And copper, if it’s all the same
I can also see the day
When someone knows my name
This mannequin also came to life. Violet smiled. He sang:
Say there, pretty thing
You have a face that everyone knows
An actor, a singer
Or maybe you’re just the waitress at Delmonico’s
He turned back into a mannequin. Violet gave him a knock on the shoulder, and he toppled over. When she looked up, Violet saw another mannequin staring at her. Like the others, this one had come to life, but he didn’t look as welcoming. He wore a top hat, tails, and penetrating black eyes. Black sideburns and a dark brow framed a stern countenance. Violet kept her distance and sang:
I can see fairy tales that never will be
Glass slippers and little red Martians
Pixie dust and wild hobgoblins
How come I can’t see the fairy tale inside of me?
How come I can’t see the fairy tale inside of me?
The dark-browed mannequin studied Violet for a second and then sang:
You say you can see
But you don’t know what you are
A hopeless wannabe
Who’s not even close to becoming a Broadway star
He held out his gloved hand. Violet hesitated, but only for a second. Then she walked up to him, put her hand into his, and they danced. They danced beautifully, perfectly, athletically—just as they had in the movie.
At that moment Cass wanted to jump out of her seat and rush the stage like an unhinged fan. She wanted to laugh hysterically and bounce in and out of their dance, tagging along step for step, up and down the staircases, over the fallen mannequins, in and out of the costume racks. She wanted to touch her mother, to smell her, to get scolded by her for such outrageous behavior. And at the end she wanted them all to fall into an exhausted heap and to laugh about how crazy it had been and about how they might just do it again the very next day.
Cass managed to stay in her seat, however, and the reward proved almost as satisfying as her fantasy. At the end of the dance, the dark man unfurled her mom and sent her pirouetting across the stage. She came to a dramatic stop. The music stopped. The two stared into each other’s eyes for a second, and then the dark man sang:
Everyone has a dream
You need something more
Come back and see me when your dream is worth dying for
Come back and see me when your dream is worth killing for
“No! Please! Please don’t go!” said Violet, as she rushed up to him. It was too late. The man had turned back into plastic. Violet knocked him on the shoulder, like the others, but he didn’t fall. Instead, his gloved hand fell open and revealed a black business card. Violet took the card and read it. Then she sang:
I can see fairy tales that never will be
Glass slippers and little red Martians
Pixie dust and wild hobgoblins
Maybe I can see the fairy tale inside of me
Maybe I can see the fairy tale inside of me
Maybe I can see the fairy tale inside of me
Violet looked once more at the business card and then rushed offstage. The music swelled to a final crescendo, the stage went black, and the audience broke into enthusiastic applause. Cass choked back the tears and joined them. At that moment she loved Lenora’s museum without reservation, like a child loves her mother.
***
When the Friday-night traffic to LAX pushed Micah over the edge, he put the car into self-drive mode and checked his messages. He thought about sending Cass a message, but then saw that she had sent him one earlier that evening. She said, “Where are you?”
He texted back, “On my way to Florida. What do you think about getting together when I get back? P.S. You can’t fool me. I know what you did. I went back and checked the film.”
Then Micah thought about it. It kind of sounded like Cass had expected him to be somewhere. He scrolled up, through the various messages, to see if he had missed something, and found five recent messages that had been deleted. That didn’t make any sense. First of all, he and Cass hadn’t talked at all in the last week outside of work. Secondly, he hadn’t deleted any messages.
Suddenly a very uneasy feeling washed over him, the kind of feeling that hit after he’d been ambushed by Lenora. He logged into the ranch’s security system and checked the live feeds from the various cameras. Up at the museum he saw a parking lot full of cars, uniformed valets, and a red carpet leading up to the museum entrance. And he saw Cass’s black BMW parked by the red carpet. He instantly understood what it meant: Lenora did have a scheme, and it included getting him out of town and getting Cass into the museum.
He quickly dialed Cass’s number, but it went straight to a recording. He left an urgent, hysterical message. He also pounded out a quick text that said, Don’t go into museum. Leave. Leave now! Then he jerked the car over to the emergency lane and stomped on the gas pedal.
***
Lenora, dressed in a glitter knit black evening gown, appeared from the wings down stage right. She welcomed the audience’s reception with a modest smile and then stepped up to the microphone. She said, “Wendy Rainy’s portrayal of Violet in Zombies on Broadway is a performance that should be remembered forever. And now it will be. We not only rescued it and restored it, but we have converted it back into the dynamic live performance that it was over sixty years ago. But the best part is that the world premiere of this reborn gem has been witnessed by Wendy Rainy’s very own daughter, who, as you all know, is an accomplished actor in her own right. Please welcome our special guest, Cassandra Moreaux.”
Cass rose from her seat, crossed over to the left, and stepped onto the stage. She and Lenora embraced. Lenora said, “Cassandra, what was it like to see this recreation of your mother’s live performance?”
“Take a look at my mascara, and you’ll have your answer,” said Cass.
The audience laughed, but their timing felt out of sync, like someone had pushed a laugh-track button a half beat too late. Cass ignored it. She also ignored a quiet voice from somewhere in her soul that cautioned not to get carried away by emotion and to remember the pain that Lenora had caused as well as the punishment that she deserved. But the tribute to her mom felt too wonderful, and Cass didn’t want to let it go. She wanted it to last forever and to be experienced by everyone. She said, “You have created a magical place, Lenora. And I hope I’m the first person to congratulate you and to say that you have my unwavering support and cooperation.”
“Wouldn’t it be great to see Cassandra perform with her mother?” said Lenora. The audience approved, and Lenora continued: “Well, I have a surprise for you. Visitors to this museum don’t just watch. They participate. In a special performance created for this wonderful occasion, Cassandra and her mother will demonstrate this unique participation for you right now. Cassandra will be the guest who’s been given this encoded card when she bought her ticket.” Lenora held up one of the cards on a lanyard that Cass had seen before. Lenora then placed the lanyard around Cass’s neck. She also offered to take Cass’s handbag for safekeeping. Cass hesitated because it seemed strange. Then she handed it over anyway.
“With this special card, the guest is now welcomed into all the exhibits,” said Lenora, “not just as an onlooker but also as a recognized member of the cast. Sit back and watch how fun and revolutionary this can be.”
Lenora escorted Cass upstage to the jail cell. Cass didn’t remember ever seeing a jail scene in any of her mother’s movies. She stepped into the cell anyway, and lighting embedded into the floor started flashing. Lizard-green fluorescent words said, “You have talent! Step inside and show the world!” Cass stared at those words. The last time she had seen them, she got knocked flat by one of Lenora’s android goons. The memory of that violent encounter rattled Cass’s brain. It woke her up. It sounded the alarm. Something was not right. She turned to
leave. Lenora slammed the cell door in her face.
Cass looked at Lenora, who stood just inches away on the other side of the bars. The showbiz smile had vanished, and her eyes had become two piercing lasers, focused and deadly.
Cass shook the door. It didn’t budge. She said, “Unlock this door, Lenora. Right now.”
Lenora said, “Greatness does not just rise up from the ashes. I can tell you that from personal experience. It is constructed over a lifetime, painfully, block by block, cut from sweat and blood. And, if necessary, from the dead bodies of your enemies.”
Someone entered the stage. It was her mother, still dressed in the evening gown, but now she carried a black gun in her right hand. She stopped at center stage, just a few feet away, almost close enough to touch. She looked blankly at Cass. Cass looked at her.
“You will be performing with your mother, Cassandra,” said Lenora. “It’s a scene I wrote especially for you. It’s called ‘Mother Murders Daughter’ and I hope you carry the memory of it all the way to hell.”
Now Lenora’s twisted fantasy became clear, and it did more than just frighten Cass. It repulsed her, made her want to look away from the android creation, away from the depravity. But like a disobedient dog pulling on a leash, her eyes continued to pull toward the image of her mother, and Cass didn’t have the strength to resist. She looked. She looked at the face of an angel. She looked at the beautiful eyes of her one and only hero. But then she looked again at the gun, and the spell instantly shattered. In all her days, her mother had never come close to this kind of hatred. This imposter that now stood before Cass amounted to nothing but a sick killing machine, conceived and created by an evil mind.
Cass needed to think quickly. She said, “Lenora! Think about what you’re doing! Think about what it will do to your museum! There are a hundred witnesses!”
“I’m not worried about them,” said Lenora. “They have a really bad habit of dozing off at just the right time.”
A barely audible hum echoed through the theater. It lasted a few seconds, and then the heads of everyone in the audience slumped forward. And Cass’s heart slumped, too. She realized that the trap had been planned with meticulous Lenora Danmore precision.
“But then again,” said Lenora, “they really do like a good murder. I think I’ll let them stay up for this one.”
The audience instantly awoke and clapped like someone had just guessed the right answer on a fun game show.
Cass fought back the panic that clawed at her heart and mind. She pleaded, “You don’t have to do this, Lenora! You just heard me say that you have my complete support!”
“At a price I won’t pay! This is not the Wendy Rainy Museum!” screamed Lenora, with wide eyes and a jabbing finger. “It is not a last gasp for mediocrity! It is the Lenora Danmore Museum, and my lifetime of discipline and dedication and excellence is the only reason it’s even possible!”
Lenora had crossed over to psycho-land, and Cass didn’t want to go there. She changed direction. “You won’t get away with it, Lenora. I sent the file to my attorney. If anything happens to me, you will be exposed,” she said.
Lenora took a deep, palsied breath and said, “I doubt it. Besides, I can deal with attorneys. They settle for money. Self-righteous daughters want blood. Goodbye, Cassandra. You have no one to blame but yourself.” She stepped aside a few feet, looked at the android, and said, “You may begin, Wendy. Please take it from the top.”
“Yes, Miss Danmore,” said the android. Her face then instantly became animated. She raised the gun and pointed it at Cass. With a kindly smile, she said, “I’m so happy we get to share this moment together, Cassandra. Is there anything you’d like to say before I kill you?”
Lenora leaned forward and whispered to Cass, “Your dialogue is projected onto the wall…in case you want to go out like a true professional.”
Cass’s eyes darted up to the wall. She had three lines before the end of the scene. She turned her attention to the android and the gun. Cass moved to one side of the cell and then to the other. The gun followed her every move.
“Say the line, Cassandra, and say it like you mean it, or the scene will end, and you will die right now,” commanded Lenora.
Cass read the line, “Yes, Mother. I have a question. How did you get the part of Violet in Zombies on Broadway?”
Two lines to go. Cass clutched her arms to her body, as if in fear, and wrapped her fingers around the encoded card that hung from her neck.
“I took private acting lessons from the producer,” said the android.
Cass read the next line: “You took many private lessons, all over town, but you never got top billing, did you, Mother?”
Lenora laughed.
Now only one line remained before the end. Cass gave a quick, short tug on the card. It popped free from the lanyard.
“Top billing doesn’t belong to the weak, dear,” said the android.
Cass read her last line, “Is that why you gave up and killed yourself?”
“No, dear, that’s why I’m killing you,” said the android. She then pulled back the hammer and aimed the gun at Cass’s heart.
Cass tossed the card out of the cell. It hit Lenora’s leg and landed on the floor by her feet.
The android swiveled and pointed the gun at Lenora. Lenora stared at her creation with wide, unbelieving eyes. The android fired two rapid shots. Lenora clutched her chest, stumbled for a step, and collapsed to the floor. Her arms and legs twitched for a few seconds and then stopped. The android stepped over to the lifeless body, bent over it, and said, “Good job, Cassandra. Keep up the good work. And do not forget to pick up a copy of our scene from the gift store. I think you will like it.” Then her head slumped forward, and she powered down—as did the android audience.
Cass clutched the bars of the jail cell and slowly eased herself to the floor. She felt dizzy and lost. Her brain struggled to fathom how the unspeakable beauty she had witnessed just minutes earlier had instantly mutated into violence and death. Or maybe there had never been any beauty at all. Maybe her blind eye had foolishly believed what had never truly been seen. She tried to breathe, but her body refused to be governed. Confused, roiling emotions of the last forty-eight hours of her life, of hope, hatred, revenge, and forgiveness flooded her heart and soul. She lowered her head and cried.
After a few moments, Cass heard the sound of someone clapping, and then someone else, and someone else. She raised her head and, through the tears, saw the android audience on their feet applauding. Then, before Cass had time to understand what it meant, they fell in unison back into their seats and died to the world once again.
“You’re a clever girl, Cassandra. It’s too bad you didn’t put it to good use. You could have been somebody,” said a voice from across the theater.
Cass knew that voice. It had just been burned into her conscience and cued up for a lifetime of bad dreams. But it didn’t make sense. She looked at the dead body on the floor—the dead body that was supposed to belong to Lenora. And then she saw it. There was no blood. There was no blood… Cass slowly turned toward the speaker, as if stealth caution might make the evil disappear. She saw Lenora walking down the center aisle between the seats. She wore a white lab coat and a face of stone. She climbed the steps to the stage, strode directly to the sleeping android, and pulled the gun from her fingers. Cass pulled herself to her feet.
Lenora stepped over to the cell door, pointed the gun at Cass’s head, and said, “The year is 1951, and you have a choice between happiness and misery. What do you choose?”
Cass didn’t say anything.
“There are no road signs. There is confusion and fear. What do you choose?” said Lenora.
“I choose not to stab my friend in the back,” said Cass.
“Like you didn’t stab Brandi Bonacore in the back?”
“I did that out of ignorance. You betrayed my mother to further your career. You had a choice.”
“My name is Karolina Wojtkowiak! I am the immigrant daughter of a communist! I had no choice!” Lenora cocked the gun and continued: “When desperation wraps its fingers around your neck, everything changes. Look at you. An insignificant political storm rattled your cage, and look what you did. You call it ignorance. I call it a window to your soul, a dark and scary window, just like mine. The only difference is that I don’t go halfway. I finish what I start.”
Lenora steadied her aim. Cass huddled in the farthest corner of the cell, still just feet from the weapon. She closed her eyes. A loud pop echoed through the theater. Cass didn’t feel any pain. She opened her eyes and saw Lenora looking up at the wall where the dialogue had been projected. She stared at a live video of herself and Cass and the gun. The popping had not been the sound of gunfire but the crackling sound of an audio-video system being turned on. Someone had turned on a camera.
Lenora turned and looked out over the audience. All the androids still had their heads down…except for one in the front row. He smiled and stared alertly. Lenora walked to the edge of the stage and shot him in the head. He slumped forward, and the video disappeared from the wall. Lenora returned to the cell. Without a word, she pulled back the hammer and thrust the gun through the bars. Once again a loud pop rang out, and once again Lenora’s live image flashed onto the wall, just in time to catch an angry spasm course through her convulsed body, punctuated by a harrowing shriek of “I will not allow this!” A new android had raised his head.
Lenora stormed downstage, but this android sat several rows back and proved difficult to kill. She fired three times before the android slumped over and the video disappeared from the wall.
Just as Lenora turned and emerged from a cloud of gun smoke, Micah rushed from the wings. Cass let out a loud, uncontrolled gasp. Micah glued his eyes onto Lenora and slowly edged over to the cell, placing himself between Lenora and her victim.
Lenora walked toward Micah, gun at her side. She said, “Get out of here, Micah.”
Death of a Movie Star Page 15