Finally, he settled down and felt he was ready. As he opened his eyes, his focus was drawn by a shadow under the cubicle door. He held his breath for a few moments, but the shadow remained there. Like someone was standing in front of his booth.
But the shape was not human.
“What do you want from me?”
No answer. The shadow did not move.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
Irritated, Jimmy got up and banged on the door.
“Answer me! What do you want from me?”
A hesitant voice that he failed to recognize replied after a few seconds.
“Who are you talking to?”
“To you.”
“I don’t want anything. I just got here, man, I just want to wash my hands. Are you all right?”
The shadow had disappeared. Jimmy sat down again. He was going crazy. What was it with those damn shadows appearing and disappearing for no reason?
He waited until the men’s room was empty before he opened the cubicle door and stepped out.
Strangely enough, all this had made him forget Laura, and he felt much better. A little stronger. A little more himself.
That was better than nothing.
“Hello, Laura. You look gorgeous.”
Mike Tougas had just made his entrance, with all the commotion that characterized him. Laura smiled politely and accepted his embrace. The agent left her to greet his other clients, while Anouk stayed next to her.
“You seem worried,” she said.
Laura was upset that she couldn’t better hide her feelings. Anouk had immediately noticed that something was not right.
“Actually, I don’t like this sort of stuff,” Laura said. “I won’t deny that I would rather have stayed home and watched movies.”
Unexpectedly, Anouk didn’t attempt to persuade her that everything was going to be all right. She simply smiled and told her that she understood. She also preferred to stay home, in her pyjamas, doing nothing.
Laura didn’t know why, but this helped her relax a little. Perhaps simply expressing her uneasiness about the event had helped her calm down. And Anouk’s confiding that she shared her reluctance also took a burden off her shoulders.
“Will Bruno be here tonight?” Anouk asked.
“Yes, but a little later.”
The latest developments had occurred so quickly that Laura had not yet been able to discuss the details of her relationship with her new agent. She had fired the other one so fast that it looked like a spoiled child’s spur-of-the-moment impulse. In any case, that was what her former agent was telling everyone who would listen. But for Laura, it had been far from an emotional decision. Quite the opposite; it had been long overdue. Laura needed an agent, not a stepmother who would meddle with her love life. The dinner planned for tonight was timely.
“It’s time,” said the event organizer, someone Laura had never seen before. Thundering music had been playing for a few minutes and Laura concluded that there would be an official presentation of Martine and herself, to her great dismay. She gnashed her teeth when she heard the overexcited voice of the host and the clamour of the many fans who had crammed into the area to meet them.
She had to put a smile on her face, to pretend she wanted to be there. The last thing Laura wanted was to read on social media that she’d looked like she wanted to be anywhere else. After all, it was thanks to her fans that she had such a great career; she owed them that much. She recalled the last encounters with her fans and calmed down, realizing that these people loved her and that, after all, it always went well—except for a few excited people here and there who were quickly ushered out.
“And now, in the role of Véronique Lagacé, may I introduce to you the magnificent Laura Labelle.”
It was probably just a figment of her imagination, but she sensed that the cheers were more robust for her than they had been for Martine. This made her smile.
She was temporarily blinded by the spotlights, but she was able to reach her place, where she stood and cheerfully greeted the crowd before taking her seat.
“It’s crowded,” Martine said.
“Yeah, this is crazy.”
“We’re going to be all over Instagram tomorrow morning.”
They both laughed. In the world of social media, you couldn’t just sign a poster or a book. You also had to take a selfie with each fan. And each of these fans would then post their pictures on Twitter, on Facebook, and especially on Instagram.
The first fan to approach the table was a young man with brown hair and round glasses. Laura thought he looked like Harry Potter. He had a cute face and was probably about 12 years old.
“What is your name?” Laura said, with a pen in her hand.
“Samuel. I love you so much, you know. I think you’re very pretty.”
The young man’s face turned scarlet, and Laura smiled tenderly at him.
“Oh, that’s very sweet of you.”
She wrote “To Samuel with affection, Laura.” The young man turned around and brandished his portable camera in front of him to take a picture of the two of them. Laura played along and smiled, trying to be convincing enough. Samuel looked at the picture and then thanked Laura, with sparkling eyes and a smile that went right up to his ears, and then left at full speed.
“Bruno has competition,” Martine told her with a laugh.
“Yeah, right? Wasn’t he cute? He was a sweetheart.”
Laura had such an affection for children. Everyone told her she would make an amazing mother. While she had a lot of doubts about herself, she knew without reservation that she had maternal instincts. She’d make a great mom, no question about it. She’d had the best example from both her parents. They had been caring and very supportive. They had instilled good values in her and loved her unconditionally. Laura believed that this was the way you should love others, and this had burned her often when she first started dating. Men did not love her the same way in return. At least, according to her assessment.
She felt heavy-hearted when she remembered her father. She still could see him lying on the floor; he had fallen suddenly as he’d walked past her in the living room of the family house. The awful sound of her father’s body crashing against the floor still echoed in her ears. She was 13 years old; she had understood right away that this was serious. He was 51 years old and had suffered a devastating heart attack that had given him no chance.
She shook herself inwardly and looked up to welcome the woman standing in front of her, smiling brightly.
“I love you so much in your role as Veronica,” said the woman in a soft voice. “But beware of Julien, because he’s not sincere. I don’t trust him.”
Laura put on a serious expression. “Okay, I guess you’re right. I’ll be careful.”
She smiled at the woman and asked her name. It entertained her a great deal when people mixed up fiction with reality. It was often harmless, as with this woman, but sometimes it was more dramatic: occasionally, people became intrusive and aggressive, especially towards actors who played unsympathetic characters.
One of her colleagues had been approached in a grocery store by a sad individual who had said he wanted to take care of him—and not in a good way. Another had received several death threats when her character killed her child by drowning him in a bath during an episode.
Regardless of the statistics showing that Montreal was safer than ever, Laura felt that people were increasingly insane.
Robotically, she continued signing the posters that were presented to her. Later, she had no idea how many in total she had signed.
She smiled convincingly at people, interacting with them admirably well for someone who wanted to be elsewhere. It was like being outside her body, watching herself experience a moment she had no consciousness of. It was unreal, but at the same time, it showed how professional she had become. She did everything mechanically, without thinking. She could spend hours like this, in a secondary state, interacting wi
th people. Every time she looked at the comments the next day on social media, Laura read that she was friendly and warm, that it was apparent that she loved her fans.
“One day, we will send robots instead of us to attend activities we are not interested in,” she thought to herself. She would never see that in her lifetime, but she was sure it was unavoidable. Artificial intelligence was a field she was passionate about. She had been reading a lot about it. The possibilities were unimaginable and, at times, frightening.
The next person who stepped up was a strange-looking young man. He had coloured his hair with cheap dye and wore clothes that were too large for him. His hands were shaking, and he had troubled but gentle brown eyes. Laura asked what his name was.
“J... Jimmy.”
It made her uncomfortable when people were overly intimidated by her. She signed the poster and smiled for the picture. As the man faced the other way to take the photo, Laura noticed his sweaty neck. Poor guy, she thought. He looked so nervous.
He turned and looked back at her, but instead of leaving, he stared at her without a word. She smiled to indicate to him that they were finished, but he leaned towards her and muttered something that she didn’t understand.
“Excuse me?”
“Y—you’re in....danger of dying, Laura. Come with me. I’ll explain.”
Instinctively, Laura leaned away from him, against the back of her seat. She felt powerless and trapped. The man’s face was within a few inches from hers.
“Don’t be afraid. I want to rescue you.”
Rescue her? Rescue her from what?
He’s a lunatic. It was the only explanation in her mind. This man was a psycho.
“Please leave,” she said in a trembling voice.
“Laura... you have to believe me...”
Laura looked to her left, searching for her agent, but he was far away and watching the scene, a security guard by his side. She caught his eye and gave him an imploring look, and Tougas immediately understood that something was wrong. He touched the guard’s shoulder and indicated that he should follow him. Both approached with a quick step.
The man in front of Laura understood that he was going to be taken away and looked at Laura with despair.
“No, no, no, Laura, no. Please listen to me.”
The security guard grabbed his right shoulder, but the young man squirmed away from his grip with a quick movement. He was still talking to Laura, but in a louder tone.
“They want to hurt you, Laura. Believe me, you’re going to die. Come with me. I’ll explain everything to you.”
“Sir, come with me. You are blocking everyone,” said the security guard in a low voice, holding him firmly by the arm.
The man tried to get out of his grip, but the guard was stronger than him. Tougas attempted to reason with him the best he could, but with limited success. The man was very agitated; he was imploring Laura to listen to him, saying he wanted to clarify something with her. She was terrified but reassured by Tougas’ coolness.
Seeing that the man was still fighting back, she got up and walked away so the man could no longer see her. She distinctly heard the crowd shouting insults him. She was sorrier than ever she had not stayed home. The image of the man’s soft but tortured eyes haunted her. She was scared, but also felt sorry for him. Some people had serious issues but were not getting the help they needed. She wondered how she could return to her seat after that. She was not comfortable.
It took several minutes for Tougas and Anouk to calm her down and convince her to come back. They put no pressure on her, assuring her that ultimately it was her choice; people would understand. Tougas said that the security guard would remain close to her. Laura hesitated. It seemed unfair for her other fans to be penalized by this incident; finally, she went back to her seat to the sound of cheers from the crowd.
She looked furtively around her and was relieved not to see the man anymore. The security guard was standing at her side now, and he told her that the man had left the scene with the police. She thanked him for his help and smiled at the next person standing in front of her.
4
Jimmy was distraught. The worst-case scenario had materialized. Not only had he failed to convince Laura to listen to him, but he had frightened her and looked like a maniac. It was over; he wouldn’t have a second chance to speak with her. She would never listen to him now that he had scared her. Also, some people had undoubtedly filmed the scene with their cell phones. It will be all over the internet, and he would be a laughingstock. Look at this asshole freaking out, unable to control himself in front of Laura Labelle. How was he supposed to cope with that? His only salvation would be through Laura’s death, proving to all that he was right. He obviously didn’t want her to perish, though; he was doing everything he could to save her life.
He brightened for a moment: since he’d dyed his hair, maybe people wouldn’t recognize him once it returned to its natural colour. He just had to wear a cap in the meantime, or shave his head.
The two policewomen had been respectful of him, too, quite a lot more than the security guard. That guy had been on a power trip, and had roughed him up more than necessary. In the end, Jimmy had promised the police that he wouldn’t go back to the mall, and that he would no longer harass Laura. He had tried to tell them about the threats against the actress, but the two women didn’t believe him either.
No one believed him.
Jimmy had failed again, and once again he felt useless. Him and his grotesque demeanour; him and his dyed hair and his overly loose clothes. Who was he trying to convince? He and Laura were not from the same world and never would be.
As he walked back to his apartment, he stared at the ground. He didn’t dare to meet other people’s looks. He just wanted to go home and never leave his apartment again. All he had left was the hope that the producers of the show would change their minds and that the plan to kill Laura would fail.
Still sitting in her seat, still signing autographs, Laura kept thinking about what had happened. The man had been warning her of some danger. Was it a threat from him, or had he heard something from someone? She didn’t feel good at all, but she did everything in her power to ensure that it didn’t show. She had a persistent feeling of nausea that wouldn’t leave her.
Fortunately, no one brought the matter up again, and things had returned to normal—or as normal as could be after that kind of shock.
Martine occasionally checked in on her to make sure everything was fine, while her agent watched her with concern, looking at her like a father worried about his daughter. There were only about thirty minutes left before the event was over.
Laura decided she didn’t believe the man was out to get her. He’d seemed sincere, although somewhat troubled. She hadn’t perceived any malice in his eyes. He had had a strange appearance, but Laura didn’t care about how people looked. She had been eccentric herself when she was younger, and if she weren’t an actress who needed to have a clean image, she would still have blue hair and darkened eyes.
She thought again about the man’s alarmed look when the security guard had subdued him. It was as if he had realized he wouldn’t achieve his goals, and that this was somehow dramatic.
Poor guy, she thought. He was probably well-intentioned.
She could hear her mother blaming her for thinking that everyone had a good side, saying that she should be more cautious, that she shouldn’t trust people so much. It was true that Laura saw kindness in everyone and that she was too sweet. The decision to hire her former agent was a good illustration of that point. She had believed his bullshit and trusted him fully, thinking that he’d had her best interests at heart. But in the end, he had working for his own wallet and his own fame.
Laura didn’t want to admit it, but she was curious to find out what the strange young man wanted to say to her. It was probably a whim, but what if it was true? If she was really in danger?
Suddenly, she felt very vulnerable.
Sh
e smiled when she saw that Bruno had arrived and was standing beside Mike Tougas. He waved at her, then turned away and talked to Tougas. After a moment, he turned back to her and gave her a worried look. Apparently, Tougas was referring to what had happened earlier. Bruno talked with Tougas a bit more, then turned and smiled timidly at her and gave her a thumbs up.
After the signing session, she walked over to meet him and kissed him in front of everyone; she didn’t care what others thought, or if they thought that Bruno was at the cause of her breakup with François Béliveau. All she cared about was the love she had for him. She took a look at Tougas, who smiled as he looked at them. No judgmental stares. She was reassured.
Tougas walked up to them both. “Look, Laura,” he said, “under these circumstances, if you and Bruno would rather postpone tonight’s dinner until another day, we’ll understand.”
Laura had appreciated that Tougas had included Bruno in the discussion. She thought for a moment that she would indeed be more interested in spending the evening alone with her boyfriend, but she had to discuss her future with her agent. She wanted him to understand as soon as possible that her relationship with Bruno was non-negotiable, and she needed the guarantee that not only was it understood, but that he didn’t have any concerns with that.
Besides, Bruno seemed willing to eat dinner with them, so she might as well strike while the iron was hot.
“No, it’s okay, Mike. I’m a little shaken up, but I want to talk to you about the next steps moving forward. I also want the four of us to get to know each other.”
Laura wanted Mike to know that not only should Bruno be included in all the plans he had for her, but that Anouk was also part of the team. Laura enjoyed having Anouk around.
Death Ride Page 6