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in a box here on the side of this mountain? “She’s their costar. She’s just out of rehab and the press are all over her twenty-four seven.”
    “Is she the one who shaved her head and put the photo on Twitter?” asked Drake.
    Bella chuckled, getting up and going to the bar. She poured Annie a glass of sparkling water. “No, that was someone else. Tiffany just keeps driving her car high and drunk and getting arrested. This last stint in rehab was her fourth time, I think. I worked with her four or five years ago, before all the trouble was public. She’s a sweet girl, actually, from what I remember. But wow, I had to do some major repair on her face a couple of times. Several days she came onto set with bruises on her face and arms, which I had to cover up with heavy makeup so we could get the shots we needed. The director was not happy. He made both of us cry, actually. But anyway, when I asked her where she got the bruises she made up some story about tripping outside a bar, but I got the feeling it was something more personal. Like maybe an abusive boyfriend.”
    Annie shivered as she sat on one of the couches with a worried look on her face. “Poor girl. I hope she’s escaped him. That said, I also hope she doesn’t ruin your film.”
    “Richard’s taking a big risk but he believes everyone deserves a second chance,” said Bella. “And he thinks she’s talented. She was only seventeen when she did the film about the country singer and his rebellious daughter and she was spectacular.”
    “Richard’s the director,” Bella said to Drake, knowing he would have no idea.
    “Wasn’t she nominated for an Oscar for that one?” asked Annie.
    “Oh, look at Annie, all up with the gossip,” said Linus.
    “I didn’t know you cared about this kind of thing,” said Bella to Annie.
    Annie looked sheepish. “I don’t really. But I was at the dentist last week and there was a big article about her in People . All about her career and rehab and everything. I feel bad for her. She has that look in her eyes of a lost little girl. I want to set her down at my kitchen table and give her a bowl of pasta and then send her to bed.”
    Bella laughed as she made a martini, up with two olives, for herself. “If anything could help her, it’d be one of your meals.”
    Linus pointed at Bella’s martini. “Make one of those for me too.”
    Annie continued, serious about her subject. “Her parents were killed in a car accident, according to the article. When she was only sixteen or something. So sad.”
    “The girl’s got chops,” said Stefan. “Anyway, everyone deserves another go round in this business after they’ve made a few mistakes. She had fame come to her so fast and furious. One day she’s a girl from some small town in Idaho and the next thing she knows she’s on every billboard in the country and every magazine cover and nominated in the same category with Meryl Streep. It could cause anyone to go crazy.”
    Annie nodded, brushing back her unruly curls from her face. “That makes perfect sense. She was just a child when all that happened. It would take a strong person to get through without going a little crazy. Anyway, she’s come to the right town for a second chance. Maybe some of our good vibes will rub off on her.”
    “Her twin sister goes everywhere with her,” said Bella. “She tries to keep her on the right track but clearly it’s a tough job.” Sabrina Archer was Tiffany’s manager and assistant. Nothing went to Tiffany without first going through her sister.
    What wasn’t said, but Bella knew only too well, given her job, was that Tiffany’s looks had faded since her debut when she was eighteen. What had been exquisite, delicate beauty—she was fair skinned, a natural blond with piercing green eyes and a slightly crooked mouth that made her seem vulnerable and interesting—had faded with age and hard living into something more ordinary. She was no longer getting lead roles, not