Tracking Shot, Colin Campbell [moboreader TXT] 📗

McNulty leaned forward for emphasis. “Larry’s got a lot of mouths to feed.” He softened his tone. “And a lot of them were in that room.” He looked at Alfonse. “Some didn’t make it out. We’ve got to look after the rest.”

Alfonse nodded but didn’t speak. He knew the show had to go on. There’d been countless movies where tragedy had struck, but a movie ship was too big to turn. The second assistant director called over from the promontory, and Alfonse signaled that he’d heard. He glanced at McNulty and nodded again. “He picked the right man to be motivational speaker.”

“Technical adviser.”

Alfonse didn’t quite smile but came close. “Same difference.”

McNulty scanned the woods leading to the promontory. “Speaking of our captain, where is Larry?”

Alfonse didn’t need to look. “Feeding mouths.”

What Alfonse meant and everybody knew was that Larry Unger was in serious trouble and paddling like mad to keep his head above water. And it was very deep water. The producer had to weigh the pros and cons. The shooting at the orphanage had given the production worldwide publicity, ensuring that Dead Naked would get lots of press when it was released. The downside was the sensitivity issue. Larry couldn’t be seen as exploiting the tragedy, even though that’s exactly what he planned to do. Everyone in the industry remembered the movie theatre massacre during The Dark Knight Rises screening and how it forced Gangster Squad to reshoot a similar scene to avoid bad taste. Bad taste was Larry’s middle name, but even he understood the courtroom scene had to be rewritten.

That’s why he was late arriving on location. The screenplay had to be changed, the plot altered to remove the courthouse, the scene reset and the dialogue altered. That wasn’t his only problem. When he arrived two hours late, he sought out McNulty—his problem-solver.

“McNulty.”

The familiar shout sounded across the promontory between takes. Larry waited at the edge of the woods until he saw McNulty coming, then walked past the location to a bend in the road. The crew were busy in the woods. Equipment and personnel were brought in from the parking lot to the south. There was nobody on the road to the north. Larry stood at the side of the road and looked at the spur of land jutting out into the reservoir. Trees were reflected in the calm waters. He made a mental note to have the director of photography snatch an establishing shot from here. Footsteps crunching gravel turned him to McNulty.

“How’s Alfonse holding up?”

McNulty glanced at the location across open water. “He’ll be fine.” Then he surprised the producer. “How are you?”

Larry was touched but couldn’t stop being Larry. “Conflicted.”

McNulty decided to make it easier. “We can’t use the courthouse. But the fact that we don’t means everyone will remember and thank us for it. The courtroom scene is just the detective making inquiries. We can do that anywhere.”

Larry didn’t look any happier. “Already done that.”

McNulty tried to cheer up the producer. “A dedication in the end credits. That’ll do us good.”

Larry looked distracted. He nodded but let out a sigh. “If the police don’t tie any of this to the production.”

That caught McNulty by surprise. “Why would they do that?”

Larry turned to the Yorkshireman. “Can you imagine how much shit they’d have been in if they’d lost the Zapruder film?”

McNulty frowned. “The Kennedy assassination?”

Larry nodded. “Footage of the shooting.”

McNulty began to understand but stated the obvious. “The police seized all our footage.”

Larry’s shoulders sagged. “I thought so too. From the main camera, yes. Not the Arriflex.”

McNulty still wasn’t sure. “They didn’t take that?”

Larry shook his head. “Reverse angle footage. Toward the double doors at the back of the courtroom where the shooter came in.” This time the sigh puffed out his cheeks. “We’ve lost the Zapruder film.”

NINE

It wasn’t just that they’d lost the Zapruder film. They’d lost Zapruder and his camera as well. “You’ve lost the Arriflex and the operator?”

Larry walked two paces farther along the road and glanced over his shoulder. “We didn’t lose it. Somebody took it.”

McNulty followed, then blocked Larry’s way. “The camera?”

Larry didn’t answer. McNulty reviewed the crime scene in his head. He’d already drawn the police a diagram of where everything had been located. He tried to remember whether he’d included the Arriflex. He knew he’d included the static camera and the bodies, but he ran through the standard crime-scene procedure just so he got it straight.

First responders were the police. He closed his eyes and replayed the aftermath. Paramedics, once it was declared safe.

He invisioned the chaos that always followed any major disaster. Cops searching the premises. Paramedics triaging, the dead being passed over in favor of the wounded. Witnesses coming back in, and the police trying to preserve the integrity of the scene. The courtroom had been a warzone of overturned chairs and spilled medical supplies. Blood and gun smoke and voided bowels. It had taken hours before the scene was processed and the evidence recorded. Hours during which McNulty assumed that Waltham PD had seized the cameras and any film coverage of the incident. It appeared they’d overlooked the Arriflex.

“Who was the operator?”

“Randy Severino.”

“The new kid?”

“I never used two cameras before. This is the first time.” Larry turned worried eyes on McNulty. “Vince. If Randy is involved, or even if he isn’t but he sells the footage…” He waved a hand along the road to the location vehicles. “It’s going to sink Titanic Productions.”

McNulty sympathised but had to tell it straight. “Larry. We’ve got to tell the police.”

The producer deflated like a pricked balloon. “I know. Christ. They were our people who were killed.” He straightened partway. “But can we first make sure it isn’t Severino? At least then I can do some damage control.”

McNulty held his hands up. “I’m your technical adviser. Not a P.I.”

Larry wagged a finger. “Including stunts and security. Well, this is security.”

McNulty glanced toward the location then turned back