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Yet another actor into his role. Mariah smiled grimly and nodded as she walked by. |
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A woman approached. Her dress was gray, ragged and dirty. It covered her from chin to ankle, as Mariah's did. She looked Mariah up and down, not particularly cordially. Mariah halted her by saying, "I wonder if you could help me." |
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The woman looked older than Mariah had at first thought, with pleats at her sad and distrustful dark eyes. "What do you want?" |
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Mariah suspected that this remote woman wouldn't tell her what was going on even if she knew. "I'm looking for Angela Corbin. Do you know if she's somewhere around town for the film shoot?" |
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A fearful look crossed the woman's face. "I know no Angela Corbin. But have you heard shooting? Is it another Indian uprising? We must enter the fort for protection." |
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Mariah held her temper in check. Why wouldn't someone just stop the pretense long enough to help her out? "Maybe the Cleveland Indians are on their way to attack the Pittsburgh Pirates," she said sarcastically, then regretted it, for the woman gasped and ran off as though terrified. |
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Mariah sighed, touching her aching temple with her fingertips. She was getting tired of all this. If she could simply find Angela, she'd borrow some money and tell her she was catching the next flight back to L.A. She didn't appear needed on this project, and she was beginning to detest it. |
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Despite its captivating screenplay. |
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She'd reached the end of the row of log buildings. Where could she go now to look for someone familiar? And why hadn't she seen anyone here, where there was no filming going on, out of character and in a pair of blue jeans? |
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The ache in her head turned into a sharp, painful pounding. Something was dreadfully wrong. There was too much that seemed authentic. Too many actors taking their roles much too seriously. Sets that seemed very real. Rivers resembling the ones that formed Pittsburgh, but without the skyscrapers and traffic. |
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She suddenly felt certain that she wasn't on a movie set. But if not, where was she? |
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