Page 35 of Silent Home

Sheila counted off on her fingers."The killer has intimate knowledge of both films.Access to theater equipment, specifically gaffer's wire.Knows the building layouts, security blind spots.And most importantly, strong opinions about who should have gotten these roles."

"Which could describe half the people involved in local theater," Finn said.

"True."Sheila paused near their car, looking back at the Coldwater Theater's facade."But there's something else—the timing feels deliberate.Why now?Why during the festival?"

"Maximum impact?"Finn suggested."More eyes on the performance?"

"Maybe."She leaned against the car, feeling the sun-warmed metal through her jacket."It's not a knee-jerk reaction—if it were, Jessica would have been killed much sooner, maybe back when her film premiered."

"What I don't get is why, if you think they deserved these roles, you'd kill them.It would be more logical to me if he targeted the people who actuallydidget the roles.It would be a protest of sorts.But this…" He shook his head."Why is he punishing the people he thinks are most talented, most deserving?"

"He must not see it as punishment," Sheila mused."Maybe, in his warped view, it's a reward—everyone gets to see them in the role they auditioned for.Their moment of glory."She trailed off, chewing her lip.

"But if that's the case," Finn said, "what happens now that the festival is closed?Does he stop killing… or just find a new audience?"

They stood in silence for a moment, watching a pickup truck haul away dismantled vendor booths.It was almost noon, and they were no closer to identifying their killer than they had been last night.

"Whatever the case, Paul Wilson's still our best lead," Finn said finally."Those DVDs in his projection booth—they weren't just random movies.They were organized, labeled."

She thought about Wilson's nervousness and his too-quick explanations.Something about him nagged at her, but was it genuine suspicion or just the frustration of a stalled investigation?

"Well," Finn said, "if we're going to conduct any more interviews, we'd better get to it.This place is becoming a ghost town in a hurry."

Movement caught Sheila's attention, and she straightened up."Maybe not as empty as we thought."She nodded toward the Mountain View Theater, where two people were slipping in through a side door, glancing around furtively as they did so.One carried what looked like a laptop bag.

"That's odd," Finn said."So much for the festival being shut down."

They crossed the street, approaching the theater quietly.The door was propped slightly open with a wooden wedge.Inside, they could hear the muffled sound of a movie playing—not the usual booming audio of a proper screening, but something softer, like it was being played through portable speakers.

The theater's darkness enveloped them as they entered.On screen, a young woman in period dress was ascending a bell tower, her face illuminated by lightning flashes.The image quality wasn't perfect—clearly a preview copy being projected from someone's laptop.About twenty people sat scattered throughout the seats, completely absorbed in the film.

A young man spotted them and jumped up."Look, we know we're not supposed to be here, but—"

"Sit down," someone hissed."We're missing Elena's big scene!"

"This theater is closed," Finn said, though he kept his voice low out of instinctive respect for the viewers.It was more a question than a statement.

A woman with bright red hair turned around."Please don't stop it.We're film students—this was supposed to premiere tonight.'Southwestern Gothic.'We've been waiting months to see it."

"You do realize there's been a murder," Sheila said, "and the festival's been shut down for safety reasons?"

"We're being careful," another viewer insisted."Everyone here knows each other.We're part of the local film community.Look, there's only thirty minutes left—can't you just let us finish?"

Sheila studied the group.They did seem to know each other, chatting quietly between scenes, making notes in journals.These weren't random moviegoers but serious film enthusiasts.

"How did you even get a copy?"Finn asked.

Several people shushed him as a crucial scene began.On screen, the protagonist was confronting what appeared to be her father's ghost, the camera work creating a dizzying sense of height in the bell tower.

"Sarah's friend works in post-production," the red-haired woman whispered."Said we could do one private screening, just for the local crowd.Most of us were involved in the production somehow."

"Who's Sarah?"Sheila asked, her investigator's instincts awakening.

"Sarah Martinez."The woman sat up and looked around."She's still not here?"

No answer.Sheila's toes instinctively clenched."Did Sarah audition for this film, by any chance?"

The woman nodded."Yeah, she auditioned for Elena—that's the lead role."She gestured at the screen where the protagonist was delivering an emotional monologue."She was amazing in the audition, but they went with Jessica Kent instead.More festival credits to her name."

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