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Teddy looked up from his phone and shook his head. “Just some things I need to look over. I should head up to my room.”
Peter pushed his still mostly full glass toward the middle of the table. “That’s not a bad idea. I’ll go up, too.”
They rode the elevator up together, then headed to their respective suites.
???
In his room, Teddy went through the police documents. It wasn’t much. Without very much evidence, one of their theories was that the guns had been fired on a neighboring street, but Teddy was skeptical.
In the video taken by the fan, the shots were loud and unmuffled. If they’d come from another street, the sound would have been dampened by the buildings in the area.
While he hoped it was only a matter of Stacy and Adriene being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and despite what he’d said to Peter to reassure him, he couldn’t ignore the possibility that the shooting had something to do with the movie.
He called Mike Freeman and brought him up to speed with the day’s events.
“There’s never a dull moment around you, is there?”
“What can I say? I have a magnetic personality.”
“One that attracts killers and kidnappers, apparently.”
“I’m concerned about security on set. It would be great if we could get some of your men here to augment the local crew.”
“Consider it done.”
“You know, I’d feel much better if your people were in charge overall, too.”
“So would I. I’ll send the two men who were with you yesterday. They’re my best on the West Coast.”
22
Matthew should have been too tired to wake up early.
Disposing of Justin’s body in the mountains north of Santa Barbara had taken much longer than he’d planned. He hadn’t arrived back at the Airbnb he was renting until after two a.m.
And yet here he was, less than five hours later, standing in front of the closet, excited to pick out what he would wear for the day.
He fingered the sleeve of the dark blue Armani suit, hanging on the rack. It was the most expensive item of clothing he had ever owned. The only time he’d worn it had been at the tailors, when it was being altered. It wasthe outfit he planned to wear when he proclaimed his love to Tessa.
He’d be delusional if he thought that would happen today, though. He wasn’t even sure if he’d see her at all. And even if he did, he’d need time to build the bond between them before she realized that they were meant for each other. That she might not never entered his mind. To Matthew, their coming union was a foregone conclusion.
He settled for a button-down shirt and pair of slacks that were less flashy but still nice.
His phone buzzed as he put on his shoes. It was a text from Stacy, with the address whereStorm’s Eyewould be shooting that day.
Wearing a smile he could barely contain, he grabbed his keys and headed for the door.
23
Rebecca’s eyes snapped open at the sound of a sliding dead bolt.
Her stomach rumbled. She hadn’t eaten since the greasy hamburger they’d left for her before she’d fallen asleep, so it had to be mealtime again. Breakfast, probably, though she had no idea what time it was since her room had no windows and the lights were kept on at all times.
The door swung open, and two of her captors entered, while the third remained in the hallway. All three wore the same white masks as before, but none carried the bag of food she expected.
“Get up,” ordered the man who’d come in first.
She sighed and started to comply, but her efforts weren’tfast enough for her captors. One of them snagged her arm and yanked her into a sitting position.
