“I should have guessed you’d pride yourself on being well-informed,” Callie told her, giving a charitable spin to the other woman’s claim to knowing all the latest dirt on her costars. Lindsay looked as if she weren’t too sure whether Callie had meant it as a compliment. Callie doubted she was astute enough to figure out it wasn’t.
“People just love to tell me their little secrets,” Lindsay confided. “Maybe it’s because I play a psychologist so convincingly.”
Or because she made it her business to snoop, Callie thought to herself. She cast a quick glance at Terry for some hint as to whether he had ever revealed any of his secrets to the soap’s resident shrink. An “oh, please” expression indicated he had not.
Callie gave Lindsay her most congenial smile, the one she’d practiced on potential Wall Street clients she was trying to lure away from other brokerages. She called up the same flattering hogwash she’d used on Lisa.
“I wish I had your insights into the cast,” she confided. “It would really help me to fit in faster around here. Do you know there are still people on the show I’ve never met in person because of the shooting schedule? I don’t suppose you’d like to bring me up to speed.”
Lindsay looked vaguely intrigued by the idea of becoming Callie’s mentor. The concept clearly played to her ego, so much so that she never seemed to wonder why Terry hadn’t already spilled the beans on his costars. Unlike Lisa, though, Lindsay was far too circumspect to start blurting out secrets in the middle of the set.
With a dismissive little wave at Terry, she latched on to Callie’s arm and led her toward the dressing rooms. “Come with me, dear. You and I definitely have a lot to talk about.”
Terry shot Callie a warning look. She guessed he wanted her to beware giving away more secrets than she gleaned. He had no idea how skilled she was at pumping people for information. That’s why she’d been such a success on Wall Street. She’d known which questions to ask which people to stay one step ahead of the crowd without tumbling into some insider information scandal.
They were almost to the large dressing room Lindsay shared with two other actresses when a shot rang out. The sound sent Callie diving to the floor. Someone landed squarely on top of her, pinning her down. Judging from the weight, it was probably Hank. She’d forgotten how closely he was shadowing her.
When Callie finally realized that she was uninjured, except for any broken bones Hank might have caused when he tackled her, she opened her eyes to peek at the scene around them. The first thing she saw was Lindsay Gentry’s stunned face staring down at her.
“What on earth?” the actress murmured. Her gaze went rather quickly from Callie to the hulking man on top of her. “My, my, my, who have we here?”
“Could we save the introductions?” Callie grumbled. “Hank, get up. You’re squishing me. Don’t you think you ought to try to figure out who fired that shot?”
“That would be Jonathan,” Lindsay said matter-of-factly. “Why?”
Hank finally scrambled up and held out his hand to help Callie to her feet. “How would you know that, ma’am?”
Lindsay was still regarding him in a way that suggested she found all that brawn to be extremely provocative. “What?” she murmured distractedly, her gaze pinned to his chest, rather than the gun in his hand. It was a definite indication of her priorities.
“What makes you think this Jonathan person fired that shot?” Hank asked patiently.
“Because he’s trying to kill the one witness who can connect him to Terry’s late fiancée’s death.”
Callie groaned as she realized that the shot had been part of that day’s script. Hank simply looked bemused by all this matter-of-fact talk about killing.
“On the show,” Callie explained to him.
“Oh,” he said, and shook his head. “Jeez, this Glen River Falls place is a blasted crime capital.”
“So says a member of New York’s finest,” Callie retorted.
“You’re a policeman?” Lindsay asked, looking as if she found the idea absolutely fascinating. “Do tell me more.” Apparently she’d forgotten all about her intention to tell Callie all the latest gossip about the cast.
Fortunately, Lisa detected competition and came over to practically twine herself around Hank in a manner that left no doubt about whose man he was. To Callie’s dismay, he didn’t seem to mind in the least. Even some of the brightest men didn’t always think with their brains. Not that this was news. Just look at Chad and the bimbo, a couple even more horrifying than Hank and Lisa, not that Callie was particularly biased on the subject.
At any rate, for the moment, Hank’s fascination with Lisa permitted Callie to remind Lindsay Gentry that they’d been about to share a little girl talk. The actress cast one last look of regret in Hank’s direction as she allowed Callie to propel her toward their original destination.
Seated before her dressing room mirror, Lindsay began removing her makeup while Callie sat raptly to her right observing the deft ritual.
“Tell me about some of the men in the cast,” Callie suggested when she thought Lindsay was just distracted enough not to ascribe any ulterior motive to the question.
“Oh, darling, you don’t want to get involved with an actor. They’re so tedious. Everything is always about me, me, me.”
“I’m not looking for a date,” Callie reassured her. “I just want to get to know them a little better.”
“Then take them to lunch. One at a time, of course. Most of them can barely stand one another. Your treat, naturally, since they’re all so tight they squeak.” She lifted her gaze until her eyes met Callie’s in the mirror. “Of course, you already know Terry quite well.”
Callie could think of no reason to deny it. “He’s been my neighbor for years now. He’s gotten me through some rough patches in my life.”
“He does seem to have an uncommon decent streak,” Lindsay conceded.
