Page 46 of The Timeless Vigilante

“Well, I do,” the guy replied. “And the director.”

“No one else?” Sherlock questioned.

“There’s an extra set of keys in the vault, but they stay in there,” the director imparted. “This set is cursed and that’s the only explanation. Because of all this mess, we’re in jeopardy of getting canceled. We’re all going to lose our jobs.”

A loud clattering noise behind the men interrupted the conversation. All looked up to see a man fumbling with a box of props that were quickly spilling out onto the floor.

“Hey, what are you still doing here?” the director asked, looking back at the guy. “Weren’t you supposed to be gone already?”

“Sorry, boss,” the man said, shoving the box hurriedly onto the shelf in front of him. “I was just leaving.”

“Good, because we’re about to start shooting and you know we need the set clear,” the director said, shaking his head. “And you dropped that stuff because you were moving too fast again. You have to slow down and take your time, or you drop stuff, you know that.”

“I know, boss,” the man said, rushing away, moving with surprising speed.

“Who is that?” Sherlock asked.

The director turned back around. “That’s the janitor. He works the morning shift so the set is clean by call time. Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, right, we’re all going to lose our jobs because of this curse.”

Rudolf took another drink. “Does the crew and cast know the show is in jeopardy?”

“Well, yeah,” the cameraman replied. “But no one wants to play Alexus’ costar, so we’re quickly running out of options.”

“The janitor overheard you when you said that though,” Rudolf pointed out. “Maybe that’s why he dropped the box of stuff.”

The director shook his head. “Nah. That guy is union. He’ll get another job somewhere on the lot. I’m glad for that too, because he used to be a big shot writer but fell out with the execs. Now being a janitor is the best he can do.”

The cameraman laughed. “If I were him, I’d vanish from showbusiness. But I guess when you’ve been in this place so long, it’s all you know.”

“And if you two lose your job if the show is canceled, what will you do?” Sherlock asked, looking between the two men.

The cameraman pointed at himself. “I’ll be toast, but I’m be so tired of the politics and frustrations that I’ll be happy to have a reason to leave.”

The director smiled. “I’ll use my success with the show to move on to bigger things.” He cut his eyes to the side. “But who I really worry about is Alexus. This show is all she has and she’ll be lost without it.”

Gen turned to see a woman standing a short distance away. She was very beautiful with short blonde hair and a polished expression and looked like she was waiting to speak to them. Sherlock must have sensed this and turned, making his way over to the actress. Gen and Rudolf followed.

“Alexus, I have some questions about the murders here on Sunset Cove,” Sherlock said in a low voice.

The woman glanced at the director and cameraman, giving the three investigators a nervous expression. She nodded, huddling in close to them, like trying not to be overheard.

“They told you that the show is cursed, didn’t they?” she asked, looking up at Sherlock with a trusting gaze.

“You don’t believe that,” he stated, reading into her question.

She shook her head. “My boyfriend, the director, didn’t kill himself. We made up that night. I told him the truth and he believed me.”

“And what was the truth?” Rudolf asked.

“I wasn’t having an affair with the actor playing my love interest in the show,” she answered. “I don’t know where those letters came from that were in my trashcan. I’d never seen them before.”

“So none of your costars were infatuated with you?” Sherlock questioned.

She shook her head. “Not a costar. But there is someone…”

Gen leaned in closer. “Who?”

Alexus cut her eyes to one of the men in the distance. The three turned, seeing that the director had walked off toward the back. The only one standing there was the camera guy.

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