one of the actors had a grudge.” He poked at his sandwich for emphasis. “Maybe that less than mournful widow wanted his money!”
“And maybe you’ve been reading Maddy’s books, Sam. Sounds like one of her embellishments. How did she describe my old nemesis, Lilith? ‘She was as cold as the greed and envy that coursed through her veins.’ ” Seeing Sam fold his arms across his chest and scowl, Jade sighed and set her egg back down on the china plate. “I’ve told you, Sam. I’ll be fine. You . . .” She paused and collected her thoughts, getting her emotions under control before saying something she’d regret. “I don’t feel . . . comfortable with this kind of talk from you. You’re trying to get me to quit. To stay behind.”
“I’m trying to get you to think about the possible danger.”
Once again, she placed a hand gently on his. “Sam, you have to learn to trust me.”
They finished eating in awkward silence. Sam stayed around after lunch, sometimes waiting silently in the background, sometimes pitching in to help load the remaining boxes in the trucks. When the train finally pulled out, Jade waved good-bye out the window. Sam waved once, but her last sight was of him standing alone on the platform, his arms folded across his chest.
Harry Hascombe stole up beside her. “He doesn’t look too happy, does he? Worried I might steal you away?”
“Shut up, Harry!”
THE RIDE TO Moshi passed uneventfully. Jade spent much of the trip to Voi thinking about what Sam had said. Without believing that Wheeler’s death was anything more than a bad attempt at robbery or an attack on a lone woman, Jade amused herself with studying the actors’ reflections in her window glass. Miss Malta, Jade decided, did have a decent reaction to Wheeler’s death. She fainted. That made sense if she’d been having an affair with him.
Rex Julian, Jade thought, appeared more concerned about the loss of money stopping his movie. Now that Miss Porter had the bills covered, he was all business again. As for the two young cameramen, Budendorfer and Brown, they probably just wanted to work and get paid. The same likely went for the minor actors: Hank Wells, Woodrow Murdock, and the extra man, Roland Talmadge. Jade considered Wells again. He’d shown a lot of concern for Bebe. Did he love her? Could he have been jealous of Wheeler? She dismissed the idea.
What about Conrad Hall? Could he have hated Wheeler? Possibly, but at this point she had no way of knowing. The women? Had Wheeler made a pass at Lwiza? No, she had spoken of the “money man” without any shudder of revulsion. Miss Zagar? The woman struck Jade as loose, but that was all. Unless she wanted more than what Wheeler was giving her.
Finally there was the ungrieving widow. Cynthia Porter was the most obvious suspect by far. She had the most to gain. But perhaps Wheeler wasn’t supposed to die, just get scared? Or maybe Miss Malta was the real target? Jade chuckled at her imaginative scenarios, closed her eyes, and dozed until the train stopped at Voi.
After transferring their gear to another train, they spent the night sleeping in a worn-out passenger car parked along the siding. Early the next morning the locomotive to Moshi hooked up and took them on their way west.
Harry joined her early on, his muscular frame settling with ease into the seat next to her. He smelled of fresh air, soap, and witch hazel. “You certainly outshine these actresses, Jade.” He held out a hand, palm out, when she opened her mouth to comment. “And I’m extremely grateful to the powers that be to have you under, er, as second in command with this lot. They promise to be a handful.”
“Was it your idea to be deceptive about who was in charge?”
“Oh, let’s just call it confusion on the part of our employers, shall we?” He opened a roll of magazines and handed them to her. Cinema Talk with its cover photograph of Conrad Hall topped the stack. “There are
“And maybe you’ve been reading Maddy’s books, Sam. Sounds like one of her embellishments. How did she describe my old nemesis, Lilith? ‘She was as cold as the greed and envy that coursed through her veins.’ ” Seeing Sam fold his arms across his chest and scowl, Jade sighed and set her egg back down on the china plate. “I’ve told you, Sam. I’ll be fine. You . . .” She paused and collected her thoughts, getting her emotions under control before saying something she’d regret. “I don’t feel . . . comfortable with this kind of talk from you. You’re trying to get me to quit. To stay behind.”
“I’m trying to get you to think about the possible danger.”
Once again, she placed a hand gently on his. “Sam, you have to learn to trust me.”
They finished eating in awkward silence. Sam stayed around after lunch, sometimes waiting silently in the background, sometimes pitching in to help load the remaining boxes in the trucks. When the train finally pulled out, Jade waved good-bye out the window. Sam waved once, but her last sight was of him standing alone on the platform, his arms folded across his chest.
Harry Hascombe stole up beside her. “He doesn’t look too happy, does he? Worried I might steal you away?”
“Shut up, Harry!”
THE RIDE TO Moshi passed uneventfully. Jade spent much of the trip to Voi thinking about what Sam had said. Without believing that Wheeler’s death was anything more than a bad attempt at robbery or an attack on a lone woman, Jade amused herself with studying the actors’ reflections in her window glass. Miss Malta, Jade decided, did have a decent reaction to Wheeler’s death. She fainted. That made sense if she’d been having an affair with him.
Rex Julian, Jade thought, appeared more concerned about the loss of money stopping his movie. Now that Miss Porter had the bills covered, he was all business again. As for the two young cameramen, Budendorfer and Brown, they probably just wanted to work and get paid. The same likely went for the minor actors: Hank Wells, Woodrow Murdock, and the extra man, Roland Talmadge. Jade considered Wells again. He’d shown a lot of concern for Bebe. Did he love her? Could he have been jealous of Wheeler? She dismissed the idea.
What about Conrad Hall? Could he have hated Wheeler? Possibly, but at this point she had no way of knowing. The women? Had Wheeler made a pass at Lwiza? No, she had spoken of the “money man” without any shudder of revulsion. Miss Zagar? The woman struck Jade as loose, but that was all. Unless she wanted more than what Wheeler was giving her.
Finally there was the ungrieving widow. Cynthia Porter was the most obvious suspect by far. She had the most to gain. But perhaps Wheeler wasn’t supposed to die, just get scared? Or maybe Miss Malta was the real target? Jade chuckled at her imaginative scenarios, closed her eyes, and dozed until the train stopped at Voi.
After transferring their gear to another train, they spent the night sleeping in a worn-out passenger car parked along the siding. Early the next morning the locomotive to Moshi hooked up and took them on their way west.
Harry joined her early on, his muscular frame settling with ease into the seat next to her. He smelled of fresh air, soap, and witch hazel. “You certainly outshine these actresses, Jade.” He held out a hand, palm out, when she opened her mouth to comment. “And I’m extremely grateful to the powers that be to have you under, er, as second in command with this lot. They promise to be a handful.”
“Was it your idea to be deceptive about who was in charge?”
“Oh, let’s just call it confusion on the part of our employers, shall we?” He opened a roll of magazines and handed them to her. Cinema Talk with its cover photograph of Conrad Hall topped the stack. “There are
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