Chapter 16
Archer was running late, again. He texted that he and his group were on their way back and he would meet her at the theater.
Save me a seat.
Rarity hadn’t eaten since the soup she’d warmed up for lunch, so she headed to Carole’s Diner for a quick dinner before the films started.
Standing at the hostess stand, she saw Talia sitting scrolling on her phone.
She took a chance and headed over to her table.
“Are you expecting someone or like me, eating alone?”
“Just me. Bret went back to LA. He has an audition tomorrow, so he needed to go back early. He wasn’t even supposed to be here, but then he showed up and surprised me. Come eat with me. I ordered a drink, but nothing else yet. Are you going to the showings tonight?”
“I am. I’m meeting my boyfriend there. He runs a hiking company and was late coming back from a hike. I thought I’d grab dinner first. I’d love to join you if you’re sure.”
Talia pointed to the chair. “I’d love to have someone to chat with. So, tell me about running a bookstore in a small tourist town. Is it even profitable?”
“Surprisingly, yes.” Rarity told her about moving out of St. Louis after the cancer and starting over here in Sedona where her best friend lived.
“It’s been the best thing I’ve ever done.
My prior relationship, well, he was all about him and his image.
So when I didn’t fit his idea of what a girlfriend—fiancée actually—should look like, he dumped me. ”
“What a butt. But men are like that. Especially if they’re in the movie business.
Mason and I were the power couple. At least I thought so.
Together, we built our careers. Not to the top, but at least we made a good living in a high-priced area like Los Angeles.
Then, he decided we were done.” Talia snapped her fingers.
“He made me what he called ‘financially whole’ again, introduced me to a real estate agent who had what I could afford with Mason’s severance pay, I guess you’d call it.
Then the next thing I knew, I was living alone and single again.
At forty. I know, my website says thirty-five, but no one hires a woman after forty. It’s rough out there.”
“I’m beginning to feel grateful that I was in my early thirties when Kevin dumped me.” Rarity gave her order to the waitress and then waited for Talia to order. “So now you have a new focus, a new man, and a new house. What’s next on your horizon?”
“I like your thinking, girlfriend.” Talia sipped her wine. “I love acting, but like I said, the jobs aren’t there. I’m comfortable. I could live without another contract for years. But I want to do something more. Maybe find love again.”
“So, Bret?” Rarity sipped her water.
Talia shrugged. “He’s a nice man. He’s just not Mason. Don’t get me wrong, the man had his faults, but you can’t help who you love, right? Anyway, I don’t want to be the more financially stable person in the relationship. It’s nice to be taken care of once in a while, am I right?”
“I don’t know. I like where I am with my new guy.
I have my own house, my own business, and I’m happy where I am.
I’ve never been taken care of, I guess.” Rarity leaned back as the waitress set a large Cobb salad in front of her.
Talia had the lunch-sized version with the dressing on the side.
Even with just eating a salad, Rarity thought she looked like a glutton, at least next to Talia.
She decided to change the subject. “Is this your first time in Sedona?”
Talia dipped her fork into the salad dressing then took a bite of mostly lettuce.
“No, I was here last year. Bret and I rented a lovely house here in town that looks like a castle. Thank goodness for home rentals, right? I hate trying to live out of a hotel, but I wasn’t planning on coming, then the film got nominated and you have to attend these things. ”
Bingo. Talia had stayed in Darby’s house before. So two check marks on Rarity’s list. “Sounds like you’re doing a lot of these festivals.”
“It’s the season. Anyway, Sedona’s nice.
It’s a little outdoorsy for me, but I love the little courtyard at the hotel where I’m staying.
I’ve been reading scripts all week there.
When I go back next week, after I meet with Mason’s attorney, I’m booked solid for auditions.
My agent has been busy using these nominations to get me back in the doors. ”
“That’s fun.” Rarity took a piece of the bread that came with the salad and put some butter on it.
“You can have mine. I haven’t eaten bread in decades.” Talia smiled as she pushed the plate forward. “My dossier also doesn’t list my correct weight on it. But I’m close. It’s horrible to have to make a living from the way you look on camera. You’re so lucky.”
Rarity blinked. She wasn’t sure what Talia was referring to, but she wasn’t going to feel guilty about having a roll at dinner. Then she followed up on the sentence that had caught her attention. “Do you still have business interests with Mason?”
The wording made Talia frown for a minute. It was fast enough that later, Rarity would doubt that she’d even seen it. “Oh, a few business interests that will fall to me, and some personal ones as well. And of course, Oscar.”
“Oscar? Do you have a son together?”
Talia’s laugh came easy again. Whatever line Rarity had crossed before had been either forgotten or filed away.
“Oh, honey. Oscar is Mason’s pet spider.
The poor dear is coming up on twenty. I’m sure Mason thought he’d be gone by now; he got him as a joke when we were together.
The tenth anniversary of the movie’s release. Now, I get to finish raising a spider.”
Soon after, with most of her salad left untouched, Talia left to go get ready for tonight’s events. Rarity stayed and finished her salad. All of it.
As she finished, she took out a small notebook and made notes on the highlights of their discussion. And more questions. Was Talia, Mason’s heir? What did she get besides Oscar? And who knew about this? Besides the lawyer.
She paused as she thought about her dinner with Talia.
She’d started to warm up to the woman, until Talia had started talking about finding a man to take care of her.
Man, she’d hate Archer. He loved hiking.
It would never make him rich financially, but he did what he loved.
Just like she did. She decided that Talia’s idea of being financially comfortable was way different than her own.
Then there was the silent judgment about Rarity eating bread.
That alone was enough to restrict the woman from Rarity’s could-be-friends-with list.
One question answered, more added. The math on this investigation wasn’t going in Rarity’s favor.
* * *
Archer slipped into his seat about thirty minutes into the first film. He kissed her on the cheek as he got settled. “Did I miss much?”
Rarity smiled and shook her head. “The plot’s a little thin. I’m sure you’ll get caught up quick. Long drive?”
“I couldn’t get the group to leave. Finally, I said I was heading up to the apartment to get ready and that Jack would see them out.
They got the hint then. Anyway, they booked two more hikes next week.
I’m loving this film bunch. They like to hike and they tip well.
They said I wasn’t missing out on the movies showing tonight anyway.
Tomorrow night’s films are the contenders.
Tonight’s were just filling the ballot.”
“Shhhh,” said a voice from behind him.
She squeezed his hand and tried to keep from giggling. The best thing about watching movies at home was that you could pause them and talk anytime you wanted to. Here, you had to be mindful of others in the theater.
When they started walking home, he helped her put on her sweater. “It’s cooled down. The wind.”
“It’s fine. We can walk. Unless you drove to the theater.”
He shook his head. “Nope. I parked the truck in your driveway. Then jogged into town.”
“So you had film industry guys on the hike?” She wanted to hear if they’d said anything else. “Any talk about Mason?”
“Not much that was good. You’ve heard the expression not wanting to talk bad about the dead?
These guys had no problem breaking that rule.
They said the movie proved he was washed up and not connected with anything remotely modern.
Apparently, this is the first movie he’d directed in years.
They weren’t very nice toward him, but they pay and tip well. ”
“I had the same feeling about Talia when we had dinner today. Just not very nice. Kind of judgy of other people. Snarky but trying to be funny about it.”
“Wait, you had dinner with Talia? How did that happen? I didn’t take you for the fangirl type.” Archer looked over at Rarity as they walked.
“Then you know me well. Anyway, ‘someone’ stood me up, so when I went to Carole’s to grab something to eat, she was sitting alone.
I took a chance and asked if I could join her.
She said yes, then started asking me about how I wound up here.
She told me that she’d rented Darby’s house last year when they came to the festival.
So that’s probably why the stalker thought she was there. ”
“She admitted to having a stalker?”
“No, I put that piece together. I actually think, and so does Drew, that Darby’s stalker was really just looking for Talia.” She waited for a response, but when he didn’t say anything, she turned toward him. He was just looking around as they walked. “Thoughts?”
“Not really, but it makes more sense that it would be someone famous and not Darby. So why would someone stalk Talia?”