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Matthew had lied to Ben about going to the spa. And he’d lied to Teddy about being at the hotel for the short time he’d claimed; he’d been there for hours.
What could he have been doing up there for so long?
This was beginning to feel more insidious than just a white lie or two. Teddy needed answers, none of which he could find sitting in Mark Weldon’s trailer.
Using his makeup kit, he turned himself back into Billy Barnett, then from the bag he’d brought with him that morning donned clothes more suitable to the film producer.
After checking himself in the mirror, he retrieved his phone and called Daniel Rivera, the new head of security at the shoot.
“How can I help you, Mr. Barnett?”
“Is Matthew Wagner on set today?” Though Teddy had seen Matthew earlier, that had been as Mark, not Billy.
“Yes, sir. He’s sitting with Logan and Tessa.”
“Do me a favor. If he leaves, call me.”
“Is there something I should be concerned about?”
“Maybe. I’ll let you know.”
“Consider it done.”
Teddy slipped his phone into his pocket and moved to the back door of his trailer. As the film’s star, Mark was given one of the largest trailers. The only others with ones of similar size were Tessa, Peter, and Billy.
As Billy, Teddy had sent instructions for his and Mark’s trailers to be positioned behind Tessa’s and Peter’s trailers and the other smaller units used by the rest of the cast. This effectively blocked both trailers from the view of most of the cast and crew. However, it did not guarantee there would be no one walking through the area at any given time.
When Teddy peeked through the window, he spotted a production assistant hurrying down the walkway just outside, clutching a cardboard box. After he disappeared, Teddy cracked the door open. He heard no footsteps nearby. The only noise was coming from the set.
He slipped out and left the location through a side barrier, manned by a single guard.
“Have a good day, Mr. Barnett,” the guard said.
Teddy raised a finger to his lips, and with a mischievous smile said, “Shhh. If anyone asks, you didn’t see me.”
The guard grinned back. “You’re the boss, sir. What you say goes.”
“You have a bright future ahead of you.”
Teddy returned to the hotel in one of the production vehicles. He hadn’t planned on going back, but his need to figure out this Matthew situation had changed things.
He located the stairwell Matthew had taken and climbed it to the roof entrance.
He held his suite keycard over the pad next to the door. As he’d expected, the door remained locked.
He took a quick trip down to his suite and retrieved one of the items he’d picked up from his house—a black box about the size of a typical cell phone.
When he reached the roof door again, he flipped a switch on the side of the box and held the device over the pad. For five seconds, nothing happened. Then a tiny green light at the top of the pad lit up, and the door latch clicked.
Teddy pushed the door open and stepped onto the roof. The flat expanse was dotted with air vents, heating and cooling units, and groups of solar panels.
He searched for any signs of what Matthew had been up to and, after several minutes, discovered a small bag tucked into a narrow space under one of the HVACsystems. Inside were two syringes and an unmarked bottle with what he assumed was some kind of drug.
Had Matthew come up here to get high?
He had seemed nervous when Teddy had run into him, but not out of control. Teddy would have noticed if Matthew’s eyes had been dilated or red. And he hadn’t picked up any other signs that Matthew had been on anything.
Perhaps he was good at hiding it.
