Don't Read After Dark: Keep the lights on while reading these! (A McCray Horror Collection) (25 page)

Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.

Elmore’s body lay just a few feet away. The body and the head looked just like the scene Elmore had cut. Mitchell’s eyes rose to the monitor.

“Holy …” Mitchell breathed.

The film’s decapitation scene played over and over again … in its original version.

Impossibly, Elmore’s edits were gone.

CHAPTER 5

Jill sat behind her desk, phone to her ear, brows drawn together. “No, damn it! I don’t want the Greer kid talking at all. Nothing, not even with our lawyers there.” She rubbed her temples between her fingers.

Margie, her assistant, stepped into the room. Jill held a finger up to silence her. “I’ll be right down. And no reporters. Do you understand me? None.” Jill slammed the phone down and jumped out of her chair.

“Where are you going?” Margie asked. “You’ve got the directors in the conference room.”

“Shit, shit, shit ...” She completely forgot about the Baxter brothers. How long had they been waiting for her? Jill looked at Margie. “Okay. I will pop in there, and then head down to security.”

“Great,” Margie replied. “Except there’s a gentleman here to—”

“Get rid of—”

“Jill,” a masculine voice said. “Long time no see.”

Jill froze.

Derek.

Her stomach flipped.

The man she left behind now stood in her doorway. He wore a smile—a sad smile. And the corners of his eyes were pinched, like they had been whenever they argued.

“Derek, what are you? ... How? ...” she managed to stammer.

What in the hell was he doing here?

The corners of Derek’s mouth lifted into a true grin. “Nice to see you speechless for once.”

That damn lopsided grin was what had attracted her to him in the first place. How often did she get lost in those lips? Those eyes?

But as the grin faded, she could see the toll that the last three years had upon Derek. His mom had told her about D.C. Jill had wanted to reach out and tell him how very sorry she was … for everything, but each time she went to dial his number, her fingers refused to obey. Besides, what could she have said without opening even deeper wounds?

Of course, he wasn’t here for her or their drama. He must be the FBI agent sent to investigate the film theft. Finally gathering her wits about her, Jill turned to her assistant. “Thanks, Margie. I can take it from here.”

Margie twisted her hands together. “But the Baxter brothers are getting anxious.” She glanced at Derek. “I can reschedule this gentleman ...”

Derek flipped his badge open. “The FBI doesn’t do appointments, Miss.”

Margie looked at Jill, her eyes questioning.

“It’s all right,” Jill explained. “This won’t take long. Just get the brothers the organic root beer that they like.”

Margie looked at Jill, then at Derek, and back again. The assistant had a good nose for gossip, and seemed loath to leave the mother lode.

“Margie?”

With a pout, Margie left the room.

Before turning back to her ex-fiancé, Jill put on her best PR smile.

“Derek ...” Her voice cracked. “It has been a long time.”

“Since the wedding rehearsal, as I recall.”

Jill flinched. But didn’t she deserve that? She could barely explain to herself why she had fled so abruptly, let alone to the man who had asked for her hand. How, out of all the agents in California, did Derek end up here?

Regrouping, she looked out of the high-rise window. “I didn’t realize you were back in Southern California.”

“That makes two of us.”

Jill glanced over her shoulder. Derek's arms were crossed over his chest—his stance defiant. He wasn’t going to back down. Neither of them was very good at compromise. Which is probably why she ended up at the airport the night before their wedding.

She sighed. But that was three years ago, and her entire career rested on the next twenty-four hours’ worth of media attention. “I've got some directors to placate. I am sure you have some questions about this morning’s incident?”

“Incident?” Derek asked, as his brows furrowed. “Your film editor was decapitated!” He narrowed his eyes. “Have you gotten that good? That you can spin murder so easily?”

Jill bristled at the accusation, but was Derek really all that wrong? A man whom she admired had been killed, and she had just called it an incident. Derek had his deficiencies, but reading her was not one of them. But if she let in the grief, she feared that every defense she had could come crumbling down.

“I wasn’t trying to say ... I mean …”

“Please, Jill,” Derek said, his tone lower, yet comforting. “We’ve had our problems, but we both have jobs to do. So, how about we start by talking to the Baxters?”

Clearly, Derek had never met the Baxters before. They were, well … different. She had no idea how they were going to respond to an interrogation, let alone one by Derek. If he was anything like he was three years ago, tact was not one of his most obvious qualities. If the Baxters pulled the film before the premiere, she would be standing in the unemployment line.

But, always a gentleman, Derek opened the door for her. “After you?”

Jill swept past him, almost disappointed when his hand did not land on the middle of her back, like it used to. She shrugged off the sensation and turned to her assistant as they passed her desk. “Margie, tell security that we will be down soon, and page me as soon as the press secretary calls.”

“You got it.”

No, Margie didn’t really get it. But for that, Jill was glad.

CHAPTER 6

Derek followed Jill down the carpeted hallway. Ceiling-high glass doors lined the walls leading to even more executive offices. A far cry from the tiny office Jill started back in San Diego, when she was promoting the local Little League team and a handful of ska bands.

She even dressed differently. Gone were the black jeans and snug tees. Replaced by a three-piece “power” suit. The heels, though, she still knew how to wear heels. Blonde hair cascaded down her back. That seemed the same, if not longer, than before. Had she cut it since they broke up? Derek could still remember running his fingers through it. The way it slid, almost like tendrils of silk slipping between his fingertips.

Whoa. Back it up.

Jill was a film executive, and he was an FBI agent. And there was a dead body down in the basement. This was strictly business, damn it.

At the end of the hall, they found a group of employees huddled around a set of double doors—one with his face pressed to the seam. Derek guessed that was the room with the Baxter brothers. A woman spotted them. She frantically whispered to the group.

Busted. Fleeing like scared mice, they scattered to their cubicles.

Not breaking stride, Jill pushed through the double doors, with Derek right on her heels.

Derek wasn’t exactly sure what he’d expected out of the infamous reality-star-tabloid-fodder brothers, but two prim and identically dressed young men, each looking a mustache short of Charlie Chaplin, was not one of them. Guess he should have watched E! a little more. Dressing the same was cute when you were four, but not thirty-four.

In black suits and bowler hats, the Baxters looked up in unison. They shared the same pale, pale blue eyes. So pale that their irises appeared nearly white. Were those natural, or contact lenses? But their eyes weren’t what caused Derek’s feet to stall. It was their total and utter apathy. As though the brothers couldn’t care less if he lived or breathed. The last time Derek looked into eyes like that …

The scar on his chest twitched in remembrance.

Jill gestured to the men in front of them. “Derek, this is Jeremy and Jason. Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to—”

Jeremy interrupted, “I believe we specifically asked for ...”

“... Earl Grey Imported Blend Cinnamon Tea,” Jason finished.

Derek glanced at each man in turn. It was as if the same person had spoken that sentence. There’d been not a moment of hesitation or pause between even the syllables. Derek wasn’t one to be ruffled by much, but that was some freaking shit. How many years of practice did it take to be that incredibly synchronized? Where did one twin end, and the other begin?

Jill gave them a reassuring smile. “I am so incredibly sorry. I am sure the staff is working on it, even as we speak.”

“Certainly not quickly enough,” Jeremy retorted.

Derek eyed Jill. Since when did she become the Freaky Twins’ bitch? When did she become anyone’s bitch?

“I'll talk to Ms. Temple about that,” Jill said soothingly, and then turned to Derek, her smile now strained. “Gentlemen, this is Special Agent Boulder of the FBI.”

“What does Big Brother wish with us?” Jeremy asked, his tone bored as he picked an imaginary piece of lint off his suit.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with the ridiculous FCC case, does it?” Jason asked.

“No,” Derek said, straining to keep his temper in check. Babysitting debutantes was not exactly his strong suit. “I am here to discuss whether you know of any link between your film’s theft and your editor’s murder.”

Jeremy’s lips formed a perfect pout. “Ah ... poor Elmore. He was ...”

“... slow,” Jason finished, his lips forming the same expression.

Moving one’s lips downward did not mean a person actually felt any sympathy, though. These two had shown more emotion over the type of tea they requested than they did for a dead man. A man they knew well.

Innocent people usually asked a thousand questions. Such as, “How did the person die?” or “Did he suffer?” To Derek, it seemed like these two already knew the answers to those questions. Add in the fact that the editor died in a very similar manner to a character in one of the film’s scenes.

Can you say prime suspects? Still, he had to keep it professional.

“May I ask where you two were last night?”

Jill jabbed him in the ribs. “Derek!” she hissed.

He ignored her. She had her job to do, and he had his. Right now, it appeared that his was a hell of a lot more fun than hers.

“Answer the question,” Derek instructed the brothers.

Seeming to realize that Derek wasn’t going to back down, Jill turned to the Baxters. “I assure you that the
Special Agent
is not accusing you of anything.”

“Actually—” Derek started to say, but Jeremy yawned.

And then replied, “Spago’s.”

“For Spielberg’s birthday party,” Jason supplied, as he examined his nails.

“And there are people who can verify this?” Derek asked, scowling. Not that they would be hard to forget.

“Of course ...” Jeremy replied, rolling his eyes.

“... It’s
Spago’s
,” Jason finished.

Oh. Spago’s. As if that cleared it up for Derek. Jab to his ego noted.

“So, if you have any other questions,” Jeremy said as he and his brother rose from their chairs.

“We have a premiere to prepare for. Ms. Connor knows where to reach us,” Jason finished.

Oh, Derek definitely had more questions. Like exactly what planet were they from? He opened his mouth, ready to tell them to take a seat, when Jill interrupted. Her mouth stretched into a thin line.

“Don’t. Just don’t,” she hissed.

What was it that stopped Derek from pressing the Baxters? Was it that Jill’s cheeks flushed a rosy red when she was angry? Or that he could see the desperation in her eyes? In the end, even after all this time and all that had happened, Derek couldn’t bring himself to cause her more distress. He inclined his head. Besides, he knew where the brothers were going to be tonight.

Their very own premiere.

Jill turned back to Jeremy and Jason, her PR smile back in place. “Yes, gentlemen. That will be all. Thank you so much for your time.”

The brothers walked to the conference room door. Even their footsteps were in sync. Before they stepped out, they turned to Derek and Jill, tipping their hats. Their matching smiles were triumphant.

Derek nearly wiped those smug looks off their faces, but he felt Jill’s hand upon his arm. Her fingers gripped him through his sleeve. It wasn’t a warning grip or a pleading gesture, yet it was one born of intimacy. He doubted that Jill would have reached out if it were Fred standing here.

Again, Derek held his tongue. Let the bastards think that they ruled the roost. If the Baxters were involved in the editor’s death, they were prone to make more mistakes if they thought they had the upper hand. Or at least that is what Derek convinced himself of as the brothers made their way down that long, glass hallway.

Jill might have loosened her grip, but her tone packed a punch as she turned on him.

“What the hell are you doing? Antagonizing the Baxters? They have got
Access Hollywood
on speed dial.”

Okay, Derek may have let the brothers walk out the door for her, but put up with attitude like this? He simply gave her the stare.

Words died upon her lips. Jill closed her eyes, clearly regrouping, and then opened them again, her tone saccharine. Sure she sounded sweet, but did she realize how false it rang?