by Jillian Dodd
You hear gasps and cries from girls as they walk by, and everyone else is straining their necks to see what’s going on.
The men work their way through the crowd, carrying a coffin, and come to a stop in front of my cage.
He’s furiously pushing his way through the crowd and desperately trying to get near her. He’s almost to the cage when the lights flash yet again. He knows it’s his chance. While everyone is looking the other way, he’ll give her the shot. She’ll collapse. He’ll pull her out of the cage and rescue her, taking her out back for some air.
What happens next, causes him to pause. Keatyn’s fallen to the bottom of the cage. He looks down at the syringe still in his hand, knowing he hasn’t drugged her yet.
It’s another sign. She’s pretending to have passed out, so he will come rescue her. She’s calling out to him. As he takes another step toward the cage, the spotlight shines directly on them, and with horror he sees that her eyes are shut and her body still.
All eyes turn toward him.
And men, who he hadn’t noticed before, are standing next to the door of the cage, then pulling her out and into a coffin.
Vincent can barely breathe.
I hear the cage open and feel Cooper's strong arms pull me into the coffin.
I lie motionless as he makes the sign of a cross, folds my arms over my chest, whispers “All’s good” to me, and then shuts the coffin lid.
If things go as planned, they will lead a processional of bouncers, waitresses, and clubgoers out the front door.
I lie still in the coffin, trying not to be creeped out.
This was the perfect exit for me. There’s only one way Vincent could get close to me tonight.
And that’s to start shooting people, which was Cooper’s worse-case scenario.
I’m just praying I don’t hear any shots.
I would never forgive myself if a gun fight started in a crowded place like this.
The sound I do hear is a big relief.
The beating of helicopter blades slicing through the air.
I finally let out the breath I’ve been holding as I feel the casket being loaded into the chopper.
Vincent follows the crowd out of the club, sees the helicopter set down, and the casket rolled onto it. As the helicopter hovers into the air, fireworks start going off.
It looks like something out of a movie.
He smirks. Gotta give it to the girl. She does have a flair for the dramatic.
He carefully puts the syringe back into its holder and fishes a receipt out of his wallet, giving it to the nearest valet. If he can get his car fast enough, there’s a chance he could follow the helicopter to wherever she is going.
He’s getting more irritated by the second as he watches the helicopter fly away. “Where’s my car?” he yells at one of the valets.
“Um, Mr. Sharpe,” the kid who he always tips well says to him. “We can’t exactly find it.”
“What do you mean, you can’t find it?!” He points to the spot where his car is always parked, right up front. But his car isn’t there.
The valet holds up the keys. “We think maybe it was stolen.”
Which is the final straw today. He goes ballistic, grabbing the kid by the neck, before an off-duty policeman pulls him off.
“Sucks,” the cop says. “Was it a nice car?”
“It was a goddamn Porsche!”
“Oh those are pretty. Was it red? I used to work nights as a valet at one of those trendy restaurants. Abby Johnston used to come there for dinner once a week, and she had the hottest little red one. Always wanted one after that.”
“Or maybe you just wanted the hottie in it,” the valet chuckles, elbowing the cop.
Vincent stomps his feet, pushes his fists down to his sides, and let’s out a cry of rage.
“Dude, you need to calm down,” the cop says, putting his hand on Vincent’s shoulder. “I’m sure it was insured. Tell you what, I’ll drive you down to the station myself and help you fill out a stolen vehicle report.”
There’s no way Vincent is going back to the police station.
Once the door shuts, Cooper opens the lid, so I can roll out of the coffin. I stay on my knees and sneak a peek out of the window, quickly spotting Vincent in the crowd.
As the helicopter lifts into the air, pink, red, and gold fireworks shoot into the sky.
The combination of the cheers, the fireworks, and the helicopter is deafening.
I watch the fireworks and pray that Leighton knows how sorry I am.
That I never meant for anyone to get hurt.
“That was freaking nuts!” Cooper says. “And safe. He didn't even have a chance to touch you.”
“He looked mildly irritated when I threw the black roses at him, mad when I flipped him off, and completely pissed when the guys started cheering at the message on my underwear.”
“Message on your underwear?”
“Yeah. I didn’t mention that to you.”
Cooper narrows his eyes. “What’d they say?”
“Fuck me.”
“Oh, Keatyn. Jeez. We want to make him uncomfortable, not homicidal.”
“He’s already homicidal.”
“Yeah, you’re right. It was a good plan.”
“And honored her, I hope.”
The cop says, “I heard there was a very large anonymous donation made to the family's fund today.”
“I heard that too.” I smile. “Oh, Cooper! Do you have my phone? I did something else,” I say, while firing off a quick text to let both Aiden and Grandpa know I’m okay.
“What?”
“How long do you think it will be before he’ll want to leave?”
“If I were him, I’d be getting the hell out of there and never coming back,” Cooper states.
“You should have seen his face when Cooper closed the lid on the casket,” the cops says. “If I weren’t armed, I would have been scared.”
My phone dings with a text from Billy the valet.
I read his message and laugh. “It seems that Mr. Sharpe’s Porsche is somehow missing from the club’s parking lot. He just about blew a gasket."
Cooper and the cop both start laughing hysterically, part of which is probably just a release from the stress of tonight.
I giggle too. "Gosh, that felt good. To finally feel in control. I'm still worried he's going to hurt someone, though. Are you sure they’re watching him 24/7?”
"Yes, a two-man team. Off duty cops."
“Do the cops know there's also a two-man team from Garrett's company watching all of them?”
“Naw,” Cooper says, “I didn't think they needed to know.”
A few minutes later, the helicopter sets down on the roof of the Moran Movies headquarters and lets us off.
Damian is waiting for us at the rooftop door.
He sighs with relief, gives me a big hug, and I introduce him to Cooper.
He looks at Cooper and squints. “You’ve got to be the hot soccer coach.”
Cooper and I both laugh.
“It all went well. And his Porsche went missing for good measure. I mean, just in case the coffin and all wasn’t enough for him.”
Damian shakes his head. “I’m glad I wasn’t there. I wouldn’t have been able to watch you get put into a coffin.”
“If it weren’t for all the adrenaline,” Cooper says, “I wouldn’t have been able to either.”
Vincent goes home, strips off his clothes, and showers off the stench of the day. Then he lies in his king-sized bed, using the remote to close the wall of curtains showcasing a gorgeous city view, and turns on the television.
“You’ve gotta be shitting me,” he says, upon seeing that A Day at the Lake is airing.
He tosses his remote across the room in a fit of anger.
Then watches the movie, knowing that this time it will end differently.
It has to.
On the flight back home, Cooper and I are both too pumped up to sleep.
“Let’s watch the rest of the movie.”
“Maybe we should just fast forward to the end. I mean, more people are gonna die and all that will be left is Matt, Lacy, and Vince.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
We watch in fast motion as the dead bodies pile up, Cooper stopping on a scene where Lacy and Matt are in a storage shed.
“It’s Vince that’s killing everyone. He wants you to go with Egypt with him, doesn’t he?”
Lacy sobs into his chest. “I think so.”
He pushes her away, holding her at arm’s length. “We’re leaving now. Running. We’ll find someone somewhere.”
“He said there isn’t anyone for ten miles.”
“He’s been killing everyone, Lacy. Wake up. He’s a liar. I’ll keep you safe, baby. I promise. And if you want, I’ll go to Egypt with you.”
Lacy smiles through her tears and leans in to kiss him.
WHAM!
Vince hits Matt in the back of the head with a shovel.
Matt falls to the ground.
Dead.
Lacy screams as Vince starts moving toward her.
“It’s just you and me now,” Vince says creepily.
Lacy takes a step back, picks a life jacket up off a counter, and tosses it at him.
Vince moves sideways, avoiding the jacket and taking another step toward her. “When you first told me you might not go, I asked you if you wanted this as badly as I do. You told me yes.”
“Wait, stop!” I shout.
“What?” Cooper says, almost jumping out of his seat.
I place my fingertips on my forehead, like it will help me remember. “Play that again.”
“When you first told me you might not go, I asked if you wanted this as badly as I do.”
“He said that exact line to me. About making his movie. You want this as badly as I do, don’t you?”
“That’s creepy,” Cooper says as he rewinds and presses play.
“. . . You told me yes.”
Lacy screams, “Well, I changed my mind!”
She takes another step backwards.
“No! Don’t give me that bullshit. Matt changed your mind! You came crying to me about it! I told you to figure it out.”
Lacy has a flashback of telling Vince she didn’t think she was going to study abroad and indicating that Matt wasn’t very supportive. Vince offers to take her for a walk to discuss it.
Lacy laughs. “I don’t think you can solve my boyfriend troubles, Vince, but thanks.”
Vince says, “Maybe you need to solve them yourself.”
And I have a flashback of my own.
I’m standing on the deck at a party, turning down a walk on the beach. “Thanks for the offer, Vincent. It’s sweet of you, but I don’t think anyone can solve my boy problems.”
“Maybe you need to solve them yourself.”
The movie keeps playing.
Vince is yelling at her, taking another step toward her, backing her into a corner. “But you didn’t fucking listen to me. You listened to him.”
Realizing she’s trapped, she pleads, “Don’t do this, Vincey. Tell me what you want and I’ll do it.”
He doesn’t stop moving toward her.
And he doesn’t reply.
He grabs her by the neck and starts dragging her out of the shed. “I want you, and I’m going to have you. All to myself.”
“Holy shit,” I mutter, another scene flashing in front of my eyes.
Vincent is dragging me and I plead, “Stop. Please, Vincent. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll do it. I promise I’ll make the movie with you. Just please don’t do this. Please.”
He doesn’t stop.
And he doesn’t reply.
He just keeps dragging me, closer and closer to the door.
When we’re almost to the door, he says, “I want you, and I’m going to have you. All to myself.”
“Keatyn, what?”
“He did the same thing, said the same thing, as he was dragging me out the door. That he was going to have me all to himself.”
Cooper takes his jacket off and lays it across the top of me. “You’re shaking. Stop thinking about it.”
“I’m glad you’re here, Cooper. Thank you for everything. For going along with my crazy schemes.”
“Somehow I doubt Garrett would have gone for the cage dancing.” He smiles at me and pats the top of my hand. “I’m really proud of you.”
“Thanks, Cooper. Let’s keep watching.”
Just when you think Vince is about to take her out the door, Matt stands up and staggers toward him.
Matt is holding a boat anchor that he swings up into the air and then slams into Vince’s head.
Vince drops to the ground, bleeding profusely.
But he’s not dead yet.
He says, “We’re still going to Egypt together, Lacy.” His voice starts to fade as he nears death. “And it will be perfection.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! Did he memorize the whole damn movie?”
“Did he say that to you?”
“At some point, yeah. Actually, no, I think it was in the note with the photos.”
Lacy helps Matt stagger outside.
She suggests they try the boat again.
It still doesn’t start, so Lacy lifts the motor cover. “Just the battery cable.” She pops it back on and starts the boat. “Let’s get out of here!”
“Before we do, Lacy. I’m sorry. If you really want to go to Africa, we’ll figure out a way to stay together. I don’t want to lose you, and I don’t want to stand in the way of your dreams.”
“You are my dreams, Matty.” Lacy throws her arms around him, smothers him with kisses, and then they drive off in the boat as the sun is rising on a new day.
The End
Cooper shuts my laptop. “So, in this, Vince is the bad guy who dies. Do you think he changed that in the new script?”
“He said he was changing a lot of it. Special effects, stunt scenes. He made it sound like the new Lacy was supposed to be some badass heroine, but if she were, she’d save all her friends. And if she saved them, there’d be no story. No plot. I remember him saying something about getting someone ugly to play my boyfriend and not having any kissing scenes. I suppose young Vincent was jealous of Matt.”
“Because he wants Lacy for himself.”
“I think we need to get a copy of that script.”
“How are we going to do that?”
“That’s another thing agents are for.”
Vincent falls asleep before the movie is over. And he dreams of the ending he and Lacy deserve. One where Matt is forever out of the way, either dead or in jail.
Lacy’s family is dead.
The dream he had was brilliant. Something straight out of a huge blockbuster movie.
He knows the special effects will be costly, but well worth the effort.
This is the ending that no one will see coming.
Back at school the next day, Keatyn sends a message to her mom’s agent at the Warren Taylor Agency.
-Is there a way you could discreetly get a script for The Day at the Lake remake? I might know someone interested in it.
I’m shocked to get a quick response, especially since it’s 4:30 in the morning on the West coast.
-Any chance that someone might be you? I’d be surprised, honestly, if Vincent Sharpe hadn’t asked you yet.
I reply with:
-You’re up awfully early! And, no, it’s for Luke Sander. Apparently, they are interested in him for the boyfriend role, but he’s worried because he heard the production company is having some financial difficulties. He’s also maybe looking to switch agents and I thought of you.
Yes, that’s sort of a lie. The part about the agent. But I could probably talk Sander into it, if necessary. He’s told me on more than one occasion that he felt like he’d outgrown his current agent.
-I’m in New York this week meeting with Tomm
y about your mother’s sudden leave of absence. Is she doing okay? I haven’t heard about the company’s finances. What did Sander hear?
-She’s fine. Just needs a break. And he heard that someone is buying out the company’s investors and a hostile takeover is imminent.
-Really? Interesting. I did hear the investors were rumbling about the amount of capital he’s sunk into that movie. If that’s the case, Luke Sander should stay far away from the project.
Shit.
-Can you get me the script anyway?
-Of course, darling.
-Thank you. And give Tommy a hug for me.
-We should have lunch when I’m back in town. Tommy told me last spring that he expected you to follow in your mother’s footsteps. I could get you some roles very easily.
-Thank you. I’ll think about it. Either way, lunch would be great.
Then I text Cooper, realizing I forgot to tell him this part of my plan.
Me: I forgot to tell you part of my plan last night.
Cooper: Forgot? Or purposely didn’t tell me?
Me: Forgot. I’m having something delivered to Vincent’s office today at 4. I thought maybe your friend who met up with his assistant might text her and ask her out for Happy Hour. Like if he got her number.
