Joke and Dagger

by Christy Barritt

  “Do you think Alistair has anything to do with this?”

  I leaned against the counter and let out a breath. “I can’t see where that would benefit him in any way. I mean, this is his script. He wrote it, and he’s producing it, and he’s directing it. The new script is just messing with people’s minds. Why would he want to do that when he’s in such a rush to get this done?”

  “I agree. This whole thing has me baffled.”

  As soon as the words left Jackson’s mouth, my doorbell rang. Jackson and I exchanged a look.

  “Who could be here at this time?” I glanced at the clock. It was only eight a.m.

  “Stay here,” Jackson told me.

  I didn’t argue. I remained in the kitchen but peered out to see whatever was happening.

  With his shoulders tight and stiff, Jackson walked to the front door. As he moved, I saw a gun tucked into his waistband. I shouldn’t be surprised. He hardly went anywhere without one, and now he was going to be especially prone to having it close because of everything that happened.

  I held my breath as he opened the door. And I could not believe who I saw on the other side.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I sucked in a breath before exclaiming, “Dizzy! Geraldine! MaryAnn! Maxine! What in the world are you guys doing here?”

  Dizzy extended her arms and pulled me into a long, motherly hug. “We heard you were close so we just had to come see you. How are you? You’re getting so skinny. Aren’t they feeding you on set?”

  Her friends yattered in agreement.

  “So thin.”

  “What’s your secret?”

  “Did it involve swallowing cotton balls?”

  Right now, I could hardly breathe. Dizzy squeezed me so hard my innards begged for mercy. Finally, she released me, and I was able to croak out, “I am fine. Same weight. No secrets. Definitely no cotton balls.”

  I glanced at my friends. Man, did I love them. Especially Dizzy.

  She was actually my aunt by marriage, and she’d been there for me through some tough times. She had a trademark bright-blue eyeshadow she liked to wear all the way up to her eyebrows. Her hair was styled big and into something that reminded me of a beehive.

  She was a hoot, and I couldn’t believe she was actually here.

  Jackson gave everyone hugs as well, and then we all stepped back.

  “How did you even find me?” I asked Dizzy, holding onto her arm.

  “Oh, it was easy.” Dizzy fluttered her hand in the air. “As soon as we got off the ferry, we stopped at the first gas station, and we asked the people who work there. Apparently, everyone here on the island knows exactly where you’re staying. What can I say? It’s a small town, and that’s the price you pay for being so popular and cute.”

  I exchanged another look with Jackson. That was not comforting. There were definitely times when privacy was a great thing to be had. Especially, let’s say, when a killer might be looking for you.

  I’d had it happen to me enough in the past that I was now sufficiently cautious.

  I went through and greeted the rest of the gang. There was Maxine, who owned a great secondhand store called Utter Clutter; Geraldine, who’d been a homemaker; and MaryAnn, a retired teacher. All were in their late fifties or early sixties, and together they called themselves the Hot Chicks.

  My gaze shifted when I saw movement behind them. Two others trudged up the stairs, towing suitcases behind them. My heart pounded with excitement.

  “Phoebe?” I mumbled as she pulled me into a hug.

  “It’s so good to see you, Joey. I’ve missed you.”

  “Zane?”

  Zane Oakley wrapped his arms around me. “The ladies convinced me to be their chauffeur. I just happened to be getting a haircut from Dizzy yesterday when she mentioned this trip. I was like, hashtag: definitely.”

  “I’m glad you did. This is quite a surprise. You guys must’ve caught an early ferry.”

  “We heard that the weather might get bad later in the day,” Dizzy said. “So we knew if we were going to come it had to be sooner rather than later.”

  “Smart thinking.”

  I stepped back and looked at Jackson as he coolly surveyed Zane. The two men had an interesting history. They’d both wanted to date me, but, obviously, Jackson had won. Things had been tense between them since then.

  The two were polar opposites. Zane had curly hair that bounced away from his face in a white guy afro. He had the thin, lean build of a surfer, though he worked as both a real estate agent and massage therapist to pay the bills. We shared a love of smoothies and Bob Ross.

  Zane and I were just friends—good friends. Not as good of friends as we had been. That would be weird now that I was engaged. But Zane would always be special to me.

  “Well,” I said, turning back to my unexpected guests. “Everybody, it’s great to have you here. What do you say we make some breakfast? After all, my plans were just canceled for today, so let’s have a good time and catch up.”

  The next three hours were spent making breakfast and talking to everyone. I couldn’t even begin to tell how much good it did my heart to see everybody from home. I hadn’t even realized I was homesick, but I clearly was.

  As unfortunate as it was that filming had been pushed back, the distraction had been good. I didn’t know what it would mean for my schedule going forward. The movie needed to be completed, and I needed to be back on the set of Relentless in less than two weeks. I could see where it might be problematic, but, for the moment, I was not going to worry about it.

  As we were all sitting on the deck talking, my doorbell rang. Who now? Almost everybody I knew was here at my place already.

  Jackson walked with me to answer it. I secretly loved this protective side of him.

  I had no idea what to expect when I opened the door. But it hadn’t been seeing Eva standing there in her rainboots, holding a teardrop umbrella, with a deep frown etched onto her face.

  “Hello,” I said, uncertainty in my voice. “This is quite a . . . surprise.”

  As much as I didn’t like the woman, I couldn’t help but notice a concerned look on her face. I had a feeling something was going on. It was the only reason she would have shown up here.

  “Hi, Joey. Jackson.” She nodded at both of us. “I know this is weird. I’m sorry to come over like this. But I needed someone to talk to. Do you guys have a minute?”

  I hated to question her intentions. I really did. But I didn’t know if I could trust this woman or if she had ulterior motives.

  Despite my hesitations and concerns, I opened the door wider and let her come inside. While the rest of my friends were on the deck enjoying each other’s company, I sat down with Eva and Jackson in the dining room so I could listen to her concerns.

  She shifted in the chair before her gaze fluttered up to meet mine and then Jackson’s. “I keep feeling like somebody’s watching me.”

  “What do you mean?” I questioned.

  “I mean, you got the new script, right?”

  “I did,” I told her.

  “Then I’m sure you read the new scene that had been added.”

  “I did. Your character disappears and turns up dead in this new version.”

  As soon as I said the words, she seemed to instantly tighten. “I know this is going to sound weird. I just know it is, but, the truth is, I think I might actually disappear.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  I glanced at Jackson as Eva’s somber words filled the dining room.

  “Why in the world would you think that, Eva?” I leaned closer, suddenly not feeling as laid-back. Even my friends’ laughter in the background did little to help my muscles relax.

  “I know it sounds crazy.” Eva waved her hands near her eyes, as if fighting tears. “I do. But ever since I got here, I have felt like somebody has been watching me. And then I got some dead roses delivered to my door.”

  “Dead roses?” Jackson echoed.

  She nodded
. “Yes, and there was a note for me with them.”

  Jackson shifted in his chair and leaned on the table, his full attention on Eva. “What did the note say, Eva?”

  “It said, I have my eye on you.” She shivered and glanced out the window. “I don’t even know what that means. There’s no way someone said that trying to sound sweet, right? It’s just creepy. And then there are the dead roses. There’s no mistaking their meaning.”

  I rubbed my arms, suddenly feeling chilled myself. “When did you find the roses?”

  “This morning when I opened the door.”

  Did that mean she’d been home all evening? Or had she actually found them when she got home from Alistair’s? “Do you have any idea who might have sent them?”

  “No, I have no idea.” She frowned and stared across the table at Jackson and me. “All of this has me shaking. I know that you’re used to things like this, Joey. But this is new territory for me.”

  Jackson leaned back, and I could see him processing all of this. “Did you tell the police?”

  “Not yet. I feel like they already have so much going on.”

  “You should file a report, just in case,” Jackson said.

  Eva nodded, still looking a little dazed. “I will.”

  Jackson lifted a pencil from a basket on the table and tapped it in his hands. “Is this your first time working with most of this cast and crew, Eva?”

  “As a matter of fact, it’s not. I had a role in Alistair’s last movie, and he kept a lot of the same crew he had last time.”

  I remembered what Mindy had told me about Eva being with Alistair so she could get these roles. Was what Mindy said true? I kept that information in the back of my mind.

  “Throughout all of that, you didn’t have any hostility with any of the other cast or crew members?” Jackson continued.

  Eva fluttered her eyelashes and shrugged. “Not really. But, to be truthful, I don’t think Washington George likes me.”

  “Washington George?” His was the last name I expected to hear. “Why do you say that?”

  “I don’t know. There’s just something about him. I caught him staring at me, muttering something under his breath. It was just kind of weird.” Her face scrunched into a pouty look that had been perfected by the actors of Mean Girls.

  “Do you think he might have been staring at you because he’s attracted to you?” Jackson asked.

  “Look, I’ve had plenty of guys check me out. It was different than that. There was just something about the look in his eyes that’s got me a little shaken.”

  “So you think he’s a viable suspect in this?” I just didn’t see it. Then again, I didn’t know Washington that well. Maybe I should be more open-minded.

  “I don’t know,” Eva lowered her gaze, and put a fisted hand over her mouth, the picture of anguish.

  Was she acting? I knew all about that.

  But I couldn’t gauge her sincerity level right now.

  “I don’t want to point fingers at anyone,” Eva continued. “But I also don’t want to get dead roses or notes saying that someone is keeping their eye on me. It’s just creepy. This whole thing is creepy. Somebody is going to a lot of trouble to send us these revised scripts. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  At least that was one thing two of us could agree on. It was creepy.

  “Do you think Washington George could be responsible for altering the script?” I asked.

  “I hate to say it, but I don’t think he has the smarts to do it.”

  “So you think there are two different people at work here?” Jackson asked. “One who’s rewriting the script and another who’s threatening the cast?”

  Eva shrugged. “To be honest, I have no idea.”

  I leaned forward. There was a question I had to ask her. I wasn’t going to hold back, especially since she’d come to me for help. “Eva, are you and Alistair secretly seeing each other?”

  Her eyes widened. “Why would you ask that?”

  “I’m just wondering. If you want our help, I need you to be forthcoming.”

  “That’s none of your business.” Her voice turned from helpless to hardened.

  “Okay, then, I’m not really sure that we can do anything to help you.” I stood as if ready to walk away. I knew how to play hard ball when needed.

  “No,” Eva called. “Please. Don’t. I really do need your help.”

  I paused and turned toward her. “Then I need you to be truthful with me. Are you and Alistair seeing each other? Were you at his house last night?”

  Her eyes widened even more. “Last night? No, I was not there last night. Last night, I needed all the sleep I could get. I went to bed at nine. I can’t have myself looking awful on the set. There’s only room for one person to look awful on the set.” She smirked.

  I felt my face scrunching together in a scowl. “You really don’t think you can say stuff like that and expect me to be nice to you, right?”

  My father had highlighted verses in his Bible about loving your enemies. About turning the other cheek. But that had to be one of the hardest things in the whole world to do.

  There was a fine line between standing up for yourself and not being walked on, and turning the other cheek. I’d yet to perfect it. I wasn’t sure if I ever would.

  Eva released a long sigh and did a half eye roll. “Okay, look, I’m sorry. I just think it’s hysterical that you have to wear that getup every day. Everyone knows you’re gorgeous. But now you get a taste of what regular people feel.”

  “Oh, come on. Can you really say that?” I stared at Eva, wondering what kind of game she was playing. “I mean, you’re gorgeous too. You have no room to talk.”

  Her gaze narrowed. “Since we’re being honest here and you want me to be truthful, let me just tell you this. At twelve, I went on my first diet. At sixteen, I had a nose job. At twenty-one, I had liposuction. I’ve had numerous other procedures to get to this look. I work out for two hours daily, and only eat around eight hundred calories a day.”

  All I could do was grunt in surprise. Her truthful moment had gained her points with me. It couldn’t be easy to say that, especially in front of a guy she appeared to be crushing on.

  I cleared my throat. “So you’re telling me that you were not with Alistair last night?”

  Eva nodded. “That’s correct. I was not with Alistair. We dated each other for a few weeks, if you want to call it that. Really, it was more like a fling. I really thought we had something, but, apparently, Alistair didn’t see it that way. He’s not the type who wants to be tied down to one person. If you think he was with someone last night, it wasn’t me. I have no way of proving it. I’m staying by myself. All you have is my word.”

  Despite my dislike for Eva, I had to admit that I believed her.

  Whatever was going on inside this movie was just strange. And we needed to get to the bottom of it before more people got hurt.

  In the early afternoon, the crowd at my place all decided to go out to eat. I was never much of a cook, and I didn’t have that many groceries. So I decided to introduce the whole gang to the delight known as The Crazy Chefette.

  Even Eva decided to come along with us. She and Zane seemed to connect, which didn’t surprise me. The two of them were going to ride together in Jackson’s truck to the restaurant, Jackson was going to drive the Hot Chicks, and Phoebe and I were going to take my Miata so we could catch up alone for a few minutes.

  Phoebe was actually Jackson’s sister-in-law. Or his former sister-in-law. I wasn’t sure how all that worked in reality. But Phoebe’s sister, Claire, had been Jackson’s first wife, who had died from cancer. The two were still close.

  Phoebe was basically my opposite. Where I was emotional and dramatic and liked to be the center of attention and to insert my nose where it didn’t belong, Phoebe was quiet and chill and perfectly content to remain in the background. She loved animals, which was why she had her own pet-sitting business. But she also worked at a smoot
hie shack in the summertime.

  She’d recently begun dating my friend Sam Butler. Sam was my costar on Relentless, and the two had hit it off when he had come to visit me in Nags Head this past summer.

  As we drove to The Crazy Chefette, I needed an update from her.

  “So, what’s going on with you and Sam?”

  Her face seemed to light up with happiness as soon as I said his name.

  “Sam is great,” she told me. “As you know, we don’t get to see each other that much, but we call each other every day. I think I’m going to go to see him next week. He had to fly back to California for something this week, then he’s going to come out to Nags Head.”

  “That’s great, Phoebe. I know he’s going to be happy to see you. He talks about you all the time between takes on the set. He really seems smitten.”

  “Smitten? I like that word.” Phoebe flashed a smile.

  I grinned. I’d missed my friend, and I was happy for her. “It’s so wonderful to see you again. You look like you’re really doing great.”

  “Oh, I am. No complaints. Well, except maybe that I don’t get to see you often enough. We are really missing you back at home.”

  At her words, my heart squeezed. “I miss you all too. I really do. I’m going to get my schedule figured out here soon. I know that I am.”

  My problem was that I was an all-or-nothing type of girl. And, right now, I was in my all phase. That “all” involved acting instead of my relationships.

  “I know Jackson misses you,” Phoebe said. She opened her mouth, as if about to say something else, but she stopped herself.

  “What is it?” I gripped the steering wheel as I followed behind Jackson, my curiosity growing.

  “Nothing.”

  “That nothing clearly means there’s something.”

  She hesitated. “I was just going to tell you that I stopped by Jackson’s the other day. He was watching Relentless.”