Murder on a Silver Platter (A Red Carpet Catering Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

didn’t quite trust her legs to stay steady. “Should I go with her?”
    The EMT shook her head. “It’s not necessary. We’re taking precautions. She’ll probably have a bad headache and a bump on her head. Like I said, I’d like the doctor to rule out anything more serious.” With that she turned on her heel and climbed into the back of the ambulance. Her assistant shut the door behind her and jogged over to the driver’s side door, hopped inside and quickly drove away with Penelope’s best friend and Sal’s leading lady tucked away inside.
    “Christ. I cannot believe this is happening today,” Sal yelled, letting his anger overtake his worry. He spun around to glare at the mostly silent crew, still gathered in a loose huddle near the scene of the accident. Penelope and Sam stood dazed where the ambulance had been. Sam’s face was white underneath his tan camera makeup and he twisted his crumpled jacket in his fists.
    “Sam, what happened?” Sal asked him, turning back to his leading man, grasping his muscular bicep. Sal spoke gently, trying to shake Sam from his shock and get him to focus.
    “Ah, um…” Sam searched for words, not looking directly at them but all around instead, like he was trying to find his words on invisible cue cards. “We were running lines, walking our cues and then,” he drifted for a second, “and then she got run over by a golf cart. It’s crazy because I heard it speed up behind us right before…”
    “Who was it?” Sal urged.
    Sam held his palms up. “I didn’t see a face, whoever it was had on a ski mask, and the back window was covered with something, like black plastic, maybe a garbage bag, so I couldn’t see after they passed.”
    “Someone ran over my leading lady and no one knows who it was?” Sal was shouting again now. “Do you know how much money this is costing me?”
    The crew members seemed to shrink, shoulders sagging as they glanced at each other for an answer.
    “You,” Sal waved over the Key Grip.
    A thin man in a puffy jacket reluctantly walked over to Sal.
    “You were hanging the camera?” Sal waved at a small crane on the other side of the street that held a camera, rigged to film a tracking shot.
    The grip nodded, screwing up his blond features. “Yeah, Sal, but I didn’t see what happened. It was over in two seconds…I saw the cart hauling out of here. It was one of ours, though, that I know for sure.”
    “How did you not see what happened? You had a bird’s-eye view of the street.” Sal paced angrily back and forth, clenching his fists. “The barricades are up. They were rehearsing, the street was cleared of traffic and there was no one else around. And what? Someone decided to drive through my movie? Not only that, but drive through and hit my lead actress and not even stop to see if she’s been injured?”
    “I’m sorry, Sal,” the grip said. “I wish I could tell you what happened.” He glanced at his fellow crew mates, most of who were attempting not to make eye contact with him.
    Sal laughed darkly, shaking his head. “You know what? If Arlena is not back here one hundred percent fine and ready to work tomorrow, I’m holding all of you personally responsible.” Sal stomped away angrily from his crew.
    “Sam, are you okay?” Penelope asked, raising a hand to touch his shoulder but pulling back at the last minute.
    Sam looked at her, still dazed. “I guess so.”
    “Do you think someone did this on purpose?”
    Sam nodded quickly. “I heard the cart speed up, and then they went even faster to get away. Didn’t stop or hesitate once.”
    Penelope’s stomach did a slow turn. “Someone on the set, then,” she mumbled to herself. “Someone was aiming for her.”

Chapter 5

      
    “Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.”
    Penelope could hear Arlena’s voice coming from a room at the end of the hall. They were on the top floor of South Point Medical Center, in the most private room the facility could offer. The rubber soles of her