Silver Scream : A Bed-and-breakfast Mystery

it’s after five. I’d better get going. I think the limo’s

coming a little after six.” He ambled to the front door.

“Psst!” It was Renie, lurking behind the archway

that divided the entry hall and the living room.

“Where’ve you been? I pieced the statement together.”

“You did?” Judith hurried to join her cousin. “How

is it?”

“Stilted,” Renie said, flapping a half-dozen sheets of

yellow paper at Judith. “It’s the kind of corporate copy

that makes me want to shoot all writers and fill up

space with graphic designs instead.”

Judith held out her hand. “Let me see.”

“No,” Renie retorted, “don’t read this hodgepodge.

I’ve written it out in what’s probably close to the final

draft.” She held up the last sheet and began to read

what she’d patched together: “In the wake of producer

Bruno Zepf ’s tragic passing last night, Paradox Stu-

dios launched an investigation to determine the cause

of death. It is generally felt by studio executives and

Zepf ’s close associates that The Gasman premiere’s

apparent inadequacies—some choice of words,” she

interposed before continuing, “may have caused the

producer to die of a broken heart. According to Zepf ’s

agent, Eugenia Fleming, ‘Bruno set the bar extremely

high, not only for himself, but for others in the indus-

try. The Gasman was a project he had nurtured for

years, with roots going back to his youth. Having the

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picture receive such harsh criticism at its premiere

may have been too much for him. He wasn’t used to

negative reactions, and he had worked himself into ex-

haustion. During the making of the film, he had to be

hospitalized for a lengthy period. Obviously, his health

was seriously affected. Bruno couldn’t tolerate a lack

of excellence, especially in himself.’ End of quote,”

said Renie.

“That’s it?” Judith inquired, sitting on the arm of the

sofa.

“No,” Renie responded. “That’s the end of what Eugenia said. There’s more, but not much. In fact, there

were about three concluding statements they might

have used. The gist was that Bruno should be remembered for his many successes, rather than for The Gas-

man’ s flop.”

Judith didn’t respond immediately. When she did,

her words didn’t pertain to failure or success. “Do you

suppose Bruno really had health problems?”

Renie hesitated before answering. She flipped

through the discarded pages, then tapped her finger on

several fragments of writing. “There are some notes