“Who knows why the super-rich do what they do?” Lin sucks in hard and blows out. Definitely vaping. “I arranged the lease with the owner’s husband. He said his wife likes her privacy, so I didn’t ask questions. The important thing is that you have a place to lie low for a while.”
“A place with coffee, croissants, and charming cafés.”
“Right, well, don’t get too used to the good life.” An edge of something I can’t name lifts her voice. “There’s a chance you’ll soon be roughing it again.”
“Roughing it?” A fluttery sensation builds in my chest before traveling down my arms. “What do you mean?”
She chuckles again. “You should check your suitcase.”
The luggage Lin had packed for me before I left. Last night, I only pulled out a few toiletries.
“Hold on.” I scramble from the bed and to the suitcase open on the floor. Setting down my phone, I dig through the contents.
My clothes cover two items at the bottom. A thick brown envelope and a large black box. I pick up the envelope,recognizing the weight and feel. A stack of pages that can only be one thing.
A screenplay.
My heart goes weightless, floating higher in my chest. And I’m fully awake now, buzzing from a shot of excitement-fueled adrenaline.
I pick up my phone again. “Lin?” Hope and anticipation lift my voice as I climb back into bed. One leg folded beneath me, I tear open the envelope and pull out a manuscript.
I read the first page.The Whisper House.
The title gives me my first clue. Then I notice the screenwriter’s name.
My heart drops back down like a lead ball. “What is this?”
“It’s a working title.”
“It’s ahorrormovie.”
“Hear me out,” she says, using the tone I know better than to argue with. “This film is a great opportunity. Well-written, well-produced, and rumor is, they’re talking to Joyce Sandman about directing.”
“Joyce Sandman?” The thrill I felt before tries to flutter back to life. A relatively new voice in the movie world, she’s quickly become known for films that are both socially relevant and entertaining.
But still.
“I’ve never done horror. Even in the early days.” A time when so many actors take what they can get.
I try to swallow but my throat is dry. “Is this a step back for me?”
“Did Toni Colette take a step back?”
“No, but?—”
“John Krasinski and Emily Blunt?”
“Of course not, but those were standout horror films.”
Lin’s silence is her only reply.
The script sits in my lap, suddenly as heavy as my pending decision. “You think this movie is on par?”
“I absolutely do, and if they get Sandman, this could be as good, if not better than,The Last Wave. And with a wider audience.”
Which means more eyes on my face. More people learning my name.
“And it’s based on a true story, which always sells better,” she says. “Remember all the trouble in Maryland? A supposedly haunted estate?”
