“Just have them use my name at the bar. I’ll leave a tab open.” Gretchen glanced at her phone. “I work most of the festivals here, but I am really, really glad this one is over. The Hollywood people are just divas. Complaints about lodging, food, the closing times of the restaurants. You name it, they complain. Friday’s opening dinner was delayed for two hours. The kitchen was livid. And poor Mason Pike. That was horrible. His assistant, Jane? She’s so upset.”
“It was a shock,” Rarity said in agreement. “So have you heard anything about his death? From the festival people?”
“Talia Brooks, have you met her? Anyway, she goes from grieving widow to hitting on anything male. I’ve had complaints from the theater staff that she was getting handsy.” Gretchen rolled her eyes. “I swear, I’m about to quit this job. Or at least tell the mayor I’ll do all the festivals except this one. Let them bring in a professional wrangler.”
“I’ve met Talia. She can be a handful.” Rarity tried to sound like she agreed with Gretchen. Maybe she’d tell her something she didn’t know that would help with the investigation.
Gretchen snorted. “That’s an understatement. Jane corrals her for me now and then. Although I don’t know why. Jane told me that she and Mason were dating and when Talia found out, she swooped back into Mason’s life. That’s why you never date someone you work with. Breakups are murder and if you have to see the guy every day at your job? It’s worse. Anyway, that woman is an angel, cleaning up Talia’s messes. Anyway, I need to get home to get ready. One more night, right?”
“Exactly. Tomorrow you’ll wake up and the festival will be all done.” Rarity was thinking about the connections between Talia and Jane.
“Unless we have a freak snowstorm that traps everyone in town tonight. I know, a bit theatrical, but with this group? Who knows. Oh, and we have a breakfast tomorrow. The festival that won’t die.” Gretchen smiled as she turned to leave. Then she turned back. “It was great to meet you. Maybe in a week or so we can do lunch to get to know each other better and I’ll have my brain back to normal.”
“Sounds good. Just let me know.” Rarity followed her to the door, then locked it before going back to finish her closing tasks. No one else was going to come rushing in to buy a book now.
Archer was meeting her at the house. Now all she had to do was walk home, feed Killer, and get ready. Rarity thought she was as excited for the film festival to be over as Gretchen was, but for different reasons.
When she got home, Killer wouldn’t even look at her.
“Am I getting the silent treatment for leaving you home? Romeo stayed home today as well, so your friend wasn’t at the bookstore.” Rarity went over and scooped him up, then sat on the couch. She had a little bit of time before she needed to be ready. And Gretchen’s appearance had given her more than just an apology for not warning her about the book drive. Talia had been a diva for her as well.
Was this entire thing about Talia? She wondered, who was Mason’s heir? Had he changed the will to include his longtime live-in girlfriend? And if so, had he changed it again when they broke up? Was his death about money? He said that the spider movie had been a sleeper, but had continued to pay increasingly more in royalties as the years went by. And as bad as it was, it had started his career as a director.
She reached over and grabbed her laptop from the coffee table where she’d left it last night. Hopefully, it was still charged. Killer was still curled near her on the couch and she didn’t want to disturb him.
It booted up and she typed in a question on how much Mason Pike was worth. She was shocked by the balance. Of course, some of this was speculation and Rarity had already seen how people just said what they thought would make them look good, but whoever had written the piece had done some research into what Mason was paid for his movies, as well as the advance for his book. And he’d been smart and put his extra money away, instead of buying a newer, bigger house. He’d been in the same house he’d bought with theAttack of the Venus Spidersmovie money. He’d even addressed the issue in his book, and the author of the column had included this quote in the article:
Money comes and goes quickly, especially in this business. You might think the next paycheck is around the corner, but really, it’s two, three, maybe even five years out. You need to plan for the future as if this is the only money you’ll ever receive for your work.
At least if you want to eat tomorrow.
Rarity sat back. Apparently Mason was of the scarcity mindset. She’d heard too many people talk about manifesting abundance, and Mason had mentioned it during his talk that Friday, but he’d protected his butt first. Then he trusted the universe. And someone had killed him. Had it been about the money? And a better question was, who gothis estate now?
According to the article, Mason was an only child, and his parents were both deceased. He’d never had children nor had he remarried after his divorce, so the answer could be anyone. Including Talia. She wasn’t mentioned in this article at all.
Would Talia kill Mason for the money? He thought they were getting back together. So what about Bret? Was he Talia’s not-so-secret boyfriend? Or was it just a front so people wouldn’t guess she was going back to Mason?
This could be its own reality show. Instead of being up front, you had to figure out what everyone’s relationship status really was. It was giving her a headache, and she’d never liked those shows anyway.
Killer was going to be mad, but it was time to get glammed up for tonight’s events. Fireworks were scheduled after the awards presentation. Hopefully, the fireworks would stay in the air and not erupt before between the nominees.
Rarity had already picked out her dress for the evening. Short but with sparkles all over it. The fabric was soft and light, something that she would appreciate if the evening stayed warm. And she’d found dress-up walking shoes to go with the outfit. She wasn’t one of the actresses, so she didn’t feel the need to take out her heels for the night.
The way things were going, she probably could donate them and not miss the shoes at all. She’d worn heels every time Kevin had taken her to dinner. They’d gone to the fancy steakhouses and the fine dining restaurants. Anywhere Kevin could be seen and talk to others. It was all about the show back then. She was just a pretty appendage. Until she lost her hair and her face started showing the effects of working a full-time job and the cancer treatments. Until she was too tired to wear the heels. Then he’d shown his true colors.
Even when he’d tracked her down here in Sedona to apologize, Rarity wondered what the game was behind his sudden change of heart. Who did he need her to impress today?
Archer didn’t worry about what she wore, unless he thought she would be chilly. Or the time he bought her new hiking boots because he thoughther old ones were too heavy. He wanted to be with her for her. And after his step back when his father was in hospice, he’d been the perfect boyfriend.
Except they hadn’t talked about the next step again. Was he waiting for her to ask? Or what? Maybe next weekend they could carve out some time to really talk about where they were going.
And as she stared at her image in the mirror, she realized she didn’t have the brain cells to worry about the next step in her relationship right now. Maybe Archer was feeling the same way. She closed her eyes and took a long breath, letting it out slowly. Worry never got her anywhere. Besides, how did she even get on this mental track? She had a murder to help solve and a Hollywood-style party to attend.
She finished with the makeup and her hair updo. Then she took a look at herself in the full-length mirror. It would do.
Rarity’s assessment was confirmed when she opened the door to Archer a few minutes later.
“Wow, you look amazing. Maybe I should go home and change into my suit. I thought black jeans and a button-down would work, but I look like your hayseed country boyfriend next to you.” He kissed her on the cheek lightly, as if trying not to mess up her makeup.