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his head again. ‘No, not a coincidence. He knocked me out and broke my foot. Made my part in that movie perfect, and locked me out of almost everything since. What a fuck. I was kinda hoping he spent the rest of his sorry life behind bars.’ He squeezed the steering wheel. ‘You really didn’t know? I got the impression I was the only one who didn’t know.’

 
    Chapter Three
     
    I woke late. Almost 9:00. I must have been really tired to stay in bed that long. I’m usually up a lot earlier. Kind of a side effect of getting up at 4:00 for six months to get to makeup before very long days of shooting. The lay-in was nice. It would be nothing but hectic for the next few weeks. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and turned the shower to hot and steamy.
    The water pounded my neck and upper back, and I just stood there, the massage head trying to beat away the tension. I was starting to get nerves. Working on a movie was one thing; going to a premiere with the press watching every move was something else all together. I took a deep breath and calmed myself and smiled. As far back as I could remember, this was what I wanted. And it was here.
    Not the fame and for damned sure not the paps. That was a side effect to success. I was making real money now, although that wasn’t my dream either. But with the money came the freedom to choose roles I wanted - good roles in sometimes-small movies. The opportunity to pick and choose instead of beg and steal.
    I lathered my hair. It was getting too long to manage. I had to leave it that length, at least for the premiere, since that’s how long my character’s hair was in the movie. After, though, I was going to cut it. It was more work than I wanted.
    Finally out, dried and dressed and hungry, I stepped on to my balcony and looked out over the ocean. It was gray and a bit foggy. A book day, which suited me fine. A down day before the madness sounded perfect.
    I tied my hair back into a damp ponytail, grabbed my iPad and made a beeline to the cafe just outside my apartment. I had no food, and besides, even if there was something in the kitchen, I was too lazy today to cook.
    Emily and Henry ran a little six-table cafe on the beach. Four inside and two outside under an awning. They were perpetually smiling, always adding a bit more to the sandwich than seemed physically possible and generally taking care of me. Henry cooked and Emily prepared. It was a match and, apparently, a marriage made in heaven.
    ‘ Hey, Ellie. You’re up late. Thought you weren’t coming by today. What will you have?’ Emily was about a foot and a half shorter than me and Chinese. As was Henry. She looked up, expectant smile on her face.
    ‘ I’ve got to be good. Big premiere tomorrow night and I need to fit into the dress or my manager will kill me. So a bowl of fruit, wheat toast and a black coffee, okay? I’ll be sitting outside. Looks like this might be a good day to crawl inside a book.’
    Emily laughed. ‘You, maybe. We’ll be feeding people all day. No time for books.’
    ‘ You love it.’
    ‘ We do. Go have a seat. I’ll bring it out to you.’
    ‘ Thanks.’
    The sun was trying to poke through the cloud and fog with little success. Fortunately it was warm. Spring was here and the cold winter nights seemed to be behind us for now. Well, cold compared to Australia. I had Canadian friends who thought January here was pure heaven.
    I had just opened up the Sydney Morning Herald app on my iPad to catch up on news from home when I heard a voice I hadn’t in years.
    ‘ Watch what you’re doing or I’ll slice you from ear to ear.’
    I grinned and replied: ‘You’ve got to catch me first, you miserable fuck.’ I turned and saw Kent Williams, my co-star in Beast of Bondi . He was the Beast, a psychotic killer stalking the skate parks of Sydney while living in a storm drain off Bondi Beach. I was his last victim. That was the dialogue just before the big fight scene at the end. Pretty