William Wright waited patiently behind a tree so Doyle and Amanda wouldn’t see him. As they moseyed towards the catering table in the distance, William stealthily moved into a wide cluster of trailers.
He already knew which one he was looking for. He’d slept in it last night.
William knocked on the door. Loudly. Rapidly.
The door opened. “What is it? What’s going on? Is everyone okay?” Eva asked.
“Everything’s fine, just fine. I’m just having a terrible day, sweetheart.”
“I haven’t even finished my first coffee of the day, and you’ve already had a terrible day?”
“It’s just that … we talked to Maura, and—“
“Well, there’s your problem right there,” said Eva. “If you want to have a terrible day, talk to Maura Coen.”
“Yes, well—there’s just so many rumors flying around, and I just can’t believe—“
“Let me guess. You’ve heard rumors that I could be the killer. You’ve been involved with me—“
“I am involved with you.”
“Right. But you’ve never thought of me as a suspect before, and you’re having trouble coping with it.”
“You know you’re a suspect?”
“Of course I am. I was on set that day. Besides—it’s the film industry. Ridiculous rumors fly around all the time. It’s silly. And I’m certain you haven’t seen any evidence to suggest I’m the killer, right?”
William thought of the photo. The one with her hair. Just because she was in that room didn’t mean she killed Wilde, right? Preposterous.
“No, I’ve seen nothing,” said William. “Just a lot of rumors.” He laughed. “Oh, I feel absolutely loony. But you were in the trailer, right?
Why were you there? It really doesn’t matter, I guess. I’m just curious.”
“What trailer? What are you talking about?” asked Eva.
“You know, the umm … orgy.”
Eva’s jaw just about dropped to the ground.
“What … orgy … are you talking about William?”
“You’ve been to more than one?” asked William, shocked.
“I haven’t been to any orgies, thank you very much!” exclaimed Eva. “Why, what orgy have you heard about? Better call Entertainment Tonight.
This sounds juicy.” Eva crossed her arms.
“Well?” she asked.
“Umm … another silly rumor, I guess,” said William. “There’s just been an awful lot going around about you and Wilde—it’s all rather ludicrous, I suppose.”
“What sort of rumors?”
“Oh, you know—that you were incredibly attracted to him, that you wanted to be around him every waking moment. You know, et cetera et cetera.”
“I won’t deny that I was extremely attracted to Davis Wilde. Have you seen him with his shirt off?”
William thought of the morgue. And Doyle’s vomit.
“Yes, actually,” said William.
“So you understand, then, that it’s not unusual to be attracted to … a body like that.”
“I don’t really want to hear this,” said William, looking away.
“I was never with him, though,” said Eva. “I haven’t been with anyone since you.”
Their eyes connected.
“Really?” asked William.
Eva nodded. “I thought you might like to know.”
William sighed. “I did want to know. Thank you.”
“So don’t listen to these rumors that turn a simple attraction into, apparently, an orgy. Okay?”
“Yes, yes of course. I’m so sorry. I feel like such an idiot.”
“Well, sometimes you can be,” said Eva. “I know you’ve seen some terrible things. Back in London. And I know that leads you to suspect the worst in people. But you have to trust some people. Especially the ones closest to you.”
“You’re right,” said William. “I’ll never second-guess you again. I love you, Eva.”
“I love you, too. Do you want to come in? I’ve made a fresh pot of coffee.”
“No, no that’s okay. I feel … reinvigorated. I feel confident again. I just need to trust my instincts. They’ve done well for me so far. I just need to trust them.”
“You got it. Go ahead, William. Find who killed Wilde. He may not have been the nicest guy around, but he didn’t deserve to die like that.”
“Fair enough,” said William. “Can I see you tonight?”
“I doubt we’ll be filming anytime soon, so I should be available.”
“Wonderful.”
“I’ll see you tonight, William.”
“Good-bye, Eva,” William said, kissing her delicately on the cheek.