Sue nodded. “Yes. I did. But it could have been one of Gene’s lights flickering. I wish I’d picked a different house because it’s terrible to have to watch his back parking lot from my yard.”
“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Roxie asked.
“I would very much like to know what either one of you is thinking.” Armie’s brow had risen. “You seem to have figured something out.”
He looked out and Ashlyn finally had her camera down. “What’s the name of your project?”
Roxie turned and stared at the teen, too. “You can talk here or we can do it at the station house. And you three in the back, do not think you can sneak out. I can find you, and when I do, it will be so much worse because I’ll bring your mommas in.”
He noticed what he hadn’t before. A row of teens had gotten to their feet, trying to sneak out of the hall. Two girls and a boy, including the young lovers from earlier in the week.
“Ashlyn, you should answer Mr. Guidry,” Roxie said with a steely look in her eyes.
Mrs. Travers stood up and walked to her daughter. “Ashlyn is working on a project for her school, and her friends are helping her. That’s all. Why are you harassing her?”
“What’s the name of your project?” Roxie moved closer, reminding him a bit of a cougar seeking prey.
Ashlyn swallowed nervously. “Uhm, it’s a short film about what happens in a small town.”
“What happens in small towns?” Roxie prodded.
“Uh . . . stuff. It’s about how boring towns are,” the teen said, seeming to get some of her stubbornness back.
“You told me you were making one of those scary movies.” Her mother’s hands went to her hips. “That’s why you’ve been out so late. You said you needed nighttime shots to get the mood right.” She pointed a finger her daughter’s way. “If you were out playing around with boys, I’ll have your hide. I knew that Hannah was going to be a bad influence on you.”
Hannah stood up. “I am not a bad influence, and Austin and I were only making out in Miss Dixie’s backyard because we’re supposed to be the heroes of the film. It was supposed to be romantic, but then Ashlyn said she had to kill one of us off or it would be too mainstream. What does that even mean?”
Ashlyn’s eyes had rolled. “It means I’m an artist, Hannah. No one wants a happy-ending horror film.”
“And what kills the lovers in your film?” Roxie asked as righteously as any whodunnit sleuth ever had before.
Ashlyn’s lips closed.
He was so right about this. “What’s the name of the film, Ashlyn? I’m going to find out. Do you know what I think happened? I think you decided to make a film about a mythical creature, and how do you make a film on a shoestring budget these days? Your characters film the footage themselves. Like Blair Witch.”
“It’s called found footage and it’s an art form,” Ashlyn argued.
Zep stood up because she’d forgotten something. “How many of your actors knew they were acting?”
Her mother had a horrified look on her face. “Is that why you had your phone up when I was making breakfast this morning? You said you were playing around. I didn’t even have any makeup on. You were going to put it in a film?”
“I find your reactions are better if you don’t know you’re being filmed,” Ashlyn admitted. “And I got great footage of the old dude and the goats freaking out. Sorry, I didn’t know about the dog. I totally would have saved the dog.”
Zep went to the edge of the stage. “You were still in the woods when we got there, and you were definitely not looking for your phone at Dixie’s. You were purposefully scaring people so you could get their reactions on film?”
“It’s called The Rougarou’s Revenge, and I’m putting it in a contest for found-footage horror,” Ashlyn declared. “Though Hannah and Austin were actually pretty terrible. How about you and the deputy become my romantic interests? You two have great chemistry on film.”
Roxie’s eyes narrowed. “You filmed us?”
He needed to get down there or his honey was going to get in trouble. He jumped off the stage and rushed to join her. “I don’t think this is how found footage works. You’re going to need releases from everyone. Signed releases.”
“She’s going to need a long talking-to.” Armie stared down from the stage. “You were sneaking around in people’s yards hoping they would think you were some kind of crazed killer werewolf. This is Louisiana. You’re lucky you weren’t shot.”
Ashlyn’s eyes lit up. “Oh, the old dude totally took a shot, but his aim wasn’t good. It’s the best scene in the whole film so far. Very exciting.”
Her mother looked like she might pass out. “Oh, my lord.”