Page 56 of Obsession

And on and on the questions went, each forcing Matthew to create another falsehood.

The absolute worst was when Ben asked, “So tell me, Matthew, what is it you want to do with your life?”

Though he looked and sounded earnest, Matthew knew it was a ruse. People like Ben only cared about money and power. That was the sole reason he was with Tessa, Matthew knew. She brought Ben the prestige and respect he would never be able to obtain on his own.

Thankfully, the talk ebbed when their food arrived, and for several minutes Matthew was able to pretend he was eating by himself.

Of course, Ben didn’t stay silent for long. “If I didn’t tell you this already, I’m very impressed by what you did last night. Most people wouldn’t have noticed the guy watching Billy, and even if they did, they wouldn’t have done anything about it. Not you, though.”

“It was nothing special,” Matthew said.

“You’re wrong. It was very special. You’re a doer,Matthew. And I appreciate people like that.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card and a pen. He wrote something on the card and then held it out to Matthew. “I’d like you to have this.”

Matthew took the card and immediately recognized the Centurion Studios logo on it. Printed below the logo was Ben’s name, and beneath that the titlepresident. There was also the studio’s address and a phone number Matthew knew as belonging to Ben’s office. At the very bottom was Ben’s handwritten addition, a second phone number.

Ben pointed at it. “That’s to my personal cell phone. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me. And if you’re ever interested in a job in the movies, let me know.”

“Thank you. I will.”

Matthew’s smile was genuine this time. Not because he planned on asking Ben for a job, but because Ben had just provided the missing piece to Matthew’s plan.

???

The sun was nearing the horizon by the time Matthew finished the task he’d come to the Santa Barbara Hills Hotel to do. He had hoped to have been long gone by now, but his encounter with Ben had ruined any chance of that happening.

Most of his time on the hotel’s roof that afternoon had been spent working out the best way to execute his plan. Once he had a direction he was happy with, he’d practiced it over and over, and then spent additional time coming up with several contingencies, in case he had to change tactics on the fly. While he couldn’t completely remove the possibility of failure, he’d certainly reduced its chances.

Now that he had Ben’s cell number, Matthew no longer had to worry about how he was going to trick Ben into coming up to the roof. His earlier plans all had revolved around risky invites that may not have worked, but now that he had direct access to his new “friend,” when the time came, all he had to do was place a simple phone call enticing him up. Once Ben arrived at the rooftop door, Matthew would render him unconscious with the choke hold he’d learned from a how-to video online. Next, he’d inject Ben with the heroin Matthew had bought in L.A., and which was now hidden under a roof vent.

After giving the drug time to take effect, Matthew would rouse Ben enough to get him on his feet. At that point, it would be a simple matter of guiding Tessa’s husband to the edge of the roof and giving him a nudge.

Matthew was confident the five-story fall would be more than enough to ensure Ben would no longer be an obstacle to Matthew and Tessa’s future together.

He turned his back to the waning sun and lookedacross the roof. Everything was in place for the trap he would soon spring, including the pistol he’d hidden in case anything went awry.

For a moment, he considered putting his plan into motion tonight. The sooner Ben was dead, the sooner Tessa would be Matthew’s, after all. But as tempting as that was, Matthew knew it would be better not to rush it.

Tomorrow would be soon enough. That would give him one final glorious day on set with Tessa before everything changed. And it would be thrilling to watch Ben hanging around the shoot, not knowing that his hours were numbered.

Matthew headed downstairs, grinning from ear to ear. By midnight tomorrow, Centurion Studios would need a new studio head.

42

“Mr. Barnett,” the Novaks’ acting estate manager announced.

The woman, who had introduced herself as Carina, moved out of the way so Teddy could enter the Novaks’ library.

Inside, Mori sat on one of the couches, a laptop open on the coffee table, while over by the windows Carl Novak paced the length of the room.

Teddy checked his watch. It was a minute after six p.m. “No video yet, I assume.”

Mori glanced up. “Not yet.”

“Is anyone checking elsewhere in the house in case it’s on a thumb drive again?”

Taking Vulin out of Janic’s control had hopefully severed the kidnappers’ access to the house, and made it unlikely the video would arrive that way. But there was always the chance the former estate manager hadn’t been the only one who’d been coerced into doing Janic’s bidding.

“Carina is. And before you ask, Carl trusts her.”

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