by Leonie Gant
“I did not run away” I said, annoyed at the change in conversation.
“Please, you ran so fast and so far because you didn’t want to face him.”
“We’re not talking about this” I said gathering up my purse.
“He came by your apartment” Crystal said.
“Please can we not talk about this?” I pleaded. I really did not want to talk about what may or may not have been the biggest mistake I have ever made.
Crystal looked at me knowingly, but wisely held her tongue. I had been a coward. Three months ago I had walked away from Detective Jake Griffin and grabbed the first out of town job that I was offered. At the time I had been convinced of the rightness of my actions. He was a dedicated officer who was single minded in his approach to his job. Nothing came between him and being a cop, not even the tentative thing that we had started. I had not wanted to come in second to his career, so thought the best thing for me to do was walk away and make a clean break before I got too involved. Three months later and I might not be happy with my decision but I had made peace with it. That didn’t mean that I was particularly proud of my actions and Crystal knew that.
“Thank you.” I was relieved when she stopped talking. “Now it’s time to put on your game face so we can get down there and tell Edwin how proud we are of him.”
“Proud of what?” she asked skeptically, obviously remembering the hour and a half of fairly ordinary acting we had just sat through.
“That he has the courage to go after his dream no matter what” I said.
“Right, that” Crystal plastered on a smile at the same time I did.
Getting backstage wasn’t difficult. Hearing the vitriol coming from behind the door however was. The director obviously had decided that the performance was not up to her expected standard and was letting the cast know in quite loud and explicit language. Hesitating to open the door I looked at Crystal.
“That’s Catarina Badal.” Crystal must have noticed my confusion. “She’s kind of fallen pretty far.”
That was an understatement. Ten years ago Catarina Badal was the artistic prodigy of directing in Hollywood. Her debut low budget movie had come from nowhere and had been a critical and box office smash. Her second movie had won her a host of awards including an Oscar. Since then though her movies had become more and more bizarre. I hadn’t heard anything about her for a couple of years. I had to say that finding her directing in a community theater was a bit of a surprise.
I felt Crystal stiffen beside me. Catarina had just started giving a rather blistering critique of Edwin’s performance. I put my arm out to stop Crystal from storming in there. She looked at me fiercely. Crystal is my best friend. She is tiny. When not walking around in her favored four inch high stilettos, she doesn’t quite make five feet. Despite her lack of size, when it comes to the people she cares about, she is like a vicious little Pomeranian who has no fear when it comes to taking on a Rottweiler. I always worry that one day that Rottweiler is going to bite back.
“Don’t” I whispered. “If Edwin thinks you heard that he will be humiliated.”
Crystal stopped as my words got through to her and nodded her head. We stepped back, away from the door waiting for the tirade to be over. The door swung open and Catarina Badal charged through with barely a look in our direction.
“What are you doing here?” she snarled as she saw me first. I stumbled as I tried to find something to say but it was too late. Her gaze had swung to Crystal and just like magic her attitude changed. She held her hand out to Crystal and oozed friendliness.
“Crystal Bronstein, it is so good to see you. You’re working with your father now aren’t you?”
Crystal had put on her work face. That one that looks polite and interested, but because I know her so well, I know that it means she is fully aware of how fake the person talking to her really is and she’s not falling for it at all. Crystal’s father ran the biggest casting agency in town. He is considered one of those powerful people in Hollywood who can make or break careers. As his only child Crystal had learned very early that most people were only nice to her based on what her father could do for them.
Catarina Badal grabbed Crystal’s hand as if they were the oldest of friends. “I would love to catch up with you” she said as she started dragging Crystal along.
“Actually” said Crystal extricating herself, “I’m here to see Edwin Litchfield.”
Catarina stopped as if she’d been struck. “Well I guess that’s one way for him to get a job. God knows he wouldn’t, based on his acting.” With a derisive look at Crystal she stalked off.
Stepping up I grabbed hold of Crystal around the waist as she went to take off after the director.
“Don’t do it” I warned. You’d think I’d have a lot more trouble holding on to a squirming woman but surprisingly enough over the last year of knowing Crystal my technique had been honed well. I just needed to remember if she started kicking, those stilettos hurt badly.
“I’m going to kill her” hissed Crystal.
“No you’re not” I said.
“Okay, maybe I won’t kill her but I’m going to destroy her career.”
I pointedly looked around the theater we were standing in.
“You may be a bit late for that. Looks like she did a good enough job herself.”
Crystal stopped squirming and looked back at me, a short bark of laughter coming from her.
“So is this my opening night gift?” drawled Edwin from the doorway.
We both looked over to him and our faces must have shown our confusion. He waved his hand at us and at the same time we realized exactly how we must look. I had my arm around Crystal’s waist as her back was plastered to my chest. As she’d been trying to get away my taller body was slightly bent over hers and at that moment we both blushed.
“I’m not saying I don’t like it” said Edwin. “I mean I know that flowers are traditional but if this is how you were planning to go, you could at least have waited until I got here.”
I quickly let go of Crystal and stepped back. Crystal stumbled on her heels and Edwin pushed forward to hold her up.
“That wasn’t what it looked like” she said as Edwin straightened her.
“Oh I prefer to think that it was exactly what it looked like.” Edwin smiled down at her. Crystal blushed and Edwin grinned wider. “So were you going to tell me what that was about?” Edwin asked.
“No, I don’t think so” Crystal said slowly.
“Well then I will go back to my version” he said. Crystal balled up her fist and hit him in the stomach.
“Oh” he gasped. “I think you wounded me with your tiny, tiny fist.”
“You are such an idiot” she said smiling, as she swept past him into the backstage area.
“After you” Edwin said to me as he waved his hand in front of him.
The party was small but the cast and crew seemed to be having a lot of fun, especially since Catarina had left. Of course, the second Crystal walked into the room everyone wanted to be her new best friend. No one is quite as popular at a community theater event as a famous Hollywood casting agent. Throughout the night I slowly got pushed further and further away from the center of the action.
“How are you doing?” Edwin asked handing me a drink as we watched Crystal hold court.
“Not too bad” I said, “Crystal seems to be having fun.
“Nothing like a group of unemployed actors who want to make it big” Edwin said with a little bitterness.
“You okay?” I asked putting down the drink and really looking at him.
I had been away for three months with my pop brat job and had only been back for a few days. With Edwin in rehearsals I hadn’t seen him much, but there was a tension in him that I’d never seen before. He pushed his hand through his hair.
“I don’t think I’m going to make it Trudie” he said softly.
“Why not?”
“I’m not very good” Edwin stared intent
ly at his drink. “I know that. I thought I’d get better but I just don’t feel it.”
“Maybe it isn’t for you, maybe your heart isn’t in it” I said sympathetically.
“I notice you didn’t say that I was getting better regardless of what I think.”
I winced. Edwin put his hand on mine.
“No Trudie, don’t feel bad. I value your honesty.”
I leaned into him and put my head on his shoulder.
“I think you’re amazing for going after it the way you have. I would never tell you to stop or that you weren’t good enough.”
“I know Trudie, but I think I need to get a dose of reality.”
I straightened up. “Maybe you need to look at what you really want, what are you passionate about?”
I followed Edwin’s eyes as they turned towards Crystal, the longing in them almost painful to watch. I nudged him in the side.
“Ask her out, tell her how you feel” I urged.
“I can’t” he said. “Not until I’ve sorted myself out.” He took another drink from his bottle. “What I can do first is to realize I am never going to make it as an actor.”
He stood up suddenly.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m going to tell Catarina that she’s right. I’m never going to make it so I’m quitting.”
Putting down his bottle he strode purposefully out of the room. I saw Crystal watch him as he left. Taking another mouthful of my drink my attention was quickly taken by one of the other actors, who finding that he couldn’t get close to Crystal had decided her friend was an acceptable second choice. Tiring quickly of my monosyllabic answers to his questions about Crystal, he wandered off and Crystal left her adoring court to sit with me. I eyed her over my drink.
“So exactly how privileged am I that you’ve decided to grace me with your presence?”
Crystal elbowed me in the side.
“Ouch” I groaned, “what was that for?”
“For being an idiot” she said. “Where did Edwin go?”
“To tell Catarina that he was quitting, as he wasn’t a good enough actor and he never would be.”
Crystal gaped at me. “What are we doing sitting here then?” she said grabbing my hand.
“We’re letting him be an adult and make his own way in life” I said.
“Of all the stupid ideas. He’s making a massive life change. He needs us with him.”
Not having any choice in the matter I let myself get dragged off in search of Edwin. Crystal, having virtually lived in these kinds of theaters all her life, unerringly found the director’s office. The door was closed. She went to grab the door handle and I grabbed hold of her wrist.
“We can’t just go in there” I said. “What if they’re still talking?”
Crystal pressed her ear to the door. “I don’t hear anything” she said as she grabbed the door handle again, rolling her eyes as I reached over and knocked on the door.
“Catarina” she called out. “We’re just looking for…”
Crystal stopped and over her head I saw the reason why. Catarina Badal was slumped over her desk and in the middle of her back was a knife that looked disturbingly like the prop knife that had earlier in the night been used to kill Edwin in his painful death scene. Crystal gaped as I raced over to check the pulse. I would like to say that my abilities in an emergency carried me through the shocking scene. However this wasn’t the first body that I had seen, and I think that I had become a little desensitized. That was a disturbing thought. I couldn’t find a pulse and I pulled out my phone to call emergency when Crystal found her voice.
“Stop”.
I froze.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“If we walk out right now, nobody needs to know we were in here” she said. I must have looked at her strangely. “I don’t want you involved.” she said concern all over her face.
It may sound callous but in the last six months I had found a total of two dead bodies. I had also been shot once, threatened several times and almost killed in a fire. Crystal did not have the greatest family life and for whatever reason Edwin and I were as close to family for her as her father was. I knew she was just trying to protect me.
“We’re already involved” I said quietly. “We were looking for Edwin, your fingerprints are on the door. We found the body, we have to call the cops.”
Crystal looked as if she was going to start arguing, but then we heard a scream behind her and a thud. One of the actresses was out cold on the floor.
“No going back now.” I punched in the familiar number. “I really should put this on speed dial” I muttered grimly.
Voices reached us as people who had heard the scream came running, including Edwin. Looking in he saw the body and grabbed Crystal and held her.
“What’s going on?” he asked quietly.
“We came looking for you and found Catarina like this” Crystal mumbled in his shirt.
“She was fine ten minutes ago” he said, “I was just talking to her.”
“Great” I said, “you were probably the last person to see her alive.”
“That’s not a good thing is it” said Edwin.
“No” I said, with the voice of experience, “it isn’t.”