Don't Look Down Read online

  The light went out of his eyes. "There's nothing wrong with Daisy."

  "She's taking something-"

  "She's a single mother working long hours and trying to home-school her kid," Connor said. "She's just tired."

  "No," Lucy said, "she's taking something."

  "You know what? This is none of my business." He opened the door and looked back at her. "You shouldn't be talking about your sister with anybody, Luce. You want to know something, ask her."

  "Hey," Lucy said and then he was gone. You bastard, she thought. Making taking care of Daisy sound like a betrayal. Anything to get her off his back. Yeah, we'll talk tomorrow. And not about you and me getting together, either. The last thing I need in this mess is a man to deal with, too.

  J.T. Wilder came back to mind, and she tried to shove him away, thinking, How pathetic is that? If ever a man had shown no interest in her, it was Wilder. Forget him, forget all men until she finished the damn shoot and fixed her sister's life.

  She began to clear off the table and saw the script where she'd dropped it. She picked it up and remembered why she'd been confused; she was sixty pages in and there was nothing in there but a basic romance plot. Where were the helicopters going to come from? The armored car? And that damn SEAL. In this script, Bryce's character was a stockbroker.

  Out in the parking lot, Connor honked the horn of his van, and Lucy shoved the script into her bag. She could finish it tonight in bed, she would finish it so she'd know exactly how screwed up this shoot was. And then she'd fix it. And Daisy. And Pepper.

  And Wilder, she thought and stopped, surprised. There was nothing about J.T. Wilder that needed fixing. Well, he could use a little warmth. She could do that.

  No, she couldn't. He probably had a wife or a girlfriend keeping him warm. She did not need to add him to her To Do list.

  She slid in behind the wheel and turned the ignition, trying to concentrate on her problems but her mind keep skewing back to Wilder and whoever was keeping him warm.

  Lucky her, she thought and followed Connor's van out of the parking lot.

  Lucy was still yawning when she and Pepper headed for Jax Comix at eleven the next morning with Kirsty MacColl singing "Us Amazonians" on the stereo, one of Pepper's favorites. A late night with the script hadn't made Lucy feel any better about the movie, but sunshine and Pepper beside her belting out "Us Amazonians make out all right" at the top of her lungs were going a long way toward cheering her up.

  "You're not wearing your hair braided," Pepper said when the song was done.

  "I'm not working." Lucy stifled another yawn.

  "It looks pretty when you leave it down." Pepper leaned back against the seat. "I bet J.T. would like it down."

  Lucy grinned at her. "You and J.T. are pals now, I guess."

  Pepper nodded. "He got me that Wonder Woman stuff, so that means he likes me."

  "Men who give you things usually like you," Lucy agreed.

  "He got me very good stuff."

  "Yes, he did. Are you going to get him anything?"

  "Should I?" Pepper said.

  "It would be polite. At least a thank-you note."

  Pepper nodded solemnly and sat silent, evidently planning her thank-you, and Lucy sat equally silent, thinking about Pepper's J.T. Maybe she should get him a thank-you, too. Her mind veered off course and she thought of Pepper's song, MacColl singing that Amazonians just wanted somebody to hold in the forest at night. That would be good, she thought. Connor was volunteering, but for some reason, J. T. Wilder had more appeal. And no interest in her. The least he could have done was stared at her breasts or something, although with Althea on the bridge, she really wasn't a contender there.

  They reached the strip mall, and Lucy parked in front of the comics store.

  "What's a gentlemen's club?" Pepper said as they got out, staring at the sign that said maraschino's.

  "A misnomer," Lucy said.

  "What's a misnomer?" Pepper said.

  "It means the wrong name," Lucy said. "That's not a club and there are no gentlemen in it. The comic-book store is over here." She pointed in the direction of Jax, trying not to be annoyed by the fact that Wilder's big appointment the night before had probably been with a stripper. There was a lot to be said about a man who scheduled time to see naked women, but none of it could be said in front of a five-year-old.

  The inside of Jax was not impressive, including the twenty-something clerk with the limp mustache who looked half asleep, but Pepper was oblivious. She went up to the counter, lifted her chin to see over it, and said, "We want Wonder Woman comic books, please."

  "You want the latest stuff or collect-" The clerk's voice trailed off as he caught sight of Lucy.

  "Whatever she wants," Lucy said, figuring somebody should get what she wanted.

  The clerk nodded, staring. "You know, you look a lot like-"

  "New comics," Pepper told him. "And a Wonder Woman Barbie."

  "We don't carry Barbies, kid," the counter guy said, and Lucy frowned at him. "But we have other action figures. Like..

  Lucy's cell phone rang and she took it out and looked at the caller ID. Blocked. "Can I take this, Pepper? It might be about the movie."

  Pepper nodded, absorbed in her shopping.

  The counter guy had backed up to the shelves behind him. "The action figure from the Kingdom Come comic, that's a good one. Looks a lot like your mom." He gave Lucy a smile that said, Hello, I'm kind to kids and good with women, and Lucy gave him a smile back that said, Fat chance. Her cell phone rang again, and she answered it.

  "Hello?"

  "Ms. Armstrong?"

  "Yes?" Lucy said, trying to place the voice. An Irish brogue? She didn't know anybody Irish.

  "This is James Finnegan."

  Finnegan, the backer. "Hello, Mr. Finnegan." Lucy shot a glance at

  Pepper, who was staring past the counter guy, up on her tiptoes now to see better.

  "What's that?" Pepper pointed at a mannequin on the shelf behind him.

  He turned around. "Wonder Woman WonderWear. One hundred percent cotton. Cami and-"

  "Does it come in my size?" Pepper said.

  No, no, Lucy thought as Finnegan said, "I wanted to thank you for finishing my movie for me."

  "You're welcome, Mr. Finnegan," Lucy said, watching Pepper watch the WonderWear.

  "The extra-small might sort of fit you," the counter guy said to Pepper, putting the package on the counter. He looked at Lucy. "Your mom would look good in the extra-large."

  "My mom wears a small," Pepper said, following his eyes to Lucy. "That's my aunt."

  "I know it was short notice," Finnegan was saying, "and I appreciate your help."

  "My pleasure," Lucy said, giving up on Pepper for the moment. "Mr. Finnegan, about the script-"

  "May I call you Lucy?" Finnegan said. "Such a sweet name."

  "Sure," Lucy said, thinking, I have a choice?

  "What's your aunt's name?" the counter guy said.

  "Lucy," Pepper said. "I'm Pepper."

  The counter guy stuck out his hand. "I'm Jax. Your aunt married or anything?"

  "No," Pepper said. "I want the underwear."

  Lucy tried to block them out to concentrate on Finnegan. "About the script, I think there's a problem-"

  "So that's an extra-small, a small, and an extra-large in the WonderWear?" Jax said to Pepper.

  "A problem?" Finnegan said.

  'Yes," Pepper said to Jax. "And I want to see the King doll."

  "Kingdom Come," Jax said. "It's from the Kingdom Come comic. Looks just like your aunt."

  Finnegan said, "The script is very simple."

  "Well," Lucy said. "I've only read through it once, but basically it doesn't make sense. Brad isn't even a Navy SEAL until the last half hour, and Rip is a stockbroker, not a thief. Then all of a sudden there's a helicopter chase and then another helicopter with a cargo net and an armored car exploding."

  "Most movies don't make sense," Finnegan s
aid. "You do understand that when you agreed to take over the movie, you agreed to the terms of the contract I had with Mr. Lawton."

  "Who?" Lucy said.

  "The former director," Finnegan said.

  "Contract?"

  "In exchange for my investment of four million dollars, you agreed to film the movie as scripted, following the schedule as stated. Should you not keep this agreement, Ms. Armstrong, I'll be asking you personally for my four million back."

  "Huh?" Lucy said, feeling the ground shift beneath her feet.

  "I gather your boy Connor did not mention that when he called you in," Finnegan said. "Just let him handle everything."

  "Connor is not my boy," Lucy said, thinking, Oh, hell, twelve years apart and he's still scamming me. She glanced back at Pepper, who was staring wide-eyed through the cellophane on a box labeled kingdom

  COME WONDER WOMAN.

  "Wow," Pepper said.

  "Connor will take care of everything," Finnegan said. "You listen to him and you'll be fine. Your role as director is just a formality."

  Jax put three packages of underwear on the counter next to the box. "We got the comic that figure's from. All the superheroes fight the bad guys in this really big last battle."

  "Cool," Pepper said.

  "Mr. Finnegan," Lucy said. "Connor is the stunt coordinator. I'm the director."

  "Well, it's the stunts you're shooting now, isn't it?" Finnegan said. "And one more thing, Lucy. That fine Green Beret you have on my set? He's not in the budget and he must go."

  "Bryce is paying for him," Lucy said and then stopped to frown at the phone. "How did you know there was a Green Beret on the set? Did Connor call-"

  "Connor did not call," Finnegan said. "I have my ways of knowing things. Get rid of him."

  "I can't," Lucy said. "Bryce hired him, Bryce is paying him, and Bryce insists on keeping him. I've already tried, it's a no go. If I cross him, he'll sulk and your schedule will go to hell. If Connor didn't call, who was it?"

  "Let's just say I have somebody keeping an eye on things."

  "What?" Lucy said. "You have a mole on my set?" She looked over to see Pepper and Jax listening. She put her hand over the receiver and asked, "Done shopping, Pepper?"

  Pepper shook her head and turned back to Jax, who was already grabbing another book.

  Lucy uncovered the phone. "Why are you doing this? If you want to send an observer, send an observer, I have no problem with that. Why all the secrecy?"

  "Only three more days, Lucy," Finnegan said. "All you have to do is follow the schedule."

  "I'll meet your schedule," Lucy snapped. "But Wilder stays on the set because Bryce wants him. And the mole goes. Send all the observers you want, but no spies."

  The silence on the phone stretched out while, behind her, the counter guy said, "How about the Masterpiece Doll? Comes with a hardcover book and a reproduction of the first-"

  "I got that last night," Pepper said. "J.T. gave it to me."

  "Tough-looking guy?" Jax said. "Doesn't say much?"

  That's him, Lucy thought and wondered if catching moles was in his job description.

  "You're really not in a position to dictate to me, Lucy my girl," Finnegan was saying.

  "Yep," Pepper said to the counter guy. "That's J.T. He's a Green Beret. I should get him something, too."

  "How about the Superman boxers with the Super Size shield?"

  "No," Lucy said.

  "I beg your pardon," Finnegan said, his voice icy.

  "Sorry," Lucy said into the phone. "I was talking to someone else. But the mole-"

  "Forget that," Finnegan said. "The schedule's the important thing. I want you to follow it exactly."

  "I don't like any of this, Mr. Finnegan."

  "It's my money, Lucy."

  "I understand that, but-"

  "You do a good job for me," Finnegan said, "and perhaps there'll be a bonus for you."

  "I don't want a bonus. I want that mole off the set and-" She stopped as she heard a click and the phone went dead. Bastard.

  "Sticker book?" Jax said to Pepper, putting it on the counter in front of her.

  "Got it," Pepper said.

  "Pez dispenser?" He put one on the counter and Pepper frowned.

  "Maybe."

  "Wonder Woman bobble-head doll?" He put one in front of her and Pepper rolled her eyes as the head bobbed up and down. "Yeah, that's what I think, too. Can you write? I got a Wonder Woman diary."

  "I can write," Pepper said. "Some."

  "How about The Ultimate Guide to Wonder Woman? It's where all the sticker pictures came from."

  "Ooh, ooh, that one."

  Lucy shut off the phone and looked at the pile on the counter.

  "They don't have Barbies," Pepper said to her, "but they have all this cool stuff."

  Lucy looked at Jax, who shrugged. Then she looked at Pepper. "Can you read the books?"

  "Yes. I checked. Well, I didn't check the last one." She pulled the slender white book oft the stack and opened it. "Yep, I can read it. Most of it."

  "And the clothes?" Lucy said, picking up one of the packages.

  "Wonder Woman underwear," Pepper said.

  "WonderWear," Jax said.

  "I thought we could have a party," Pepper said, in her best abandoned-child voice. "You and me and Mom because I have nobody to play with. And we could all wear the underwear."

  She was putting it on, Lucy knew, but underneath the put-on, there was something true. Pepper was worried about her mom, but underneath that, she was achingly lonely. She really did need somebody to play with.

  Hell, so do I.

  There was a spy on her set. That was just creepy.

  Lucy flicked up the box that said kingdom come. Inside was an eight-inch action figure that was the closest thing she'd seen to art in a cardboard box: a semibehevably proportioned woman with muscles and a gold rope, looking pissed as hell. "Wow."

  "That's what I said," Pepper said. "Isn't she beautiful? But I don't really need her. I'd rather have the Barbie."

  "Maybe I need her," Lucy said, looking at the tough lines of the figure. This was a bitch who could kick some Irish ass. And maybe some Australian butt-he knew he was suckering me into that liability-and find a mole, too. Who? She thought. Forty-odd people. It could be any of them. Althea saving for bigger boobs if that was possible, Bryce investing in a Ding Dongs factory, Mary Vanity putting out a hit on Althea…

  "So can I have it all?" Pepper asked.

  Lucy looked at the swag on the counter. She'd missed some things while she was on the phone. Magnets, a mug, a lunch box, a Superman key chain…

  "Superman?"

  "For J.T. To say thank you."

  "Well," Lucy said. "I don't know.

  Pepper looked up at her with huge eyes. "If I can have this stuff, I'll help you find the mole."

  "What?"

  "The mole you were talking about, on the phone, I'll help you find it and that way I can earn this stuff."

  Big ears, Lucy thought. "You don't have to earn it. I'll find the mole. But thank you very much for offering."

  "Okay." Pepper turned back to the counter. "Maybe I'll make moles my next Animal of the Month."

  "Moles," Jax said, shaking his head. "They ruined my mom's garden."

  I'm betting this one's not good for my movie set, Lucy thought. "Ring it all up," she said, putting the Kingdom Come box back on the counter.

  "That, too?" Jax said.

  "Especially that," Lucy said.

  "I think Wonder Woman is very cool," Pepper said, watching her loot disappear into several bags. "I bet she could find the mole. I bet she could find a hundred moles."

  "She's going to do her damnedest," Lucy said, and got out her wallet.

  Chapter 6

  A little after noon, Wilder walked to the edge of the trailers and trucks parked in the base camp underneath the bridge. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the shot schedule for the last three days of shooting. H
e scanned it and relaxed. Bryce was off, which meant that he was off. Wilder read on and winced as he saw the next day's schedule. The first helicopter stunt and Bryce was going to be shooting a gun. Blanks, but still. He already knew the gun was going to be all wrong, but he made a mental note not to make too big a deal of anything unless it had the potential to kill someone. When he'd pointed out what was wrong with the knife, he'd ended up with Althea in his bed. Which had been great. Well, good. And strangely enough, cold. Althea was the kind of woman who could heat you up and freeze you out at the same time.

  Well, hell, he hadn't died. Even if he had given up his gun.

  Guns. Bryce. Wilder checked his watch. Bryce was supposed to be picking him up but he was nowhere around, probably somewhere with Mary Vanity, the makeup girl. Everyone was doing everyone here-he and Althea, Bryce and Mary Vanity, Armstrong and Nash…

  That wasn't good. The last thing he needed was Armstrong and Nash together against him. He thought of Armstrong in that blue shirt. Should split them up, he thought. Divide and conquer. Disarm the enemy. That's what had happened to him,

  Guns, damn it. He hefted the backpack he'd hauled with him from the hotel room. It had been hidden under the bed, the reason he had gone to the damn room and been ambushed. Time to get a cache established since his room obviously wasn't the place to run to in an emergency. He strode away into the thick vegetation of the woods on the far side of the road and locked down his brain into mission mode. Pace count. Every time his right foot hit the ground he added. He glanced at his left wrist. The compass strapped on it gave him the bearing: 266 degrees, almost due west.

  When he was 112 feet into the woods, out of sight of the road and base camp, Wilder paused and did a slow 360. There had been an old drawbridge whose roadway had been torn down after the new one was put up, and one of the concrete supports was less than fifteen feet from where he was, an old palm tree collapsed against it.

  Wilder went over to it and removed the MP-5 submachine gun from his backpack. It and five spare magazines were tightly wrapped in plastic. He slid it under the log, and then covered it with leaves.

  He stood up and checked his handiwork. Unless someone knew the gun was there, it wouldn't be found. He turned to leave, and then without conscious thought his hand went to his back and he slid the Glock out from underneath his shirt. Something wrong. He searched the immediate area in quarters, scan close, then out, then shift. There was the bridge overhead. The old supports. The forest. The swamp. He could see the top of a set of old abandoned grain silos to the east, on the other side of the bridge, and beyond that the hotel where Althea had ambushed him. Across the river and to the west were the cranes that loaded and off-loaded the cargo ships. It took over a minute, but he checked out everything.