“Derek,” Betty called out to the stagehand. “Go to Yolanda’s bungalow to see if she’s there.”
The young man nodded and ran out.
“What am I supposed to do now?”Betty said. “I could have shot around Eddie’s absence, but I can’t get around both his absence and Yolanda’s. I’m going to have to call off today’s filming if she doesn’t come in.”
“It’s just as well,” Connie said. “I’m not really in the mood to play a regal queen. Besides, Marion’s nowhere to be found either. I had to do my own makeup this morning.”
Derek came running back in.“She’s not there. No sign of her.”
Betty let out a long and tired sigh. “Okay, everyone. You can all go home. If all goes well, we’ll figure something out by tomorrow. If not...I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
Dismayed by the events but happy to have the day off, Sonya returned to her bungalow. A dark cloud seemed to hang over WUS and she wanted to do all that she could to bring things back to normal.
She had work to do.
She had already dealt with the two men she’d drained the night before. One by one, she’d dragged them into the garden shed behind her bungalow. The men, even drained, had been heavy and bulky, leaving her exhausted.
Her freezer in the garage was full; Rhonda and Marion.
That left the problem of Eddie. She’d stashed him away in her coffin, but she’d found it empty that morning.
“Where d’you go, Eddie?”she muttered into the empty garage.
She roamed through the neighborhood of small bungalows, looking into backyards, peering through windows and even lifting the lids off trash cans. Nothing.
Everything was quiet around the studio making it easier for her to search as she wished. She went through several sets; the kitchen of a television show, the soundstage of a talk show and the police headquarters of a cop show.
Still, no sign of Eddie.
“Miss Song,” a young male voice called to her as she headed out the door. “Oh, Miss Song.”
“Yes,” she said, turning to him.
He held out a small, folded piece of paper. “A message from Mr.Zwick.”
“Thank you,” she said as she took the note.
“Shall I wait for a response,” the young man said.
Sonya unfolded the piece of paper and quickly read the brief message;Please come to my office as soon as you can.It’s important.Zwick
“No. That won’t be necessary. I’ll go and deliver my response in person.”
“Very well, Miss.” He turned on his heel and marched off.
What did Zwick want, Sonya wondered as she slowly made her way to his office. Most likely he had questions about Yolanda’s whereabouts. Or maybe he’d finally decided to proposition her as he had so many others.
Arriving at his door, she paused, took a deep breath and knocked.
“Come in,” Zwick called out.
She opened the door and nearly gasped when she saw April sitting there by Zwick’s desk. Her heart pounded. What was she doing there? Did Zwick know April was her secret daughter?Her student?Even April didn’t know.But how would Zwick?Only Sifu and Dr.Ang, April’s adopted father, knew.
She caught the self-satisfied grin on his face. Yes. He knew. The Chesire Cat never looked so pleased with himself.
“Hello, Sonya,” April said, a bright smile on her innocent face.
She wanted to run to the young woman, to pull her into her arms and protect her from all the harms of this ugly world.
