A chill moved down Rowan’s spine. “What kind of cameras?”
“Hidden ones.”
“Where?”
“Trailers. Hotel suites. Everywhere.”
Nausea pooled in Rowan’s stomach. “What was Vince doing with them?”
“At first, Thayer thought it was insurance. Protection against lawsuits maybe.” Celia shook her head. “Then he found some files.”
“What kind of files?”
Celia hesitated again. “Videos. Photos. Audio recordings. Things people wouldn’t want public.”
In other words, private moments captured without permission.
“He used them to leverage things . . .” Rowan murmured.
“Exactly.”
“Do you know specifically how?”
“I have my suspicions. For example, one person suddenly stopped fighting with Vince after months of arguments. Another person backed out of a rock-solid lawsuit against him. A few disappeared from a production.” A humorless laugh escaped her. “In Hollywood, most people don’t even notice. The ones that do just call it politics.”
Rowan suddenly thought about all the careers she’d watched quietly implode over the years.
At the time she’d accepted the explanations. Creative differences. Scheduling conflicts. Difficult personalities.
Now she wondered how many of those stories had been manufactured.
“Thayer was going to expose him?” she asked.
“I think so.”
“Why didn’t he go to the police?” Rowan asked.
This time Celia laughed outright, though fear threaded through the sound. “Because Vince knows people. Because he has stuff on everyone—including cops and lawyers. Thayer got scared.”
Rowan’s chest tightened.
“He told me once he thought someone was following him,” Celia continued. “At the time I thought he was exhausted or paranoid. Productions eventually make everybody crazy.” She swallowed. “Then he started copying files.”
Rowan shifted. “What files? And where did he find them?”
“I don’t know exactly. He wouldn’t tell me everything. The less I knew, the safer I was supposed to be.” Celia paused. “Listen, I have to go.”
“Wait,” Rowan said. “Celia?—”
“Someone’s coming. I don’t have much time. Don’t trust anybody connected to Vince. And Rowan? If Vince thinks you have those files, he won’t stop. He’ll do what he did to Thayer to you.”
The line went dead.
Rowan stared at the empty phone screen. “Now we know why he killed Thayer.”
Somehow, however, that didn’t make her feel any better.
CHAPTER 40
