Page 26 of No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding

He tilts his head like he’s considering it. “You really want to know?”

“Tell me.”

“The case I’m on...It’sFred.”

25These chapter titles areallrhetorical questions, by the way.

26Another “suit”-based expression. English is fascinating.

27If there isn’t an actual medical syndrome named for this phenomenon, there should be.

28Oh, great, I just googled it, and it turns out it might be a mild form of aphasia. AWESOME.

CHAPTER 5

Is the First Sequence in a Movie Always the Setup?

“Fredis the case you’re working on?” I repeat what Connor just told me as our ferry chops through the waves toward Catalina. “What?”

Connor makes a shushing motion with his hand, even though we’re away from the rest of the passengers. “I can’t tell you too much. It’s confidential.”

“Maybe I can help you with whatever it is you’re investigating? I know these people.”

His mouth twists. “Because you’re so Hollywood and I’m an outsider?”

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But yes, you are. That’s probably why Tyler hired you.”

“And here I was thinking it was my world-famous investigative skills.”

I try not to roll my eyes. I might not entirely succeed. “Those are invented.”

“Excuse me, I was making my living at this before I met you.”

“Barely.”

“And yet you want to work with me.”

I take in and exhale a long, slow breath. “I do.” I pause. “Please?”

Like I suspected it would, this word affects him. I’m not sure if it’s something I’ve ever said to him before.29But I know him. I’ve been writing about him for ten years, my fingers flying over the keyboard like I’m playing a ballad on a piano. I don’t know which parts I made up anymore, and which parts were there to begin with. He’s bent to the pages, too, becoming more like the fictional Connor than he was in the beginning.

“If I tell you, it will stay between us?” Connor says.

“Of course.”

I may be crossing my fingers behind my back.

I mean, obviously.

He nods slowly, sealing the pact. “Fred owes Tyler a lot of money.”

“For what?”

“Julius Caesar. It lost millions. Tyler financed the film, but Fred was the guarantor.”

“What does that mean?”

“If the film didn’t make Tyler’s investment back at the box office, Fred guaranteed he’d repay up to a certain amount.”

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