Deadly Production (Mapleton Mystery Book 4) Read Free Page B

and out, the better, both for the picture itself and for our budget. I’ve got a small crew coming in later today to start shooting the backgrounds. The only place that will fall within your jurisdiction for these shots, as I understand it, is Aspen Lake. We’ll be shooting elsewhere as well, and we’ll be doing that often, to take maximum advantage of the turning leaves.”
    “I understand,” Gordon said, although he might have a short chat with the mayor when this was over. He checked the time. “If you like, I can introduce you at the morning briefing, and you can let my officers know what you expect of them. Then, I’m afraid I’ll have to deal with official business, but I’ll be free by nine to go over specifics.”
    She seemed to ponder that, as if slighted she wouldn’t have him at her beck and call around the clock. “A brief introduction will be fine, so your officers know who I am, but I’ll leave the rest to you. We have our own security people for the actual shooting sites and our staging areas, but keeping rubberneckers at bay is best left to law enforcement.”
    “Are you going to need security for these preliminary background shots?” Gordon asked.
    “I don’t think that will be necessary, but if we run into problems, may I call you?”
    “What kind of problems do you anticipate?” Gordon prepared himself for what Marianna considered problems worthy of police intervention.
    “Not having access to places we’d like to be, or, if there are too many people milling about, a police presence helps convince them to stay out of our way. We don’t object to people watching as long as they’re not interfering with the shoot, and as for backgrounds, noise isn’t an issue. But we don’t want to find someone has managed to insert himself into our footage. Sometimes we need traffic diverted.”
    Gordon was sure she already knew the answers to everything she’d presented, and had covered it as part of her job. Was she trying to prove to him she knew what she was doing? Didn’t matter to him. He answered her questions. Maybe it meant more to her if they were delivered face to face. “For Aspen Lake, or anything in Mapleton proper, you can call my office. I assume you have contact information for the county deputies for anything outside Mapleton’s city limits. And for the major highways, it’s the State Patrol.”
    She nodded. By not asking for his number, he assumed he’d been correct. The mayor had probably given her his direct line, too. And his cell.
    “How many officers do you usually need for a typical shooting day?” he asked. “You understand this is a small force, and everyone has regular duties.”
    “Five or six should be plenty,” she said.
    Half a shift? He’d definitely need to bring in extra personnel. At least the mayor couldn’t complain about the overtime budget.
    When the door opened, Gordon automatically checked to see who was coming in. A woman this time, familiar because he’d fixed a mental image of her when he’d read the cast list. The oversize sunglasses and a bright green scarf over all but a few wisps of her trademark red hair weren’t enough of a disguise. Lily Beckett. He schooled his features into his professional demeanor as the woman strode toward their table. Her expression wasn’t much different from the one on Cassidy Clarke’s face when he’d stormed across the dining room.
    Maybe fall wasn’t going to be his favorite season in Mapleton after all.
     

     
    Gordon listened as the murmurs trailed Lily Beckett through Daily Bread like a fox after a field mouse. When she stopped at their table, Gordon’s first thought was cat fight .
    Marianna’s eyes sought the ceiling, her lips flattened. “Yes, Lily. What do you want? You’re not supposed to be here for two days yet.”
    “Cassidy’s here. Which means the press will be here. Someone needs to run damage control. Or prevent the damage from happening in the first place.”
    “I believe