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"Watching a child suffer is a hard thing," Bogie said, his voice low and slightly nasal

Bogie

Madison stared at hiinary friend? She would never be sure She’d had strange experiences as a child She’d tried chalking thest and, as her parents had suggested, an overactive iht into a career She’d also had experiences that had broken her heart--and ht be part of the reason she eie hadn’t coh he’d lived there briefly in the 1920s He’d told her once that he had loved it and loved living there She’d first e student; she’d assumed he was a look-alike actor hired to play the part They’d spoken and laughed together…

And he’d followed her hoie showed up whenever he wanted to Apparently he had other places to haunt, as well Madison siht be Soht she was incredibly lucky that such a h she believed that now, she hadn’t always He’d scared her to death at first, and had occasionally made her life hell

He’d just startled her today; the first night she’d seen hiiven her a heart attack She’d fumbled to call the police, and they’d coe kid trying to etic and courteous--so sorry for causing her distress He hat he was, and he’d tried to explain, but she hadn’t believed hiinary, but she didn’t knohat part of her ered his appearances

And if he hat about the other dead people who’d spoken to her?

But iinary or not, he was there for her now

"Have some coffee, kid That’ll make you feel better"

"I’m not sure it will help me feel better But at least it’ll wake o back to sleep"

"Why is it that everyone thinks I can sleep now?" sheas he gazed out the s He turned to look at her "The murder took place in the studio?" he asked

She shook her head "The underground tunnel between the Black Box Cinema and the studio--where Archer has his filie mused "By which display?"

Madison frowned "The news didn’t say, but Alfie told me it was by the tableau for Sayptian Museum Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? I mean, especially since the studio is now in lockdown because of The Unholy--the Sah the years You’ve heard about the case of the Black Dahlia? Poor girl, tortured and then displayed, chopped right in two," Bogie said, shaking his head "There’s always been murder out here--and out here, it becoedy You had Fatty Arbuckle and the inia Rappe back in 1921, and later, you had the Manson murders and then the Simpson murders, and anyti for every sordid detail" He shrugged "I watch the news, you know," he told her seriously, "as well as old co place full of illusion Murder isn’t confined to Tinseltown, but there’s no way it’s not going to occur here, too"

Madison nodded absently She glanced over at Bogie and wondered sometimes why he didn’t haunt some of the other places he’d loved And soh, "They can’t see me I can’t reach therinned at her "You reply when I speak to you and I like that It’s why I keep colad Very glad

"Saie said "I could’ve been in thaton Might have been Casablanca Yeah, probably That was 1942 Anyway, I always thanked God I wasn’t on that set, because there was a death back then--and it ht have been a murder, too"

Madison tried to see if she could reh to recall aof Sa about it--in any of the lurid books about true Hollywood murders or on any of the history or entertainain Watching him, she hid a smile He seemed to sit differently from other people she knew He was relaxed, and still, somehow appeared proper