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Prologue

"So, you think you know the truth?" Dianna Breen, femy office, skirt tight against her curvaceous form, eyes sultry as she stared at the hero, Sam Stone The film was dark and shadowy, and sexual tension between the players was palpable

Sa away from Dianna Breen’s chest, modestly covered in frilly white cotton beneath the linen jacket of her suit "I do know the truth I know you’re a hussy and a thief, and I don’t believe you’d think twice before resorting to !" Dianna Breen leaned down to bring her face close to Saarette from a pack on the desk and continued to stare at hiarette

"I know that you’d do anything to own the Egyptian Museu," he added softly

Shetoward the , her walk a study in slow sensuality There, however, in what reht, her face told the story; she was being wronged She was not a murderess She turned to him, hurt and passion in her eyes "You don’t understand! You don’t understand about…the eles street; beyond the , day was dying The city’s shadows suited the ambience of the black-and-white film perfectly "It was never mine--you must understand It was never mine It was Frederick’s, and it killed hih the projector suddenly seemed loud as Sahts were heard then He was narrating as he stood and walked over to the gorgeous and seductive"I couldn’t believe it Aat me, those enor in her lips--"

"Hey!"

Alistair Archer nearly jued to cut off the startled scream that threatened to escape hi her ar him a heart attack

He was in lust--if not love--with Jenny There was so about her, an aura of film noir seductress She had Lana Turner dark brown hair that swept over her forehead, and she wore rich dark shades of lipstick Today, she was in tight-fitting jeans and a cotton tailored shirt that re and allowing her to slide into his arms His voice was a little treet in here?" he asked, glancing back toward the door Black Box Cineht of the week, a filht be more recent a movie influenced by the director’s vision of film noir The cinema ned by Alistair’s father, special effects whiz Eddie Archer, and stood just off Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz area Eddie also owned the adjacent studio, and both buildings were situated on two acres surrounded by a very old ceo when he started his special-effects business For the previous five decades, the now-defunct Claymore Illusions had operated fro in back The company had been founded by the first Lucas Claymore and continued by his son, who’d eventually sold the place All Eddie had needed to do was update it to create Archer’s Wizardry and Effects While his artists and artisans so, with tourists parking here and there and everywhere, Eddie was ada his own cine screen to his heart’s content Hehis passion, infecting others with his personal enthusias posed mannequins in famous scenes from film noir and selected classic movies from the ’40s and ’50s--connected the cinema and the studio But the main doors to the studio, which were next door and about fifty feet behind the parking lot, re production, the studio often went into lockdown, as it was now

Lockdoas for secrecy as well as security No one wanted a big-budget movie’s effects and surprises out on the internet before the movie reached the screen Archer’s Wizardry and Effects was busy creating the costumes and creatures for The Unholy, the next remake to come to the silver screen

The Unholy was actually an updated version of Sayptian Museum Unlike remakes that simply remade an old film, like Psycho, The Unholy used the same characters and situations, but cast theht

Sam Stone now had a cell phone and a computer

Alistair was happy that the studio had thethe film up-to-date, and he knew the effects would be splendid, but he still wasn’t sure about a res were better off left alone Film noir didn’t really fit with co here?" Alistair asked as the film wound on and the projector clicked, clicked, clicked "How did you get in?" Alistair had keys to the studio, to the doors that separated the underground tunnel from the studio, and to the Black Box Cinema His father trusted him completely

He hated to betray that trust in any way Even for Jenny But he’d brought Jenny in with him before It wasn’t unusual that she’d come; it was unusual that she’d been able to just slip in

She touched his cheek and smiled seductively At twenty-two, his senior by a year, she already had the moves--as well as the appearance--of a fe back the strands of hair that had hidden her eyes "You left the front door open, silly," she told hirinned, and lookedHollywood hopeful "The rest of the place is tight as a dru, responsible Alistair, believe it or not, you left the front door open" She paused to give hi to call you You didn’t answer your cell"

He had to wonder what it was about one person that could turn the senses of another upside down The senses and the sanity Yes, Jenny was beautiful and perfect, but…it was Hollywood The stunning, the perfect and the beautiful all walked about, ever hopeful, soet where they wanted to go, others starry-eyed and naive He was the son of one of the most respectedon to hiht he could do for her

"Sorry," he said, and the tone of his voice was annoyingly husky She knew she sent his libido off the charts, and he hated the pathetic puppy-dog tail-wagging de the movie It’s yptian Museum I really love the film, and the special effects for it were actually done here, when the place was still Claymore Illusions" That fact added to the pride his father took in securing the special-effects contract for The Unholy

Jenny shook her head "Silly boy, living in the past! Except, of course…"