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I clap my hands. “Step on it, we don’t want to miss this.”
We’d agreed to talk to Rachel in private about Stelios as soon as we can get her alone. Keenan is positive he’s responsible for the accidents, but I’m not so sure. He seems like a decent guy and I hate to think of him as our culprit.
“You think everyone is great,” Keenan says, reading my thoughts. “Stelios is our guy.”
“I don’t think everyone is great,” I protest.
“Name one person who isn’t.” He parks the Jeep behind the sound equipment.
Climbing out, I say, “I never liked that giant Kool-Aid guy with the creepy jug for a head.”
He chuckles. “Another human reference I don’t understand, but I know enough to know it’s not a real person. Try again.”
We walk together, hurrying to watch.
Jessica is supposed to fall backwards from the train onto a flatbed attached to the stunt vehicle. She’ll then leap back onto the train from the vehicle. The entire thing will be done in several shots and then edited to look seamless in post-production.
The scene itself comes about halfway into the movie, but the preparation for it has been occupying the stunt department for weeks and it’s one of the last scenes to be shot.
“Jessica!” I shout, waving when she looks.
She grins and waves back, cupping her mouth to shout, “Glad you made it!”
Rachel pats a chair next to hers and I slide in, Keenan standing at my back, his hand on my shoulder.
“Did you find anything?” she asks in a low voice.
“Yes.” Keenan’s voice is grim.
“Tell me.” Rachel stands and pulls Keenan aside.
I decide he can tell her about Stelios and Hailey. I keep my eyes glued to the action, barely daring to breathe as the scene unfolds. The wheels on the train are moving furiously but it’s rigged to stay in one place.
Jessica is standing on the edge of the train, her back to the flatbed that’s moving up behind her.
“Now!” Zach shouts and Spoon shoves Jessica off the train, his face twisted in a vicious grimace.
I clap a hand over my mouth, eyes wide as she screams and swan dives backwards off the train, hitting the bed of the truck before tucking and rolling. Stelios, who is standing on the flatbed, grabs her before she can roll off.
Jessica leaps to her feet and rolls her shoulders back, her expression focused. The vehicle moves around to the back of the train, and she prepares for her final stunt, stepping to the edge of the flatbed.
Stelios is holding her, gripping the straps underneath her shirt, anchoring her.
“Go!” Zach shouts.
Stelios lets go of Jessica and just as she jumps, a deafening screech echoes through the set and the train begins rocking violently on the tracks. Jessica misses the railing she was supposed to grab hold of and plunges between the stunt car and the train.
I jump to my feet with a gasp, lunging forward.
Keenan grabs hold of me, pushing me behind him as he shifts into his wolf and leaps after Jessica. He jumps onto the truck and rushes past Stelios before disappearing over the other side between the flatbed and the wildly rocking train.
“WAAAA, WAAAA, WAAAA!”
I jump, staring down at the small tan fox twirling between my legs yipping and crying. I look closer and realize Rachel’s smart watch is hanging off her paw. I scoop her into my arms. “They’ll be fine.” But my words are strained and tears gather in my eyes as I frantically search for Keenan.
Rachel presses her shaking body into me, her beady eyes on the train.
A minute later, someone stops the train and the stunt vehicle is moved.
