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them."
    He shrugged. "Whatever."
    "You're talking revenge here, not your professional reputation."
    He managed to appear even less interested in the direction the conversation had taken than he had a moment ago. "Call it what you want. The bottom line is that I'll do whatever it takes to find Page, and I have a hunch he knows that."
    She eyed him warily. "All right, I get the point. You said the first reason you think Page is still in the country is because he lacks the know-how to sell Soft Focus abroad. What's the second reason you think he's still hanging around?"
    He angled his head toward the nearest of the film posters hung on the wall. "That's the second reason."
    She followed his gaze. "I don't get it."
    "When you know a man's secret passion, you know his greatest weakness."
    Baffled, Elizabeth studied the poster more closely. An enigmatic Humphrey Bogart and a sultry Lauren Bacall were posed in a tense scene. The title, Dark Passage, was scrawled in red across the bottom.
    She looked back at Jack. "So Tyler Page likes film noir. How does that help you find him?"
    "He isn't just a fan of old movies," Jack said. "He actually produced a new one. "
    "I don't understand."
    Jack went to the table and hefted a book from an untidy stack. It had a black and white cover. Elizabeth noticed the word noir in the title.
    Jack opened the book and removed a glossy little brochure that had been carelessly stuck between the pages. "I found this last night when I came looking for Page." He handed the pamphlet to her.
    The picture on the front featured a seedy-looking private eye, complete with trench coat and gun in hand, standing in a dark alley. The cold light from a neon sign above a nearby tavern cast his profile into sharp chiaroscuro. The words "Mirror Springs Annual Neo Noir Festival" were printed down one side of the picture in yellow ink.
    Elizabeth looked up. "What's this all about?"
    "Like I said, Tyler Page made a movie." Jack jerked a thumb at one of the posters. "That one over there, to be specific."
    "You're kidding." Elizabeth walked toward the poster to get a closer look.
    Although the artwork paid homage to classic poster design, she saw now that it was a contemporary image. It featured a sultry blond actress with fine, sculpted features and eyes that had seen far too much of the dark side of the world. The woman wore a figure-hugging, low-cut gown and held a gun at her side. She gripped the weapon with casual ease, as though accustomed to its weight.
    The phrase "Once you start running in Fast Company you can't stop" was written in slashing red script across the top of the poster.
    Elizabeth read the rest of the poster quickly. Fast Company. Starring Victoria Bellamy. Produced by Tyler Page.
    She glanced up. "So?"
    "Take a look inside the brochure," Jack said. "One of the movies scheduled to be premiered at the Mirror Springs festival is Fast Company ".
    She opened the brochure and flipped through the list of films until she saw the title: "Fast Company. Produced by Tyler Page."
    She raised her eyes to meet Jack's. "It takes money to produce a film, even a small, independent one like this. Did Page have that kind of cash?"
    "Good question." He gave her an approving smile. "I happen to know someone who is very good with computers. I asked him to see if he could get a look at Page's bank transactions during the past year."
    "That doesn't sound real legal."
    "Stealing the results of his employer's secret research project wasn't real legal, either. At any rate, it looks like Page went through a lot of money in recent months. Mostly for expenses associated with the film. But judging from the amount, I doubt that he could have underwritten all the costs of Fast Company. I'm guessing there were other investors."
    She frowned. "But Page got the credit as producer?"
    "Yes. Who knows? Maybe he was the biggest investor. My computer whiz also picked up on the fact that, in addition to funding Fast Company during the past year,