The Clue at Black Creek Farm (Nancy Drew Diaries #9)(31)

I’ve always thought it would be thrilling to visit a movie set—the actors, the costumes, and watching a story come to life. I never imagined that most of the drama would be behind the camera…



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Action on the Set


“I THINK I’M GOING TO FAINT.”

Bess Marvin, my best friend, lifted up her sunglasses and surveyed the scene in front of us. It was nine a.m. and we had just arrived at the River Heights train station, which was filled with giant trucks, trailers, and a few dozen spectators, all waiting as anxiously as we were.

“He’s just a person!” snorted George Fayne, my other best friend and Bess’s cousin. Although she and Bess are related, they are complete opposites. Take their outfits this morning: Bess was dressed in an elegant blue wrap dress with intricate embroidery along the neckline. Her hair curled softly around her face, and she was wearing just the right amount of mascara to make her lashes look “natural but flirty,” according to her. George, on the other hand, was not pleased about getting up so early, and could barely be bothered to throw on a pair of cutoff jean shorts and a faded T-shirt that had been through one too many spin cycles.

“Ned texted me to say that he saved us a good spot,” I said, shepherding my friends through the small but eager crowd in the parking lot. Many people were holding signs that read BRIAN, I LOVE YOU! and RIVER HEIGHTS WELCOMES BRIAN NEWSOME!

Although I wasn’t as star-struck as Bess, I certainly felt like this was a special moment—a real film crew was about to start shooting a movie in River Heights. The director, Alex Burgess, had worked in my dad’s law office before pursuing his dream of directing films. Neither my dad nor I were surprised when Alex made the move to Los Angeles. Although he had been a diligent paralegal, he’d always been obsessed with movies.

Alex had struggled at first, working in a diner while writing the screenplay for his film, The Hamilton Inn. His sacrifices had paid off though, and now here he was, ready to bring his story to the silver screen.

But it wasn’t Alex the crowd had come to see; it was the star of his film, Brian Newsome, who played a handsome doctor on the hit television drama Hospital Tales. As my friends and I made our way through the shrieking fans, I noticed that many of the girls in the crowd were dressed as nicely as Bess was.

“Nancy! Over here!”

My boyfriend, Ned Nickerson, stood at the front of the crowd with a camera around his neck; he freelances as a part-time photographer for the River Heights Tribune.

Bess barely said hello to Ned, craning her neck toward the side of the parking lot. “Have you seen him yet?”

Ned smiled. “Brian should be here in about fifteen minutes, Bess.”

I caught George rolling her eyes and grinned. George usually has little patience for Bess’s celebrity crushes.

“Nancy, I cannot believe you know the director of an actual movie! This is so cool!” Bess continued.

I nodded, adding, “It’s really generous of Alex to invite us here to see the set!”

George yawned. “Why is the coffee cart closed?” she grumbled. Besides not being a morning person, she also hated being hungry. The combination of the two had turned her into a full-on grouch.

“Several businesses in and around the train station had to shut down for the day to accommodate the shoot,” I explained, “so Alex wanted to do something special for the business owners and employees to thank them. Especially because he’s from River Heights.”

“So they lose a whole day of business and all they have to show for it is a photograph with some fake doctor?” George snorted.

“Um, Hospital Tales is one of the most watched shows on television,” Bess snapped, “and Brian Newsome happens to be an amazing actor, Georgia.”

Everyone knows that the best way to ruffle George’s feathers is to call her by her real name, but I jumped in before George could unleash a snarky comeback. “The movie is paying all the businesses too,” I said. “And Alex invited a few old River Heights friends to come to today’s photo op, like my father and me. He thinks it will be helpful to have familiar faces here.”

“We’re lucky,” Ned agreed, looking up from his camera. “I’ve heard that most movie sets are closed to the public because of issues with security and sound and—”

“Psycho fans?” George smirked, elbowing Bess, who ignored her.

“They’re going to ask everyone to leave the set before they start shooting,” I announced.

“Leave where?” Bess asked hopefully. “Where does the set end?”

“Technically ‘the set’ refers to the area that will be on camera,” Ned replied, “but I’m guessing they’ll clear out the whole train station and the parking lot because it’s filled with their trucks and trailers. Sorry, Bess.”

“So what’s this movie about, anyway?” George asked, yawning again.

“All I know is what I read in the Tribune,” I said. “It’s a mystery about a brother and sister who move back to their hometown to run their family’s old, run-down hotel . . . which might be haunted.”

Bess added, “Brian Newsome will be playing Dylan Hamilton, and Zo? French is going to be playing his sister, Malika. Zoe’s done some television as well as theater and commercials, but The Hollywood Times thinks that The Hamilton Inn could be her big break.”