Page 46 of Love like the (Real) Reel Thing
He rolled his eyes.
“Let her in,” Jess said. “We’ll figure it out.”
As soon as Leah was inside, Jess snapped a photo of her on her phone and sent it to Mel.Is this one of your ADs – Leah Davis?
“This shouldn’t take too long,” she told Leah.
“Thanks.” Leah folded her arms. “And sorry to be a pain.” She glanced back towards the press. “They might actually get some decent photos today.”
“How come?” Jess asked.
“There’s a riding scene with Afric and Spencer.”
Jess checked her phone. “Mel’s seen the message.”
“I don’t think Mel knows my name.”
“She has your photo too.” Jess frowned. “Hang on, she’s typing something. Okay, you’re good to go. You need to get a new security pass. Come on, I’ll walk you up.”
They walked in silence for a few moments.
“I know I should have reported my pass, but it’s my first gig and I’d only been here a week,” Leah said. “I thought they’d fire me.”
Jess shot her a sympathetic look. “I’m sure they wouldn’t – these things happen. Just be careful with the new one.”
“That’s the thing,” Leah said, “Iwascareful with it. The only time I took it off, I zipped it into my jacket pocket.”
“Maybe it fell out?” Jess suggested as they reached the front door.
“No way, it was zipped in. But I didn’t check that it was still there when I was leaving after the day’s filming, so I didn’t notice it was gone until the next day.”
“You couldn’t have taken it out and just left it at home?”
Leah shook her head. “I can’t prove it, but somebody could have taken it out of my pocket.” She looked over at Jess. “Can I ask you something?”
Jess nodded.
“What are the tunnels like?”
“Uh, dark and spooky, I guess. Why?”
Leah shrugged. “Everyone’s always talking about them. The actors, especially. A couple of them have said they hear noises in the walls.”
Jess felt a chill. “Noises in the walls?”
“I mean, they think it could be in the tunnels,” Leah said, seemingly unbothered.
“I’m sure they’re wrong,” Jess said firmly. “Firstly, we only have two working tunnels. Secondly, there’s always going to be strange noises at night in a place this old. Floorboards creak, furniture settles. It’s normal.”
“Maybe.” Leah looked amused. “It’s just they’ve said they can hear the noises during the day as well. Anyway, thanks for your help. I’ll sort out a new swipe, and I won’t take it off again.”
As they parted ways in the foyer, Jess tried to put Leah’s revelations into perspective. Logically, anyone with an active imagination could dream up all sorts of fictional scenarios for Linford Castle. It didn’t make any of it true.
The only thing that had actually happened was that somebody had lost their security pass. Which, technically, anyone could use to gain access. She remembered the camera lens. Still, all the staff knew each other – as did all the cast and crew. A strange face would be spotted immediately.
There was no need to worry.
CHAPTER 24
