Wild Action (7 page)

He really didn’t like the way she’d talked to him like a damn drill sergeant, and he’d have had a lot more to say to her if her little lecture hadn’t taken him by surprise. But now he was adding “control freak” to his list of her negative traits.

Glancing back at the house, he told himself he’d better not stay away too long. She’d
really
light into him if he wasn’t there when Jay and Goodie arrived to see Attila. And hell, if he wanted any lunch he should probably head back right now.

He started up the drive and was about halfway along it when a woman materialized beside him. A redhead somewhere in her thirties, she was very good looking—in an overdone, L.A. sort of way.

“Hi,” she said, giving him a smile that looked as if she practiced it in front of a mirror.

A Hollywood smile, he decided as he stopped walking and said, “Hi” in return.

“I saw you talking to Jay and Goodie when we first got here, so you must be…?”

“Nick Montgomery. The new partner in Wild Action.”

“Oh? Last I heard, Gus Montgomery had died and Carly was in charge.”

“Well, the partnership’s a pretty recent development.”

She nodded. “I’m Barbara Hunt, the set director. I just wanted to ask if it’s okay to wander around a little. I’d hate to be the parrot’s next victim.”

“You’re safe at the moment. He’s locked up. And for the future, just don’t wear anything orange.”

“Oooh.” She gave a little shudder. “Not my color at all. See you around, Nick,” she added, heading off.

When he started toward the porch again, he saw Carly was standing on it—and not alone. She was talking with a lanky, bearded fellow who had
interest
written all over him.

That, Nick found annoying, although he couldn’t figure out why. He’d known this was the wrong time and place for an entanglement even before Carly had started displaying her true nature. And since she had, he’d realized she was about as far from his ideal woman as she could be.

He headed up the steps, not sure if he should stop for an introduction or just leave her to whatever she was doing with this guy.

She made up his mind by saying, “Nick, this is Royce Chalmers. He’s worked on a couple of the documentaries Gus and I were involved with, and he’s Jay’s number one cameraman for the film.

“Or at this point,” she added to Royce, “should I be saying you’re Jay’s director of photography?”

When Royce laughed, the sound grated in Nick’s ears.

“We’ve hardly done a full week’s shooting, and Jay’s already fired his director of photography,” Royce explained. “A couple of reels of film got lost, and Screaming Jay blamed him.”

“Screaming
Jay?” Nick repeated.

“Yeah, that’s what everyone calls him. Behind his back, of course. You’ll see why. Or hear why, I should say.”

“What?” Nick asked Carly when he noticed she was looking anxious.

“Nothing,” she said quickly. “But Royce was telling me Jay’s legendary for firing people. That he doesn’t even bother hiring an assistant director anymore, because he always fires them after a couple of days.”

“So this isn’t the first time you’ve worked for him,” Nick said to Royce.

“No, he’s shot a couple of other pictures in Toronto, and he uses mostly local crews.”

There was a moment’s silence, then Carly glanced at Nick and asked, “Who was that redhead you were talking to?”

Before he could answer, Royce said, “Barbara Hunt, our set director.”

He looked around like a street informer, worried that someone would overhear, then continued in a lowered voice. “Maybe I’d better fill you in about her so you don’t say the wrong thing to anyone.”

“B
ARB IS
Brian Goodfellow’s wife,” Royce explained.

“Really?” Carly said. “He’s a lot older than her, isn’t he?”

“He’s also a lot richer, which was probably
his
main attraction. At any rate, Jay never wanted her, but she got the job because Goodie’s financing the movie. Then, about a week after she signed her contract, the story goes that they got into a hell of a row over something. The grapevine says they’re both highly volatile and pretty unstable.”

“She seemed normal enough to me,” Nick said.

“Well, you can’t believe everything you hear, but one version of the story is that she pulled a gun and threatened to shoot Goodie’s balls off.”

Nick felt a chill in his loins.

“Anyway,” Royce went on, “whatever really happened, Goodie sent her packing. And now she’s about to become ex-wife number four or five.”

“Oh, Lord,” Carly said. “And she went ahead with working on the movie? That must be awfully awkward.”

“Yeah. When both the producer and director wish
you were anywhere else on earth, it can’t be exactly comfortable.”

“Then why would she want to be here?” Carly asked.

“She says she wasn’t going to throw away a job on a terrific film just because her presence would make Goodie uncomfortable. And it’s obvious she figures he
deserves
to be uncomfortable. But I think the real reason she hung in is that she sees this movie as her big chance. She’s worked on sets for years, but nobody’s given her a shot at set director before—and you’ll see why. She’s in way over her head.”

“So if Jay’s big on firing people, why not her?" Nick asked.

“Apparently he tried to, but she’s not the type to take things lying down. She showed up at his office with a lawyer and threatened to sue both him and Goodie for breach of contract—and do whatever else she could to hold up production. That would have cost a fortune, so I guess they wanted the expense even less than they wanted her.

“But look, I’ve got to get going,” Royce added. “I just thought I’d say hello before I headed back to Toronto. I was telling Carly,” he explained to Nick, “that somehow all the camera filters got left behind. I’ve got to drive back and find them or we won’t be filming tomorrow. But at least I came up in my own car, so I can just disappear for a few hours without telling Jay that somebody goofed.”

“But you’ll miss lunch,” Carly said. “I was about to make something anyway, so would you like to—”

Royce waved off the suggestion. “Thanks, but I’ll be okay. I’m telling you, though, this is shaping up to be the worst-luck movie I’ve ever worked on.”

“You’re the second person who’s said something like that,” Nick told him. “Goodie made a remark about thinking it was jinxed.”

“Even Goodie’s admitting it, eh? The big shots usually like to pretend everything’s fine, but I guess there’ve been just too many problems to ignore.”

As Royce headed off, Nick said, “You think this jinx thing makes the odds on Attila eating me higher than you were figuring?”

“Attila is
not
going to eat you,” Carly said. “Movie people are simply like that. I mean, every so often they decide a shoot is jinxed. That doesn’t mean it really is, though. It’s just a silly belief—like believing bad luck comes in threes.”

Nick forced a smile. But didn’t she know bad luck often
did
come in threes? Hell, it had just happened to him.

And if she didn’t realize that some superstitions had a basis in fact, she probably didn’t know a damn thing about jinxes, either. He just hoped she didn’t get a lesson about them when they took Jay and Goodie to see Attila.

“Nick?”

He looked at her.

“There’s something I’d better tell you. Attila doesn’t like people yelling. It really upsets him.”

“And they call Jay, Screaming Jay,” Nick said, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. “Well, we’ll have to say something to him right away.”

“Yes, but let
me
do it. You might say something that would…offend him.”

“What? You mean something like, ‘If you ever
raise your voice while I’m working with the bear, you’ll be a dead man?”

“Well…yes.”

“Fine, then you do the explaining. And if he forgets, I’ll do the killing.”

“H
E’S NOT EXACTLY
huge,
is he Goodie,” Jay said, disappointment dripping from his words.

Nick gave Carly a pained look. If Jay was standing on
their
side of the fence, in the field with Attila, he’d think the bear was downright enormous.

“You know, I should have gone with a grizzly. Or maybe a polar bear.”

“That wouldn’t have done much for the movie’s integrity,” Goodie said. “I mean, the kids are supposedly lost in upper New York State, and you’d hardly find a grizzly or a polar bear wandering around there.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess that’s a good point. I just wish this one was bigger.”

“He’s actually
very
large for a black bear,” Carly said. “And when he stands up…Show them, Nick.”

“Attila,
two feet”
he ordered—then tried not to let his relief show when the bear obediently raised up onto his back feet. He still hadn’t shaken the fear that Attila was going to lash out at him one of these times instead of doing what he was told.

“Good boy. Now go and
say hello
to those men,” he added, giving a hand signal.

Attila grunted, then took a couple of steps toward Jay and Goodie.

They almost fell over each other backing off.

“That fence
is
electrified, isn’t it?” Goodie asked from several yards away.

“No, there’s no reason for it to be,” Carly told him.

“He doesn’t have a problem with any colors or anything, does he?” Jay said nervously.

“No, as I explained, his only problem is he doesn’t like people yelling.”

“Want to come in here and feed him some chicken, Jay?” Nick pointed at the pail and pretended he didn’t notice Carly giving him the evil eye.

He was still annoyed that she figured she had the right to lecture him, and he’d be damned if he was going to let her think he’d paid attention.

“Ahh…maybe I’ll try feeding him another time,” Jay said.

“You, Goodie?”

“Me? No, I have allergies. I’d better not get too close to him.”‘

“Is there anything in particular you’d like to see him do?” Carly asked.

Nick shot her an uneasy glance, wishing she wouldn’t push their luck.

“No,” Jay said. “I mostly just wanted to see how big he was so we’ll get the stand-in right.”

“Stand-in?” Nick said.

Jay looked at him as if he were an idiot, while Carly explained. “It takes a minimum of two or three hours to light a set, so they use stand-ins for the actors while they’re doing it.”

Nick didn’t know why they’d want to light an outdoors set, but he wasn’t about to display his ignorance again. Deciding the answer must have to do with shadows or something, he tuned in on Carly once more.

“And for Attila’s stand-in you’ll use…what?” she was asking Jay. “A couple of big men?”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ve got that all figured out. And as long as he can do everything the script calls for, I’ve seen what I need. But how about that pond?” Jay pointed across the field to it. “Does he like to swim?”

“Sure. Bears love to swim.”

“Hmmm…Then maybe I should use some shots where—”

“Jay?” someone interrupted from a distance.

All four of them looked toward a man rushing down the hill.,

“Must want something darned important to be running in this heat,” Nick quietly said to Carly.

“I’m afraid there’s more bad news,” the man announced as he reached Jay and Goodie.

“What
is
it with this movie?” Goodie snapped.

“What’s up now?” Jay asked the man.

“The lab just called, and they screwed up. All of yesterday’s filming is a wipe.”

“What?” Jay screamed. “You mean we’ll have to reshoot an entire day?”

“Woof!” Attila said so loudly it almost made Nick’s heart stop.

“It’s okay, boy,” Carly said gently as Jay whirled around. “Everyone really
does
have to remember the noise rule,” she told him.

“You don’t want him angry at you,” Nick added for good measure.

“Yeah. Right,” Jay mouthed. He eyed Attila for another second, then turned toward the man again. “What the hell went wrong?” he whispered fiercely.

“They don’t know. But they’re claiming it’s not
their fault, that the film must have gotten exposed before it was shot.”

“Is that possible?” Goodie asked.

Jay shook his head. “Not unless someone intentionally did it. The lab people just want to make sure the blame lands on someone else.”

“Is there anything I should do?” the man asked.

“You could go on a shooting spree in the lab,” Jay muttered. “And I don’t mean with a camera. But, no, what the hell is there to do?” he added, waving the man away and turning back toward Attila’s field.

“Okay, just make sure he’s ready to go in the morning. Hell, he looks like it’ll take till then to get him brushed.”

“Brushed?” Carly repeated.

Jay made one of his sweeping gestures. “All that scraggly fur hanging off him. He needs a good grooming before we shoot him.”

“What about the movie’s integrity?” Nick said. He’d liked that phrase when Goodie used it. “I mean, your movie’s set in July. And as you can see, bears moult in July. If we brush him, he’ll look less authentic.” Besides which, Attila might not like being brushed, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to try doing anything Attila didn’t like.

“He wouldn’t seem as fierce if they cleaned him up,” Goodie said. “He’d look less wild.”

“Well…” Jay took off his glasses, peered at Attila without them, then put them back on. “Okay. We’ll shoot tomorrow with him like this and see how it comes across in the rushes. Assuming the lab doesn’t screw up again and we
get
rushes.” He glanced at Nick, adding, “Just so you’re ready for it, I’m going to start with the scene where he’s chasing the boys.”

“Oh,” Carly said.

Nick looked at her and felt a chill of apprehension. By now, he’d seen that anxious expression often enough to know something was wrong. So, despite what she’d told him, she must not be sure that Jay intended to shoot Attila running
separately
from the boys.

“What’s the problem?” Jay demanded. “He can see Nick’s hand signals from a distance, can’t he?”

“Yes, of course. I only—”

“I’ve always heard bears are blind as bats,” Goodie put in.

Nick didn’t bother telling him that bats actually have some sight. He’d rather hear what the problem was.

“Half the experts say bears can’t see well and the other half say they can,” Carly said. “As for Attila, he seems to do just fine.”

“Then what
is
the problem?” Jay asked again.

“Oh, there isn’t one. Not really. I was just going to suggest that you leave the running scene until later and shoot some of the foreshadowing ones first. Ones where he’s not really doing much. That would let him kind of warm up to the action.”

Jay shook his head. “It’s the action I want to be sure he’s capable of.”

“Jay,” Nick said, “Attila is the Robert De Niro of bears. He’s capable of anything.”

Carly gave him a glance that said he was laying it on awfully thick—even though he’d only been trying to help. If she didn’t want to do that scene first, then he didn’t, either.

“Well, I still think we’ll shoot the running scene tomorrow,” Jay said. “Goodie and I are going to go
check out the woods right now and decide exactly where we want to film it. Then the crew can start setting up at dawn.

“I’ll let you know later where we’ll be shooting and when you should get the bear there.”

Carly nodded. “But wouldn’t you like me to go with you now? If you don’t know the forest, it’s easy to get lost.”

“I
never
get lost. Besides, when Gus and I were making arrangements, he drew me a map and marked some places he said sounded like what I wanted.”

She nodded. “He mentioned that.”

“Did he also mention that once I choose the sites we’ll have to cut a road or two through the woods? To get the lights and equipment in? I paid dearly to have the contract allow for that.”

“Yes, I’ve read the contract. I know the terms.”

“Good.” Jay gave them a curt farewell nod, then turned away with Goodie. “I guess,” he said as they started off, “we’ve got to find your wife and—”

“Would you
please
stop referring to her as my wife?”

“I guess,” Jay began again, “we’ve got to find
Barb
and take her with us. We’re not going to come up with a location that won’t need some set dressing.

“Maybe we could get
her
lost,” Goodie muttered.

Nick waited until they were out of hearing range, then said, “Okay, what do we do if Jay expects Attila to actually chase the kids?”

“I can’t imagine he will. But if he does, I’ll just explain why it wouldn’t be safe—and make sure the boys’ mothers are there when I do.”

“Then why did you look so worried when he said
he wanted to shoot that scene first? And why were you trying to convince him not to.”

She scuffed the toe of her sneaker against the ground. “I was just hoping you’d have more time to work with Attila before they got to that scene.”

“Because?”

“Because,” she said with an unhappy shrug, “the most difficult thing to make him do is run on command.”

W
HILE CARLY AND NICK
were cleaning up after dinner she did her best to keep her eyes off him, but it was a losing battle. They were spending virtually every waking minute together, and that was fueling her attraction to him like oil-fueled flames.

He caught her watching him and grinned, sending a warm rush through her. She looked away, telling herself she’d better take her hormones in for a tuneup. They definitely weren’t working in sync with her common sense. And they were making her so darned aware of him that she was having trouble concentrating, even though she
knew
she’d be out of her mind to get involved with him. If she did, she’d only be left hurting when he went back home.