Boy Toy

by Michael Craft

  I stepped nearer, telling Denny, “Don’t jump to conclusions. He could be anywhere. He’s probably on his way here right now.” This was truly an unexpected turn of events—not Jason’s questionable whereabouts, but my leaping forward to console Denny Diggins, of all people.

  He said, “I hope to God you’re right, Mahk.”

  Kwynn Wyman, Thad’s friend, had seen us arrive and walked over to meet us. Hearing the last of our conversation, she said, “Please don’t worry, Mr. Diggins. I’m sure Jason’s fine. But in any event, we’re covered, remember. Thad’s ready to play Ryan tonight if he needs to.”

  “And he just may need to,” said Denny, looking to the hot-hued heavens with an expression that asked, Why me?

  “I’m ready if you need me,” Thad assured Denny. “All we can do is wait.”

  And waiting in the wings, so to speak, was little Tommy Morales—perched on the stairs to the stage door, script in hand, studying the role of Dawson.

  Later that evening, a few minutes before eight, Neil and I mingled with the crowd in the theater lobby. Doug Pierce and Barb Bilsten were with us, as planned, and through the bobbing heads I spotted a familiar figure—or rather, her purse.

  Glee Savage, the Register’s features editor, was a veteran staffer, having been with the paper since her journalism-school graduation some thirty years earlier. She played to the hilt her role as local fashion maven, bringing a much needed dash of pizazz to the streets of our backwaterish little city. Her manner of dress was unpredictable, verging on zany, but a constant feature of her ensembles was the style of purse she always carried. In a word, the purses were big, nearly two feet square—flat carpetbags—collected in a seemingly endless variety of colors and patterns.

  Glimpsing such a purse, imprinted with giant green banana leaves, I knew that Glee was on the premises. Though she had come to enjoy the show, she was also working that night, having assigned herself to review the opening. I told my companions, “Let’s see if Glee wants to join us. I need to ask her something.”

  Neil, Pierce, and Barb readily agreed—they would enjoy Glee’s company, but more important, they knew what was on my mind. We’d already discussed my earlier encounter with a flustered Denny Diggins in the parking lot, and we wondered if Glee had any news regarding Jason Thrush. Would he perform as scheduled that evening?

  I tried catching Glee’s attention by waving my program over the heads of the crowd, but she didn’t notice, so Barb took charge, emitting a shrill whistle from her teeth. (This involved fingers, lips, and saliva, as well as her teeth—a particularly butch little trick that I have never mastered.) The babble halted momentarily as all heads turned. “Glee!” commanded Barb. “Over here!”

  Recognizing us, Glee waved, then moved toward us through the crowd as the hubbub built to its previous level.

  “Evening, boss,” she told me, arriving in our midst. We all exchanged pleasantries. She asked, “What’s up?”

  “Care to join us inside? We have an extra ticket or two.”

  “Sure.” Big smile. Big oily red lips.

  “For God’s sake,” said Barb, getting right to the point, “what’s the deal with this Jason creep?” She’d heard about the incident at dress rehearsal, but Jason had been “the creep” for several weeks already, since the announcement that he would be starring on opening night.

  Glee’s look of confusion made it apparent she’d heard nothing.

  I explained, “When I brought Thad to the theater earlier, there was some concern about Jason Thrush. He’s been ill, I guess, and Denny couldn’t reach him this afternoon. There was talk of a possible cast change.”

  “Really?” Glee arched her brows. “Nothing’s been said to me about it. The lobby photo display still has Jason centered on the top row.”

  Pierce flipped through his program book to the cast of characters. “Jason Thrush as Ryan,” he confirmed. “No stuffer announcing a change. Hey”—he jerked his head toward the double-doored entrance to the auditorium—“people are starting to go in.”

  “Great. Everything must be okay,” I said, unable to mask a tone of mild disappointment that contradicted my words. “We’d better take our seats.”

  So the five of us began jostling with the crowd toward the doors to the main aisle. While inching forward, Neil nudged me. “Over there,” he said into my ear. “It’s Mica Thrush—looking trampy as ever.”

  I had to laugh, finding Neil’s characterization too charitable. She was all in black again, but tonight’s outfit was even more revealing—a silky little slip of an evening dress with a backless plunge toward dangerous territory. As she walked, her long, straight hair shifted, brushing the top of her butt crack. People were staring, exactly as she wanted, though she pretended not to notice. I didn’t know her age, but she had referred to Jason as her “baby brother,” so I guessed she was twenty or so. Eschewing the obvious topic of her perilously bare ass, I told Neil, “Jason must have made it to the theater. Why else would she be here?”

  He shrugged, not caring—Mica Thrush was not worth pondering.

  Inside, we found our seats and settled in. Thad had secured a prime location for us, about a third of the way back from the stage, on the aisle. Pierce asked for the outer seat, in case he was called away; I sat next to him, with Neil next to me; Barb and Glee took the inner seats. We chatted quietly, paging through the program, glancing at the ads. The Register had, as usual, taken the back cover; Quatro Press, the inside front. Glee snapped open the top edge of her purse and extracted her steno pad, pen, and a petite flashlight, in case she needed to take notes during the performance. Barb and Neil discussed some lingering details of the next night’s party—everything was under control.

  At three minutes past eight (I checked my watch), the houselights started their slow fade, and the audience instinctively hushed itself. We knew we were moments away from raising the curtain on a brand-new play, a world premiere. Sure, it was a local effort, and chances were Denny Diggins’s original script would never be staged again, but still, there was a palpable excitement—the hint of great things to come, the magic, as Thad had called it. And the room grew darker.

  But when the houselights reached half-power, they paused.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” began a disembodied but familiar voice (Denny’s, over a loudspeaker), “the Dumont Players Guild wishes to announce the following cast changes: in tonight’s performance, the role of Ryan will be played by Thad Quatrain”—Neil and I discreetly grabbed each other’s fingertips in a proud, congratulatory gesture—“and the role of Dawson will be played by Thomas Morales. Thank you.”

  Predictably, a murmur swept through the crowd as the lights continued their fade to black. Some, surely, were disappointed by the announcement—those who had come to see Jason. Others—like us—were delighted, having preferred to see Thad in the starring role all along. But most were simply surprised and curious: What had happened?

  Just before the houselights winked out, I noticed someone stand in the packed auditorium and begin walking up the aisle toward the lobby. There was no mistaking the lean figure, the sultry swagger, the black satin—it was Mica Thrush, heading out of the theater.

  The crowd again hushed itself as the room went completely dark. Then, with an audible hum, the stage lights came on, full power, and the scene was set. Teen Play had begun. After a few lines of opening dialogue from minor characters, Ryan made his entrance, and to my surprise (Thad’s too, I’m sure), the audience erupted with applause, as if cheering the hero, the understudy who was called upon to save the show. I knew, of course, that Thad was thoroughly rehearsed in the role—he would have played Ryan the next night anyway—but this distinction was lost on the crowd as they clapped their approbation and support. Without breaking character, Thad and everyone else onstage momentarily froze in a tableau, waiting for the applause to wane, then continued with their dialogue. I had never heard Thad in better voice. And I had not before seen him in the role of Ryan, which he acted wit
h confidence and authority. If the last-minute casting change threw him at all, it was not the least bit evident.

  I quickly dismissed the real-world issues and actions and problems that had led to that moment, allowing myself to slip into the new world being created behind the proscenium. As theater folk would say, I “suspended my disbelief” and bought into the whole fabrication, forgetting that it was Thad up there. As minutes passed, the plot began to twist and thicken. I wondered, really caring, What next?

  Pierce, squirming in his seat next to me, broke my theatrical spell as he reached inside his jacket and unclipped the pager from his belt. The gizmo had apparently alerted him with a vibrating signal, and he now strained to see its readout in the dim light of the auditorium. Adding to this distraction, Glee passed her penlight down the row to him, rousing Barb’s and Neil’s curiosity. Heads in the row behind us turned as well, wondering what we were looking at. At last Pierce managed to position the pager at a legible angle under the narrow beam of light. Nudging my knee with his, he offered me a look at the readout—he was needed at the Thrush residence, the home of the missing actor. Rising from his seat, he headed for the lobby.

  Turning to give Neil’s arm a squeeze of apology, I rose, following the sheriff out of the theater.

  In the lobby, Pierce told me, “It’s police business. You stay, Mark. Thad would want you here.”

  “I know,” I conceded, nodding, “but I’ve got an uneasy feeling that whatever’s happening at the Thrushes’ might spell trouble for Thad. Please, Doug—I feel I need to be there.”

  He paused briefly, gathering his thoughts, but was too rushed to argue. “All right,” he said, exhaling. “But you won’t get in on your own. Ride with me.”

  The Thrush residence was located in a pricey development of larger homes near the edge of town—a rolling-knolls subdivision peppered with old oaks and the sort of shake-shingled mini-mansions that Neil often derides as “big dumb houses.” Some looked like storybook castles, others like Mediterranean villas. A particularly ungainly specimen resembled the Alamo—with a front-loading three-car garage. There were several examples of Disney-French, one of which, at the end of a cul-de-sac, was meant to pass for a cozy countryside stable, but it was just too damn big. The intended ambience was further contradicted by an assembly of police vehicles, hastily parked at jumbled angles, flashers flashing. I had never known exactly where Jason Thrush lived, but clearly, we’d arrived.

  It was past eight-thirty, and dusk was slipping toward night. I got out of the car and waited for Pierce to finish on the radio. The conversation was sufficient to tell me what we’d find inside, but not a word was said that explained how it had happened. A sheriff’s deputy came out of the house and jogged down the sidewalk to meet us as Pierce got out of the car.

  Pierce quickly introduced us—the man in uniform was Jim Johnson, the first officer to arrive on the scene.

  “Who called it in?” Pierce asked him.

  “The sister. She’s a weird one—named Mica.”

  “Who else is home?”

  “Just the father.” Johnson didn’t need to mention the dozen cops, the crew of evidence technicians—or the coroner.

  “Let’s have a look,” said Pierce, and the three of us walked up to the house.

  Though the exterior resembled a stable, the inside leaned, shall we say, toward the opulent—nothing says “welcome home” quite so eloquently as that touch of Versailles. Louis-this, Louis-that, everywhere. Chandeliers, gold hardware, tasseled curtains, the works. Though our mission was grim, I couldn’t suppress a wry smile, wondering how Neil would react to this place.

  There didn’t seem to be anyone around. Pierce asked Johnson, “Where?”

  “Upstairs. Bedroom.” And he led us up the curved staircase.

  The upstairs hall was abuzz with hushed activity. Officers sidled into and out of a brightly lit room that I assumed to be Jason’s. Mica was on the far side of the hall, standing speechless next to a seated man who held his head in his hands. I assumed this to be her father, but he seemed far too old.

  Pierce stepped to the bedroom door. “Could we have some room, please?” he quietly asked everyone, who filed out to the hall.

  I followed Pierce inside. We were not alone. Dr. Vernon Formhals, the county coroner, was present—as was the body of Jason Thrush.

  The death of someone young, who has yet to hit his prime, is always a startling event. More than merely mourn the tragedy, we grieve at the loss of potential—the victim represents promises unfulfilled and a life unlived. What’s more, such death seems such a waste, and in Jason’s case, this sense of forfeited opportunities was amplified by a perfect physique on the verge of manhood, lost. How easily I forgot my disdain for the living person, which had been home to a mean and arrogant spirit. That spirit had now flown, leaving only its handsome hull.

  Jason lay prone on his bed, one leg dropped over the edge, his foot to the floor. He was dressed for a summer day in knit shirt, shorts, and tennis shoes. The bed was neatly made, its pillows unrumpled. He looked as if he had just lain down for a nap. Or had he collapsed there? His face was turned toward us, eyes gently closed, like the frozen portrait of a beautiful sleeping child—but the image was spoiled by a sizable gob of mucus that hung like molten, greenish rubber from his sagging mouth.

  “God,” I said, stepping close to stare into his blank visage, “what happened?”

  Dr. Formhals answered, “No idea.”

  Pierce asked him, “Natural causes?”

  “Can’t tell yet.” Stretching a fresh pair of white latex gloves over his massive black hands, Formhals explained the obvious need for an autopsy, the various tests they could run, the expected timetable for obtaining results.

  As the coroner spoke, I remained at the bedside, crouching to study the body, weighing the mixture of attraction and revulsion I felt. There was no indication of trauma or struggle; Jason simply lay there, dead. Sniffing, I concluded that he could not have been there more than a few hours, as there was no foul hint of decay. Nor had his bowels discharged, perhaps due to the position of his body. In fact, the predominant smell at close range was sweet and flowery—the same “cheap perfume” noted by Kwynn Wyman at Wednesday night’s rehearsal. He’d laid it on thick again. Inhaling the fruity scent, I was struck by a vague sensory memory, not from Wednesday, but from long ago. The fragrance was familiar. Had I known someone else who once wore it?

  Rising (my knees cracked), I turned to ask the coroner, “Can you estimate the time of death, Vernon?”

  He stepped next to me at the bedside. “This is preliminary, of course.” He draped his palm over the thickest part of the boy’s upper thigh, telling us, “The body is still slightly warm.” He poked the leg with his index finger. “The skin still blanches when touched.” Then, using both gloved hands, he gently lifted Jason’s head and moved it about, observing, “The first signs of rigor are evident in the neck and jaw.” Allowing Jason’s head to rest again, Formhals paused to pat it, smoothing a still-lustrous lock of hair above an unhearing ear. Turning to us, he continued, “The room had been closed and air-conditioned, a steady seventy-two. The boy probably died between three and four hours ago.”

  Pierce checked his watch. “Nine now. That would put it between five and six.”

  Formhals nodded. “Close enough.”

  I told them, “That explains where Jason was at six-thirty. But Denny Diggins said he’d been trying to phone him all afternoon and could never get past the answering machine.”

  As Pierce made note of this, I glanced around the room, taking my first real look at it (since entering, I’d been focused, naturally, on the body). Jason’s second-floor bedroom was spacious and well furnished, not Frenchy like the rest of the house, but looking like a typical “guy’s room”—well, a typical rich guy’s room. There was a bed, desk, dresser, and a few side chairs, all of matched dark hardwood. The curtains, bedspread, and a large upholstered chair and ottoman shared the same handsom
e plaid fabric, very nubby, correctly masculine. The thick beige carpeting was perfectly clean, surely wool. There were lots of framed pictures, two (maybe three) wall mirrors, and an abundance of stuff—sports gear, trophies, stereo, television, computer, and on the desk, a telephone, the oversize sort of office phone with extra buttons. In spite of Jason’s many possessions, his bedroom had an anonymous, sanitized feeling, like a hotel room.

  I didn’t see an answering machine, so I reasoned that Denny’s calls must have been picked up by voice mail. But why hadn’t Jason answered in the first place? Was he there in the bedroom, sick and dying? Or was he simply somewhere else? I realized there was a lot to sort out, and so did Pierce—his face wrinkled in a perplexed scowl as he stood near the bed scratching notes.

  “My son was all I had, you know.”

  We turned as the decrepit-looking man entered the bedroom from the hall, grasping the doorjamb. He wore a conservative business suit and white dress shirt, but no tie or shoes. Pierce crossed the room to assist him to a chair. “My condolences, Mr. Thrush. I’m so sorry.”

  “You still have me, Daddy,” said Mica, appearing in the doorway, still in her Dracula drag. “Don’t forget about me.” Her expression, as usual, was flat and plastic, as if she wore a mask. She said the words through hard-edged black lips, without apparent emotion. Her tone carried nothing to convince us that she meant to console her father or mourn her brother. If anything, she sounded mildly amused—and terribly bored.

  The Thrush patriarch glanced briefly at his daughter, as if staring straight through her into the hallway, as if she didn’t exist. Then he turned back to us. Ignoring both the sheriff and the coroner, choosing me, he fixed me in his gaze. Though we’d never met, he explained, “Jason would have followed me in the business, my business, the business I founded and nurtured. But now”—he dropped his head backward and laughed at the ceiling—“now it seems the mantle will be passed to Mica.”