Lights, Camera, Bones, page 7
I pushed open the door of the bar as my phone rang. Hollywood again. I told the insurance agent I had nothing new to report. They were terribly antsy about the film and if they were going to lose millions. And they made me even more anxious. I went to pick up my order and pay when I noticed a beautiful woman sitting alone at the bar, drinking out of a golden cup. She waved me over.
Her chestnut hair sparkled with golden highlights. Huge blue eyes gave her pale face a look of innocence. She wore a formfitting blue dress and watched me with an unflinching gaze.
I walked over. When I stood beside her, I realized she had no reflection in the mirror behind the bar. Jitty! Damn it. And I’d almost talked to her—the perfect way to demonstrate insanity in public.
“Come outside,” I hiss-whispered to her. “Now.”
“I can’t. I’m waiting for someone.”
“Another haint?” I was talking softly without moving my lips. Enough of this and I could be a ventriloquist.
“No, Miss Smarty-Pants. A god. Odin, if you must know. We drink together often, and I offer him wisdom. Sometimes even a glimpse of the future.”
“Delusions of grandeur, much?” I asked.
She sipped from her golden goblet and a drop of crimson red wine trembled on her lower lip before she caught it. She spoke with great dramatic skill:
“River! that in silence windest
Through the meadows, bright and free,
Till at length thy rest thou findest
In the bosom of the sea!
Four long years of mingled feeling,
Half in rest, and half in strife,
I have seen thy waters stealing
Onward, like the stream of life…”
“Hold off!” I recognized the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem. “That’s about the River Charles, not the Mississippi,” I told her.
“A wise person can apply beauty and poetry wherever he sees the need.”
“What is going on with you?” I was trying hard not to draw attention to myself, but the barkeep was giving me the hairy eyeball. He poured a cup of coffee and brought it over to me.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Of course. Just gathering my thoughts. I have a few lines in the movie and I’m trying to calm myself and get it right.”
“You’re rehearsing to be in the movie?” He was relieved.
“Yes, sorry. I know I must look like a kook.”
“A little,” he agreed. “I thought you were arguing with yourself.”
“Nope. I’m not that far gone. Yet.” I gave him a perky smile. I gave Jitty a glare in the mirror. It only came right back at me.
“Have the coffee, on the house,” he said as he went to see about a table of businessmen.
I turned back to Jitty. I had to get out of there before they called for a straitjacket. “And just what are you and Odin up to? And who are you?” I knew a bit about Odin, the Norse god who had his finger in a lot of pies, including poetry, healing, and battle.
“I am called Saga, protectress. As a water deity, I guard the rivers and streams, the waterways. With my poetry, I help the flow of emotions that water represents.”
“Your poetry?” I sipped my coffee. “Right. You’re a poet like I’m van Gogh. You stole that poem from a famous poet.”
“Imitation—or larceny—is the highest form of flattery.” Jitty, as usual, was unrepentant.
“Are you here to tell me something?”
“Even if I were I couldn’t say so. You know the rules.”
“No, I don’t. That’s the problem. I think you make them up to suit yourself.” My nerves were frazzled and Jitty was stepping all over them.
“That’s the number-one rule,” Jitty said, and then cackled. It was good no one could hear her but me or otherwise she’d be burned for a witch with that laugh.
“What do you want?” I had to address her issue, or she’d follow me to the set and then I’d be in real trouble, talking to thin air in front of Tinkie.
“Even the creatures of the water need protection,” she said.
I didn’t have time for a lecture on pollution of the waterways by herbicides and fertilizer, or Jitty’s particular dislike of loud motorboats and Jet Skis. Thinking about it, I realized she did have a real concern for the waters of planet Earth.
“Who are you meeting?” I asked. I didn’t for a minute believe it was Odin.
She nodded toward the door. “Him.”
An old man in a cloak and pointed hat came toward us. He looked like a wizard. “Is that Odin?”
“He seeks to consult me about the future. Saga is a seeress.”
I didn’t doubt that Jitty could see the future. And the past. But whatever she saw, she’d never share with me. It was time to boogie. I picked up the bag of breakfast and coffees. I had to get out of there. The barkeep was watching me and so were the businessmen. “If you want to talk to me, come outside.”
“Maybe later,” she said. “It’s not every day I get to drink with a Norse god.”
Another golden goblet had magically appeared on the bar. She picked it up and handed it to Odin. In a moment there was a flash of golden light and the sound of rain pummeling the roof. The sound was almost deafening, and when I looked out the window, I saw the sunny day was now gray. A storm had been predicted but it wasn’t raining yet. I’d been victimized again by Jitty’s sound effects from the Great Beyond. As I looked at the sky, it was another reason to get after finding Marlon and Jules, or at least their remains.
When I turned back to the bar, it was empty. Jitty and Odin were gone, and I hurried out the door before the bartender could ask me any questions. One day, Jitty was going to be the death of me.
11
I heard the altercation at the set before I was able to visually track it down to a cluster of angry people behind one of the trailers.
Ana, Bilbo, and Mary Dayle McCormick were arguing while Sheriff Nelson looked on. Tinkie was also a rubbernecker to the fight, which looked as if it might come to fisticuffs. My money was on Ana. She was tiny but tough.
I trotted toward the arguing, picking up some shouted phrases as I drew closer. The entire film crew had stopped work and was gathered on the fringes watching. Several of the crew looked as if they wanted to punch Lamar Bilbo into next Sunday.
“This paper right here states they have to stop filming,” Bilbo said to the sheriff. “You’re required by law to enforce this. They don’t have the proper permits.”
Bilbo and Mary Dayle had tried this once before. But now the sheriff was looking at their documents.
“We have every permit we need,” Ana countered. “This,” she slapped the paper in his hand, “is total bullshit and you know it. Sheriff, this is absurd.”
“If you allow them to continue filming knowing the paperwork is not in order, you and the film company will be liable for any damages if something goes wrong,” Mary Dayle warned the sheriff and Ana. “The reason there are laws governing these things is to protect people.”
“More like to give asshats the power to stop what they don’t like,” Ana said. “We have scenes to shoot today, and we’re moving forward.”
“What happens if your big star is dead?” Bilbo asked. “What are you going to do then?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Ana said, but her face had paled, and her voice broke. She was worried about Marlon, too. Maybe it was personal, but there was certainly a business angle to her worry. Without Marlon, the money already spent would be lost, unless they recast the film and started over. But who would care enough about this Mississippi story to pump more money into it?
“Sheriff, it’s your duty to stop the filming,” Bilbo said.
“Is it now?” Nelson asked. He didn’t cotton to being ordered about by Lamar Bilbo.
“Ms. McCants, I need to see your permission slips.” Nelson wasn’t thrilled with his job at the moment. “Let’s get this done. I have a manhunt to organize.”
“Marlon had all the paperwork,” Ana said. “When we finish shooting today, I’ll check at the B and B to see if I can find it.”
“You have to stop her now,” Bilbo said. “Now.”
Nelson sighed. “Ms. McCants, I need to see that paperwork now or I’ll be forced to temporarily shut you down until I see it.”
I hadn’t seen Senator Brandon approach, but when I realized he was bulldozing his way across the set, I quickly understood that the thundercloud on his forehead was as dangerous as the gray, churning sky had become. Jitty was hanging out with Odin, but Zeus was about to throw some lightning bolts. I looked around to find the nearest cover if the clouds opened up.
“Nelson, ignore these fools,” he ordered. Looking at the sheriff’s face, I realized he didn’t like being bossed by Brandon any more than Bilbo.
“Stay out of this, Brandon,” Bilbo said. “Your grandson is going to make fools out of my town. I won’t have it. He pretends this is all about an action thriller, but I know he has an agenda. An agenda that makes the old planter families look like murderers.”
“You have lost your mind, Lamar,” Brandon said with restraint. “Now get off this set and let these people work before it starts to rain.”
“Sheriff Nelson,” Mary Dayle said. “Do your duty or risk the ire of the voters.”
“Mary Dayle, I don’t know how Lamar Bilbo hoodwinked you into participating in his vendetta against the Brandon family, but wise up. You’re being used. I’m going to give Ms. McCants the opportunity to bring me that paperwork at the office, but I want both of you off this set and don’t come back. You want to complain about the film crew, you come to me.”
“This is public property,” Bilbo said. “You can’t order us off a public space.”
“Maybe not, but I can arrest you for aggravating the snot out of me.” Nelson reached for his handcuffs and brought them out. “Leave on your own, or you’ll leave in the back of my squad car.”
Bilbo stepped back. “This isn’t over,” he said.
“Yes, it is. And you’re not innocent here, Bilbo. If Ms. Delilah decides to press charges against you for assault, I’ll be only too happy to lock you up. Now scat!” He waved his arms and Bilbo backed up again. Mary Dayle backed away with him.
Ana signaled for me to come over. When Bilbo and Mary Dayle were fifty yards way, she grasped my wrist tightly. “Any word on Marlon?”
“No.” It was best to be blunt. “He seems to have disappeared without a trace.” I didn’t want to continue, but I did. “It isn’t looking good.”
“Did the shark get him?” Ana sounded almost hysterical.
“We don’t know. We’re doing everything we can,” Tinkie added.
“I need to talk to Senator Brandon,” I said, but I realized I was too late. The senator had disappeared.
“Ms. McCants,” the sheriff said, “you have to stop filming. I’m sorry, but without the proper paperwork I can’t risk the city or county being responsible for any accidents.”
“We did that paperwork,” Ana said. “Marlon has the copies. Why isn’t it on file with the city or county?”
“That’s a good question,” Nelson said. “Likely the answer is Bilbo. His family has a lot of ties to local officeholders. A lot of favors given and taken.”
“You think he stole it?” Tinkie asked.
“I’m not making an accusation. I’m just mentioning a possibility. I’ll check it out.” He sighed. “How could something as fun as a movie turn into this kind of nightmare?”
“Sheriff, do you think there’s anything to Bilbo’s concern that the movie will make certain families look bad?” I asked.
“Folks died during the flood. People left stranded on the levees suffered. There was talk it was deliberate, to keep the local pool of labor from leaving. If that’s true, today it would be a murder or at least manslaughter charge. Back then … I don’t know about the movie or whether Marlon is trying to stir up trouble from the past. The Brandon family profited from the flood. That’s something Marlon should take into account.”
Ana stepped forward, her face flushed. “We’ve said it again and again. There is nothing in this film that should upset locals. Wait here. I’ll get the script I have and show you.”
“I thought Marlon was keeping the script a secret,” I said.
“He is. But I need an idea of what’s coming so we can plot out the least expensive way to shoot. Scenes with the same background, setting, etc., are shot out of sequence.”
It made sense. “So why wouldn’t Marlon allow other people to see the outline of his script?” Tinkie asked.
“Because no one likes to be bullied by people who might want to restrict their right to tell whatever story they choose to tell. Bilbo is a prime example of someone who wants to control the narrative,” Ana said. “He only wants what he likes or believes to be out there for public consumption. He’s the worst kind of hall monitor.”
I didn’t disagree with her, but it would be so much easier to just show Bilbo and Mary Dayle that their precious family histories weren’t going to be skewered. Now it was going to cost the movie several days of sorting out paperwork. Unless we found Marlon safe and sound and he had the necessary copies of it.
“We’re going to interview the cast and crew about Marlon’s activities last night,” I told Ana. “You look for those papers.” We weren’t moving fast enough. None of us.
“Do you think Marlon is still alive?” Ana was about to cry. “We’re finished if something has happened to him.”
“There’s no evidence he isn’t,” Tinkie said soothingly. “Let’s focus on that and keep the movie going.”
“Thank you both. I’m so glad the insurance company hired you two to find him. The locals will talk to you. If he is safe and doing God knows what, you can tell him that I will personally kill him. As soon as the film is done.”
I didn’t blame Ana at all, and I didn’t take her threat seriously. She was frustrated and worried. The knowledge that a shark had bitten someone’s—presumably Jules’s—foot off was terrifying to everyone.
* * *
It didn’t take long to talk with the cast and crew. There were plenty of them, but most of them had been hanging out together, drinking, when Marlon and Jules went missing. They’d seen Marlon having dinner and talking with the young women, but they hadn’t thought anything about it and had gone on to party among themselves. It was a daily routine for most of them. The few exceptions were early to bed, early to rise folks who’d returned to their various hotel or camper quarters. No one on the set late had seen anything unusual or suspicious. None had been threatened in town by any locals. They were as puzzled about what had happened to the star as we were.
“This doesn’t make sense,” Tinkie said. “He’s there one minute and gone the next.”
Unless he’d stumbled in the water and the shark had eaten him. I didn’t say that, though. No point in painting that mental picture.
“What next?” Tinkie asked.
We’d settled at a small picnic table that was part of the Lake Ferguson recreational area. The movie set was north of us, and we were blocked from their view by tents and trailers.
“Let’s go find the senator. He may know special places where his grandson could be.”
“Seems like he would have said something earlier,” Tinkie said. “He’s not helping Marlon if he knows where he is and doesn’t say. If this film is shut down, it will probably never get made. Since the Brandon family is featured prominently as heroes, that would be a bad thing for the senator.”
She was right, but I didn’t have any other suggestions. We could canvass the businesses in town, but that seemed a waste of time. Word was out all over Greenville that Marlon was missing. If someone knew something about the actor surely they would have come forward. It did remind me to ask Ana to offer a reward, or perhaps the senator would. This was the perfect reason to visit the Brandon plantation.
“Let’s get on the road.” I stood up and turned to face the movie set. “Look,” I said to Tinkie. Senator Brandon and Lamar Bilbo were in a heated discussion behind one of the trailers.
“What the hell?” Tinkie said. “They look like they’re going to kill each other.”
She wasn’t wrong about that. Both men were red in the face and gesticulating with their hands in a wild fashion. Any minute one might grab the other’s throat. “I guess the senator is sick of Bilbo interfering.”
As we watched, Bilbo stomped off. But not for long. He met Mary Dayle on the set where filming had stopped. She was in a heated set-to with Ana. “What the hell now?” Tinkie asked.
We were about to go find out when a young man called my name. I looked at Tinkie. “See if you can get Mary Dayle to leave. I’ll take care of this.”
“Sure thing.” Tinkie was off on her mission.
“What can I do for you?” I asked the young man who was dressed in clothing from a bygone era. Obviously, he was one of the cast members of the movie.
“That woman down there—the one trying to kill the movie. She was with Marlon the night he disappeared. I heard them. He was working on the raft and she showed up, kind of sneaking onto the set.”
“Sneaking?” It was a loaded word.
“That’s what it looked like to me. She didn’t make a sound and kind of ambushed Marlon. He was on the raft; she was on the dock. They were arguing.”
“About what?”
“I don’t know. I was coming out of that trailer up on the south end. I could see the dock and raft, but I wasn’t close enough to hear.”
“Are you one of the local actors?”
“Yes. I have a bit part. Marlon said I was pretty good. He encouraged me, and this movie could be my big break.”
“If Mary Dayle and Lamar are able to stop the film, you won’t get your chance.”
“That’s right. Not a lot of film companies come to Mississippi. I write, too. Marlon was going to read one of my scripts and evaluate it for potential. He said if it was good, he’d help me. We have to find him.”
“What’s your name?”
