They shook hands warmly. “Peter has another half an hour’s work to do in the editing suite,” Billy said. “He asked me to take you down to the studio commissary and get a table, and he’ll join us for lunch.”

Billy escorted Stone to a golf cart, and they drove down the New York Street—the largest and most used standing set at the studio—and thence to the commissary, where a table awaited them.

“I hear you had a brush with terrorism at the Arrington yesterday,” Billy said.

Stone was astonished. “How the hell did you hear about that?”

“Hollywood is a small town within Los Angeles. Word gets around quickly.”

“I’ve seen just two people since the board meeting, where the bombing attempt was discussed in the strictest confidence, and both of them knew about it.”

Billy smiled and spread his hands. “What can I tell you?”

They ordered a cold soup and had finished that before Peter showed up. He and Stone embraced. “I’m glad you were safe from the bomb,” he said.

“There, that’s three for three.”

“What?” Peter asked.

“No one is supposed to know about that, but everyone, including you, seems to.”

“It’s a small town,” Peter said, and sat down.

Stone regaled him with questions about his work and got fulsome answers. He was proud of his son, and he enjoyed hearing about his career. “And how’s our Ben Bacchetti doing in his new job?” Ben was Dino Bacchetti’s son and Peter’s production partner, but he had recently been elevated to the studio’s head of production, the youngest in Hollywood since Irving Thalberg in the twenties.

“Ben is thriving. I think he actually enjoys being overworked.”

“But he’s still producing your work?”

“He is, and his new job means we have one less level to get approvals from. Only Leo Goldman stands between us and a production order, and he usually is thrilled to sign them.”

“Funny how profits turn a CEO’s head. How is Leo?” Goldman was fighting cancer but still at work.

“He’s undergoing a new treatment that seems to be working wonders. He looks great.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“By the way, Stone,” Billy said, “I don’t know if you’ve heard this, but the man who was arrested trying to detonate your bomb yesterday was a Centurion employee.”

“Good God!”

“I’m afraid so—young fellow in his twenties who was a technician in our armory.” The Centurion armory supplied weapons and blank ammunition for the studio’s movies. “There’s some speculation that he might have built the bomb here.”

“Are you aware that there were three other bombs?”

Billy and Peter shook their heads. “I guess it’s not as small a town as I had thought,” Billy said.