Closer by Morning by Thom Collins Page B

familiar about him,” Annabel said.
    Matt looked at the front-page photo of the dead boy. Another young man, only twenty-five, tragically taken too soon. He looked a lot like the previous victim, with dark hair and a handsome face. It was no surprise that people were speculating. If one killer was responsible for both deaths, they clearly had a type. “It says this boy was a barista at a coffee shop in town. We must have seen him around. Do you know where he worked?”
    â€œNot the victim.” Annabel grabbed the paper, turned the page and slammed it down in front of him. “ Dale .”
    There was Dale’s photograph, right beneath a title that screamed Death Imitates Fiction: Murder bears similarities to grisly TV show . Matt stared at the headline and the photograph. The story related the eerie similarities between the recent murders and a TV show currently filming in and around Durham.
    â€œDale’s an actor?”
    â€œYep. I knew there was something about him when he walked out this morning. At first, I thought we might have met before but couldn’t place him right away. It came back to me as I was driving home. There was a feature on North East Tonight a couple of weeks ago when they started filming this show. They interviewed Roxanne Maxwell and Dale. Dale Zachary. That’s his name.”
    Matt looked at the photo again. It showed a smiling Dale, without the sandy beard. Dale Zachary—American Star , read the caption.
    â€œI’ve never heard of him,” Matt said. His knowledge of film and TV shows was pretty sparse. He had a good memory for faces and names but when it came to celebrities and actors, he couldn’t retain it. There was too much happening in real life to give much thought to the rich and famous.
    Annabel, on the other hand, knew everything. An avid reader of Heat, Closer and Hello! , she knew all the actors in EastEnders, Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and Emmerdale and when she wasn’t caught up watching soaps, she was immersed in celebrity talent shows—dancing, skiing, roughing it in the jungle, she watched them all.
    â€œDale Zachary,” she announced, “is rather famous.”
    â€œYou didn’t recognize him this morning.”
    â€œNot at first but I got there eventually. I think the facial hair threw me. He doesn’t usually have a beard.”
    â€œSo what would I have seen him in?”
    â€œ An Axe in the Dark .”
    â€œThe horror film?”
    â€œThat’s the one. You must have seen it. Everyone has.”
    Matt nodded. He remembered watching it on TV when he was at university. Late at night, when he was alone in his room, it scared the shit out of him. But he watched so much from behind a pillow, he could hardly remember it. “Dale was in that?”
    Annabel made a swinging ax motion. “He got hung up and chopped up. It was awesome.”
    Matt thought hard. Yeah, there was a really hot guy in that movie who came to a nasty end. He was the main reason he had kept watching. Once the guy was dead, he’d begun to lose interest in the film. That was Dale?
    â€œI’ll have to look him up,” he said.
    â€œDo it now.” She pointed eagerly at his computer. “We might find some naked pictures. I’m sure I’ve seen him nude in a movie before.”
    Matt laughed. “I’d love to but it will have to wait. I need to get to court.”
    â€œI’ll do it,” Annabel said, taking out her phone. “I’ll text you if I find anything juicy.”
    â€œDon’t you have any work to do?”
    â€œIt can wait. Come on, Matt. How often do we meet a gorgeous American celebrity? Don’t you want to check out his fine Hollywood arse?”
    â€œHis arse, which I’m sure is very lovely, can wait. Unfortunately I can’t.”
    Matt’s case was listed at Bishopgate Magistrates for ten a.m. He arrived with fifteen minutes to spare but his client