Unscripted by Davis Bunn

Author:Davis Bunn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction;Domestic fiction;FIC042000;FIC042040
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2019-08-16T00:00:00+00:00

29

THE SUN WAS SETTING when the call finally came, and Jennie French’s assistant said they had made the turn onto Thrashers Ridge Road. Danny walked down the front steps and did a slow circuit of the forecourt. There were a dozen or so cars and pickups parked by the far fence, and now Danny knew why. The locals had been worried that the start of filming would mean they’d be barred from parking here and hiking the hilltop trail, all of which was on hotel property. When Danny had assured them the only time Thrashers Ridge would be off-limits was when they were actually shooting an outdoor scene, he and the entire crew had taken another giant step toward being accepted as temporary members of the community.

Danny had no idea what Jennie French would be driving. A-list stars came in all shapes and sizes. What made her singular was her shunning of LA society. She rarely gave interviews. She never appeared on the cable-show lollipops, not even when doing a publicity tour. She kept an apartment in a secure Westwood high-rise and owned a small cabin on the Aspen ranch of her favorite director. But where she lived the rest of the year was a closely held secret.

Jennie had starred in her first feature at the ripe old age of fifteen, playing an American runaway in Paris. The role had made her a cult icon. At sixteen she starred opposite Robin Williams in the comedy smash hit of the year. At seventeen she played a genetically enhanced CIA assassin. At eighteen she was nominated for her first Academy Award. At nineteen she turned her back on Hollywood, earned her GED, and then enrolled in Georgetown, where she studied political history and graduated cum laude.

When she returned to LA after four years at Georgetown, the cynics crowed and the on-air pundits claimed her time was past. One cable lollipop announced her return by saying Jennie French was back to play tourist. She responded with her customary silence. She took several secondary roles, then four years ago J. J. Abrams tapped her to lead an all-star cast in the summer’s biggest blockbuster. Nine hundred million dollars in global box office sales later, the cynics had gone strangely silent. She had no patience with the press. She refused point-blank to discuss her personal life.

Danny waited for her in the hotel’s forecourt, liking her already.

A black Infiniti QX60 pulled through the gates. The SUV’s windows were all shaded, so Danny could not see inside. But he knew it was her, and he liked her ride. It was a fine luxury vehicle, but one that attracted no attention whatsoever.

Danny stood in front of the hotel and waited as the driver’s door opened and a woman in a slate-grey suit stepped down. “Mr. Byrd?”

“That’s me.”

She glanced at the parked cars. “Where is everybody?”

Danny pointed at the western ridgeline. “Locals park here and hike the hills, watching the sunset. My team is on set. We’re alone.”

She gave him a cop’s hard-eyed measure.

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