of powerful men who like to have young actresses procured for companionship, I think we’re on the same page.”
“I think we are too,” he said. “And honestly, that name is just one I use for the sake of brevity. It’s nothing official. What would you like to know about it?”
“Are you on it?” Jessie asked pointedly.
“I am not,” he answered without hesitation.
“How can you be sure?” Trembley asked.
Haughton looked at him with amusement.
“Because I’ve never engaged in that kind of behavior,” he said simply. “I’ve been happily married for thirty-three years.”
“Are any of your executives on the list?” Jessie followed up.
He paused, but only briefly.
“This gets into a bit of a tricky area. I’ve never seen this list but I’ve been informed that some folks in our organization are on it.”
“Who informed you?” Jessie asked.
“Jake Morant at CTA.”
Jessie was slightly surprised at his forthrightness but proceeded as if she’d expected the response.
“Without naming names, as I’m sure you won’t do, did Mr. Morant say that any executives or producers associated with the Marauder films series were on the list?”
“He did.”
We’re on a roll now.
“Did he suggest that you tell these people to reboot the series so as to prevent their names from becoming public?”
“He did.”
“Is that why the film was greenlit?” Trembley joined in.
Haughton looked at him with the mildly condescending expression of a teacher who was impressed that the quiet kid asked a question in class.
“Only in part,” he said. “I was already toying with the idea of rebooting the franchise. We own the rights. It’s been half a decade since the last one so it seemed ripe to monetize, especially if we could bring in an edgy director. To be honest, I was reluctant to hire Corinne back based on her well-known reputational issues. But once Jake made his ‘pitch,’ I reconsidered and eventually embraced the idea. It’s like going back to basics—a return to a more high-brow horror premise with the original actress attached. The film sells itself so marketing is easy.”
“But it didn’t pan out that way?’ Jessie prompted.
“Not so much,” Haughton allowed. “Corinne was as difficult as ever. The director, despite his talent, was a challenging combination of weak-willed with her and a bully with everyone else. We were over budget and over schedule even before this tragedy occurred. It’s a mess.”
“What about Miller Boatwright?” Jessie asked, intentionally switching topics without warning.
“What about him?” Haughton asked. “He not involved with the Marauder series.”
For the first time, Jessie sensed a hint of disingenuousness. She asked her next question carefully.
“No. But he did produce her first big hit, the Petals movie, and his name was written on the mirror in Corinne’s trailer. Did they have a combative relationship?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” Haughton said without pausing to think.
Jessie nodded and walked over to one of the chairs.
“I think I will sit down for a bit,” she said, before continuing. “How did she get that role again?”
“She auditioned and beat out hundreds of other actresses.”
“No special favors traded,” she asked, almost as if it was an afterthought.
“Of course not,” Haughton said, straining for self-righteousness. “She was the best choice for the role. I think the box office and critical response bears that out.”
“All the same, we’d like to take a look at some of the production files from the project,” she said.
“Production files?” he repeated.
“I don’t know all those fancy movie terms,” she said, making a token attempt at looking ashamed. “Help me out here, Trembley.”
He complied without hesitation.
“Casting call paperwork, audition tapes, call sheets, script draft revisions, that sort of thing.”
Haughton was still smiling warmly but his eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
“Certainly, I’d be glad to help. You’ll just need to go through the official channels, get a search warrant, that sort of thing. Then we’ll happily open up the vault for you.”
Jessie sensed they’d touched a nerve.
“We can absolutely do that,” she said sunnily. “But maybe you can help expedite the process so that we can hit the ground running. We’ll just start looking through the materials and then, when that search warrant comes in, we can give it to you as a formality.”
“Oh,” Haughton said slowly, as if he was actually entertaining the idea. “I would do that right now if it was up to me. But I can just hear our general counsel when he found out. The guy would have my head if I didn’t follow proper procedure. Since I rather like my head, I think it’s best we stick to doing everything by