The last week of shooting was a push. We had three intensely emotional days inside the "Meyer-Murphy" residence — the victim's parents realize she's gone and the FBI moves in to negotiate with the kidnapper. Right on cue it was getting dark earlier and we were always in danger of losing the light on exterior shots. We were inside a mansion in the old-money Vancouver neighborhood of Shaughnessy where the rules are tight on how late you can film. The pressure was on. It was a huge house but space was cramped for hair and makeup, actors' chairs, and video playback. Also it was raining and cold. As I paced the set-ups, wishing we could go faster, I peered out the window to see a crowd gathered on the street. I made them for neighborhood lookie-loos, until I realized they were our own extras, being placed for the big sequence when folks come to lay flowers as a shrine for the victim. At least they looked real!

Ryan McDonald holds back the crowd of mourners

Although we had to keep moving to finish our days, the tension was mixed with a new mood of nostalgia. One by one the actors were finishing their stints and leaving. "Ladies and Gentleman, Mr. McDonald is wrapped for the show!" the first assistant director would call, and everyone gathered for hugs. Good-byes had to be quick because we had to go to the next shot, and most likely the actor had to catch a plane, but every time it was a loss — a light going out. People were giving little gifts — I gave away FBI coins and signed copies of my books. I was touched to find a bouquet of flowers in my trailer from an admirer.

"On the porch" with Lisa Towers and Bill Devane

My buddy, the formidably talented line producer, Lisa Towers, and I were already mourning our last days "on the porch" of our video tent where we'd dissect budgets, rumors and menus. With her help, I found lovely pastries from uber-grocery store Meinhardt on South Granville, to thank the crew — the only bright spot in a day where we had to cut a scene and everyone in the cast had gone except Catherine Bell. The last day was better because the sun was shining and William Devane had arrived to play Catherine's grandfather, Poppy. We were set up in a low-key neighborhood where every passing woman over 50 cooed at Bill, "I saw you in Falcon Crest!" and crew members posed with him "For my aunt." He was delightful. The crew had already started packing equipment so when the final announcement came at 9 PM, "Ladies and Gentlemen — Miss Catherine Bell is wrapped for the show!" they were mostly done. I was astonished that thirty minutes later there was barely a trace of us at all. The big trucks waited in the shadows, but the cameras were gone, the street deserted. The circus was leaving town.

The last day -- Bill Devane and director Maggie Greenwald

Immediately following, about twenty-five of us from all the departments — camera, hair and makeup, props, producers, director and Catherine — gathered in a local micro-brewery and toasted to friendship forever. It was nice that people came who said, "I never come to these things." We all agreed it was a fitting end to a great shoot. We'd done it. The film was in the can; we got it all. But it was not the end. The hardest part was yet to come; which I would discover when I got home.