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She was supposed to be there. Kay wasn’t. Laura’s important. Kay isn’t.”
    â€œWho would want to hurt Laura?”
    â€œHow the hell should I know.”
    â€œWas she mean? Nasty? Selfish? Did she trample on somebody?”
    With a thumbnail, he scratched at a cut on his forefinger. “You better ask Nick.”
    â€œWhat did she do to Nick Logan?”
    Robin looked at Susan as though she were two beats slower than the rhythm. “Huh. They’re this great Hollywood success story. Great romance. Making a great movie.”
    She dearly wanted to glance at Parkhurst and get his reaction to this, but she kept her eyes fixed on Robin McCormack. With Parkhurst’s ability at concealment, he probably wasn’t reacting anyway. “Not true?”
    â€œNo,” Robin said, but his eyes looked through her.
    She’d lost him again; he’d tuned back into the tape playing through his mind. The one that was edited so the ending turned out differently. “Which part isn’t true?” she said. “The love story? Or the great movie?”
    His clenched fists tightened until the knuckles stood out white. There was much anger in this young man. He might react in violence if told by Kay she didn’t want to see him anymore. “What’s wrong with the movie?”
    â€œNothing,” he said definitely. “It’s coming good. The dailies—” He glanced at her to see if she knew what dailies were. She nodded.
    â€œThey’re good. Fifer gets all lit up after seeing them. We’re running over budget and we’re running out of time. He’d be all silent and tight like he’d set himself for the chop going in and then he’d come out with a face like there was gold in the mining pan.”
    â€œSo he was pleased with Laura’s performance? Was he ever angry at her?”
    â€œNever. Not her. He only sometimes got quiet and cold. Scary. He yells at everybody else, especially Clem…”
    Clem? Oh, yes, Fifer’s assistant.
    â€œâ€¦ but not at Nick and never at Laura. With the dailies so great I think he didn’t want to risk an upset of a good thing.”
    â€œLaura’s a good actress?”
    â€œYeah,” he said as though anyone with half a brain would know that.
    â€œSo if there is nothing wrong with the movie, then it must be the great romance that’s in trouble.”
    â€œYou might say that.”
    â€œHave Laura and Nick been fighting?”
    Robin looked undecided, then said, “Yeah.”
    â€œScreaming at each other? Throwing things? Hitting each other? What?”
    â€œSome of that.” He shrugged. “The screaming part. Mostly just charged-up attitudes. Never being in the same place. Not seeing each other if they were.”
    Charged-up attitudes. Uh-huh. How much do we place on that, coming from a kid who didn’t seem quick to pick up nuances? “How long has this been going on?”
    â€œFrom the start.”
    â€œWhy were they fighting?”
    Robin propped an ankle on the opposite knee and held on to it with both hands. “Sheri, I guess. Sheri with-an-I Lloyd.”
    â€œWho is she?”
    â€œAnother actor. There was a rumor going she thought she had a shot at the role.”
    â€œThe role Laura’s playing.”
    â€œYeah. Laura had something else going and wasn’t available. Then all of a sudden, she was available. Sheri gets offered a nothing part. ‘Supporting role,’” he stated in a passing good imitation of Fifer’s clipped, staccato enthusiasm. “‘Very important. Pivotal. Only you can do it justice.’”
    â€œMr. Fifer wanted Ms. Edwards for the starring role?”
    â€œDamn straight. Fifer wants a hit. Better get one. His last two bombed. He’s counting on Laura to pull him out of the toilet. Sheri sure couldn’t do it. Your name doesn’t last long if you have a couple of losers