Damn it.
Justine was pissed at herself for taking Danny’s Mayday call seriously. He’d gotten her and Rick out of bed at four a.m., and now where was Danny?
Run off again with Piper.
Justine was wearing espadrilles, the wrong shoes to be hiking up this obstacle course of a path that started at the back of the cabin and led to only God knew where.
Add that to Danny’s management team: Schuster, Barstow, and Koulos were following her single file, murmuring too softly for her to make out what they were saying to one another. Except that she’d heard her name a couple of times, so she knew they were talking about her.
Blaming her for Danny Whitman’s escapade.
The unbelievable nerve.
The Whitman job was not worth what Private was being paid, not even close, and she was going to do something about that when she got hold of Jack.
Her cell phone rang, an incongruous bar of upbeat music. It had to be Rick saying that he’d found Danny. She hoped that whatever the problem was, it was minor or solved or both.
She dug in her jacket pocket and got her phone in hand just as the path emptied into a clearing. The faint circle of her flashlight beam revealed a heap on the ground.
It was Danny.
He was half naked, barefoot, sitting with his arms locked around his knees, rocking and keening.
What was this now? Was Danny having a tantrum or was he actually in trouble?
Schuster broke past her and ran to Danny, calling his name.
Barstow barked, “Can I have that?”
He snatched her flashlight out of her hand and jogged over to where Schuster had pulled Danny into his arms and was crooning to him, “What’s wrong, buddy? Where does it hurt?”
Justine’s phone was ringing again. She turned her back on the group and put the phone to her ear.
Del Rio was panting and his voice was ragged.
“The girl is dead. I’m coming up the canyon right now. Don’t let Danny leave.”
“What girl? You mean, Piper? Rick? Are you there? ”
Del Rio had clicked off.
CHAPTER 79
JUSTINE SENSED MOVEMENT behind her and she whipped around. Merv Koulos was right there, standing so close she could smell Tic Tac on his breath.
The producer’s homely face was crumpled like a paper bag and he was shouting at her, “Do you see this, Dr. Smith? Danny is having a breakdown. We hired you people to watch him, and now I’ve got a mental case on my hands. My crew is showing up on set tomorrow, and you think Danny’s going to be up for that? Every day that we don’t shoot is three hundred grand right down the—”
“We’ve got a bigger problem, Mr. Koulos. Much bigger.”
“You’re telling me? I’m going to sue you for criminal negligence. I’m going to sue you personally.”
Justine saw Rick’s light bobbing as he reached the top of the incline. She left Koulos in midrant and went to Rick.
He was winded, trying to catch his breath. He gasped, “Looks like Piper was killed by a blow to the head. Could have happened as she fell down the cliff. I can’t tell if she was pushed or what.”
Danny pulled away from his agent and lurched over to Del Rio.
“Pushed? She wasn’t pushed,” Danny wailed. “We were sleeping. I woke up and she was gone. I went looking for her. She was supposed to be asleep…”