Death on the Quai by Evan Hirst

Author:Evan Hirst [Hirst, Evan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-02-13T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

In good spirits after lunch, Martin strolled down the rue de Buci with Ava in the direction of the production office. He walked at a leisurely pace, taking in the panorama of Parisian life that was unfolding around him with endless delight.

"I should have come back sooner. I was a fool. Paris is magical!" Martin proclaimed to no one in particular.

Troubled, Ava didn't respond. With each step, she was edging closer to the moment of truth. Sooner or later, she would have to tell Martin that the shoot on the barge had been postponed because of a dead man, and that the film was being shot at the same mansion where his first film had been filmed. Ava wondered what his reaction to those revelations would be. She suspected that they would resurrect the irascible Martin who had so far been absent.

When they reached the rue Saint-André-des-Arts, Ava opted for sooner. Taking a deep breath, she began to speak. "Martin, there was a change in the production schedule."

Immediately on his guard, he slowed and stared at her. "What change?"

"There was some problem with the barge. They've decided to start the shoot with another scene," Ava said. Coward that she was, she avoided the issue of the dead man entirely.

Martin's eyes drilled into her. "What scene is that?"

"The rooftop escape scene," Ava responded.

Martin was silent. "Where are they shooting it?"

"At a mansion just down the street," Ava said, her voice trailing off.

Martin's face clouded over. "Of course, where else?" he murmured. The expression on his face became cold and distant. Without a word, he walked off. He didn't need her to tell him where the set was.

Worried, Ava followed him. Watching him walk, she sensed he was preparing himself for the worse. She, too, was preparing herself for the worst.

When they reached the street the mansion was located on, Martin stopped and stared down the street with a dazed expression on his face. "The street hasn't changed at all. It's like time's stood still."

Tightening his jaw, he started off toward the mansion. To Ava's surprise, he walked past it and halted in front of a tiny triangular-shaped shop that occupied the space between one of the mansion's exterior walls and the wall of an adjoining building. The shop looked as if it had been closed for a long time. Its front window was streaked with dirt. Posters for old cultural events were pasted over it.

"This used to be our bar. It was so small you couldn't fit more than six people inside," Martin said with a nostalgic smile as he rubbed his palm over the dirty window in an attempt to see the interior.

The only thing visible was a faded red velvet curtain that crossed the front of the shop.

Staring at the red curtain, Martin's expression darkened. "But those days are over." Whirling around, he strode back to the mansion's open coach doors and stepped through them.

Worried, Ava dogged his steps.

A few crew members were milling around a snack table under a tent in the courtyard in front of the mansion.

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