Forcing himself to return to his work area, he put away his tools and cleaned up. He was supposed to have had plenty of time and space to create while he was here. Sure, Maxi had mentioned that he had someone staying in the guesthouse, but he hadn’t acted as though it would be a big deal. He hadn’t even told Seth her name—or about the damn bird that was beginning to squawk.

“Pretty girl... Pretty girl.”

Kiki wasn’t loud. But he could still hear her. That was irritating enough.

“There she is.” Squawk. “Pretty girl.”

“You gotta be kidding me.” Grabbing his laptop, he carried it to the desk in the center of the room. What was Tia Beckett normally like? Had she been odd before this whole thing happened?

Perhaps learning more about her would put his mind at ease, he thought and typed her name into a search engine.

Tons of links popped up, along with clips and ratings for Expect the Worst. He watched a couple of the clips first. Romantic comedies weren’t his favorite. Since Shiloh had died, he eschewed love songs, too. But the film was obviously a success. Critics likened the movie to Silver Linings Playbook—a realistic but funny take on two damaged people who manage to find love—and most said it compared favorably. During the first few weeks, it had garnered much more at the box office than projected, some of which had been attributed to Tia’s performance.

Once he’d read all he wanted to know about her role in the movie and the movie itself, he searched for information on the accident. There was some early speculation that drugs or alcohol had been involved, which made him wonder if Maxi knew what he was talking about—until he found an article on the website of a local LA news station.

Actress Tia Beckett, 27, of Expect the Worst fame, was involved in a traffic accident late last night. After suffering extensive injuries, she was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where she is reported to be in stable condition. The driver of the other vehicle was also taken to the hospital for related injuries but has already been released. According to the police report, Ms. Beckett ran a red light while traveling to Beverly Hills from LAX. Alcohol and other substances were not a factor in the accident.

“Were not a factor,” he read out loud. Maxi had been right, after all.

Seth scrolled farther down the listings his query had produced and found her biography on Wikipedia.