyone, listen up!" Tarrin demanded.
The dull roar in the room subsided, all eyes going her way.
"Thanks for coming on such short notice," she started.
As if any of us had anything else to do in Moose Haven.
"We have received some news," she went on.
Dana clutched my hand under the table. I could see her eyes darting around, as if expecting Bartlett to pop out with a pair of handcuffs at any minute.
"Elora?" Tarrin said, stepping aside.
The older woman finally detached herself from her phone to let her customary frosty gaze rake across the room. "I've just been notified that the police have finished processing the set. It's been released for use," she barked. "We resume shooting this afternoon."
That was fast.
I heard Dana audibly sigh in relief next to me, and her grip on my hand released.
Murmurs of approval spread through the room, smiles returning to idle faces.
"Tarrin will text you all your specific call times," Elora continued. "We're on a tight schedule, so I expect everyone to be on time and prepared." With that, she put her phone back to her ear and stalked off.
"Uh, our first scene today," Tarrin said, consulting her clipboard, "will be with the Elven warriors and Pixnetta. I'd appreciate it if all of you could report to hair and makeup by one thirty at the latest."
Dana glanced at her watch. "That's only an hour from now."
"Maybe we should order some lunch," I suggested.
Dana nodded as Tarrin continued.
"Modura and the Dragon Queen's minions will be after that, so please be on set by two for wardrobe. Everyone else, you will get your call times for the next couple of days via text. That's all, and, uh, thanks," she finished, looking up from her clipboard just long enough to give everyone a wave of dismissal.
Dana sat back in her seat. "I never thought I'd say this, but it's going to be good to get back to work."
I agreed. At least it would keep her off social media. And from breaking into crazy, gun-toting authors' cabins.
I glanced toward the jukebox, but Alia was already gone, having apparently slipped away as soon as possible. Tarrin stood in her place, pulling out her phone and consulting her clipboard, presumably sending call times to various crew and cast members.
"Hey, order me a cheeseburger and fries, okay?" I said, getting up.
"Sure. Where are you going?" Dana asked, picking up a menu that was wedged between the salt and pepper shakers (moose shaped, of course).
"I just wanted to ask Tarrin something. Be right back," I told her over my shoulder.
Tarrin looked up as I approached, a small frown of irritation between her brows at the interruption.
"Hi, Tarrin," I said, giving her a friendly wave.
"Hi." She went back to texting. "Did you need something?"
"Uh, not really. I just…something you said yesterday has stuck with me."
"Oh?" Still not looking up. Thumbs still busy sending out instructions.
"About Frost."
That gave her pause. She put her phone down, gaze coming up to meet mine. "What about him?"
I took a step closer, keeping my tone confidentially low. "You mentioned that he had a history of being…inappropriate with his female cast members."
"I don't think I said inappropriate," Tarrin backpedaled.
"Did Frost ever mention Alia to you?" I asked.
"Alia?" She blinked at me before her gaze roamed the room, as if trying to spot the actress in question. "I-I'm sure we talked about her. She was costarring."
"What did he think of her?" I asked, dancing around the direct question that was burning in my mind.
"I-I don't know. He thought she could use more experience. She had a hard time remembering her lines."
"But she was pretty."
Tarrin shot me a well, duh look. "Yeah, that's kind of a job requirement."
"And young. Kind of Frost's type, no?"
Tarrin's eyes narrowed. "I'm not sure what you mean." She stood abruptly and clutched her clipboard to her chest as she stalked toward the front door.
I followed a step behind, finding her reaction interesting. Yesterday she'd been all for talking about Frost's chauvinistic tendencies. Only today she was running from them. Was it because I was asking the right questions?
"Tarrin, did Frost know Alia well?"
"I don't know," she answered, pushing out the doo
r and into the sunshine.
It was a stark contrast to the dim lighting and heavy wood, and it took my eyes a moment to adjust.
"It seemed like they had a history together. Frost mentioned something about 'what happened in LA.'"
"I don't remember that."
"I do," I told her emphatically, side stepping to stand in front of her to halt her progress toward the street.
She stopped walking but still held on to the clipboard for dear life. "Okay, fine. So, maybe they knew each other prior to filming."
"Did they?"
"I told you, I don't know."
"But you do know something," I said, watching the way her eyes were darting side to side, as if looking for escape.
She sucked in a long breath. "Fine," she finally relented. "Look, I'm the director of this project now, and Elora said this needs to go without a hitch. No rumors, no scandals." She paused. "No more scandals."
"I'm not looking for scandals," I promised her. "I'm just…concerned for Dana. That's all."
Tarrin's shoulders relaxed some. "I saw on Twitter. They're really raking her over the coals, aren't they?"
I nodded. "Frost and Alia—did they have a history?" I pressed again.
I wasn't sure she was going to answer, her eyes slowly surveying the street. But then she took hold of my arm and moved me over a few feet, closer to a late model SUV, which partially blocked our view of the Tipsy Moose. And, it occurred to me, the Tipsy Moose's view of us. I couldn't help but wonder who she feared might be watching us.
"Honestly, I have no idea what their history was," she said, keeping her voice low. "But just between us, Alia wasn't the first choice for the Dragon Queen."
"She wasn't?"
Tarrin shook her head. "We'd cast another actress in that part. Someone with more experience. And a bigger name."
I was about to ask who, but Tarrin beat me to the punch.
"I can't say who it was," she said quickly. "Confidentiality and all. But it was all signed off by the producers."
"So what happened?"
"Alia showed up at the production offices. Three weeks before filming began. Frost took her into his office for a private meeting."
"And then what happened?"
Tarrin pursed her lips together. "I don't know, but the next day, Alia was the Dragon Queen." She gave me a meaningful look.
Peril in High Heels (High Heels Mysteries Book 11) Page 11
