Alexis and the Lake Tahoe Tumult - Erica Rodgers [23]
“Oh. Well, thank you, Misty,” said Jake. “Sorry about before. I’ve been a little on edge lately.”
Alexis was lost in thought again. So Bruce Benton wanted the reserve, huh? Hadn’t she and Bailey heard him discussing his new resort the other day? He had said there were some complications … but he had also said that they wouldn’t last long.
Was it possible? Could this Bruce guy be involved in sabotaging the reserve just so he could have the land? It was a very “Cruella” thing to do. Alexis scribbled a reminder in her notebook. She would talk to Bailey about her idea as soon as they were alone again.
“Well,” said Misty, bringing Alexis back to the conversation again. “It looks like everyone needs to get back to work. How would you girls like to hear my take on all of this?”
“You mean like an interview?” asked Alexis.
“Sure! If you need it, that is. I don’t have a lot of time, but I’m willing.”
“It would be great to have an outside perspective on the hard work Karen and Jake have put into the reserve. Bailey? Would you like to take the camera and interview Miss Marks?”
Bailey was speechless again, but a huge smile broke her face almost in two.
Out Cold
Bailey chattered away as she dug the tripod out of Alexis’s camera bag. The thought of interviewing one of her favorite actresses had finally loosened her tongue, and now she was asking Misty Marks about a million questions a minute. Misty just laughed as she followed Bailey into the back office. It would give them a quiet place to conduct most of the interview.
Alexis decided it would also be a good idea to get scenes of Bailey and Misty walking around the reserve. “I’ll set up the camera and let you two get started with the interview. Since Misty’s time is limited, while you’re doing the interview, I’m going to find some areas where we can have good shots of you two to show. Then we’ll edit it all together later.”
“Sounds great to me,” Misty said, flashing another of her famous smiles.
Before Alexis shut the door, Bailey looked back and waved at her.
“Thank you!” she mouthed. Alexis gave her two thumbs-up and smiled. She wondered if the actress would get a word in.
Alexis sat back on the couch and got out her notebook. As she looked over her notes about the mysterious “Chloe,” Bubbles jumped up onto the cushion next to her and put his head in her lap. His misty eyes looked up into hers like he was asking her for something. Alexis looked at Karen nervously.
“He may be three times bigger, Alexis, but sometimes Bubbles thinks he’s just a plain ol’ house cat. I think he wants you to pet him.”
Alexis rubbed Bubbles’s head. The little tufts of hair sticking out from the tips of his ears were extremely soft. She realized that long tufts stuck out from between each of his toes as well. Alexis could see how people might think a bobcat would make an awesome pet. It was like holding a giant kitten … until Bubbles yawned and reminded her that his teeth were much bigger.
Jake was walking back toward the couch with two steaming mugs of coffee when they heard it—a muffled cough from somewhere outside and a faint rattle.
“Is someone outside?” asked Karen. “I thought I heard a cough.”
“Shh!” said Jake. He was frozen in the middle of the room, his head bent toward the sound. “It’s not the cough I’m worried about. It’s the can of spray paint!”
He dropped both cups of coffee and bolted out the back door. Karen and Alexis stared at each other for a minute before following. They ran to the back steps just in time to see Jake disappear around the corner of the building.
“Be careful, Jake!” Karen called. There wasn’t a path through the snow here, so Alexis and Karen waited under the eave.
“He won’t catch them,” said Karen. “He never does.”
They stood in silence for a minute. Then for two. Then almost five had gone by, and they hadn’t heard anything. Karen took off through the snow calling after Jake. Alexis followed again, tripping through the feet of loose powder.