Always the First to Die by R.J. Jacobs

Author:R.J. Jacobs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2022-07-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Summer 1998

“Things keep breaking, Rick!” a voice said.

I was waiting in the Pinecrest’s kitchen while Rick and Ann consulted on how to replace yet another crew member who had abandoned the production when a door opened, then slammed closed. “And I don’t care if anyone hears me,” the voice continued.

Three of the crew had departed, and two cast members also left because of the “bad energy,” which had started being discussed openly in this, our third and penultimate week of shooting.

The curse of the Pinecrest was on everyone’s lips.

Even the extras were getting fidgety. Cassie had scoffed and said she didn’t believe in curses, but Jess had misgivings about staying on any longer. Both had jumped when a camera rig collapsed during a shoot the previous night. Later, another cord was found frayed, the wire inside shooting sparks beside a timeworn curtain. Doug had rushed in with a fire extinguisher and covered the area. Afterward, Cam told me confidentially that he wasn’t sure what was happening but that he’d never seen anything like it. “At this point, I think Dad wants to finish this thing now before anyone else leaves.”

“He’s not scared?” I’d asked.

Cam shook his head. “I think in some twisted way, he likes watching the cast freaking out. He doesn’t get scared, but that’s just him.”

I folded my arms and held my tongue, trying not to dislike the father of the man I was falling for. I was still working at the marina in the mornings, but the filming for my big scene had been delayed to nearly the end of the shoot, giving me hours and hours to spend on set with Cam.

I could see an actress with red curly hair placing her hands on her hips from where I sat in the kitchen. “The mirror in my dressing room is smashed, and there’re shards of glass everywhere!”

“You found it like that just now?” Rick’s shadow moved across the wall as he leaned to touch her shoulder.

“They’re all like that now. I can’t take any more of this.”

“It’s an old house. It’s just settling, probably. Things get hot because of the lights and then are cooled by the fog machine.”

“This is not from the house settling,” the woman yelled. “There’s something wrong here. Really wrong.”

“We’re at the end, dear,” Rick told her. “The last full week of shooting.”

“Good thing, because I’m on the next bus, or boat, or hydrofoil off of this island,” she muttered before storming off.

Rick bounced a little on his heels, his giddiness showing before he followed the actress to see what was going on. “This is getting better each day. She’s practically hysterical.”

Ann shook her head at him, then came over and sat beside me, sighing as she hugged her clipboard to her chest.

The air was thick despite a fan oscillating in the corner. The card table’s surface was sticky with some kind of special effect goo, which I wiped off the back of my arm. “Do you mind me asking what you think is going on?”

Her weary eyes alone were an answer.

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