A Script for Danger (Nancy Drew Diaries #10)(21)

“Oh, yes! I forgot to respond to your text message last night. Ronan’s agent is no longer representing him, and apparently he’s changed his cell phone number. She has no idea how to reach him.”

“You don’t change your cell phone number unless you’re trying to avoid someone,” George said.

“Lali, when was the last time Alex and Ronan were in touch?” I asked.

Lali shrugged. “I don’t think they’ve been in contact since Ronan dropped the lawsuit, but I could be wrong.”

“What made Ronan drop the lawsuit?”

“I’ve told you all I know, Nancy,” Lali said.

“I really need face time with Alex so I can ask him about this . . . for the article, of course,” I quickly added as I noticed Spencer walking by. He and two other electricians positioned heavy cables along the ground and covered them with leaves. The cables ran into the woods, where they powered a pair of lights so heavy it took three people to lift each one. As soon as Spencer saw the powerful lights flare to life, he doubled back to speak with Lali.

“I need to talk to you about security again,” he complained. “I’m still missing my wire cutters, and now my needle-nose pliers are gone, as well as some spools of wire. These are small tools, but they add up.”

“All right,” she said calmly, “walk with me. Nancy, we’ll talk later, okay?”

I nodded, left with no choice but to swallow my questions for now. Investigating a film shoot certainly presented a whole new level of challenges I wasn’t used to.

Soon after Lali left, Cora appeared, camera in hand. She had a grin on her face instead of her usual apathetic expression.

“Alex can’t yell at me for being in the way this time!” she announced. “I borrowed a zoom lens from a friend! See?” She excitedly showed us her new toy. “It’s like spy equipment. I can get close-ups without having to be right on set! I’m going to use it to catch that evil snob Kendall in the act!”

I shook my head. “Kendall left,” I told Cora, “and there was no ‘act’ to catch her in.” I relayed the information about Zo? and the contracts.

“Lame,” Cora grumbled, her smile fading. “So who are you looking at now?”

“Looking at?”

“Oh, come on, Nancy.” Cora rolled her eyes. “My brother used to talk about your mysteries all the time. I know you’re not writing an article. Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell anyone.”

Bess, George, and I exchanged glances. It was true—going undercover, especially in a small town like River Heights, was never quite as seamless as I wanted it to be.

“Like I told Bess yesterday, you guys can look at my footage whenever you want,” Cora offered, “for clues or whatever.”

“What made you change your mind?” I asked.

“My brother and I don’t get along sometimes,” Cora admitted, “and it’s become worse over the years. But when I showed Bess my footage yesterday, I realized that I’m genuinely excited for him. The last thing I’d want is for someone to ruin his movie.”

“That’s great, Cora!” Bess exclaimed, giving her new friend’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze.

I had to hand it to Bess for getting through to Cora. Her confession seemed sincere; she even let George peer through her new zoom lens.

“I can see Sal’s nose hairs from here!” George cried.

“George! Eww!” Bess shrieked.

Even as I watched my friends bond with Cora, I was hesitant about crossing her off the suspect list. Her opinion of Alex had reversed far too quickly. What if she was just pretending to be nice in order to find out how much we actually knew?

Cora wasn’t the only one with renewed energy that morning. Brian arrived in his workout clothes and decided to go for a “quick jog” up and down the stairs of the inn.

“Wow, what is in those green shakes?” George commented as Brian leaped up two, then three stairs at a time.

“I read that Brian ran track and field in high school and college,” Bess boasted. The word “college” triggered a lightbulb in my head.

“Didn’t Lali say that Ronan Beale was Alex’s college buddy?” I asked.

Bess nodded. “I think so. Why?”

“I think I know how to find him,” I said. “Excuse me.”

I found a quiet spot and called Ned. He answered on the first ring.

“I need you to find out about a guy named Ronan Beale who graduated from River Heights University five years ago.”

“Good morning to you, too, Nance,” came his sleepy reply.

“Hi, Ned. Sorry for waking you. It’s just that—”

“Nancy, you don’t have to explain.” I could hear him getting out of bed. “You think the guy who’s messing with Alex’s movie went to RHU?”

“Yes. All I know is that he lives in L.A., but then I remembered that all RHU students and alumni have access to the directory,” I replied. As preoccupied as I was, it was nice to hear Ned’s voice.

“Okay, I’m logging into the network. Yep, here we go. Ronan Beale.”

Suddenly Ned’s voice became quiet. “Wait a second. . . .”

“What, Ned?”