“Betty,” Kitty called out as the director headed out the door. “What do I do about Eddie?”
Sonya stepped in and reached out to the poor young woman. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll take care of it.”
The cast followed Betty out, leaving the two women alone.
“This is awful,” Kitty cried. “I’ve never seen anything like this...a person who is...I mean...” She broke down in tears.
“Why don’t you go join the others and I’ll deal with this.”
“But...you’re Sonya Song. You’re the singer...Songbird, the star of the movie. You can’t tend to this. What can you possibly know about dealing with something like this? I think I should call an ambulance. Or the police. Or something.”
“Please, Kitty. Go find Betty and help console her. She needs you now. I’ll call the authorities and take care of this.”
The young assistant looked at Sonya, relief, fear and uncertainty played on her brow.
“If it’ll help to reassure you, I did have a life before joining this cast. I worked with the police for many years. I know the ins and outs of law enforcement. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. Now go.”
Finally, she nodded and turned to leave.
Alone, Sonya looked down at Eddie’s body. She had to hide him before anyone realized how he’d died. Grabbing a large black cloak off the rack of costumes, she wrapped him up in it and tossed him over her shoulder.
With everyone back on set to her left, she headed out of the dressing room and took the hall to her right. Walking as fast as she could, she had to simply hope she wouldn’t cross anyone’s path.
She made it out of the studio and rushed to her bungalow where she kept a dark coffin in the garage. “I never thought I’d be using this to hide a vampire’s victim, but it’ll have to do for now,” she said as she looked at the simple coffin.
As an emergency resting place she brought with her wherever she went, the coffin was narrow and small, just enough for her slight frame. However, squeezing Eddie’s larger form into the tight space required some effort, but she finally managed to close the lid and let out a sigh.
“Sorry to see you go, Eddie. I wasn’t particularly fond of you, but I’m still sorry this happened to you.”
With a final tap atop the coffin, she headed out and back to the movie set. The studio was quiet.
“Hello,” Sonya called out. “Where is everyone?”
A light tap on her shoulder startled her and she jumped around to see the source.
“I didn’t think you’d come back so soon,” Betty’s assistant said.
“Where is everyone?”Sonya said, ignoring the young woman’s comment.
“We won’t be filming anything today. Betty has cancelled everything.”
“How is she?”
Kitty shook her head. “Not very well. I think she might be having a nervous breakdown.”
“I see. That’s quite understandable.”
“Things are getting rather strange here.” After a moment of silence, she added, “You have the rest of the day off. I’ll be sure to let you know when filming resumes.”
