Just Outside by Blake Pierce

Author:Blake Pierce [Pierce, Blake]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blake Pierce
Published: 2022-11-11T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Fifteen minutes later, Cami and Connor pulled up outside the warehouses. This was a perfect destination for a dark-minded suspect, she decided. The warehouses were shadowy and almost deserted. The building they wanted—number four—had a dim light flickering outside, and the door was firmly closed.

Connor knocked.

There was no reply from inside.

He knocked again, louder.

And then, the door was pulled open, and he came face to face with a woman in garish make-up. Her face was deathly white, and she had fake blood oozing down her left cheek. Despite herself, Cami flinched at seeing a bloodied corpse in the doorway.

"What is it?" she asked, surprised to see them. "We've got all the necessary permits in place."

"This isn't about permits," Connor said. He grasped the door and opened it wider, so that she stepped back, and he was inside. Cleverly done, Cami thought. He'd gained access to the property before she could refuse it. "I’m FBI Special Agent Connor, and it’s in connection with murder cases. We're looking to speak to Mr. Nolan."

From the door ahead, which was open a crack, Cami could hear weird, moaning music. Filming was clearly in progress, and she was sure he must be in there. The woman looked unsure.

"Look, he's through there, but—" she began.

Thank you," Connor said.

He marched to the door and opened it wide.

Cami gasped. With a green screen background, a man dressed in a ragged black robe was lifting a gleaming knife high as a woman cowered away. The music crescendoed. The knife came down, a slick, shiny weapon of death.

And then a voice yelled, "Cut!"

A short, blond haired man turned and hurried over to them, with an annoyed expression on his face.

"We're filming. That was a take, and we're going to have to redo it. What is it? What do you want?"

"FBI. We need to ask some questions in connection with a murder," Connor said. "We're looking for Mr. Nolan."

The man's face went very still for a moment.

"Mr. Nolan?" he repeated loudly.

"Correct," Connor said.

"He's . . . he's not here," the man stammered but Cami was sure he was lying.

"Not here? This is a movie shoot, and he's the director?"

"I'm managing this scene," the man said firmly. "If you want to speak to him, you'll need to come back."

"I think you're lying to us. Do you know there are consequences for lying to law enforcement?" Connor threatened.

But Cami, as she watched and replayed that scene in her mind, had realized something.

The lead actor had only turned his face to them for a moment, but his features had looked remarkably like Nolan's. He wasn't directing, because he was in the movie, playing a starring role as the killer.

Now, as she looked at the screen, she saw that he was no longer there. He'd run for it. He'd fled the scene with a knife in his hand.

In his left hand, Cami now realized with a clench of her stomach. That might mean he was, in fact, left-handed. And now, they needed to find him before he got away completely.

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