Rock Star Down (The Psychic Registry) (17 page)

Laurel's idea, which they all agreed was
pretty good, involved her presenting their theory of the murder in the very
studio where Rock was killed. Nathan, Archer, and Silverman would hide within
the mixing booth that overlooked the studio proper. Natalie, Big Ed, and Donnie
would shoot Laurel's segment, collectively unaware of the group observing from
the booth.

Both Archer and
Silverman wanted a second camera to cover the reverse angle on Natalie, so the
producer called an intern from his office to run the equipment. Nathan
questioned whether they should trust an intern with such a task. Couldn't
Silverman run a camera?

Silverman replied, "Last
time I ran a camera, it still recorded on
tape
. Everything's digital
now. Anyway, I vouch for the kid, Miller. He knows his stuff and he'll keep his
mouth shut."

So they agreed that
the intern, named Josh, would operate a camera alongside their group. Josh had
his own car, so he would load up the gear from the office and meet them outside
the studio.

As they made their
plans and laid preparations, several lies were told; others were obliged to lie
if put to question. The rest were simply left in the dark.

It went like this:
They called the studio to confirm that it was available for a video shoot. On
account of the murder, the schedule was wide open, so they booked the time.
Silverman irked Archer when he dickered over the cost with the studio manager,
but Nathan quickly offered to split the cost and the deal was closed.

Next, Silverman called
his office manager and advised her that he would be arriving later with Nathan
to review recent production footage. But they had no intention of keeping the
appointment and instead would be setting the trap at the studio.

"I don't like
lying to people," Silverman confided, following the call.

Archer had a good
laugh at him.

Silverman broke into a
smile and gave a shrug, "I didn't say I wasn't
good
at it."

And it was a good
thing, too, as Silverman had more lies yet to deliver.

He called Natalie. As
expected, the Franklin's weren't in the mood to humor the video crew, so
Natalie and the others were merely biding time until Jaqui and Vanessa
concluded their call. On that subject, Natalie could only guess how it was
proceeding.

Silverman gave her the
line about Nathan wanting to review footage of the mourners, so they would be adjourning
to the production office. Following Jaqui's return home from the Franklin's, Natalie
was directed to call Laurel and to take her crew to the studio. Silverman
dissembled with ease, yet was always faithful to his character, reminding
Natalie to get follow up footage of Jaqui and Vanessa before departing for the
studio. After the call, Nathan said to him, "With all respect to your business,
our priority here is closing a murder."

Silverman nodded, "Our
goals aren't mutually exclusive, Miller. If I pull Natalie off of a juicy
moment with Jaqui and V, they'll
all
get suspicious. Plus, the more they
shoot, the later it gets, they get tired and bored. You said you want her guard
down, right?"

"That I did,"
Nathan smiled.

Carlotta was the only
other person left in the house and they made sure to let her in on their false
plans.

As the housekeeper
showed them to the door, Archer played it up, "We got to make lunch quick,
Laurel. I've got court this afternoon."

"Think you could
drop me at the studio?" Laurel replied.

Meanwhile, Silverman
notified Carlotta that he would be with Nathan at the production office. "So,
Miller? How about
we
stop for lunch and I tell you my plan to make you a
star?"

Nathan replied, "Only
if you're buying and I just pretend to listen."

If Carlotta had been
the wiser of their deceptions, none of them could tell.

At the studio they met the manager, a slim
guy named Art Brown, who wasn't shy about admitting the state of affairs. "Rock
Franklin was keeping this place afloat the last couple years," Brown told
them, "We lose his acts, we're in big trouble."

Silverman lent his
support, "I'll talk to people, Art. I'll talk to
Jaqui
— We'll get
you some more business, alright?"

But Brown remained
dour, "Thanks, Aaron. But it's just a matter of time. The up-and-comers
just record on their Macs and the major acts cut their tracks on the coasts or
in Nashville."

The big security
guard, Mister Barnes, joined in their conversation, "Our old man keeps
this place open for
three
people, my brother Art, myself, and Mister
Franklin. And of the three of us, Rock Franklin was his favorite."

Nathan couldn't see
the resemblance, "Brothers?"

"Different
mothers," Art replied.

Silverman interjected,
"We're planning a tribute episode for Rock. We'll make sure you're in it."

Barnes mustered a
brave smile, "We appreciate that, Mister Silverman."

Nathan veered the
conversation back to the sting operation. He asked them, "Which of you is
the better poker player?"

"That would be
me," Barnes said.

And Art nodded in
agreement.

"Alright, Mister
Barnes. It sounds like Rock's murder has your studio on the rocks. How'd you
like to get a little payback?"

Barnes grinned, "Just
a little?"

Brown and Barnes were both surprisingly
smart guys who asked just enough questions, but not
too many
. Brown
agreed to remain in his office to avoid giving away the operation while Barnes was
cautioned not to oversell his role.

Nathan explained, "When
the other crew arrives, just direct them to the studio. Tell them Miss Comfort
is already waiting for them. And let them know, in an off-handed kind of way,
that the control room is off limits by request of the police."

"And if they ask
why?" Barnes replied.

"The cops didn't
say. And it wasn't us, it was Sergeants Jacobs and Ramirez."

"Got it,"
Barnes said.

Nathan continued, "We
weren't here today. And they can't know that we're in the studio."

Barnes nodded, then
asked, "So which one's the killer?"

Archer interjected, "You
just watch the door, Mister Barnes. Make sure nobody escapes out the front,
okay?"

"Alright, but
you
just look out for Miss Comfort here. We don't need another murder," Barnes
replied.

Archer feigned insult
with a mild huff.

But Nathan was more
inclusive, "We'll cover our end."

"I'll be fine,
Mister Barnes," Laurel added, "And I'm counting on you to do your
part."

"And Rock is
counting on all of us," Silverman said.

Barnes lowered his
head and heaved a sigh, "It happened on my watch."

Archer replied, "So
today you make it right."

Josh the intern arrived with his
equipment and Silverman helped him set up. Josh was easily pledged to secrecy
and kept his subsequent questions on a technical level. The camera was mounted
on a tripod in the control room, giving it a commanding view of the studio
floor. Brown assisted them in setting up a handful of microphones in the
studio, then routing the sound through the mixing board and directly into the
camera.

With the lights off in
the control room, they were all but invisible behind the glass when viewed from
the brightly lit studio. They shot some test footage with Laurel and Archer
that turned out well. Josh noted that while the microphones weren't optimal,
the sound was loud and clear.

Silverman suggested a
rehearsal, so that's what they did, with the himself playing Natalie's part.
Silverman blocked out where Laurel should and shouldn't stand in order to get
the best coverage. At the same time, Archer helped Laurel to walk through the
details of the crime.

Nathan offered Laurel
some advice. "Give Natalie time to think about what you're saying. And
give me time to get us what we need. Be patient, but once we lay into her, we
can't let up."

Following the
rehearsal Laurel pressed Nathan for more practice.

It is what it is,
Laurel.

"Was that you? I
can't quite tell," she said.

You can't, but you
can. Just relax and leave some space for my thoughts. You'll know the
difference without knowing exactly how you know, okay?

"Yeah, I mean how
else could we be having this conversation? But what about Natalie's thoughts? Will
I be able to distinguish hers from yours?"

I don't know. But
the context should clarify things.

"Right. I know you're
reading her and that she's our suspect."

Nathan spoke, "Just
get her talking. Challenge her to set the record straight. Forget about the
psychic stuff."

Laurel smiled, "You
know what? I think this is going to work."

Her smile was
contagious and he was quickly grinning, too.

Then Archer came
around and glanced between them, "Alright, stop it, you two— Borrow you a
second, Miller?"

Nathan nodded and
followed Archer across the studio.

Even though they were
far removed from the others, Archer kept her voice just above a whisper, "Is
this going to work, Miller?"

"Yeah, I think
so."

"
You think so?
Fuck that! Have you ever done anything like this?"

Nathan shook his head,
"Not on my own. But I know it can be done."

"You're not going
to scramble poor Laurel's brain, are you?"

"Come on—"

"Because I kind
of like the girl," Archer finished.

"She's nice, isn't
she?" Nathan admitted.

"Alright. Forget
about it, okay? Just do your thing, Miller," she said with a pat on the
shoulder before she walked away.

Laurel would be fine,
he thought. He would serve as both the bridge and the gate. He would absorb the
brunt of any negative feedback in the connection so he didn't see
much
danger in it for Laurel. Sure, there'd be crud to purge after the fact.

For Nathan, the danger
was in overextending, or becoming impatient, exhausted, and lost in the read.
The unique challenge was to only send to Laurel while reading her
and
Natalie. The three-way read would surely test his discipline and he hoped that
regard for Laurel's safety would help keep him in check.

While they were double-checking their
preparations Natalie called Laurel to schedule their shoot.

"She's calling,"
Laurel said, "Everyone be quiet."

"Hold on,"
Silverman told her. "Josh, roll tape," he called to the intern in the
control room.

Laurel's phone kept
ringing.

"
Speed
,"
Josh replied from the open door of the mixing booth.

"Go ahead,"
Silverman told her.

And they were all as quiet
as church mice. And Laurel decided that she needed to get a better ringtone.
But that would have to wait, so she took a deep breath and forced a broad
smile.

"Hello?" she
answered.

"Hi, Miss
Comfort? This is Natalie Porter."

"Hi Natalie.
Mister Silverman told me you'd be calling. Are we on for this afternoon?"

"Yes. We should
be wrapping up here at Jaqui's within the hour. Then we'll break for lunch… so
let's say about an hour and forty-five minutes, okay?"

Laurel replied, "I'll
meet you at the studio then."

"You know the
place, right?" Natalie asked.

"
The Sound Lab
.
I was there yesterday with the detectives," Laurel said.

"Oh? Maybe we'll
get some good footage today."

"I think we will,
Natalie."

They exchanged quick
goodbyes and Laurel rang off.

"I didn't give it
away, did I?" Laurel asked of no one in particular.

"That was good,"
Archer told her.

Nathan nodded his
approval while Silverman dashed into the control room to check with Josh. For
some reason Laurel waited on their verdict.

Silverman returned,
looking only mildly pleased, "I should have had you put her on speaker."

"Maybe she could
call Natalie back so you could get another take?" Archer quipped.

Silverman raised his
hands in mock surrender, "You did fine, Laurel. And the camera loves you."

"Is the camera
single?" she replied.

Silverman shook his
head, "That camera makes lots of promises. They don't always come true."

Laurel smiled, "Then
I'd better enjoy my fifteen minutes."

Nathan interjected, "How
much time are we looking at?"