(Athena's POV)
The next day Chase and I went to the studio, after checking in with Ralph we went to Mattie's room.
Chase knocked, "It's open!" We walked in, "Have you guys found anything out yet?" Mattie asked.
"Did Lillian and Rick date after you two broke up?" I asked.
"Yeah- Rick had been after Lillian for a while, pretty much to meet her film friends from out West. I warned her about Rick, but she didn't listen. Now she bears a grudge against me." Mattie said.
"The guy's a player that's for sure. What a loser." Chase said.
"Rick's not like that- at least he wasn't with me. Everyone has this idea that he dumped me, but it wasn't at all like that. He had a lot of trouble dealing with the pressure of his career and a relationship at the same time. We saw it happening and agreed to split up. Rick's a wonderful guy; I have no regrets." Mattie said.
"Well, I guess we'll talk to you later, Mattie." I said.
"Break a leg!" she said before we left.
"Let's talk to Rick." I said.
"I hate that guy." Chase said causing me to chuckle.
"You only hate him cause he flirted with me. Let's go." I said taking his hand.
We walked to Rick's door, I was barely able to touch it when it opened.
"Rick?" I asked.
"Hey pretty boy, you in here?" Chase asked as we walked in.
"Rick's not here but somebody was." I said.
On Rick's mirror 'DIE RICK' was written in what looked like lipstick. Below that was a tape recorder and a piece of paper that read 'Play Me'
Chase and I looked at each other before he pressed the play button. A distorted voice was talking about an explosive device hidden somewhere in the room.
"What?!" I asked.
"Clam down babe. I think the device is in the recorder, I can disarm it but I need a screwdriver and wire cutters." He said.
I quickly got both items out of my bag and handed them to him, "Make it quick, I don't think we have much time."
Chase unscrewed the top of the recorder reveling the bomb with 30 seconds on the clock. Chase quickly cut the yellow wire, then the orange, then red and finally blue disarming the bomb.
"We're good." Chase said.
I let out a sigh of relief, "Thank god. I love solving mysteries but I'm not a fan of dying."
Chase wrapped a comforting arm around me, "You and me both babe."
After some time the police arrived and after a few hours Chase and I were back at the apartment telling Nancy and Ned what happened.
"It was pretty nerve racking." I said.
"And then what happened?" Nancy asked.
"After I shut down the bomb and we got out of there, Athena called the police and we were stuck at the station for hours." Chase said.
"They searched the dressing room and sent the bomb off to the crime lab but they didn't find anything. Oh, and remind us to thank Chief McGinnis when we get back. He vouched for us when we asked for a copy of the tape." I said.
"It sounds like things have gotten way out of control." Ned said.
"Don't worry about it, Ned. Hey, looks like we've got another call. Probably the police. We promise to be careful, alright? Call you later." Chase said.
"Alright." Ned said before hanging up.
I pushed the button for the next call, "Hello?" I asked.
"Hello, Ms. Drew and Mr. Nickerson, this is Bill Pappas- the producer for 'Light of our Love'. I just wanted to thank you both for your quick thinking and valiant efforts today. I understand that you've been detained at the police department." He said.
"That's very kind of you Mr. Pappas, but it was nothing really." I said.
"Well, I believe you're both very brave for what you've done. I can't help but wonder, though, what were you two doing in Rick's room." Mr. Pappas said.
"We're investigating the threats against him and were curious as to why his door wasn't locked." Chase said.
"You're investigating the threats? What are you, some kind of reporters?" Mr. Pappas asked.
"No, not at all. Mattie Jensen asked us to look into the threats, since no one's taking them seriously." I said.
"What? Hey, ever since Rick started getting threats, we've taken every measure to insure his safety. We've hired more security after that accident in the studio." Mr. Pappas said.
"Can you answer some questions for us?" I asked.
"Uh, no. I'm very busy at the moment. But seeing what you did today, I guess I owe you one. What do you need to know?" Mr. Pappas asked.
"Is there video surveillance of the dressing room?" Chase asked.
"Ah, we're currently working with the police on that- but there are no security cameras in the dressing room." Mr. Pappas said.
"Can you think of anyone on staff who has skills in explosives or electronics?" I asked.
"We defiantly do not use explosives on our set. We use outside pyro-technicians for location shoots. And of course, all of our technical crew are very knowledgeable about electronics, but I couldn't picture any of them to make a bomb." Mr. Pappas said.
"Are there many temps working at the studio?" Chase asked.
"Yes, but all of our employees, either temps or permanent, are highly qualified and come from the best agencies. We don't hire just anyone and we carefully screen our employees." Mr. Pappas said.
"Would anyone but Rick have keys to his dressing room?" I asked.
"Only Rick and the security personnel- we've already checked into this. Rick is very touchy about his room and won't even let the janitors clean it unless he's there." Mr. Pappas said.
"Is Ralph your only security guy?" Chase asked.
"That's confidential, but rest assured that we hire the best security and Mr. Guardino comes highly recommended- he's my wife's cousin." Mr. Pappas said.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes, "Is it possible someone outside the studio did this?"
"That's impossible. The set has been closed down tight since that accident. I even hired extra security. My own mother couldn't have gotten in here." Mr. Pappas said.
"Are there many people who have access to the studio at night?" Chase asked.
"Only our key talent and some of the floor managers have access- and, of course, myself and Lillian. But we've often got projects going on around the clock- post-production work and set design, to name a few." Mr. Pappas said.
"Can we get a list of everyone who's been in the studio at night?" I asked.
"That's confidential." Mr. Pappas said.
"Who's in charge of the teleprompter?" Chase asked.
"Well, in theory, it's the lead script writer's job to manage that part of production; but a lot of the actors, especially Mattie, like to edit their script to add emphasis or direction." Mr. Pappas said.
"So anyone has access to the teleprompter?" I asked.
"We've already looked into that incident with the teleprompter- anyone from the stage hands to myself could have rigged it. Listen, I need to get back to work. Do you need anything else?" Mr. Pappas asked.
"Does the studio have any audio mixing equipment?" Chase asked.
"Of course we do. We have a whole department set up for audio recording, and we also have some mixers in the control room." Mr. Pappas said.
"Any chance we can take a look at them?" I asked.
"We're very busy with production right now and we're no longer conducting tours. If you…Hold on. NO! Get someone else for that; we need to have someone on standby if he decides to leave. Sorry about that you two. Any other questions?" Mr. Pappas asked.
"Who else has access to the staff offices?" Chase asked.
"The usual people: janitors, some assistants, Millie, security. Now, is there anything else you need to ask of me? I'm in a bit of a hurry." Mr. Pappas said.
"No Mr. Pappas, thank you for answering our question. Good bye." I said.
"Yes, well, thanks again for your brave efforts today. Good bye." He said before hanging up.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked to see Chase smiling softly.
"Babe, I know you feel stressed right now, but I think I found a way for us to get into the studio at night." He said.
I raised an eyebrow, "How?"
"He held up a piece of paper, "This was sent to Mattie, says that the side entry code was changed to 3-6-8-9."
I smiled, "You're awesome Chase."
He smirked, "I know. We'll go tonight, but for now let's get a little rest."