Kate spent the rest of the day trying to find Bonnie or Aurelio alone, but they were both constantly surrounded by people, hurried from voice recordings to wardrobe fittings to manicures. She wouldn’t even see Aurelio in the car later, since he was scheduled to work late.
The end of her day was spent delivering copies of the new scripts around the studio, and by the time she got back to Tad’s office, she was so exhausted, she didn’t care who’d killed Lemmy. She saw the sun starting to sink through the window and snuck out while Tad was on the phone, so she could get home before dark.
As she got out of the car in front of Ollie’s house, she didn’t see any signs of Detective Bassett or reporters, but a feminine voice called her name, and she turned to see Mrs. Fairchild coming down her front walkway, looking like a beautiful ghost in a pale gray dress that fluttered as she walked. Kate hesitated, thinking of Bonnie’s red pills and the scarf and the fact that Bonnie might actually be involved in murder, then walked to meet Mrs. Fairchild where the two properties met at the road.
Mrs. Fairchild reached out to briefly squeeze Kate’s hands. “I’ve been watching for you out the window. It’s so horrible about that man getting killed. I heard you were the one who found him. How are you doing?”
I’ve been suspecting your daughter of murder, Kate thought, but all she said was, “Work is a good distraction.” Something occurred to her. “I never thanked you for my job. You’re the reason I have it.”
“Well, I’m glad it all worked out. Clive tells me you’re doing a wonderful job and the movie is finally coming together.” Mrs. Fairchild glanced at Ollie’s house. “That boy is a surprising choice for the lead role, but I watched them at rehearsal today, and they do have a sort of … nice energy together.”
She must have seen them after Bonnie took the pill. Kate felt torn between her two promises—one made to Mrs. Fairchild, one to Bonnie. She said cautiously, “You asked me to keep an eye on her.”
Mrs. Fairchild immediately picked up on the cue, her attention sharpening. “What have you seen?”
Kate wasn’t sure how much to say.
“Is it Clive? Have you seen him and Bonnie together? He has a reputation, but he promised me—”
“No!” Kate cried, appalled, thinking of the middle-aged man with the silver mustache. “He never comes near our rehearsals. We send him a daily report, but he leaves the details to Tad.”
Mrs. Fairchild relaxed. “That’s good. Tad is a nice young man.”
Who supplied her daughter with stimulants and sleeping pills. “He makes Bonnie work long hours. She seemed exhausted today.”
“That’s how it is in Hollywood—too much work or none at all.”
“But she’s dancing until one in the morning and expected back at six.”
“She’s young. I endured it myself before I married Frank. Even parties felt like work, scrambling to meet the right people.” Mrs. Fairchild gave a tired smile. “I’m still scrambling for Bonnie’s sake.”
“Is it worth it?” Kate asked. “I mean … is that really the life you want for Bonnie?”
“If you were a performer, you wouldn’t ask. It’s a driving need, and Bonnie thrives on it.”
“She is good,” Kate said. She’d watched Bonnie rehearse a musical number with several other girls that afternoon, and Bonnie had been noticeably better than the rest, drawing all the attention.
“Being good isn’t enough. There are a thousand girls just as talented and pretty as Bonnie, but only a lucky few will get to work in the best productions, doing work they can be proud of. The rest will end up in low-quality pictures that make them look ridiculous. Bonnie wants more than that, so she doesn’t mind missing a few hours of sleep.”
“I helped revise her script yesterday.” Kate smiled, thinking of Stella. “We gave her some great lines.”
“That’s nice.” Mrs. Fairchild’s gaze drifted to Ollie’s house. “I’ve been wondering how Ollie is doing with all the police and reporters. I’ve wanted to call or knock but haven’t had the nerve. Do you think he’d accept a visit from me?”
Kate thought of Ollie in his toga the night before. “Not yet, but soon, I hope.”
“Please, Kate—please find a way for me to see him again. It would mean so much to me to repair our friendship. He probably thinks I’ve forgotten all about him, but I haven’t. Not for a moment.”
Kate looked into the lovely blue eyes and understood, suddenly, that Mrs. Fairchild hoped for more than neighborly friendship. But the man she remembered had been a handsome movie star. “He’s changed a lot in the last few years.”
“I know, and I’ve changed too. I don’t care about that. I just want to sit next to him and hear his voice again—to help him return to acting, if I can. I know everyone in the business. Your grandfather was born to perform, Kate. He lost his confidence when talking pictures came out, but the world will welcome him back if he gives them a chance.”
Whatever Mrs. Fairchild felt for Ollie seemed deep and genuine. Kate wondered how her grandfather felt in return. If there’d been looks of longing on both parts. Maybe even—Kate didn’t like to think of it—an affair with his best friend’s wife. Maybe that was why the three of them had argued, four years ago.
“He’s been talking about returning to acting,” Kate said.
“Oh, that’s wonderful! Do you think he’ll come to Bonnie’s birthday party? I’ve invited everyone who matters, all the important producers and directors, nearly a hundred guests.”
“I doubt he’ll go, but I’ll try.” Kate wished Hugo didn’t have to work, so he could be at the party and meet people. She realized something else. “Does Tad know Bonnie’s having a big party on the first day of filming?”
Mrs. Fairchild released an annoyed breath. “That movie was supposed to have wrapped by now. Tad wanted me to cancel, but I convinced him it was a good excuse to talk about the movie all night. I really just want everyone to see that Bonnie’s now old enough to be taken seriously. And it would be perfect if Ollie could be there.”
“I’ll try.”
“Oh, Kate, I’m so glad you’ve come to live here. You’re just what Ollie needs.” Mrs. Fairchild gave Kate’s hands a final squeeze and turned back to her house.
Kate watched her for a moment, then turned up the path to Ollie’s house. It would be nice if her grandfather could reconnect with Mrs. Fairchild—not only for his career, but to give him a reason to get dressed and walk out the door every day. An exciting new start to his life.
As she opened the door, she wondered what hats had been pulled from the wheelbarrow today, but the house was quiet and nearly dark in twilight, only a shaft of light coming from Ollie’s office. Kate heard the clunk of typing and walked that way.
She was surprised to see Stella Nixon strolling in front of Ollie’s desk. “But why does he care enough to stay?” Stella asked in her throaty voice. She wore another green dress, this one even brighter, with a black and white scarf instead of a brooch.
Hugo sat behind the desk, his fingers working the keys of a black typewriter with impressive speed. “He hates his father.” He pushed the carriage return lever and kept typing.
“But how does the audience know that?” Stella noticed Kate and turned with her gap-toothed smile. “Kate, my darling protégée!”
Hugo’s eyes darted up, his fingers halting.
Stella leaned against the front corner of the desk, the cigarette tilted out. “I hope Taddy threw a nice big tantrum when he read our script changes.”
“Only a small one.” Kate smiled as she walked closer. “But you were right about Mr. Falcon liking the line about Ursa Major, so it stayed. I distributed copies this afternoon.”
“Clive always appreciates a little sass in his characters.” Stella brought the cigarette to her lips.
“Ursa Major?” Hugo queried.
“Oh, it was fabulous, darling.” Stella blew a ribbon of smoke out of the corner of her mouth. “We turned Taddy’s little Trixie into a budding astronomer. Kate knew all these clever things to add about stars, and supernovas, and these…” She twirled the cigarette. “Kettle rules.”
“Kepler’s laws,” Kate corrected.
“She’s a gem. I want her to take over Hollywood, but alas, she’s determined to leave our vital work of entertainment and explore the scientific meaning behind the universe. To each their own.”
Hugo’s attention lingered on Kate. “Yeah, she’s just biding her time until she can get back to San Francisco.”
“Actually…” Kate held his gaze, her heart beating faster. “I’m not so sure about leaving anymore.”
His eyes caught fire in the way she was getting used to and liked. “Oh?”
And suddenly she was sure. “I’m going to stay here until college.”
“I knew it!” Stella declared. “You’ve caught the moviemaking bug, and there’s no cure.”
“You like working at the studio?” Hugo asked, still a bit cautious.
“I do, and I think I’m good at it. I don’t get as flustered as Tad, and the work is exciting. I saw lions today, and Bonnie’s tutor is going to help me with calculus so I can keep up with math. I already have a pretty impressive record at Blakely, so I think I can still get into Berkeley without any trouble.” She added, a bit breathlessly, “Plus, I like living here with Ollie … and everyone.”
“Well.” Hugo’s lips curved in a slow smile. “Everyone is happy about that.”
Kate smiled back.
“Mm,” Stella hummed from the sidelines. “Getting a bit warm in here.”
“Feels good to me,” Hugo said.
Kate pulled her eyes from his, her face on fire. “So—what are the two of you working on?”
“My new play.” Stella tapped the cigarette over an ashtray. “I’ve been stuck for weeks, every line sounding false. I was ready to scrap the entire thing. Then I met you yesterday, which made me think of Ollie. So I came by to make sure he was all right after that ghastly murder, and as soon as I saw Hugo, I knew he was the solution to all my problems.”
“Well, not all of them,” Hugo said, leaning back in the chair. “You’ve still got that cat.”
“Oh, and she’s worse than ever, darling. A monster of a pet. We despise each other.”
The desk was cluttered with dozens of wadded-up papers—evidence of creative attempts and failures. “How did Hugo solve all your problems?”
“Voice. It’s the story of three teenaged boys—completely outside my purview. I was mad for attempting it. Doomed for failure. And then Hugo started talking, and suddenly there stood my expert. A window into the soul of the adolescent boy.”
He shrugged. “It comes naturally.”
“And he’s a damn good typist too.”
“What’s the story about?” Kate asked.
“Death.” Stella brought the cigarette to her mouth.
Kate waited.
Stella blew a stream of smoke. “Three boys at a boarding school, and their favorite teacher keeps trying to kill himself. Ridiculous attempts. Dark humor. Very dark. The boys save him, one by one, forcing them to face their own private demons. They finally convince the teacher that life is worth living, but then he dies saving one of them. And that’s the irony—you see?”
“I see,” Kate murmured, a bit horrified.
Hugo grinned. “I think it’s brilliant. It’s going to open at the Pasadena Playhouse next summer.”
Kate tried to remember where she’d heard that name before—and remembered Ollie in his toga. Her interest sharpened. “Is there a part for Ollie in your play? He wants to get back into acting.”
“Ollie?” Stella huffed a laugh. “I adore him, of course, but this isn’t his sort of thing at all. Just three boys in a boarding school, their teacher, and a couple of bit parts.”
“What about the teacher?”
“He isn’t a heroic teacher, he’s troubled and confused and … well, about as different from Captain Powell as you can get.”
“But that’s what Ollie needs—something different, so people don’t think he’s trying to re-create the past. A fresh start.”
Stella pursed her lips, squinting over her round spectacles. “I see your point, and it would be lovely to see Ollie on stage, but he can’t play my teacher. I can’t picture that at all.”
“I can,” Hugo said. “The way the teacher performs in front of the class, and the students all laugh and think he’s great, and then he goes back to his room and tries to kill himself. Ollie could play those two extremes and make it believable.”
Stella frowned. “But I pictured the teacher younger and more, I don’t know, complicated. Not Oliver Banks, bigger than life.”
“Well, think it over,” Kate said. She snuck a glance at Hugo, unsure if he would appreciate her meddling in his career. “What about Hugo playing one of the boys?”
He smiled wryly. “I already asked. She said no.”
“I didn’t say no, darling—I said if I had my say, you’d play Alfred, but the director has his own favorites. But I’ll try to get you an audition, at least, and he might remember you for something else. Now, I’ve got to run, but I’ll be back in the morning.” Stella stubbed her cigarette in the ashtray and picked up a stack of papers from the desk.
“How early?” Hugo asked. “I work late.”
“Well, I don’t breathe before eleven, so when I say morning, I mean noon, and noon is evening, and evening is night. Everybody knows that about me.”
“Think about Ollie for that teacher role,” Kate said.
“Of course,” Stella said without much weight. She strode across the office in her green dress, as tall as a man, and they heard her footsteps clicking toward the front of the house.
“And that’s Stella,” Hugo said. “She knows everybody in this town but still drops by to see Ollie now and then, one of his few friends who still does.”
“It would be nice if she got him that part.”
He shrugged. “Oliver Banks is a risk. Even if she decides she wants him and somehow convinces the director and producer, I’m not sure he would get up on that stage.”
“How did he do today? Is he still climbing the stairs and doing jumping jacks?”
“Every hour, complaining like it’s Mount Everest.” Hugo’s smile turned sly. “I took him to the hardware store.”
Her eyes widened. “He left the house?”
“With a cowboy hat and a bandana covering half his face. I thought the store manager was going to call the town sheriff. But we bought something for you. Come on, I’ll show you.” Hugo stood and led the way to the kitchen.
The room was deserted, but smelled good, and Kate saw a pan on the stove. “What’s for dinner?”
“Spaghetti and meatballs.” Hugo entered the short hallway to Kate’s room and stopped, pointing down. “I told him you needed that.”
An electrical cord ran from the laundry room, along the edge of the hallway. Kate followed it into her room and found a small, blue lamp shaped like a mermaid on the wooden chair holding the door open.
“That’s as far as the cord reaches, so you have to keep the lamp near the door, and the door won’t shut with the cord in the way, and if someone wants to use the washer, they have to unplug the lamp. But you have light now.” He leaned forward and flipped the switch on the lamp, and soft light danced through the beaded shade. “All of Ollie’s lamps are too big and heavy, so we stopped at Goodwill on the way home and bought this.”
Kate stared at the blue mermaid, her throat tightening with unexpected emotion. The mermaid had a chip in her tail, showing white ceramic. But it was the prettiest lamp she’d ever seen. “Thank you,” she managed.
Hugo leaned against the door frame. “I’m going to drill a hole in the wall and install a proper light, but I need to read up on it first so I don’t electrocute myself.”
“Yes, please don’t die on my account.” Which reminded her of Lemmy. “I searched Bonnie’s car today, and the scarf wasn’t there, so the one we found is probably hers. But when I talked to her, she said Aurelio was the last one to have it. She gave it to him right after we arrived at the studio.”
Hugo gave an easy laugh. “So, now you think Aurelio killed him?”
“Someone dropped that scarf in Ollie’s office. Maybe Lemmy took blackmail photos of Aurelio too.”
“Why would he? Aurelio didn’t have a movie career to protect when Lemmy was killed. He didn’t have that part yet. And no money to pay off a blackmailer. He was just a waiter.”
She hadn’t thought of that. “Both Aurelio and Lemmy worked at the Galaxy. Maybe they argued about something there.”
“Aurelio never had anything to do with the shady business upstairs. I’m sure of that.”
Kate wasn’t so sure but didn’t want to argue about it.
“I looked for a blood trail today,” Hugo said. “Didn’t find one, so he must have been stabbed in the kitchen. And—speaking of stabbing—I better go. Flynn wants me there early tonight because he’s adding new stuff to the show. Attendance hasn’t been that great.”
She wished he didn’t always have to leave for work so soon after she got home. “Break a leg.”
“See there—you really are in showbiz now. Spaghetti is on the stove if you’re hungry. Ollie and Reuben already ate and went upstairs.” He took a step back, but didn’t leave. “So … you like your mermaid?”
She gave him a look. “You know I love it.”
He laughed as he turned away.
A short time later, Kate heard his motorcycle start up outside, rev with power, and then fade away.
Then she decided to search Aurelio’s bedroom.