Part 44 (2/2)
”They won't care.”
”And we'll offer them a great deal of money.”
Leah glanced at the shrubs as they walked up the front path. ”That might work. Except,” she added, ”I get the impression CB's not going to sanction that.”
”We're not actually going to use the view,” he reminded her, heading up the porch stairs.
”Fair enough. But once you're in the room, they're not just going to let you lean out the window.”
”No, you're going to distract them. Or him. Or her. Or the Brady Bunch. Without forcing he, she, or them to break any vows.”
”Okay, Mr. I've-got-an-answer-for-everything: if it's not a him, how?”
”We'll be on the second floor.”
”So?”
Tony sighed and pressed the doorbell. ”You're a stunt-woman, right? Fall down the stairs.” ”I don't understand.” Mrs. Chin clutched at the front of her pale blue sweater with one hand and peered anxiously from Tony's card to Tony. ”There'll be a television show on our front lawn?”
”No, ma'am. We just want to shoot... film,” he corrected when she looked startled. ”We want to film the scene out the window just like it is.”
”But why?”
”For the television show.”
”Yes, you said that, but why?”
”It'll be what one of the characters sees when they look out their window, Mrs. Chin.”
”Except they won't ever be in your room,” Leah added quickly. ”We'll put the pieces of film together back at the studio.”
”I see.” Either she didn't, or she was confused about something else. ”And you'll pay me money for this?”
That was almost a statement and definitely not what she might be confused about.
”Yes, ma'am.”
”Because you always hear about how much money there is in television.” She glanced at the card again. ”How much money?”
”I can't say exactly, ma'am. I need to take a look and see if it's suitable and then...” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket. ”...
send a couple of pictures to the boss.”
Her eyes narrowed. ”You're not taking pictures of the inside of my house.”
”No ma'am. Just the view out the window.”
”And you want to do this now?”
”The sooner the boss makes a decision, the sooner we can cut you a check.”
”But it's dark out,” she protested, leaning just enough to see past them and get confirmation.
”That's okay. It's a television show about a vampire. But a good vampire,” he qualified as her eyes began to narrow again. ”It's about a vampire detective who solves crimes and protects people.”
Mrs. Chin nodded, slowly. ”That sounds familiar. What's it called again?”
”Darkest Night.” He half turned so she could see the logo on his back. ”We shoot right here in Burnaby.”
”I've never heard of you,” she declared, but she stepped back and let them into the house.
”Oh, good heavens! Miss? Are you all right?” Tony hadn't seen the fall, but it had certainly sounded impressive; lots of b.u.mping, lots of cras.h.i.+ng, and finally some very believable moaning. As Mrs. Chin ran out of the room, he leaned out of the window-fortunately, one of the old-fas.h.i.+oned kind that lifted up and had no screen-twisted around and, using the frame, pulled himself up to sit on the ledge. He had to lean away from the building, left arm stretched right out to get the runes through the weak spot and although all four slid through, he wasn't entirely positive that it had closed. He leaned a little farther. Squinted...
The world tilted in an interesting way, but there was definitely no s.h.i.+mmer.
No window ledge either.
Porch roof, though.
And then a bush.
A bush that turned out to be just a little st.u.r.dier than he was.
Oh, that's just f.u.c.king great, he thought, rolling out onto the lawn, breathing fast and shallow through his teeth so as not to scream. Four days of fighting demons, and I get taken out by shrubbery.
Lying there and bleeding seemed like his best option, but unless they wanted to deal with more questions than he was prepared to answer, he had to get away from Mrs. Chin before he fell over. More specifically, he had to stand up and then get away from Mrs.
Chin before he could fall over again.
Bright side, nothing was broken.
Nothing important anyway.
Thankful he seemed to be in marginally better shape than the bush, he staggered up the porch steps and peered into the front hall.
Leah was sitting on a wooden chair, head in her hands. Mrs. Chin was nowhere in sight. Opening the door, he waved Leah quiet and moved as quickly as he could to her side as Mrs. Chin came from the back of the house with a gla.s.s of water.
”Oh, there you are,” she snapped, her gaze flicking to the stairs as she handed Leah the gla.s.s. She obviously thought he'd just come down them and just as obviously disapproved of his lack of concern for his companion. ”This young woman should be taken to the hospital.”
Hospital? Was the spell no longer protecting her? ”Are you hurt?”
”She fell down the stairs,” Mrs. Chin told him grimly. ”There could be all sorts of internal damage and I am not responsible. Those stairs are safe. I wasn't near her when she fell. I gave her a gla.s.s of water.”
”Of course not.”
”If you try to sue me, that's what I'll tell the judge.”
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