Changing the Script

by Lee Winter

  Alex started pacing. “Lied. They all did.”

  “All? All who?”

  “Skye, Kev, and Kiri.”

  “I don’t follow.” Sam drew Alex over to her worn green couch.

  “The sabotage,” Alex said, sitting. “They all knew who did it because they did it. You were right. It was an inside job.”

  “What?” Sam dropped heavily beside her. “I’m sorry, what?”

  Alex filled her in on the events, including Skye’s out-of-character confession, and how crushed Alex felt by it. “And then I fired Kev,” she finished. Her gaze flicked up to Sam. “I had no choice.”

  Disappointment kicked Sam in the stomach. She’d really hoped this job had changed him.

  “But for me, he’s not the worst of it,” Alex continued. “It’s Skye I’m most hurt by. I was so fond of her. We’d become so close, and I can’t even look at her now.”

  Sam’s mind tried to make sense of this. “So there’s no saboteur?”

  “No. Just people being self-centered and inconsiderate.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “Me, too.” Alex slumped. “Let’s not talk about them anymore. It’s breaking my heart.” She jumped back to her feet and began to pace again. Finally, she stopped in front of Sam’s colorful display of postcards and leaned in. Intrigue crossed her face. “Who sent you these?”

  “The escapees.”

  Alex turned. “What?”

  “It’s an in-joke. When people leave Ika Whenu, they send me a postcard of where they are. It started with a few friends I had in school doing it because they knew I dreamed of travelling. Then it sort of caught on and became a tradition. I don’t ask them to, but anyone who leaves town does it.” Sam joined her. She tapped a postcard from Singapore showing a city lit up by fireworks. “Peta works at a media company over there now.” Sam unpinned it and turned it over.

  Kia ora to my fave cop! Check out the view from my office window. Wish you could see it too. Cheers! Peta. xx

  Alex’s eyes fell to the card from Pfeiffer Beach. “This one’s well worn. Do you like it best?” She studied it more closely. “Gorgeous beach.”

  Sam shrugged. “It is. That card’s from the ex I was with when I was stationed in Auckland. We broke up when I moved back home.” Sam’s gaze trailed the beautiful sands of the beach, heart lifting, as it always did, at the sight of it.

  “May I?” Alex asked, fingers trailing the card.

  Sam waved for her to go right ahead.

  Alex picked it up and read.

  See where I am? Shame you’re not here because that odd little town and family of yours come first. If you ever change your mind, look me up. N.

  “Geez. What a bitch.”

  Sam laughed at how aggrieved she sounded. “Yeah, well, she was hurt I had to choose Ika Whenu over her. That was years ago. I keep her postcard now because I love the photo, not the sender. And Nicole was right about one thing: I am tied here in a way I can never be free of.”

  Silence fell between them. “Never?” Alex finally asked. “You’re never leaving here, ever?”

  “It’s fine. I can live vicariously through other people’s adventures. Use my imagination for what’s out there. Maybe it’s easier this way. Besides, I don’t need to go anywhere or do anything to feel complete.”

  “I get it,” Alex said quietly. “It hurts to watch people leave and never come back. It’s easier to just not put yourself in that position. To not get too invested in them or your old dreams.”

  So starkly put. Sam blinked, unsure of how to deny it. “No, I just mean it’s not for everyone. The great big dreams: Exotic places. Fancy jobs. Long-haul relationships. Whatever. I’m fine.”

  “You do know that a little investment in dreams is okay, too, right?” Alex said. “Not everything is about huge life goals. You’re allowed to be happy for as long or as short as you want to be. Where’s the harm in the short-term dream, if everyone goes into things eyes wide open?” Her gaze was soft, intense, and…lingering.

  Oh.

  “What are you…?” Sam stopped uncertainly. Was she reading the undercurrent right? “Are you asking for a fling or something?”

  Alex’s expression became rueful. “Is ‘or something’ an okay answer? Because Sam, there’s something here between us. Something powerful. I think you feel it, too. Because when I’m with you, I feel a pull I never expected to. Is it just me? That connection? I’d like to explore that…if you do, too? Even knowing how it will end?” Alex’s hopeful look burned into her.

  How it will end. Sam inhaled and fixed her gaze on the Pfeiffer Beach postcard, drawing her finger across the glossy surface. “It’s a bit pointless, though, isn’t it?”

  “The point is what we make of it.”

  There is that. Sam glanced up to find Alex standing much closer, her eyes longing. It’d be so easy… Oh, hell. Sam kissed her.

  Alex’s lips were hot, exploring, and teasing under hers. Her fingers curled into Sam’s hair, tugging her down, closer.

  Sam’s stomach fluttered. Then came the burn of arousal. How long has it been?

  When they finally pulled apart, Alex’s eyes were bright, and her lips swollen and tempting.

  “I feel it, too,” Sam admitted. “But this is still pointless.” She stared at those lips, craving more of that rush. “You’ll leave soon.”

  “So tell me to stop and I will.” Reaching for Sam’s hand, Alex pulled her fingers toward her chest. “See how fast my heart’s racing? That’s for you. You’re an incredible woman. I want more of you; so much more. Or…do you want to tell me to stop?”

  The rapid patter beneath her fingertips was as arousing as the touch of Alex’s lips had been. Sam imagined sliding her hand under Alex’s shirt, just inside the cup of her bra, to feel the softness of her breast. She shivered at the thought of other places that would be just as soft. What did Alex’s inner thigh feel like? How might it taste under her tongue?

  “Sam?”

  “I don’t want to tell you to stop.”

  “Then don’t.” Alex kissed her this time.

  It was like fire coursing through Sam’s nerve endings. All consuming.

  Too soon.

  Sam had to slow things down while she still could. She pulled away, with regret. “I don’t want you to stop but I think we need to.”

  “Oh.” Embarrassment edged Alex’s face. “Have I read this wrong?” she asked. “Are you seeing someone?”

  “No. I think you’re special, Alex. It’s only right I take you on a date first. Get to know you a little better than the crazy movie woman who almost ran me over. You deserve more than just us falling into bed in the heat of the moment. Both of us are worth more than that.”

  “Old-fashioned, huh?” Alex smiled. “All right. I’d like that.”

  “How are you with dawn starts?”

  “I’ve had quite a few lately for work. Although thankfully they’re over for now.”

  “Think you can face one more? How about coming by here at dawn tomorrow? I want to show you who I am and what I do. All part of the Sam Keegan experience. There’ll be coffee. And snacks. Plus cuddles and wet noses.”

  Alex snorted. “Why do I think this isn’t what it sounds?”

  “You’d be right.” Sam grinned.

  “All right. I’m intrigued. Just as long as I’m on set by eight. Meantime…” Alex’s mouth twitched up. “Do you mind if I borrow your lips for a little while until then?”

  “Does that line ever work?” Sam’s eyebrows lifted.

  “I wouldn’t know. First time I’ve tried it. You tell me.” Alex’s eyes sparkled with mischief.

  “Come here.” Sam leaned in. “Just this once I’ll reward a tragic line. Only because you’re cute and a little bossy.” She gathered Alex in her arms and kissed her the way she’d want
ed to for far too long.

  The sigh that followed was soft and approving, and Sam had absolutely no idea whose it was.

  When they pulled apart this time, Alex’s eyes were sad.

  “Hey,” Sam whispered. “What is it?”

  “I’m wondering if you and Quincy are now my only friends left in New Zealand. And given I know Quincy can be a bit of a prick, that’s kind of tragic, isn’t it?”

  “I’m sure that’s not true. Well, it is about Quincy,” Sam teased. “But the part about having no friends. I thought you and Skye were close? Even after today, surely you still…”

  “I’m not so sure. She’s acting so out of character. I’m starting to wonder if I ever really knew her if she could do that.”

  “I feel the same way about Kiri.” Sam frowned. Kiri had been a loyal ally since Sam had stopped a bully giving her trouble back in school. She’d always thought of Kiri as one of the good ones. “I don’t understand any of this. Kiri’s solid. Decent. Reliable. And one thing she’s never done is lie. Not on something big. It’s just not her.”

  “It is now.”

  This didn’t feel right. A grown woman not owning up to something as silly as a minor set accident? So she’d run through a pond, not attacked it with… Sam stopped and mentally rewound. “Hey, do you remember Kiri’s shoes the day the pond was destroyed?”

  “No.”

  “They were clean and white. They’d be muddy if she’d run through the pond.” Sam pondered the woman’s story for a moment. “How big do you think running spikes are?”

  “No idea.”

  “They’re like needles compared to the chunky holes I saw in the lining.”

  “Kiri was lying?” Alex started. “Well, I mean, again?”

  “Yes. Or covering up for someone else.”

  “Is everyone lying? Skye, too?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Skye claimed the dummy slipped her mind,” Alex said slowly. “But what’s weird about that is she’s actually so sharp. She’s eccentric, yes, but not scatterbrained. Yet she would simply forget some big experiment on the effects of water on costumes?”

  Sam looked at her thoughtfully. “When I pulled the dummy ashore, it weighed a ton; far more than those cheap mannequins in stores.”

  “Costume designers do like the best.”

  “I didn’t think of it till now, because at the time it was waterlogged. But even dry, how could a featherweight like Skye have dragged that dummy anywhere? Let alone all the way to the dam? It weighs more than she does.”

  “Then who did?” Alex blew out a frustrated breath. “Are they all protecting the same person? Is Kev covering up for them, too?”

  Sam mulled that over. “Kev doesn’t do that, though. I love him, but that’s his flaw. He’s selfish. He always points the finger at someone else to save his own hide.”

  “Then what’s going on?”

  Sam glanced at her watch. “When everyone hits the pub for dinner, we’ll confront them. We’ll do it all together, so no one can weasel their way around anything.”

  “It’s like a Miss Marple mystery.” Alex half smiled. “Just my luck: I come to New Zealand to make the world’s worst movie and get caught up in a weird, real-life sabotage plot. At least I get a cute cop love interest.” She winked and nudged her. “Blonde, too. You’d be studio approved.”

  Sam snorted. “I’m just going to assume that was a compliment.”

  “Good move,” Alex said, now smiling fully. “So tonight… Just like Miss Marple we do the big denouement. Everyone sitting in the parlor while we point fingers.”

  “I’m not really into Agatha Christie.”

  “How can a cop not dig a good whodunit?” Alex looked askance.

  “I don’t really have a huge amount of spare time, especially since the meth hit. Aside from riding Tiger, I’m all about work. This town owns my ass.”

  At Alex’s puzzled gaze, she explained: “It’s a one-cop-town thing. Even your days off and after-hours are seen as fair game.”

  “You mean when there’re emergencies?”

  “No, not just emergencies. It does make for long days. Of course, the big downside is sometimes I can’t unwind; I’m always primed for the phone to ring. I can’t really get caught up in a movie or a book anymore, because I’m always low-level tense.”

  “Seriously? That’s awful.”

  “You get used to it. That’s life.”

  “Have you always worked here? I mean straight out of the police academy?”

  “No. I spent a few years posted in Auckland before I came home.”

  “What was working in Auckland like?”

  “Good.” Sam smiled. “Busy, lots of variety, and I got left to my own devices on my weekends.”

  “So why come home?”

  The million-dollar question. She debated how much to answer. “For family. Sid heard Kev was sniffing around the bikie gangs, doing odd jobs for them. That’s how they lure in new members. Give young men a bit of splash cash for minor work, make them feel special, part of a new family, give them respect, and from then on it’s a slippery slope, sucking them in deep.”

  “Oh hell.”

  “No one could convince Kev to leave his shitty new friends. He was on his way to being a career crim, just like them. Getting caught would mean serious jail time…unless someone was around full-time to prevent that happening.”

  “Let me guess who.”

  “Yeah. Gina begged me to apply for the local station. Ika Whenu’s officer had just retired and we knew the bikies wouldn’t want a member who had a police relative breathing down their necks.”

  “So it was the perfect solution,” Alex murmured. “On paper, at least.”

  “Right. How could I say no to the woman who took me into her home, treated me like her own child after my mother was…” She ground out the next word: “Committed.” Sam stared at her hands. “She’d hear voices, sometimes, that told her she was being followed and she’d hide. One night I found Mum behind Gina’s pub, looking like she’d crawled there. Knees and hands were all dirty and bloodied. It was winter, she was naked and shivering, but nothing I could do would convince her to move. Gina found us. She fed us, clothed Mum, then took me to one side and told me I’d done really well but that this was too much for a kid to have to handle. They took Mum away the next day. Gina started the process to become my foster mother.”

  Sam braced herself for the reaction. There was a reason she avoided discussing this. She hated pity. Sometimes she was met with anger, as though her mother had deliberately done this to her. No, she’d tried so hard to get better, but drugs hadn’t helped; nothing had. It wasn’t her fault.

  “Takes real guts to keep getting back up after life knocks you down.”

  Sam darted a look at Alex. The knot in Sam’s stomach eased a little. No judgment there. “Maybe. Or maybe I’m just stubborn. Or too stupid to quit.”

  “Just take the compliment.” Alex’s eyes crinkled.

  “No.” Sam was unable to stop her own smile.

  “Do you still see your mother?”

  “She’s passed away now.”

  “What about your dad?”

  “Don’t remember him. Don’t know if he’s dead or alive and I never cared enough to find out.”

  “I’m sorry.” Alex regarded her. “And this is why you’ve given everything to your foster family.”

  “It’s the least I could do. They’ve never given me a cause to question my loyalty. At least, not until today.” Her expression fell again. “Damn it, Kev.”

  CHAPTER 19

  Curiouser and Curiouser

  The Shezan crowd were well into their meals by the time Alex entered Te Wharariki Hotel, with Sam hard on her heels.

  Alex approached the crew table, noting the furtive looks as her sharp gaze went
from eye to eye. Skye looked downright despondent.

  “People.” Alex cleared her throat. The chatter at the tables died down. Eyes swung her way. “We need to resolve some things.”

  Quincy peered at her questioningly, silently asking what was happening and whether she needed his support. She gave him a minute head shake.

  “It’s come to my attention you all told me a pack of lies today.” Alex folded her arms. “Now I’d like to know what the truth is. And so help me if you lie to my face again, I’m tempted to fire the lot of you. Most of all, I’d like to know why you’d do this to me and our movie. I thought you believed in Shezan the way I do. Why would you conspire to hurt it? Hurt us?” She paused and glanced at Skye. “Hurt me?”

  Skye’s gaze dropped to the table. Her fingers skidded restlessly up and down the stem of her glass.

  “Let’s start with the punctured pool. Kiri? What really happened? Your sneakers weren’t muddied, and the puncture holes were too large to be caused by shoe spikes.”

  “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so… I never wanted to hurt you, and especially not Sam.”

  Sam moved closer to her. “What does this have to do with me?”

  Kiri darted a look at the others then shook her head. “I can’t say.”

  “Can’t or won’t?”

  “Both.”

  Alex’s lips thinned. She turned to Skye. “You aren’t forgetful. And there’s no way you could carry that dummy to the dam in the first place.”

  Skye dipped her head. “You’re right, I didn’t.”

  “Then how did it get there?”

  “I’m devastated you’re hurt by this,” Skye said. “Please believe that. It was never my intention. But this story is not for me to tell.”

  “You’re covering up for someone?” Alex pressed her. “Who?” She glanced around. “You barely know these people!”

  “That’s not correct.” Skye folded her hands on the table.

  Maddening answer. Alex stared back at her in confusion.

  “Kev,” Sam cut in, stepping forward, “did you accidentally move the lamp to the wrong place or did something else happen? Was someone else involved?”