Page 54 of Silent Home

"Of course.He's always working late, getting atmospheric shots of the empty theaters, that kind of thing."Rider paused."Come to think of it, he's particularly interested in performance.Always talking about capturing the perfect moment, the height of emotion.Some of the actors found him...intense."

"Intense how?"Sheila asked.

"He'd film them without their knowledge sometimes.Said he was documenting the creative process, catching genuine moments.We had a few complaints, but his work was exceptional, so..."Rider spread his hands helplessly.

"Where would he keep his footage?"Sheila asked.

"He has a studio above the Elysian Arts Cinema.The festival rents it for him year-round.He's probably there now, actually.Said something about preserving important festival moments despite the shutdown."

Sheila and Finn exchanged looks.A photographer obsessed with capturing perfect moments.Someone with technical knowledge, access to the theaters, and an intimate understanding of performance.

"We need to talk to him," Sheila said.

But as they headed for the door, Rider called after them: "Sheriff?There's something else.About Thorne."He hesitated."He applied to direct a few years back.Had this psychological thriller script about a photographer documenting people's final moments.The festival board thought it was too disturbing.He didn't take the rejection well."

Sheila felt the pieces starting to click into place."Thank you, Carl.That's very helpful."

Outside, the morning had warmed considerably, but Sheila felt a chill as she thought about someone watching through a camera lens, documenting everything, waiting for the perfect moment to create their own twisted scenes.

"The Elysian isn't far," Finn said."Want to pay Mr.Thorne a visit?"

Sheila nodded, already heading for their car.They had a new suspect—someone who understood both the technical and artistic elements of performance.Someone who might be documenting their own grotesque masterpiece, one murder at a time.

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

They pulled up to the Elysian Arts Cinema ten minutes later.The building's facade was undergoing renovation, scaffolding creating a maze of metal pipes and wooden platforms that reached to the third floor.A construction crew worked near the entrance, making it impossible to slip in quietly.

"Can we access the studio from the back?"Sheila asked.

"There's a fire escape," Finn said, "but it's visible from the street.If Thorne sees us coming, there's no telling how he might react."

They circled the block, looking for options.A delivery truck blocked the alley behind the building, its driver arguing with someone about where to unload cases of concession supplies that should have been delivered during the festival.

When they finally made it to the building's rear entrance, they found it locked.Through the windows, they could see renovation debris scattered across the lobby floor—sawdust, drop cloths, tools.The construction noise from outside made it impossible to hear if anyone was moving around upstairs.

"We could call for backup," Finn suggested."Get people watching all the exits."

Sheila shook her head."We can't risk spooking him.If he's taken another victim, the sight of police might cause him to kill her on the spot."She studied the fire escape."There has to be a way..."

A door opened above them.They pressed back against the wall as someone emerged onto the fire escape—but it was just a construction worker having a cigarette.He nodded to them absently, apparently assuming they were with the renovation crew.

"Excuse me," Sheila said, showing her badge."We need to access the third-floor studio.For the investigation."

The worker shrugged."Good luck with that.Power's out up there—they're rewiring the whole building.Some kind of electrical issue this morning."

Sheila felt her stomach tighten."When did this happen?"

"Couple hours ago.The photographer guy was pretty upset about it.Said he had important work to do."

"Is he still up there?"

"Haven't seen him leave."The worker stubbed out his cigarette."But there's a lot of ways in and out with all this scaffolding."

They thanked him and moved back to the alley entrance.A crash from above made them both look up.Through a third-floor window, they caught a glimpse of movement—someone disconnecting equipment, working by flashlight.

"Back door's too obvious," Sheila said."He'll be watching it.We need another way up."

They circled the building again.The scaffolding created a complex grid of potential access points, but climbing it would leave them exposed.The construction crew had mostly moved inside, their tools and materials abandoned while they dealt with the power issue.

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