thirty-one
The Hollywood Handprint and Footprint ceremonies are held outside the famed Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Tourists love them because they’re free to the public, and you never know who you might see there. Today’s crowd had lucked out. Barry had brought along Frank, Christina, and John, who in turn each stood up and gave a short speech. The paparazzi were having a field day. Mandy had gotten us VIP passes so we were able to watch the ceremony up close. Unfortunately, this resulted in the addition of a certain dog’s paw prints finding their way into Barry’s cement block. I was mortified, but Barry only laughed and said, “Leave it. People always say I’m a son of a bitch, anyway. Let them think they’re right!”
After the ceremony, we headed over to the rooftop of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. A sleek and modern terrace with a panoramic view of the city, the spot was a favorite among Hollywood’s elite. Striped cabana-like booths and canary yellow umbrellas surrounded a crystal blue wadding pool. In the distance the iconic Hollywood sign stood proud. Against all this, upwards of one hundred of Barry’s closest friends mingled. Janice saw us first and came over immediately. “Nigel and Nic! How lovely to see you again,” she gushed. Based on her overly friendly greeting, I suspected that she knew why we’d been asked to come. “I’m so pleased that you could join us!” Looking down at Skippy, she added, “And this precious boy must be Skippy.”
Skippy cocked his head and studied Janice. From his expression, I don’t think he liked being referred to as a “precious.” Still, he sat and politely offered her his paw. Janice cooed over him as if he had addressed her in fluent French. “Well, isn’t he the sweetest thing?” she said clapping her hands.
As there was no polite way to ask if she’d been drinking, I said nothing. Janice escorted us to where Christina and Mandy stood talking, their heads pressed close together. “Darling!” she sang out as she approached, “Nic and Nigel are here!”
At the sound of her mother’s voice, Christina’s head snapped up. An expression of irritation flickered across her face as she regarded Janice. Ignoring her mother completely, Christina greeted us with a grateful smile.
“Nic. Nigel,” she said extending her hands toward us. “Thank you so much for coming.”
“Thank you for inviting us,” I answered.
“Well, I’ll let you talk,” Janice said with a bright smile. “But, Christina, don’t neglect Frank. Remember, he’s getting ready to make his casting decision, and I’ve got a really good feeling that he’s going to pick you. It never hurts to spread a little extra sunshine his way, if you know what I mean.”
“Go away, Mother,” Christina said closing her eyes.
Surprisingly, Janice did not take offense at her daughter’s dismissal. Instead, she let out a little laugh and patted Christina on the arm. “You always get grouchy when you don’t eat. I’ll fix you a plate of something. Veggies, I think. If Frank gives you that role, which I’m sure he will, you’ll have to slim down.”
“Go away now, Mother,” Christina repeated.
Janice merely tittered, shaking her head as she moved away. Mandy looked askance at Christina, “Is she drunk?” she asked.
Christina shrugged. “Probably. She’s sure that Frank is going to offer me the role in Barry’s new film. She’s been celebrating.”
“I thought the studio hadn’t signed off on that yet,” Mandy said.
Christina looked at her sharply. “Where did you hear that?” she asked.
Mandy’s gaze slid away. “Barry might have mentioned it to me in passing,” she admitted.
Christina’s lips pursed together. “Perfect.” Taking a deep breath, she said, “You know what? Who gives a damn? I’ve got bigger things to deal with.” She took a deep breath and turned to Nigel. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you came, especially in light of what that horrible detective seems to think about me,” she said looking up at him. “But, I hope you’ll believe me when I tell you that I had absolutely nothing to do with the attack on DeDee.”
Her voice shook slightly as she spoke; it was a nice touch. “Of course you didn’t,” Nigel said with a reassuring smile.
“I’d like to do whatever I can to help you find who did do it, though,” she said, placing her hand on Nigel’s arm. “I know it’s silly, but I feel partly responsible; after all it was my Oscar that they used in the attack.”
Nigel covered her hand with his and patted it. “It’s kind of you to offer,” he said. “But you’ll be happy to hear that Nic made some progress today. We met with Sara Taylor this morning.”
Christina frowned. “Sara Taylor?” she repeated.
“Melanie Summers’s old personal assistant,” I explained. “It was Mandy who was able to track her down for us, actually,” I added with a nod toward Mandy.
Christina glanced quickly at Mandy and removed her hand from Nigel’s arm. “Oh. I see. Oh, yes. Sara. I remember her now,” she said. “Quiet girl. I didn’t envy her job. Melanie wasn’t an easy woman to work for.”
“How is Sara?” Mandy asked.
“Well, I didn’t know her from before, of course,” I said, “but she seems to be doing quite well for herself.”
“Is she still an assistant?” Christina asked.
“No,” I said. “She said she retired from the business soon after Melanie died. She bought a house out in Marina Del Rey.”
Mandy arched an eyebrow at this. “Nice area,” she said.
“She said something about having made some wise investments,” I answered, just as Sebastian approached. He nudged Christina’s arm slightly, as if to get her attention. Christina’s drink slipped from her hand and spilled down her front.
“Sebastian!” she cried. “You big oaf. Look what you’ve done!”
Sebastian glanced down at his sister in surprise. “What did I do?” he asked in confusion.
“You spilled my drink,” she answered, indicating her now wet skirt.
“I barely touched you,” he protested.
“Then why am I wet?” she retorted. “If you’ll excuse me,” she said to the rest of us, “I need to mop this off me. I’ll be right back.”
Sebastian watched her march off with an expression of surprise. Turning to Mandy, he asked, “What was that all about?”
Mandy shrugged and took a sip of her wine. “She’s a little on edge. On top of everything else, your mother has been at her about Frank’s new movie. She told her to ‘play nice,’” Mandy said bending her fingers into air quotes.
Sebastian made a noise of disgust. “God, some things never change.”
“Which project is this?” Nigel asked.
“It’s a courthouse drama set in the south about a judge who becomes romantically involved with the prosecutor,” said Sebastian. “Christina is being considered for the role of the prosecutor, but the studio is concerned that she’s too old for the part. The kicker, of course, is that Johnny has been cast as the judge.”
Mandy rolled her eyes in disgust. “Typical Hollywood sexism. And you know what’s worse?” she asked before answering her own question. “Barry says the studio wants to give the role to Jules.” She tilted her head to an area to our right. Looking over I saw Jules. She was standing at the edge of the pool, her body pressed close to Frank’s. He said something, and she giggled and patted his arm.
“Ouch,” I remarked.
Mandy nodded. “Ouch, is right.”
“What the hell is Jules doing?” Sebastian asked.
“The only thing she knows how to do,” Mandy said. “Playing nice.”
Sebastian frowned and watched the pair with narrowed eyes.