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.That was a surprise.Then they called a break, and we were going.somewhere." Her eyes looked lost and afraid."Next thing I knew, I was in the hospital.They'd just stitched up my scalp."Her hand tentatively went to the side of her head."A nurse at the hospital said that studio guards found me at the New York standing set."Liza nodded.Certain areas of the studio grounds had been built up as different locations--the Wild West, or small-town America, a few blocks of Paris, and a section that could double as downtown New York, or Chicago, or any other big-city locale."From the looks of you, is much of that set standing anymore?" Liza tried to joke.Rikki took her seriously."The brick front on one of the buildings peeled off--a falling piece clipped Lolly.If she'd been just a step or two over--"Lolly shuddered."I'd be dead, too."Michael's face got an intent look as he glanced between mother and daughter."Do they know when the building fell?"Sure, Liza thought.If those bricks fell during the first tremor, that would place Lolly away from Ritz--give her an alibi.Rikki saw where he was going and shook her head."Nothing was shooting in the area, so no one was there.Nobody knows."Liza frowned, trying to remember her studio geography.The Boots Bungalow was part of the small-town America area--and wasn't all that far from the fake big-city downtown.If Lolly ran that way after pushing Ritz into the collapsing bungalow during the first tremor, she could have reached the city set just in time to get conked on the head by the second quake.Liza tried to keep her face neutral as she considered that scenario.She looked into Lolly's eyes, seeing the confusion and terror there.I've spent years in show business, with more actors than I can count trying to blow smoke up my butt, she thought.If Lolly is faking this.Well, Lolly had been portraying different roles since early childhood.It would take supreme acting ability to play the part of an innocent.Liza looked at the young woman again.She seemed genuinely mystified.That and the fear flickering in the backs of Lolly's eyes convinced Liza that the amnesia story was for real.If that were so, then not even Lolly knew what happened in the Boots Bungalow.That meant it was possible that she had indeed killed Ritz--for a reason she now couldn't remember.Okay, then.The job was to find out what Lolly did remember, and see how it fit with what Liza and Michael had found out so far.Liza decided to try to circle in slowly for what she needed."Ritz didn't try to make herself very popular on the set.In fact, she seemed determined to go in pretty much the opposite direction."Lolly nodded."She got into a fight with Darrie Brunswick." She looked at her mother."Didn't you tell me that?""You were there," Liza said gently."Darrie got so worked up, the producer decided to call an early lunch to give her some time to try and calm down."Rikki pounced on the possibility."So there's one person that Quigley man should be looking at.""One of many." Liza chose her words carefully, not wanting to give away any of the secrets people had entrusted her with."Ritz had information that could have embarrassed Forty Oz.and Samantha Pang, and let them know about that.She also put some personal pressure on Chard Switzer.All of them said she was up to something, but none of them knew exactly what that might be."She took a deep breath."So I have to ask you, Lolly.How was Ritz with you? Did she say anything?"Lolly could only shake her head helplessly."She was.I don't know, kind of weird.When they heard I'd be on the show with her, friends warned me that Ritz had a bizarre sense of humor--like the way she got Chard Switzer to change his name.""He told us about that," Michael said."But she never did anything and barely said anything to me." Lolly gave an uncomfortable shrug."But every once in a while, I'd catch her looking at me, and she'd have this really creepy smile.""You never told me about that." Rikki Popovic's voice was sharp."Mom, it's like I said.She never did anything.When we talked she was all business, concentrating on the show.She even gave me some puzzles to practice on."Lolly glanced over at Liza."She said she'd taken a class with you and could even make up her own sudoku."Looks as if Ritz didn't mention where she took the class, Liza thought."I wouldn't say she was my smartest student," she said."I guess not," Lolly agreed."When I tried to work out one of them, I couldn't get anywhere.It was all messed up."Liza found herself intrigued."Do you still have them?"Lolly nodded."Sure.We had the same Solv-a-Doku app on our phones.""Oh." Liza had helped to work on the original Solv-a-Doku program, but she hadn't heard about this latest development."I don't think my phone--""I've got it on mine," Michael said.He gave Lolly his number.She dug out her cell phone and started transferring the puzzles [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]