A Knife to Remember

have any money. Besides, I got the impression that a property master located props rather than owning a warehouse full of them.“
    “You’re probably right. We’re really hampered by knowing so little about the film business. Let’s ignore Jake for the moment. What about Lynette?“ Shelley suddenly laughed nervously. “Who would have thought, a week ago, that we’d be sitting here talking about Lynette Harwell as if she were somebody we actually knew!“
    “To our sorrow,“ Jane said glumly. “Well, Lynette was probably loaded. George Abington told me that even bad roles often pay well and she has been working steadily on bad roles for a lot of years.“
    “Maybe poor old Olive killed her for her money,“ Shelley offered.
    “Are you kidding? Lynette took her for granted. I’ll bet she didn’t even pay her a decent salary. I can’t imagine her making Olive her heir.”
    Shelley nodded. “That would be like making a carpet your heir, wouldn’t it. Lynette seemed to take all that adoration as her just due. What about Lynette’s family? Maybe somebody on the set is a long-lost brother.“
    “George said she came from a rich, social background. Well, that’s how she got Olive. She started out as Lynette’s nanny. I imagine the rest of the family is well off.“
    “New motive. Ambition?”
    Jane waved this away. “The movie is almost done. How could killing either of them further anybody’s career?“
    “This movie is almost done. But what about the next one? I wonder if Mel could find out if either of them was contracted for a job after this.”
    Jane sipped her coffee and thought about this. “Possibly. That makes me think of Jennifer Fortin.“
    “Me, too.“
    “Maisie said she was supposed to have wanted this role badly. Maybe Lynette had another good role coming up that she beat Jennifer out of? When Jennifer saw or heard what a great job Lynette did on that last scene, she might have felt she had to clear her out of the way or she’d never have a chance. They look somewhat alike. They’re about the same age, and each has one Oscar for a great performance. Maybe the way Jennifer saw it there were certain roles that either of them could play and Lynette was going to get them all from here on.“
    “That’s all perfectly logical, but I don’t buy it,“ Shelley said.
    “No, me neither,“ Jane admitted. “Oh! The brownies!”
     
    When the kids had come and gone, stuffed to the gills with starch and chocolate, Jane said, “I’m still puzzling over the mysterious producers.“
    “Not again! Jane, why do you keep coming back to that?“
    “I don’t know. It just seems like it ought to be important. And I have that peculiar feeling that I know something that I don’t know I know. Something Katie said when she was making up stories about those clothespin dolls made it come to mind. I wish I could remember what she was talking about at the time.“
    “Maybe you’re right,“ Shelley said. “There must be a huge amount of money involved in making a movie. And money can be a good motive for murder. As good, or rather, as bad as any other.“ She glanced at her watch. “Oh! It’s after ten! Paul will think I’ve run away from home.“
    “Paul’s back?“
    “Just this evening. Watch me to my door, will you?”
    As Shelley opened her kitchen door and waved at Jane, she called out, “Think about those dolls when you go to sleep. Maybe your subconscious will work on it for you.“
    “My subconscious went on a winter cruise to Bermuda seven years ago and never came home,“ Jane shouted back.
     

20
     
    Unlike Jake’s death, which hardly seemed to make a blip in the progress of the movie, Lynette’s got to everybody.
    The cast and crew were once again on the set, looking madly busy as the sun rose; this was, after all, the last day and there was much that had to be done. But the mood had changed. Jane could tell that much just from looking out the window at the scene behind her house. The morning was overcast and occasionally the sky spit drizzle, adding to the glum mood. People went about their work with heads down, or glancing over their shoulders furtively when anyone approached behind them.
    The press had arrived in ravening hordes. Lynette was well-known; her death was real news. Local papers and television stations sent crews, and all the wire services had gotten the word and also sent people. The police and movie people for once cooperated and banned all the press from