“Come with me.”
Lisa followed Gavin to the carriage house. He waved his arms at the Folly.
“How am I supposed to keep it quiet during filming, when your little coffee house is right there?”
“Gavin, I—”
“You’re going to have to close for the day.”
“What?!”
“Close. For. The. Day.”
Lisa’s temper boiled over. She pointed her finger in his face. “That is over the line. How dare you tell me to close? You have no right. No right! You can figure out a way to shoot here as is, or you can pay me the money you owe me and hit the road.”
“If I could leave, do you think I’d spend another second in this little garbage town? Sheriff Dopey ordered us to stay. He has no concept of a production schedule or budget. Every day we’re here is a day we’re not back in LA among the civilized people of the world. Why does the whole world think it can get away with wasting my money?”
Lisa folded her arms and glared at him. “Well, what’s it going to be?”
He threw his hands in the air. “Fine! We’ll figure out some sound baffling. Now get me a coffee.”
“Get your own coffee. I have to set up.”
Gavin pulled out his phone and stalked away. Lisa went back to the Folly to start setting up the craft service table on the front porch.
Lisa’s heart was still pounding from having yelled at Gavin. What had she been thinking? Still, he had no reason to be so rude.
Olivia came out onto the porch as Lisa was arranging her stacks of cups next to the coffee carafes.
“What a silly little man,” Olivia said, sipping her latte. “Your Jan makes a good vanilla latte. Not quite as good as yours, of course.”
Lisa sighed. “I’m still mad at you, you know.”
Olivia raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“About my mom and dad,” Lisa said, amazed that she would have to remind her aunt.
“Ah. That.”
“Yes, that.”
“You wouldn’t be the first to criticize my taste in men. Or my timing,” Olivia said.
Lisa shook her head. “You’re impossible.”
“My dear, I’m an artist. Impossible is what we do.” Olivia set her empty cup on the craft service table and walked back inside.
Chapter 25
Lisa had just gotten the craft service table set up when Serena came running across the courtyard, an impressive feat in her high-heeled boots. The magenta streak in her long black hair seemed brighter. Lisa wondered if the sink in one of the rooms at the Lucky Horseshoe was now stained purple.
Serena climbed the porch steps and crossed her arms.
“I need coffee for Gavin,” she said.
“He made you get his coffee?” Lisa said. “Typical.”
“He’s the director,” Serena said.
Lisa poured the coffee and gave it to the skinny, angry woman across from her. “Would you like one for yourself?”
Serena surprised Lisa with half a smile. “Maybe later.” She took off with Gavin’s coffee.
Lisa watched the black-clad woman stride across the courtyard to give the haughty director his coffee. Serena had seemed angry or dismissive every time Lisa had seen her. But now, something about her attitude seemed like a protective shell. Was she really just trying to insulate her inner self from the abuse dished out by men like Gavin Jump? Had Kaden Nicolini been another abusive man?
Lisa clenched her jaw, remembering how Kaden had so casually assumed that she would jump in bed with him at the slightest suggestion. Lisa wished she could protect every woman in the industry from the abuse and sexism she’d seen firsthand. If Serena spent all her time around men like that, it was no wonder she would be angry. But would she be angry enough to do something about it, even angry enough to kill?
*
Lisa put out more coffee and muffins while her mind raced round and round on the subject of Kaden’s murder. She sighed. It seemed like she had the information she needed, but couldn’t see the solution.
Tyrone was prop master, but had been in the hospital when Kaden was shot. Dylan had been holding the gun. He claimed he had no idea it had real bullets in it. But someone knew about the bullets. Someone had loaded that gun.
She grabbed a muffin and took a bite, savoring the sweetness of molasses and the crunch of toasted nuts.
The sound of a footstep on the porch behind her startled Lisa. She whirled around to see who had snuck up on her. It had better not be Dylan again.
Annette stood on the top step of the porch wringing her hands.
Lisa’s face broke into a big smile. “Your mother changed her mind. I’m so glad!”
The teen’s eyes shifted away from Lisa’s face and she bit her lip. “Um, not exactly.”
“Not exactly?” Lisa said, her joy at the return of her employee threatening to evaporate.
“She thinks I’m at a study group for a chemistry quiz.”
Lisa sighed. “You can’t sneak out to go to work.”
Annette met Lisa’s gaze with a mix of timidity and resolve. “It’s my life.”
“Well, it’s my business.”
“What I do with my time is my own business,” Annette said.
“Not what you do with your time. I mean the café is my business. And if your schedule is at the mercy of an imaginary study group, then my schedule is at the mercy of an imaginary study group. You see?”
“Adults are so unfair! I thought you were different. You said you’d convince my mom to let me come back.”
“I said I’d talk to her. I never promised I could convince her of anything.”
“That’s not what you said. Ugh!” Annette stomped her foot, looking like an overgrown toddler starting a tantrum. “I can’t wait until I’m an adult and I can do whatever I want.”
Lisa stifled a laugh, thinking of all the adults who wished they could go back to when they were teenagers.
“Don’t laugh at me!”
“I’m sorry. Really. It’s just, do you know what’s going on in there today?” Lisa gestured at the carriage house across the courtyard.
Annette’s eyes slid away from Lisa’s and she shrugged. “Maybe.”
“They’re making a movie about a man’s desperate attempt to hold onto his youth. Really, almost all movies are about trying to hold onto youth.” Lisa’s mind jolted back to the 27 Club video that Kaden Nicolini had made. “You remember that video of Kaden, the one that got you in trouble with your mom?”
Annette nodded.
“That was about holding onto youth, too. And here you are, living through your actual youth, and you can’t wait to get older.” Lisa held her hands up in a gesture of ‘see what I mean?’
“That’s different. When you’re a teenager, everybody treats you like you’re still a little kid.”
“Maybe so.”
Annette waited for her to say something more. “That’s it?”
Lisa shrugged.
“Actually, I wanted to ask you something,” Lisa said after a moment.
“Ok.”
“Where did you get that video?”
“Oh, um…” Annette swallowed.
“Go on.”
“I might have stuck Kaden’s phone in my pocket while he was showing me around set.”
“What?!”
“I was just going to put my number in it, so he could call me when I turned eighteen and we could be together.”
“You… Wait, he didn’t come on to you, did he?”
“No. He said I was too young.” Annette’s face was glum. “And now he’s gone.”
Lisa considered that. “But the phone your mother showed me was definitely yours. I recognized your phone case.”
“I might have sent myself a couple things from his phone. I was going to put it back before we left. But then he… he was shot. And the police were there. I didn’t know what to do. So I kept it.”
“You kept it?”
Annette nodded
.
“Have you been using it?”
Annette hesitated, then nodded again.
“I see.” Lisa thought for a moment. “Is that how you knew you’d find me here all day today?”
“I saw the krumb about the location change, and I knew I’d have time to come and talk to you during the study group.”
Lisa nodded. “The police are going to want to see Kaden’s phone. Do you have it with you?”
Annette sighed and dug in her pocket. She gave the phone a wistful look before handing it to Lisa.
“Are you going to tell them I had it?” Annette said, giving Lisa her best puppy-dog eyes.
“I think I’ll have to.”
The teen’s shoulders slumped.
“I’ll do what I can,” Lisa said. “But now you should get to that study group. You do want a good grade on that chemistry quiz, don’t you?”
Annette gave her a half-smile. “I guess.” She trudged down the porch stairs.
Lisa felt a pang of regret as she watched her teenage former employee leave. If Mrs. MacLean would let Annette come back to work at the café, it would be so much better than having to hire and train someone new.
Snapping back to the present, Lisa grabbed a coffee cup and filled it. The way Serena had smiled when Lisa mentioned bringing her coffee made it worth the trip to follow through.
She waited outside the door to the carriage house until she heard “Cut!” called, then slipped inside. Once through the door, Lisa stopped and stared. The inside of her carriage house had been transformed from a dusty old barn to a dusty old barn full of exotic weapons and symbols of arcane power. There was a pentacle drawn in the middle of the floor, with candles at the points. She shook her head. When her mother had told her a movie would be filming in Moss Creek, Lisa had assumed it would be a Western. Some Western.
When she finished gaping at the occult props, Lisa looked around for Serena. She saw the distinctive streak of magenta hair disappear through the back door. Lisa followed.
As she approached the back door, she heard raised voices on the other side. Feeling awkward about intruding, she stopped.
“I can’t believe you would use my video as tabloid fodder! How could you?” Serena said.
“You’re going to need a more realistic view of this industry if that’s enough to shock you,” Gavin said.
“You stole my student film project!”
“You stole my star to make it.”
“How could I steal Kaden? He’s an actor, not a piece of property.”
“Your little project took his time and his attention.” Gavin paused, and when he continued, his voice had a note of nastiness in it that Lisa hadn’t heard before. “But I suppose you paid him in your own way.”
“That’s a low blow.”
“Are we done here?”
“No. I want credit for my film.”
“I can’t do that.”
“But I made it. It’s mine.”
“Can you prove that?”
Serena was silent.
After a moment, Gavin went on. “Your little project is the only thing that gives this film a chance to end up in the black. So you’ll keep your mouth shut.”
“What am I supposed to do for a project?”
“Not my problem.”
“I need that film. One of the last things a dead movie star ever made? It could be my way in. I’m going to tell people I made it.”
“And who would believe a slut like you?” he scoffed. “Tell anyone, and the whole world will know you’re glad Kaden died because it could help your career.”
Lisa gasped. The voices went silent. Lisa backed away from the door, stepping carefully so she wouldn’t spill the coffee. She ducked behind a lighting rig just as the door opened and Gavin stepped back in.
A moment later Serena came inside, as well. Her mouth was set in a tight line. Lisa stepped into her path and held out the coffee.
“A little pick-me-up?” she said.
Serena looked at her with red-rimmed eyes. “Thanks.” She took the coffee and nodded before walking briskly away.
Lisa ambled back to the Folly, thinking about what she’d heard. The video they were talking about had to be the video of Kaden talking about the 27 Club. It made much more sense as a student film project than it did as a heartfelt confession of angst from such a sunny personality as Kaden Nicolini. A cold shiver crawled up Lisa’s back. The video also made sense as a carefully planted suicide note, allowing a cold-blooded murderer to escape responsibility. How long had Serena been planning this? And what would she do to keep control of the narrative?
The dawning realization of what she’d found made Lisa walk faster. The missing footage — the missing evidence — that Serena couldn’t account for might be right there in Lisa’s pocket. She scrambled to get Kaden’s phone out of her pocket. It had to be there. Suddenly, the porch felt like a very exposed place to be. Lisa glanced around to see if anyone had noticed Kaden’s phone with its distinctive case in her hand.
The front door of the Folly opened and Aunt Olivia stepped out onto the porch, trailing a colorful scarf with thick strands of hand-dyed wool. “Oh, there you are, my dear. I was just having the most charming conversation with your Jan. She’s got a scarf and hat set partly made of alpaca wool, and I was telling her about the funniest alpaca I met in Peru...”
“Aunt Olivia, I’m glad you’re here. Could you watch the place for me a minute? I want to take care of something real quick.”
“Oh! Of course, of course. Take your time, dear.” Olivia swept over to the table and picked up a muffin. “I’ll keep an eye on things.” She smiled at her niece and took a bite.
“Great!” Lisa went inside and jogged up the stairs.
Chapter 26
Upstairs, Lisa went into her bedroom and unlocked the reinforced door to her closet. Flipping the light switch, she went inside and locked the door behind her. A shiver ran through her as her mind protested at the enclosed space. With a few deep, calming breaths, Lisa pushed aside feelings of being trapped in the dark.
She fished Kaden’s phone out of her pocket and stared at it for a minute. What kind of additional footage was waiting to be found on this phone? She thought for a moment of Claire Comstock’s threat to evict her from the Folly if she made a late payment on her rent. How much money would a tabloid rag like the one Rosemary Thyme worked for be willing to pay for exclusive access to the phone?
Lisa extinguished the spark of temptation at the idea of the potential payday. Selling the phone to the tabloids instead of turning it over to the police was wrong. But what if the killer thought she was going to sell the phone?
Lisa rubbed her hands together. She had an idea — to catch the killer out, using Kaden’s phone as bait. But she couldn’t risk actually losing the phone.
The case on Kaden’s phone was distinctive. Everyone on set had seen him countless times with the rhinestone Elvis-encased phone in his hand. If she switched the case out and put it on a different phone, she could give Toby the real phone and he could get it to the police forensic lab.
Her finger hovered over the phone, itching to open it up herself and find out what kind of extra footage it contained. But she didn’t want to mess it up, or cause it to lock down or erase its data. With a sigh, she pried the case off and set the phone on a shelf next to her favorite pair of shoes.
She took out her own phone, in its plain but practical Otter Box case. It was the same size as Kaden’s phone. She took her phone out of its protective cover and put the rhinestone Elvis cover on it instead.
Feeling silly holding a phone with a rhinestone Elvis on it, she dialed Toby. It went to voicemail.
“Hey Toby, it’s Lisa. I think I know who killed Kaden, and I might have the evidence you need to prove it. Can you come to the Folly as soon as possible?”
She hung up and turned off all notifications on the phone. No use having someone call her on the decoy phone while it was in the perp’s hands, potentially
destroying the illusion. She pulled up the settings screen to change the lock screen password to something longer than her usual four digit code. Her mind blanked on a possible password, but then her fingers did the work for her, typing in the old password.
Last, she pulled up her photos and found a snapshot of Kaden. Like every photo of him, he gave off a casually glamorous movie star glow. She set the photo as the phone’s background and lock screen image, then nodded to herself. Anyone looking at the phone would think it was genuinely Kaden’s phone.
Lisa put her phone on the shelf by her shoes and then put the Otter Box case on Kaden’s phone and stuck it in her pocket.
Heart pounding, she left the closet and went downstairs again. It was time to bait the trap and see if it caught a criminal.
*
Down at the craft service table, Lisa placed her keys behind a coffee carafe. If the killer thought Kaden’s phone was locked in her closet, they’d need to get her keys and go up there. She’d rather have the keys swiped from the table than from her person, and definitely rather have the door to the closet unlocked than smashed in.
“Cut!” came the yell from set. “And that’s a break. Thirty minutes!”
The crew came streaming out of the carriage house. Tyrone was still limping a little from his accident. Kari looked as elegant and eccentric as ever. Gavin and the DP walked together, talking and gesturing about lighting and camera angles. Serena wore an angry expression on her face. Sam strode up to the table to get the first coffee, his clipboard under his arm.
“Good shooting this morning?” Lisa said.
He nodded. “It was fine. Thanks.” He took the coffee and went to his car where he continued studying the notes on his clipboard.
As the rest of the crew approached the table, Lisa moved to the other side of the porch and put the phone to her ear.
“Really? That much?” She paused, pretending to listen. “Thanks, Rosemary. What?” She lowered her voice. “It’s safe. Locked up. No, not in jail. Why would anyone put a phone in jail? Hmm?” She glanced around as though making sure no one was listening, when really she was making sure the right people were listening. “It’s in my closet, tucked inside one of my favorite shoes,” she whispered. “I’ve got to go. Bring me the money and his phone is all yours. Bye.”
Shooting on Location (Lisa Chance Cozy Mysteries Book 2) Page 16
