Done to Death by Charles Atkins

Author:Charles Atkins [Charles Atkins]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Published: 2014-02-06T16:00:00+00:00

SEVENTEEN

‘Damn shame,’ Barry said to Melanie as he stared through the viewfinder at the set they’d thrown together in the ballroom of the Grenville Suites Hotel. Seated at a table was Ada in a vintage pale pink and black chiffon dress, and next to her was a local dealer whose idea of on-screen attire included striped suspenders and a red bow tie. The stage was littered with hastily gathered pieces of antique furniture, silver and porcelain. ‘She looks great.’

‘She does,’ Melanie said, looking at how natural Ada was, ‘but this one’s useless. Too stiff, and the voice …’ She shouted to the stage, ‘Thanks so much, we’ll let you know.’ She looked to the back of the room, deliberately avoiding eye contact with the man in the bow tie and suspenders.

‘My numbers are on my résumé,’ he said.

‘Yes, thank you,’ Melanie said without turning. ‘Next!’ She glanced at Barry. ‘There’s no way we can use the mansion?’

‘I don’t see how. It’s a fucking crime scene.’

‘Shit! We both know that using Lenore’s estate would shoot this thing through the roof. There’s got to be a way.’

‘I don’t know. Richard wanted to pull the plug, and Rachel … that girl is one messed up chick.’

‘Yeah,’ Melanie said. ‘One messed up chick with keys to the house. Where do you think they’ve stashed her?’

‘Don’t know and we need to find out.’

‘And LPP?’ she asked.

‘No clue. They’ll cobble together something, but Melanie, this show is our ticket. If we can get this pilot shot. Even if LPP were to go up in smoke, I think there’s half a dozen studios that would jump for this.’

‘I know,’ and she left Barry with the cameraman and headed toward the next audition. This one looked better − handsome, late thirties, sandy blond, expensive-looking haircut, navy blazer, good build, even features. She grabbed his CV and headshot from the assistant. ‘Mr Jacobs.’ She extended her hand. ‘So, you’re the owner of Grenville Antiques.’

‘Yes.’ He glanced toward the stage and nodded toward Ada.

‘You know Mrs Strauss?’

‘Yes.’

‘OK,’ she laughed, ‘I’m sensing there’s some history.’

‘A little.’ He inhaled deeply as Ada left the stage and walked toward them.

‘Hello Tolliver.’

‘Mrs Strauss.’

Melanie looked at the handsome man with his perfect-for-the-camera face and whiff of an English accent. Of the two dozen interviews they’d already whipped through, this Tolliver at least looked and sounded the part. ‘What am I missing?’ She glanced at Ada and then back to Tolliver Jacobs.

‘Ada,’ he said, ‘can we please just bury the past?’

Ada’s jaw twitched. ‘Fine. No reason you can’t have the same shot as everyone else.’

‘OK then,’ Melanie said. She looked at Tolliver and figured she’d get the skinny from Ada after his audition. It would figure that the first real candidate would have some deal-breaking flaw. Then again, she thought, a little on-screen tension could heat things up. ‘This is the set-up, Mr Jacobs …’

‘Tolliver,’ he said, displaying perfect teeth.

‘Tolliver, there’s a variety of items on the stage; pick whatever strikes your fancy and then explain it to Ada while we film.

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