I smiled at the thought. “Was he?”
Phoebe nodded. “He sure was . . . it was weird, though. He looked . . . sad.”
My smile disappeared. “Sad? What do you mean?”
“I think he’s struggling with you being gone, Joey, probably more than he’ll ever admit.”
“I miss him too.”
“I know you do. It’s just that . . . why be with someone if you can’t actually be with them, right? Isn’t that the point of finding someone you want to do life together with?”
My heart pounded in my ears as her words settled over me. “Yes, I guess it is. But people make long-distance relationships work all the time. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?”
She waved a hand in the air. “Yes, of course. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I brought it up. Maybe it isn’t as much you and Jackson I’m thinking about. Maybe I’m taking all these feelings and emotions I have toward Sam and I’m deflecting them on you and Jackson.”
I didn’t know if that was true or not, but her words caused a subtle ache in my heart. I’d think about it later. At the moment, I wanted to concentrate on my friend. “It sounds like you and Sam miss each other too.”
She frowned. “We do. This long-distance thing is harder than I thought it would be.”
“It is hard. I’m sorry.” Even as I said the words, my mind went back to what she’d told me.
Jackson looked sad? That was the last thing I wanted for my fiancé. I cared about him too much for him to be sad.
But what was I going to do about it?
I had no idea right now.
We all pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. We were getting there a bit after the lunch crowd. The owner, a woman named Lisa Dillinger, let us put the tables together so we could sit as a group.
As we did, Mayor Mac MacArthur called out hello to me, Lisa pulled out some food experiments for all of us to sample, and another man—Doc Clemson, I heard someone call him—began serenading anyone listening with a rendition of “Dem Bones.”
I almost felt like I was a local, and it was only my second or third day here.
We were talking happily amongst ourselves when I saw a familiar figure walk inside.
Rick.
His eyes searched the room as if looking for somebody before stopping on me.
Great. What now?
He walked over to me, and I could tell something was on his mind.
“Joey,” he started. “I need to talk to you. Eva too. Please. If you don’t mind.”
Eva seemed to be listening because she joined us. We walked with Rick toward the corner of the restaurant where there were no other patrons so we could have some privacy.
“Hey, listen,” he started. “I was hoping to find you here.”
“How did you know we were here?” I found it a little suspicious myself. Then again, at this moment, I was suspicious of everyone in the cast and crew of the film. Until I had answers, I would remain that way.
“I just happened to be driving past earlier when I saw you guys walk inside. When I came back by this way, I saw the cars were still here so I took a chance.”
I suppose that explanation made sense. “Okay, so what’s going on?”
“I know this is going to sound weird, but have either of you talked to Alistair today?”
Eva and I glanced at each other, and we both shook our heads.
“No, I just got a text from him this morning about production being postponed,” I said.
“Yeah, we all got the text.” Rick rubbed the cross-shaped scar on his cheek, his face and eyes tense. “But nobody has seen or talked to him today.”
A chill went up my spine at his words. “Wait, so you think something’s wrong?”
“I went to his house because I had a question about production. I knocked on the door but nobody answered.”
“Did you try his phone?” Eva asked.
“I did. Nobody answered. I even wondered if he could be walking on the beach to blow off some steam. I know it’s raining, but people have done stranger things. However, I didn’t see him. This isn’t like him. When Alistair is filming, his whole world is consumed with his work.”
“It sounds like you’re worried,” I said.
Rick frowned. “I’ve worked with Alistair for years and probably know him better than anyone on the set. This isn’t like him. We work well together because he’s demanding, and I’m a perfectionist—or OCD, as he calls me. It’s why we make a good team.”
Rick did seem like a perfectionist, now that he mentioned it. And perfectionists generally had an eye for detail . . . details like sudden changes in behavior.
Alistair disappearing definitely seemed strange.
I looked over at Jackson. It didn’t look like I would be enjoying my meal for much longer.
Chapter Nineteen
Jackson and I decided to do the responsible thing. We called Chief Chambers and told her what was going on. Then he and I took our sandwiches to go, left my car for Phoebe to drive back, and we met Cassidy at Alistair’s place.
I promised my friends we would be back soon, and they’d all seemed understanding. They knew me well enough to know this was par for the course.
Cassidy was already at the house when we arrived. Jackson and I met her on the front stoop.
“Anything?” Jackson asked.
“There’s no answer.” Cassidy’s hands went to her hips as she glanced at the deck. “I was just about to walk around the house and see if I could see anything through the windows. Why don’t we split up? You two take the second floor, and I’ll take the first.”
A thrill ran through me. I loved when I was asked to help.
Alistair’s house had decks that stretched around all the levels. It should be fairly easy to get an inside view of most of the place, provided that the curtains and blinds were open.
Jackson took my hand and led me up the stairs to the second floor. “I know I’ve asked this before,” he started. “But why does stuff like this always happen to you?”
“I consider everything that happens to me fodder for my acting career.”
“That’s one way to look at it as the glass being half full.”
We reached the second floor. Jackson led me to the first window and cupped his hands around his eyes, peering inside. He did the same for the next several windows, but apparently there was nothing inside to see.
We walked around the corner to the other side of the house. I peered into the patio doors there and sucked in a breath at what I saw.
Alistair lay on the floor.
His legs and hands were bound, and a gag covered his mouth.
His eyes widened when he saw us. He didn’t have to say a word for me to hear him loud and clear. He needed our help.
What in the world was going on here?
Ten minutes later, Cassidy had broken inside, we had untied Alistair, and he was now sitting at the kitchen table drinking some coffee. His hands shook, and I could tell he was off-kilter after everything that had happened.
“Why don’t you just start at the beginning?” Cassidy held a pad of paper in hand, poised to take notes. “What exactly happened?”
“Do we really have to go through this? Can’t you just get out there and find whoever did this?” Alistair’s hands shook so hard that coffee sloshed from his mug.
I grabbed a napkin and wiped it up for him.
“I wish it was that easy,” Cassidy said. “But I need information first.”
“I don’t know what to say. All I know is that I was sleeping in my bed. All of a sudden, I felt a shock go through me. It must’ve been a taser. It’s the only thing I can figure.”
“Did you see the person who did it?” Chief Chambers asked.
Rain drizzled down the windows behind us, adding to the overall gloomy and gray mood.
“He was wearing a mask, and it was dark,” Alistair said. “He didn’t say a thing. That almost made it even more disturbing. I have no idea what h
e wanted.”
Chief Chambers shifted in the kitchen chair and continued to study Alistair. “Can you describe him?”
“I don’t know.” Alistair drew in a shaky breath. “It was too dark to make out any details. He wasn’t particularly a big guy. He just seemed average. I know that’s not helpful.”
“You’re doing fine,” Cassidy said. “So what happened next?”
“The next thing I knew, this guy was pulling out some duct tape. He put it around my ankles and hands and tied me up. Then he got a towel from the kitchen and shoved it into my mouth.” Alistair’s voice cracked.
I wasn’t used to seeing him like this, and I actually felt bad for him.
“And then?” Chief Chambers asked.
“And then, nothing. No, I take that back. Not nothing.” Alistair’s eyes lit, and he shook his head. “He grabbed my phone and took it. I have no idea why. I have nothing valuable on it. But he didn’t seem to care.”
The man had taken Alistair’s phone so he could send out that text to the cast and crew. I kept the thought to myself . . . for now. I didn’t want to interrupt the flow of Cassidy’s questions.
“I’ll need you to check the rest of the house to see if anything else was taken that you haven’t noticed yet,” Chief Chambers said. “Like maybe a computer?”
His eyes darkened. “Do you think that’s what this is about? That maybe that man broke in so he could take my computer? Maybe that would somehow make it easier for him to change the script.”
Chief Chambers eyeballed him. “You think this is all about the script?”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense. Someone is trying to ruin my movie.” His hand hit the table, making his coffee quake again.
“Why would someone want to ruin your movie?” Chambers asked. “Does someone have that big of a grudge against you?”
Alistair leaned back, as if trying to remain in control. “I don’t know. I’ve made a lot of enemies throughout the years. I suppose somebody could be doing this as a personal vendetta against me.”
“But you have no idea who?” Chief Chambers asked.
“That’s right. I have no idea what is going on.”
The chief’s gaze drifted down the hallway, and her eyes narrowed in thought. “How did you get into the living room?”
“I crawled like an inch worm into the living room. I tried to stand up and open the door so I could somehow get help. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything. I was forced to lie here and hope that somebody might eventually find me. Then again, maybe my cast and crew are having a little party without me there to oversee them.” His nostrils flared as he had a little hissy fit.
I wanted to dislike Alistair even more for his reaction, but I couldn’t. I just felt sorry for him.
I cleared my throat, feeling like this was as good a time as any to share an update with Alistair. “Just to let you know, somebody sent a text from your phone saying that filming was delayed today because of the rain.”
Alistair’s gaze darkened again. “I should’ve known. See, I tell you someone is trying to ruin my film!”
“I understand that’s your theory,” Chief Chambers said. “But I’m going to need more than that to go on. I’m going to need you to make a list of anybody you can think of who might have a motive for doing that.”
“No problem. I will get right on that. And, in the meantime, I need to get a new phone so I can text my cast and crew and let them know that we need to not waste any more time.” His nostrils flared again.
“You’re going to have to wait on that.” Chief Chambers rose to her feet. “First, I’m going to have to get my guys out here to fingerprint this place and to make sure nothing was left behind. I also need you to make sure that nothing was taken from your place. So slow your roll just a little bit.”
Alistair scowled again and crossed his arms. “Fine. But, just for the record, I am not happy about it.”
Chief Chambers leaned closer and lowered her voice. “And just for the record, your cooperation is greatly appreciated.”
Chapter Twenty
As soon as Chief Chambers cleared Alistair’s house, he called all the cast and crew to his place for a meeting. Cassidy stuck around to talk to everybody there as well.
Jackson and I hung out. Me, because I was a part of the cast, and Jackson because he was a detective and Cassidy hadn’t shooed him away.
There was a murmur in the air as everyone gathered. It seemed that the whole crew was curious about what was going on and knew something was wrong. I stood in the back of the crowd and observed everybody.
I’d learned the skill from Jackson. He was always the one standing on the periphery soaking everything in and looking for trouble. It was a trademark of cops, I supposed. But I found the trait worked well for me also. My natural inclination was to jump into the middle of things. But when there was a potential killer in the room, it paid to have some discretion.
Alistair clapped his hands together, as flamboyant as ever. “Okay, okay, everybody! Thank you all for joining me here.”
At his words, everybody found a seat either on the couch, a chair, or the floor. Cassidy stood beside Alistair, almost like a warden, and everyone’s eyes were fastened on them.
“As you all might know,” Alistair started. “There have been some very strange and suspicious things happening since we began to film this movie. Not only is somebody messing with our script and hacking into my email, but we also have one person who is now dead. This morning someone broke into my place and tied me up.”
A gasp sounded throughout the room, followed by a low murmur as people whispered amongst themselves.
Alistair raised his chin dramatically, and I again imagined him doing a dance competition. Perhaps that’s what this was for him—a dance. He made a move and then waited for everyone else to follow. He liked taking the lead.
But could he be trusted?
“I have been working with the police to try to ascertain what is going on in the situation,” Alistair said.
I could tell that Alistair was being on his best behavior around the police chief. Normally, he’d be verbally slandering everybody out of frustration over the whole situation. I could hear a Cante Grande playing in the background.
He swung his head to the left and then the right. “It appears, though we don’t have definite proof, that somebody in this cast and crew might be involved with these crimes.”
Another gasp sounded, followed by a new round of murmurs.
I glanced around, looking for anyone who was acting suspiciously. Like maybe somebody who didn’t look surprised or shocked. My gaze stopped on Washington George.
He sat by himself, and, instead of turning toward anybody in the room or making eye contact, he stared at Alistair.
Was that because he was trying to maintain a façade and not show he was guilty? I had no idea. But I kept that fact in the back of my mind just in case.
“I’ve asked you all to come here so we can have an open discussion about what is going on,” Alistair continued. “First and foremost, I do not want anyone else in my cast or crew to be injured or threatened. Secondly, I want you to know that if you are the one who was behind messing with my script, I will have you blackballed in Hollywood so fast that—” Alistair cut himself off as his emotions began to rise.
He let out a deep breath, rolled his shoulders back, and cast a quick glance at Cassidy, who gave him a warning look.
“Like I was saying, I don’t want to think that anybody involved in the production of this movie could be a part of this. But that is what the evidence is pointing to. Police Chief Cassidy Chambers is here today. She has some questions for all of you.”
As he paused, everyone waited, no one daring to say anything. Alistair’s gaze met each of ours. When he started again, I could mentally hear a castanet clapping together.
Sometimes, it was the little things that amused me the most, like my mental commentary on this whole situation. Obviously, no one cou
ld hear it but me. But I was enough.
“As you well know, we are behind on our filming schedule now, which was already tight, with little room for error,” he said. “I’m going to be meeting with my production staff today so we can figure out a revised schedule. I’d appreciate all of your cooperation.”
Cassidy stepped forward. “Like Alistair said, I appreciate you all coming here. We’re taking this crime very seriously.”
“Do you know who killed the pirate?” Sarah asked.
I glanced at her. With her wide eyes and pensive expression, she looked terrified. I suppose this had shaken everybody up more than I’d thought.
“My team is working hard to figure out what happened to the man known as Bucky Belching,” Cassidy said. “Right now, we have a few suspects and leads we’re investigating, but we do not know anything definite yet. Nobody has been arrested.”
“How can you assure us that our safety is paramount here?” Brandon, the gaffer, asked.
“While we want to do everything we can to ensure that you all remain safe, it’s of paramount importance that you all take steps yourselves during this time,” Cassidy said. “Make sure that you don’t go anywhere alone, and use common sense.”
That was so much easier said than done sometimes.
“Also, I know this should go without saying, but if you see something, say something,” Cassidy continued. “This isn’t just true when it comes to terrorism. What happened here is a serious crime, as I’m sure you’re all aware. Now, I would like to pull several of you aside individually and talk with you. In the meantime, I would like to ask the rest of you to remain here. Thank you.”
Cassidy started by pulling aside Sarah. The police chief was using an office here in the house for privacy purposes. The rest of us continued to wait in the living room.
As soon as she left, everyone began talking. I could feel the fear in the air. It was one thing to act out fake crimes, but it was an entirely different story to have to face the reality of death while on the set.
The optimistic part of myself wanted to think that this film could recover. But the realistic part of me wasn’t so sure. Or maybe it was the hopeful part of me. After all, I was already over filming this movie even though the production had just started.
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