Exposed Negative: A Small Town Cozy Mystery (Shot & Framed Book 2)

by Nancy McGovern

  Dani sighed. “A pity. Men like that break a lot of hearts.”

  Allie nodded. “It broke Dante’s heart, that’s for sure. He’s got a lot of hate inside him.” She bit her lip, as though she’d said something she regretted. “But he’s a good man and would never do anything wrong,” she added almost too hastily.

  “I wasn’t suggesting that he would,” Dani said.

  “Yes, well, I don’t want you thinking that I gossip about my friends,” Allie explained. “I was just clearing up this misconception you have about him dating someone.”

  But why, Dani wondered, was it so important for Allie to clear that up?

  *****

  Chapter 10

  The Absence of Proof

  Dani’s foot was giving little shouts of protest as she navigated the stairs. She ignored them and made her way up to the attic, determined to find those photographs. Allie’s little speech about Dante was still echoing in her head, and she wondered what she was missing there.

  Motive. That’s what was missing.

  Perhaps Dante was acting strangely. Perhaps he was even connected to the crime in some way. But what motive could he possibly have had? On the face of it, Arthur’s death had only caused losses to Dante. She couldn’t figure out why Dante might have wanted to kill the very man who would bring him great profit.

  For that matter, she couldn’t really figure out why she wanted to see those old photographs, except that she was curious, very curious, especially since she had found out what the thief had been looking for that night.

  She frowned as she thought about the thief and winced as she recalled their altercation. The thief had only escaped with a roll of film from Arthur’s room. Why? Why had someone broken in to steal such a non-consequential thing?

  For that matter, what was Arthur doing with a roll of film? She’d seen him use quite an expensive iphone at the party. Surely he didn’t need an old-fashioned camera that used film. If he’d had a camera at all, it would have been a digital one. So where did the roll of film come from? Unless, of course, the film came from a time before smartphones had even been invented.

  The attic was both dark and dusty. Yet it had a pleasant smell of old paper and ink wafting through it. Rather than finding attics creepy, Dani had always loved them as a child. In her childhood summers, she had often spent time in her own attic, rummaging through various boxes of knick-knacks and keepsakes. She remembered finding books that had later become her favorites tossed among piles of paper. She had also found box after box of family photographs and spent hours making up stories about the people in the background.

  A smile lit up her face as she made her way across the attic. The best place to start searching for photos would probably be the pile of old shoe boxes that lay at one end. Someone had helpfully labeled them and she found three boxes marked “1970s”. She paused a bit before she lifted the boxes. Curiously, they looked far cleaner than the others. Almost as though someone had recently dusted them.

  Telling herself she was being paranoid, Dani ignored this. She rummaged through the sepia toned photos, trying to find any that looked promising. After an hour of careful consideration, she had to give up. If Juliet and Arthur had ever been photographed, those photos were not in this box.

  She spent three hours more going through the other boxes and, even then, she was disappointed. Her suspicions, however, had multiplied. Someone wanted those photographs never to see the light of day. But who? Surely, whoever it was had something to do with the theft at her house.

  Defeated, she hobbled back downstairs, wondering whether she should talk to the sheriff about her discoveries. Perhaps he was one step ahead of her. Perhaps the sheriff had been the one to clean out the shoe boxes. It was possible.

  But unlikely.

  As she entered the basement to say goodbye to Allie, she paused at the bottom of the stairs. Inside, she could hear Allie speaking to someone.

  Allie’s voice was shrill and angry. “Don’t talk to me like that!” she was saying.

  Whatever the other person said, Dani couldn’t hear it.

  “Yes, well, I can’t help that. It isn’t what I wanted, is it?” Allie said, her voice growing even more shrill. “You’re the one who’s incompetent!”

  There was silence and then Allie spoke again. “Look, just take it easy for a few days, alright? I’ll call you if I need you again. Don’t bother me.”

  Dani pushed the door open just a crack. She could see the back of Allie’s head and the phone pressed to her ear. No wonder she couldn’t hear what the other person was saying. She could, however, hear a series of distinct squawks from the other end of the phone.

  “No,” Allie said firmly. “Absolutely not. No more. Don’t call me, I’ll call you!” She turned around as she said this and her eyes grew wider as she caught sight of Dani. Immediately, she hung up the phone and turned red. She seemed to be struggling to find something to say.

  Dani spoke first, “I just came to say I had no luck upstairs.”

  “Yes, well, I was just…” Allie took a deep breath. “On the phone.”

  “Anyone I know?” Dani asked, trying to sound casual.

  “No. Just a telemarketer.” Allie smiled. Her smile was sarcastic. “I’m sure you’ve dealt with plenty of those, too. Haven’t you, Dani?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “I hate them. They’re infringing on my privacy,” Allie said. “I can’t think of a worse crime than that, can you?”

  Dani’s cheeks became a little more red. She didn’t bother to reply to this comment, instead saying, “Goodbye, Allie.”

  “Goodbye, Dani,” Allie said. “Be careful, will you? Don’t get into any more accidents.”

  Unsure about whether that was a threat or not, Dani nodded, and headed outside.

  So. She thought to herself. Dante wasn’t the only one to be having mysterious arguments with strangers.

  Allie had those, too. But who had she been talking to? She was being ridiculous when she said “telemarketers”. The rest of it, had just been a veiled insult to Dani.

  Sighing, she opened the main doors, only to bump into a large-framed man. She gave a start and nearly lost her balance, but he reached out and steadied her.

  “Sorry, lady,” he spoke in a voice hoarse from years of smoking, but loud and powerful nevertheless. “Guess I should watch where I’m going, huh?”

  “Oh, it was my fault,” Dani apologized. “Thanks for steadying me. I could have gotten quite hurt otherwise.”

  “Looks like you’re pretty hurt already.” The man was about a foot taller than her and weighed twice as much, but he looked like a friendly giant, with a face that lacked any chin and a nose that looked rather like a deflated water balloon. His friendly eyes wandered over her ankle and then her face. “What happened? Get into a bar fight?”

  Dani laughed. “Someone decided they’d give me free plastic surgery.” She touched her cheek and winced. “Luckily, they had to run off before they got too far with it.”

  He laughed, a full throated belly laugh. “Rare to see a woman with a sense of humor.”

  “You’re hanging out with the wrong women if they don’t have one,” Dani said.

  “Probably true, probably true.” He held out his hand and gave her a firm shake. “I’m Paul, by the way. Paul Ford. You are?”

  “Dani Hedley,” she replied, staring at him open mouthed. It was hard to reconcile this friendly giant with the picture of the abusive, drunken oaf that Dante had painted in her mind. The man in front of her looked trustworthy and sweet.

  But of course, he was an actor. Perhaps what he showed was only true on the surface.

  “Dani Hedley,” he said. “Oh, I know you. You’re the new photographer, aren’t you? You’ll be taking our production shots.”

  “That’s right,” Dani nodded. “Only right now, things are a mess and I’m not sure if there’s even going to be a play.”

  “Oh, there’s going to be a play, alright.” Paul threw hi
s shoulders back, and cocked up his chin. “You’re looking at the new leading star, as a matter of fact.”

  She blinked. “So you and Dante were able to reach an agreement? I thought you were at loggerheads.”

  Paul tapped the side of his nose. “Playing hard to get never hurt anybody,” he said. “Besides, Dante deserved it after the way he treated me. I put him in his place, that’s all. I’m the best man to play Othello, and Dante will do well to remember it.”

  “I’m sure you are,” Dani said. “Have you acted in Shakespearean plays before?”

  “Plenty,” Paul said. “I’ve been working for decades now. One of the first plays I did was Macbeth, as a matter of fact. Oh, what a beauty that one was, worthy of broadway. I played Lady Macbeth and my girlfriend, Julie, played Macbeth himself. We had a blast and everyone in town loved it. What chemistry we had!”

  “Your…” Dani paused, processing this. “Your girlfriend was Juliet Francis?”

  “Yep,” Paul nodded. “Beautiful woman and so talented. She would have done wonderfully well in Hollywood, but of course, she was only nineteen and her parents were far too conservative. They wanted her to get married and settle down. Well, life played tricks on us all. Poor Juliet. She died far too young.”

  “I’m sure she did,” Dani said, barely able to get the words out. “Paul, did you know Arthur Chamberlain, too? He mentioned that he was an extra in that particular play.”

  “Chamberlain?” Paul’s expression immediately changed and now, in place of the friendly giant, stood a man flush with anger. This was a man Dani could imagine throwing chairs through windows.

  “Chamberlain wasn’t fit to lick my boots,” Paul said. “So he got lucky and got a few roles in New York. So what? That doesn’t make him a real actor. He didn’t know the first thing about acting. Have you seen him in movies? He only knew how to play a stereotype. He could play “good cop” or “Dad”. But something as complex, as challenging as Othello? He wouldn’t have scratched the surface of that character! He would have ruined the entire play. Dante’s lucky I agreed to come back to this miserable little play. Without me, they’d be nothing!”

  “Yes, of course,” Dani said.

  Paul took a deep breath and exhaled, sounding rather like a bull that had just finished a run through the streets of Madrid. “Well, I suppose it is unfortunate that he died the way he did. Heart attacks aren’t pretty. Still, I’m not going to spout sweet lies about a man’s acting ability just because he’s dead and gone.”

  “Of course,” Dani said, again. “Paul, Mr. Ford, one last thing. Do you think you have some photographs of that Macbeth production? I’d love to see you and Ms. Juliet in a photo, since I can’t see the real deal.”

  He frowned. “Photos… no, I’m not one for keeping photos. I suppose the theater should have them floating about somewhere. Ask Allie or Dante.”

  “Ask me what?” Allie came up from the basement and fixed Dani with a cool look. “Still here, I see.”

  “Just chatting with Paul,” Dani said, feeling defensive. “He was giving me an insight into what good acting involves.”

  “Yes,” Paul pushed his shoulders up and then down again. “An insight into good acting. Well said. I like this girl, Allie. She’ll be a good photographer.”

  Allie didn’t echo his words, instead coolly replying, “We’ll see. Why are you here, Paul?”

  “Hasn’t Dante come over and given you the good news already?” Paul opened his arms, and beckoned her. “Come give me a hug! The show will go on! I am to be your new Othello!”

  Allie’s eyes narrowed. “Dante agreed?”

  “Once we’d set up a profit sharing agreement, there was no reason not to agree,” Paul smiled. “Dante’s probably run off to buy champagne. We should begin rehearsals tomorrow.”

  “I’d expected to be informed a little earlier than the others but perhaps that was too great of an expectation. After all, I’m only the director,” Allie said.

  “It’s not like that. Dante just wants to accelerate it, finish it as quickly as possible. That way we get some of the publicity from Arthur’s death.”

  “Very tasteful,” Allie said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “Hey, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. If they’re writing about us, it’s all good,” Paul said. “So, how do you feel about it?”

  Allie paused, refusing to reply.

  Paul’s voice turned dangerous, the voice of a bull about to charge. “I said, how do you feel about it?”

  Allie gave him a broad, utterly fake smile and a hug. “Wonderful, of course!” she exclaimed. “As you said, the show must go on! Rehearsals tomorrow. Dani, you better be there, too!”

  *****

  Chapter 11

  Genius Is In The Details

  Dani didn’t expect to be taking any photographs but she was there at 9 am sharp nevertheless, eager to see the actors in action. Unlike the day before, when it had been a ghost town, the theater was brimming with life on this day. Two men painted sets while a costume designer with neon hair was in discussion with Dante about the look of each character.

  Dani was bumped accidentally by a young boy who had his nose in a copy of the script, furiously muttering the lines to himself.

  “Sorry!” she said instinctively, although it had been his fault. He raised his head, turned red and stuttered out an apology. Dani noticed with some interest that he was wearing make-up. Not unusual for an actor, but it was strange to see a young boy with foundation on his face.

  “Cassio! Where’s my Cassio?” On stage, Allie stood in the center while the others lounged about downstage.

  The same boy she’d bumped into raised his hand and hopped onto the stage.

  “Are you done with your lines, Michael?” Allie asked. “Ready to stop being Michael and start being Cassio?”

  He seemed to be more confident on stage. “I’m ready to start being Othello, if that’s what’s needed.” He shot a sideways look at Paul, and Dani’s memory sparked. So this was the understudy who was annoyed at not being allowed to replace Arthur. She could see why Dante hadn’t been keen on using him as the titular character. He looked far too young and naive.

  “Alright.” Allie clapped her hands together. “Now, we’ve already done rehearsals together before so I know the equations between most of you. Today we’re going to test your individual chemistry with Othello himself. First, I’d like you all to give a big hand to Paul, who’s generously agreed to fill in after Arthur’s untimely death.”

  Paul rose up and waved like a queen would to her serfs. He seemed to be gearing up to make a big speech, but Allie cut him off. “Alright, so this next scene, we’re going to have Othello, poisoned by jealousy, strangling Desdemona, who will protest her innocence to the very end. Ready for this Coco?”

  Coco jumped up, stretched her long neck, twisting her head this way and that, before nodding assent. Paul was watching her with narrowed eyes. He licked his upper lip once, before nodding.

  “Alright,” Allie called out. “Clear the stage everyone. Give them space.”

  Dani stood watching, calculating. The moment he had his hands on her throat could make a very controversial, if interesting, marketing still. She wondered if she could take a photo just seconds before the climactic scene, when Paul was reaching out his hands and Coco was shrinking back. Yes, she thought. That would be an image that would convey the madness and pride Othello had inside him. Perhaps, if she could convince Allie to have Iago peeking from the curtains…

  On stage, Paul and Coco both recited their lines perfectly. Dani was spellbound watching them. She had never seen Arthur in action, but she was hard pressed to think of a man who could bring out Othello’s emotions better than Paul did.

  Coco lay on a sofa, her hands curled underneath her head while Paul approached her with silent, menacing steps. His eyes were glittering and his entire face had shadows upon it as he reached out to caress her cheek.

  Coco flinched.

/>   “Stop!” Allie cried. She jumped up on stage and said, “Coco, you’re doing it all wrong. Desdemona loves Othello with a pure heart. She has no fear of him. In the scene, she’s fast asleep. But, even in her sleep, she should turn trustingly to him. Never sensing the evil within his poisoned heart.

  “I need a break,” Coco said in a shaky voice.

  “But…we just started?” Allie looked confused.

  “I need a smoke!” Coco insisted. With gritted teeth she walked off stage and into the wings, leaving Allie staring after her.

  Oliver, alias Iago, coughed and mouthed, “Drama queen.”

  Paul laughed. “My fault,” he said. “Clearly, I was channeling my character so well it unnerved her. She’s probably gone to practice her lines once more.”

  “Alright, well…” Allie put a hand to her head. “Paul, could I also ask you to make Othello a little less shrewd? He’s a clean man, at heart, if you know what I’m saying. Your interpretation makes him far too savvy. A man like that would never be manipulated by Iago.”

  Paul frowned at this criticism, but immediately bore it with a benevolent smile. “Alright.”’

  Oliver stood up and stretched, imitating Coco’s movements. “Well, I guess it’s my turn at bat, Allie?” He gave Dani a wink. “Catch me when I’m at my handsomest, photographer lady.”

  “I’m not taking any photos today,” Dani said. “Today is strictly observation.”

  “Good,” Dante appeared at her shoulder. “Get on with it, then.”

  Dani thought Oliver was magnificent as Iago. She’d felt Othello’s menace but Oliver seemed to channel pure evil. His smile was a leer, his walk a limping gait, his very eyes seemed to change colors as he spoke of how much he hated Othello. Then, unexpectedly, he’d evoke sympathy. With a single glance, he’d tell the hurt of being passed over, betrayed by his master. The pain of always being the beta male.