Take Two

CHAPTER 38

Filming continued pretty much non-stop during the afternoon and it wasn’t until just after six that Carolyn was able to talk to Terry. He was in the props room, working on a set of files that Seb would be holding in a close-up later that week. ‘So what do you think?’ she asked, sitting on the edge of his desk.

‘He’s good enough to eat, isn’t he?’

Carolyn laughed. ‘Well that’s an image that will stay with me until my dying day,’ she said.

‘What’s more important is do you think it’s him? Was he the guy you saw at Nicholas Cohen’s house?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Carolyn. ‘Seriously. The first time I saw him I thought he was, but now I’m not so sure.’

‘You can’t remember?’ asked Terry, sitting back in his chair.

‘I’ve got a terrible memory for faces, Terry. I just have. I can’t remember what my mum looks like. I mean, I can, but all the memories I have are based on her photographs. That’s the face I see.’

‘What are you saying? The man in your memory doesn’t have a face?’

‘No, now he has Warwick’s face but I’m not sure if that’s because my memory is playing tricks on me or because I’m deliberately picturing him there.’ She shrugged. ‘That sounds stupid, doesn’t it?’

‘No, it doesn’t sound stupid at all. I understand what you’re saying. The police always say that eyewitness evidence is the most unreliable. No one has a perfect memory.’

‘It doesn’t feel like it’s him,’ she said. ‘But that might be because he’s such a nice guy.’

‘And handsome.’

‘And handsome,’ agreed Carolyn. She pushed herself off Terry’s desk and began pacing up and down.

‘Ted Bundy was handsome and he killed a hell of a lot of women,’ said Terry.

‘Warwick’s not a serial killer, he might have killed Nicholas Cohen but…’ She shrugged and didn’t finish the sentence. ‘I just don’t know, Terry.’

‘Why not just talk to the police?’

Carolyn stopped pacing and folded her arms. ‘And say what?’

‘Well for a start tell them you think you might have seen Richards smack an accountant over the head.’

‘And if I’m wrong?’

‘If you’re wrong then he can tell the cops where he was at the time and all’s right with the world.’

‘And then he sues me for libel.’

‘He won’t know it was you.’

Carolyn laughed. ‘You know the cops talk to the press every chance they get,’ she said. ‘It’s me, Terry. If I so much as go out without make-up on it’s at the top of the Mail’s website. And remember that time I put on a few pounds? The tabloids were all over me. So think what they’ll be like if they know I’m involved in a murder investigation.’ She went back to lean against his desk.

‘I think you’re worrying too much.’

‘Yeah, well, you work in a bloody office and no one knows who the hell you are. I’m in the public eye and trust me, if it gets out that I witnessed a murder it’ll be all over the papers.’

Terry flashed her a tight smile. ‘Darling, I know how famous you are. And that I’m just one of the unsung backroom boys.’

Carolyn laughed and patted him on the arm. ‘You know what I mean,’ she said. ‘Look, the network is planning to reorganize the show and they’ll use any excuse to push me out.’

‘Rubbish,’ said Terry.

‘I’m serious, Terry. The last thing I need right now is to be tied in with something like this. And it might all be about nothing. Warwick’s a lovely guy. Maybe he just looks like the guy I saw at Cohen’s house. I mean, how likely is it he’d want to have lunch with me if he thought I’d seen him commit a murder?’

‘Maybe he’s as crazy as you are,’ laughed Terry. ‘So what are you going to do now?’

‘I’ll give Max Dunbar a call. He can run a check on Warwick.’

‘I don’t like that guy.’

‘Max? He’s okay.’

‘He’s sleazy, Carolyn. And he keeps looking at your tits when he thinks you don’t know.’

Carolyn laughed. ‘I think you’ll find most heterosexual men do that, Terry.’

‘I’m serious. I’ve never really trusted him.’

‘He gets the job done,’ said Carolyn. ‘That stalker I had, I never heard from again after Max had a word with him. He’s got great police connections and he’s discreet.’ She looked at her watch. ‘Anyway, I’d best be going. Billy’s waiting for me out front.’

‘Just be careful,’ said Terry, kissing her on the cheek. ‘And if you feel like a sleepover, call me.’