Page 61 of Rescued Heart

Thad chuckled and opened the gate.

Eddie parked behind the coroner’s vehicle. As he hopped out of his truck, one of the cameramen, who seemed to know all the gossip, set one of the two hard-shell suitcases down on the sidewalk, right in front of the yellow caution tape that wound around the trees.

This could be Eddie’s chance to learn something that he’d been overlooking. “Need any help?”

The cameraman set the other container down. “If you help, I’ll owe you a coffee plus an order of wings.”

Perfect. Eddie picked up the container on the right. Good thing he’d been doing his arm workouts. “This thing’s heavier than it looks.”

The cameraman hugged the other container to his chest. “Tell me about it.”

Eddie followed him on the sidewalk. “Where we heading?”

“All the way to the river. I would never have loaded up the gear for the next location if I’d thought they were still going ahead with the shoot.”

Eddie’s boot kicked a pebble as they took a gravel path between the ambulance set and a building that was painted to resemble an old shack. “Who’s in the scene?”

“Only your girl. But we can’t afford to let the police shut us down because of the body.”

Eddie adjusted his grip.Your girl.Not exactly. “Do you know who died?”

“I think one of the construction workers.”

The suitcase slipped in Eddie’s grip, but he caught it against his leg and hoisted it back into position. “Construction?”

“Easy.” The cameraman flinched. “That stuff you’re carrying costs more than my monthly paycheck.”

“I got it. Sorry, man. What’s your name again?” What Eddie was really sorry about was that he couldn’t just hand the suitcase back and say he needed to go tell the police about the construction worker. But Conroy probably already knew by now.

“Everyone calls me Chip.” He shuffled the suitcase against his chest. “First the building and now this. I think that’s why Bia said she would do the scene. Because I know plenty of other stars who would refuse based on the temperature of the water alone.”

Eddie slowed his stride to match Chip’s reduced speed. “Was Heidi supposed to do the stunt, then?”

Sweat lined the creases on Chip’s forehead. “Exactly, and Bia’s new stunt replacement hasn’t shown yet. Which to me means she could argue against the scene if it’s not in her contract. But she hasn’t. Probably because Bia Pearl’s the ideal cast member. Minus the bad press she usually gets about her personal life. No offense.”

Eddie griped the suitcase tighter. “The media isn’t always right.” Bianca probably felt guilty about Heidi and had taken the spot. Too worried about what others thought. Plus, based on their conversation yesterday and his own deal with her—money mattered.

The sun chose that moment to dip behind a cloud. On the sloping bank down to the river, Bianca stood with her arms wrapped around herself. She faced the water as a car was being raised up by a cable reaching to a platform above the river.

“Where do you need the suitcase?”

Chip tilted his head. “I’ll take it from here. Thanks, Eddie.”

Eddie waved and came up beside Bianca. “Going for a swim?”

A soft chuckle. “A simple swim sounds perfect.” But when she turned toward Eddie, her face was pale. That laugh and the smile she still wore both were fake. She was in pretend mode. “I have to go up there.”

Eddie inspected the towering platform. It was about double the height of the slide, and she’d frozen at the lower level.

Eddie put his hand on her elbow. Was he steadying her or himself? He wasn’t sure. He leaned beside her ear. “You don’t have to do this stunt. I heard it wasn’t even supposed to be you.”

She adjusted the safety straps around her waist. “We don’t have a lot of options right now.”

“If it’s not in your contract, then you really don’t?—”

“You sound like Grace. The bottom line is, if the movie doesn’t get made, I don’t get paid. Not really. And neither do some of the crew.” She lifted her chin, and her beautiful eyes flashed a rush of emotions. “Which meansyoudon’t get your donation either.”

One of the other camera crew members down closer to the water paused. An assistant by the lights blinked over at them. Why were they always being watched and possibly listened to?

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