Keeper of the Shadows - By Alexandra Sokoloff Page 0,18
was going to remake Otherworld? I hadn’t heard anything like that.” Not that she followed production news religiously, but certainly news like that would have registered with her or one of her cousins at least.
“Oh, it hadn’t been announced yet, but he was gearing up for it. And you can bet your buttons the community wasn’t too thrilled about it.”
Barrie knew that Harvey wasn’t talking about the film community now, but their community, the underground.
“The interspecies politics are such a mess on these paranormal films,” he sighed. “Everyone’s got an agenda.”
“So, a lot of people didn’t want this remake to go through,” she said, and thought to herself, That’s a lot of potential suspects.
“It’s not even just political. Think about it. Three white-hot rising superstars: one kills himself, one disappears, one’s a total train wreck... The town is superstitious, darling, and that’s looking a lot like a curse to me.”
Despite herself, Barrie felt a chill.
The “Dancing!” stars—well, minor celebrities—swirled onto the soundstage with their pro dancer partners, and Harvey went on journalistic alert. Her interview was done.
“Thanks, H.H.,” she said quickly. “I owe you.”
“Yes, you do-o,” he trilled back at her, and gave her a backward wave as he rushed to meet the stars.
* * *
As Barrie was walking off the soundstage, musing over the idea of a cursed film, she saw a tall, familiar figure strolling toward her. Oh, great, she thought, even as her heart started racing a mile a minute. Be calm. Just be calm. It was just the glamour, remember?
She struggled to keep her expression disinterested as she stopped in front of Mick Townsend in the center of what was ironically an absurdly romantic set: white roses trailing over a gazebo, a bridge over a mirrored stream. Probably the backdrop to a waltz competition.
“Don’t tell me you’re a ‘Dancing!’ fan,” she said dryly, and was proud of her nonchalance.
“I never miss it,” he deadpanned back.
He sounded so almost-serious that for a moment Barrie had a fantasy of what it would be like to dance with him. Of course she was dreaming—men just didn’t dance anymore—but if he could...oh, if he could lead even half as well as he kissed...
Focus, she ordered herself.
“You’re following me,” she accused aloud.
“Or maybe great minds think alike,” he suggested. “You were just here to see H.H., right?”
She was silent, unable to deny it.
He gave her a killer smile. “That’s why we need to team up. This is a big enough story for two people, and we’re obviously on the same track....”
She raised an eyebrow. “If we’re thinking alike, what is it we’re thinking?”
His luminous green eyes met hers and held them. “I’m thinking about last night.”
Immediately her heart was racing again, and she was finding it hard to breathe. She struggled for distance and control. “Last night was—inappropriate. Adrenaline rush, the circumstances...it happens, but it doesn’t mean anything. If you want to team up on this, then we have to focus on the case and the story.”
For a moment she thought she saw a flash of amusement on his face, but he nodded seriously and said, “Perfectly understood. Strictly business.” He held out a hand for her to shake.
She hesitated, then put her hand in his. “Strictly business,” she echoed, even as a betraying rush of lust raced through her veins at his touch. She pulled her hand away quickly. “So, what are we thinking? About the case?”
“That the same person killed Mayo and that poor kid,” he said softly, and she felt a jolt, realizing that he did know about Tiger, and more than that: he seemed to care. He continued, still holding her gaze. “That someone didn’t want the remake of Otherworld to go forward, so that someone hired Tiger to lure Mayo to his death, dose him with a fatal exotic cocktail, and then the killer fed Tiger the same stuff.”
She had to hand it to him: it was exactly what she was thinking. But she wasn’t about to let him know that. Not yet.
“Is anyone saying there was a third person in that bungalow at the Chateau?” she demanded. If he wanted to work with her, he had to prove he had something to offer besides lethal charm.
“Not that I’ve been able to find out. Most of the rest of the town is so focused on Mayo they’re not looking anywhere else.”
“And someone went to a great deal of trouble to make Mayo and Tiger look like unrelated cases,” she pointed out.