‘One?’ said Aiko, sternly. Kimi shrugged.
‘It was quicker to just tip them all out of the box and into my bag,’ she said. ‘And I was so upset after watching Jeremy… and I was worried about Princess…’
‘You were worried about the dog? That figures.’ Aiko angrily let go of her hand and went to stand up, but Kimi grabbed her.
‘Of course I was worried about you! But you were safe at the hospital, and you’ve got Zack. I could tell he liked you the first time I saw the two of you together. Without you, Princess is all I’ve got…’
Aiko still looked angry, but she shook her head and put her arm around her sister. ‘Don’t be so silly.’
‘I was so upset that I went back to the hotel room and I … I ate a cupcake.’ Kimi looked guilty, and for a moment I remembered what Faith had said about not wanting the younger generation of actors to suffer the way she had. They obviously still were – obviously still obsessed with their looks and their weight, not risking putting on even an ounce in case it ruined their careers. And they were probably right; the roles probably would dry up if they got old and fat, or even if they looked like an ordinary woman. Who wants to see an ordinary woman on the screen? I do, I thought, and so do a lot of other female moviegoers.
‘You ate a cupcake the night of the dinner party?’ said Nathan, glancing at me.
‘Yes,’ said Kimi defensively. ‘Sam did order them for my birthday, after all.’
‘Sam Pritchard bought them?’ I asked. She nodded and scrabbled around in her bag, pulling out a small card.
‘This was in the bottom of the box,’ she said, holding it out. I took it.
Happy birthday to my leading lady on her birthday, love Sam.
I couldn’t imagine the director wanting to poison his own stars.
‘And you weren’t sick after you ate it?’ I asked.
‘Of course not,’ said Kimi, but she looked like she was lying. Aiko sighed.
‘She probably was sick,’ she said, ‘but not because of food poisoning.’ Nathan looked confused. ‘My sister has an eating disorder, Detective Chief Inspector. I thought she was getting better.’
‘I am!’ wailed Kimi, but the frosting and the scattered sprinkles and the discarded cake wrappers told a different story. I felt guilty now that I’d laughed at all her healthy eating talk and the ridiculously expensive water. She was just a vulnerable, confused young woman who had been thrust into the spotlight, a spotlight that had illuminated and played upon all the insecurities that most of us have; but most of us are allowed a bit of privacy to work through them.
We left Aiko helping her sister to clean up the mess and have a heart-to-heart talk. Nathan was quiet as we went down the stairs, Germaine trotting along behind us solemnly; I think she’d liked the look of Princess and wanted to have a run around with her, but now was not the time.
‘Tea?’ I asked, and Nathan nodded.
We sat at a picnic bench. It felt a bit warmer today; it was one of those autumnal days when the weather can’t quite decide if it wishes it were still summer or whether it should just get on with it and turn into winter. The sun was out, although it was already too low in the sky to give off much heat, but it was still pleasant enough, sitting there in our coats, hot mugs clasped in our hands.
‘Poor Kimi,’ I said eventually, and Nathan nodded.
‘I’d never really thought about how young she is,’ he said. ‘She reminded me of my sister.’
I looked at him, surprised. ‘I didn’t know you’ve got a sister.’
‘I don’t anymore,’ he said. ‘Leukaemia, when she was seventeen.’
‘Oh Nathan…’ I reached out and took his hand. He smiled.
‘It was a long time ago. I can go weeks now without thinking about her, and then suddenly something’ll happen and some memory will pop up and make me smile.’ He squeezed my hand. ‘When something like that happens, it makes you think about what’s important in life, doesn’t it? Stuff like family, and being happy…’
Family, I thought. And your family is back in Liverpool.
Chapter Twenty-Four
We were interrupted by a stampede of cast and crew heading for the food truck. It was lunchtime by now, and I hadn’t cooked anything. I really didn’t want to let go of Nathan’s hand, but I had to get to work.
‘It’s all right,’ he said. ‘I know you’ve got a job to do.’
‘What about you?’ I asked. ‘What’s your next move?’
He shrugged. ‘No idea. Do you need some help?’
And that was how I ended up with a new sous-chef. I’d thought he was joking, but he wasn’t; he needed to think and, like me, he found it easier to do that when he was physically busy. I gave him the boring, menial jobs like washing up and peeling veg, and he did them all without complaining. I made a super-quick cheesy pasta dish (pasta and bacon had really proved to be lifesavers on this job), then threw together a chicken and vegetable stir-fry (veg courtesy of my new kitchen assistant). There had been a delivery the day before, which David Morgan had kindly taken in, and when he brought that over I discovered veggie burgers and sausages, so I shoved them in the oven to cook and got Nathan to slice some burger baps and hot-dog rolls in half.
As we worked I told him about my modest flash of inspiration earlier: that if we found out who was behind the curse rumours, and behind at least some of the ‘accidents’, then maybe we would find our killer. I also told him that Zack had owned up to one of the pranks, and why; and that he’d said Aiko was behind the dog getting
