Scene Stealers (Book)

*Scene Stealers* is the second book in the Three Flavors of Tacos trilogy. It takes place in the Just Cause universe.

## Back of the Book

Steal Big.

The Crew: Olivia, the Director; Anjanae, the Artist; Pancho, the Techie; Kennedy, the Actress; Jerome, the Money Man; Vajra, the Thug.

The Target: A painting of Anjanae's deceased mother, stolen from her and presented for sale by a professional artist.

The Job: Steal it back and don't get caught, because high school is hard enough without facing hard time.

## Characters

### Thespian Troupe #6060

* Jerome Altshuler - Male lead
* Kennedy Chambers - Female lead
* Anjanae Potts - Set designer
* Vajra Sandeep - Groupie
* Olivia Tully - Writer and director
* Pancho "Punch" Vallejo - Lights and tech, Oliva calls him Punchbuggy

### Mountain View High School

* Jane Hodge - Drama teacher at MVHS
* Carla Stuart - Art teacher at MVHS
* Nurse Tomlinson - Nurst at MVHS

### Others

* Charaine Potts - Anjanae's mother, who passes away when Anjanae is ten years old
* Donald Potts - Anjanae's father, truck driver
* Bob Tully - Olivia's father
* Crystal Tulley - Olivia's absent mother, she adds an 'e' to her last name to sound more 'Hollywood'
* Dana Tully - Olivia's step-mother, she's only eight years older than Olivia, teaches yoga
* Austin Van der Wall - A local artist experiencing a years-long artistic slump, he steals *Sharing Charaine*

## Summary

### Chapters 1 - 5

With two weeks until opening night, rehearsal for *The Maniac Upstairs* goes poorly. Olivia (writer and director) gives it up for a lost cause.

At Anjanae's house, Anjanae shows Olivia the portrait she painted of her mother (who died when Anjanae was ten). It depicts her mother as a teenager in a bus station looking "...hopeful and hurt and lost and loved all at the same time...". It is not photo-realistic, but composed of complicated, layered brushwork. Anjanae has titled it *Sharing Charaine*. The painting moves the girls to tears and when Anjanae's father comes home, it moves him as well.

Anjanae shows her painting to Ms. Stuart, the art teacher. Ms. Stuart is impressed and recommends they show it to Austin Van der Wall, a local artist who has done work with a similar technique. Van der Wall com offers a mixed review, but offers to talk about the painting over coffee. In the parking lot, Van der Wall realizes he's left his cellphone in the art room, and Ms. Stuart loans him her keys. Later that evening, Olivia and Anjanae go to pick up the painting and find it's gone. At first they think it's been misplaced, but soon realize it's been stolen. At Gherkins, the girls talk over the situation and though Olivia insists they not jump to conclusions, both think Van der Wall stole it.

They consult with Punch, who does some digging on the Internet and discovers Van der Wall hasn't had a new piece in years and hasn't been teaching due to disinterest. Further, Van der Wall's Wikipedia page has been subject of an 'editing war'. *Number3Sable* has had their edits undone due to lack of citation. Anjanae explains a Number 3 Sable is a kind of paint brush, furthering their suspicions of Van der Wall. Anjanae explains she didn't sign the painting as it was only meant for her and her father. They suspect Van der Wall intends to pass the painting off as his own and sell it. They decide if they confront him, he can play it off as a misunderstanding because of his standing in the community, so they decide to steal the painting and embarrass him in the process.

### Chapters 6 -

Olivia and Anjanae meet with Kennedy at Gherkins to get her help setting up a cover interview so they can do reconnaissance on Van der Wall's home. Kennedy will do the interview while Olivia will search for the painting. Kennedy helps come up with a costuming disguise for Olivia. They realize they're going to need supplies and Olivia suggests bringing Jerome in. Kennedy suggest Vajra for his delinquent skills.

The team of six meets in the green room under the stage so Olivia can outline the situation. Punch identifies some bluetooth earbuds that are easily concealed and would allow them to communicate and Jerome purchases them. During their planning, Punch gets a news alert that Van der Wall has announced completion of *Girl at a Bus Station* to be sold at auction.

Kennedy poses as Ellen Ripley (*Alien* reference) of the *Buffalo Art Review* to set up an exclusive interview with Van der Wall for the next Wednesday.

(Anjanae is attacked by Van der Wall riding a bike. She and Olivia are waiting at a crosswalk. Van der Wall calls out "on your left" then hits her right arm with his messenger bag so that she can't do any more painting for a while. Vajra saw him, but he had long hair (wig/disguise?) In the process, he drops a Number 3 Sable paintbrush, confirming it's him. They go see the nurse.)

...

## References

* Olivia wears a t-shirt referencing *Yojimbo*, Molly Berryfield's band, in Chapter 2. (*The Guitarist*)
* Olivia wears a t-shirt referencing *Silverback*, Jackie London's book series, in Chapter 6. (*Rooftops*)
* Vajara wears a jersey for an obscure hockey team called the Ardvarks in Chapter 7. (Is this a reference to *Blood on the Ice*?)