Complete Unknown

by Louise Corum

  “Then you have to go back,” Herbert said.

  She flopped on the couch. “No, I don’t.”

  Herbert groaned. “You’re acting like a teenager! You can’t live the rest of your life down here!”

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “Because it’s not very realistic.”

  Carmen rolled her eyes. “What is? Living as someone’s whore to appease the powers that be?”

  He rubbed his face. “You’re getting older, Carmen. You don’t have much time. Your looks will go. If you don’t take advantage of what you’ve got now, it’ll be too late.”

  “I don’t care anymore,” she said.

  “You’ll care when it’s all over.”

  “Please!” she scoffed, as if something like that could never happen. But it did happen to actresses, all the time. They were a dime a dozen. It was a sad but true fact.

  He turned to me. “And you? You don’t have much time, either. You’re a woman, too, that always hurt your chances. But you were getting somewhere, Cadence. Now you’ve both given up something most people would give their right arms for.”

  “I won’t be a whore!” she screamed before I could say anything.

  “We’re all whores, Carmen!” he yelled. “What do you think I’m doing down here?”

  “Say that again?” I said.

  “They said if I didn’t convince Carmen to come back, then they’d shut my next picture down.”

  “Bastards!” Carmen yelled.

  He began to desperately explain, “This is the one, girls, this is the one that I need to do. After this one, I don’t care. I’ve been waiting my whole career for a script like this, for the right time. I wouldn’t even ask you if it weren’t so important to me.”

  We stared at each other. Carmen turned back to Herbert.

  “For you, Herbert, I will do it,” Carmen said. “But only for you but I will not be his whore anymore. You go back and you tell them to send someone down here with a new contract, one with more money.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “And don’t send Duncan.”

  But they did send Duncan. He even brought each of us a box of chocolates and had the biggest smile on his face when I opened the door.

  Marabel, I’m going to sign off for now. I’ll write more later.

  With warmest wishes and kindest regards,

  Ms. C.V. Weeks

  P.S. I think I’ve mentioned once before that I don’t need a computer. That’s very kind of you, dear, but just let it go.

  * * * * *

  Sept. 12th

  Dearest Marabel,

  My, how this story has grown! I’ve read a little of what I’ve sent you and have mixed feelings about how it makes me feel! I never wanted to relive this whole thing. Thinking of the past has never been my cup of tea, but as I read, I feel that I better understand things now more than I used to.

  We were to the part where Carmen and I were in Mexico. Herbert had come down to request Carmen’s return on behalf of the studio.

  However, I think I might have forgotten to mention what happened with Nick.

  Carmen had trouble finding Nick. She wanted him to live in Mexico with us. I had hastily agreed, more to combat any disagreements that might have arisen if I hadn’t than anything else. I still didn’t understand the dynamics of their relationship, as I’ve stated before.

  What we didn’t know was that Nick had packed up and moved to New York. He had subsequently involved himself in some sort of criminal activity and was now residing in some jail there. Carmen, at the time, didn’t know any of this, as they had been forced apart. Again, I felt terrible about all of it, let me reiterate. I did view it as partially my fault because I was the one who made the call to Duncan in the first place. But Nick wasn’t that great of a person and so he wasn’t completely undeserving of what happened to him.

  So, when we went to Mexico, I figured Nick was pretty much out of the picture, at least for now. However, Carmen had other ideas. She was going to find him no matter what.

  Not knowing that he was in jail, she had hired a private detective to find him. The private detective was very shady. I don’t even recall his name and I don’t want to.

  Of course, he found Nick right off the bat, but he also knew Carmen would continue to fork over a lot of money if he withheld the information and kept pretending to search. That’s what she had spent the bonus the studio had given her on. So, he kept her hanging on, draining the money from her. But she was so desperate to find Nick, she didn’t realize what the guy was doing.

  But what I later found out was that the private detective was also doing something else. He was keeping a watch on us, all the time we were in Mexico. Not only was he working for us, he was also working for someone else. His other employer? Duncan, of course. And, of course, he had told Duncan everything about Nick, too.

  It was a great big old mess, when you got right down to it. Men can be very sneaky when they want, Marabel.

  Soon enough, just as we knew he would eventually would, Duncan came to Mexico with a new contract for Carmen. It wasn’t much better than the one she had already, but it did give her a little more money and did obligate her to few more pictures, which she didn’t want.

  See, she’d lost interest in the whole Hollywood thing. Movie stardom might have been her destiny, but she became bored with it. She didn’t get a kick out of it anymore. She liked acting, she liked the attention, but the early calls, the late nights, the schmoozing you have to do to stay on top, she didn’t like. And she withdrew herself from it.

  “I’m not signing on for any more pictures,” she told him. “I owe you one—one!—and that’s all you’ll get from me.”

  Duncan sighed. “Carmen, do you know how many people would love to be in your position right now?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, I do. Zero. No one wants to be in this prison I’m in. I can’t move without you people tracking me down day and night!”

  “You come back,” he said. “You do your pictures, then you’re free.”

  She eyed him, then stared at me. I shrugged and looked away. Things were getting more and more complicated as time went on. But I was with her and that’s all that mattered at the time. I wanted to live my life with her, in whatever way I could. I wanted all this mess to be done with it so we could move on.

  Duncan was really beginning to wear on my nerves, too.

  “I will do your last picture, then I quit,” she said.

  “You need to be on the set by Monday morning,” he told her.

  “Monday morning?! Today’s Saturday!”

  He nodded. “You better get packing.”

  She glared at him. “Duncan, this is the last time I’m going to tell you this. After this picture, I’m gone. And next time you won’t be able to find me so easily.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, if you ever hire some asshole to follow me around again, I might just hire someone to follow you.”

  I was stunned. Had someone been following us? I ran to the window and looked out. We were on a private beach but as soon as I looked out the window, I saw a man in a business suit, his pants legs rolled up, sitting in a lounge chair and staring towards our house.

  “Yeah, you could have at least hired someone I didn’t recognize,” she told him.

  He cringed. He’d been caught. I just stared at her. She had apparently figured this out days earlier, but hadn’t let me in on it.

  “It’s time, Duncan, for you to leave me alone.”

  He looked away. He was so in love with her but he knew he didn’t deserve her. He should have realized then and there that he’d never have her, that she’d never love him. But he was one dumb son of a bitch, as they say.

  “I’ve done everything I’m going to do for you,” she said, not wavering. “If you cross the line one more time, I’m going to see that you’re put in jail.”

  “I’m no threat
to you.”

  “Really?” she asked. “Your obsession has grown tiresome.”

  With that, she exited the room.

  “Why doesn’t she love me?” he whispered to me, almost pleading.

  “Why do you think?” I snapped.

  He stared up at me. He looked like he was about to cry. I felt bad and decided to try and make him feel better which, for some reason, is my nature.

  “She doesn’t love anyone,” I said, knowing it was true. “Except herself. The sooner you realize that, the better off you’ll be.”

  “I’m good to her, Caddy,” he said. “I treat her right.”

  I shook my head. “You think that matters to her?”

  He looked away. It was hard to feel one ounce of pity or empathy for him. To me, he was pathetic. I was sure that people viewed me in the same way as they viewed him. We were both holding on for something we’d never have. But she loved me. I at least had that. Maybe it wasn’t a passionate, jelly in the knees kind of love, but she loved me. I knew that. And that’s all I needed. I knew the moment she told me to go, I would go. I wouldn’t hesitate. I wouldn’t wear out my welcome. I’d tried to leave, many times, but she held me tight; she never let me go. She needed me like I needed her. It was that simple.

  But him? No, she would never need him. She tried to like, if not love, him. However, she couldn’t do something that wasn’t in her to do. Deep down, he probably only wanted her because he couldn’t have her. He knew he never would and that’s why he hung on. If she’d given in and loved him, he might have eventually gotten tired of her and tossed her aside. But it was her strong spirit that kept him coming back for more punishment. It was her lack of love that made him want her more.

  “I’ll see you back in town,” he said and stood to leave.

  I nodded. “Sure.”

  He left. Carmen came out as soon as the front door shut.

  “I mean it, Caddy,” she said. “If he doesn’t leave me alone after this, I’m going to take him to court.”

  “I hope you do,” I said and took her hand.

  She leaned on me, placing her head on my shoulder. She suddenly smiled. I smiled back.

  “What are you smiling at?” I asked.

  “All this,” she said, now almost laughing. “All I am is a poor girl from Tennessee and look at me now, causing all this trouble.”

  For some reason, this made me laugh. I said, “You are a poor girl, aren’t you?”

  She nodded. “That’s all I am, that’s all I’ll ever be.”

  I smiled at her.

  “And you know what? That’s okay.”

  And it was. It was okay.

  The next day was Sunday. We were going to head back early that evening. We spent most of the day packing, then we went out for an early dinner, then when we got back, Nick was sitting on our front porch.

  Carmen stopped short and stared at him, a look of total disbelief on her face. Without a word, she ran into his arms and they kissed. Nick held a hand up at me. I gave a feeble wave. I don’t know how he got there, but I knew he didn’t have time to answer any questions. So, I left, telling them that I was going home and for her to call me the next day. She said she’d get another car and be in by early Monday morning.

  Maybe I shouldn’t have left but I thought it was the right thing to do. After all the pain as she had been in over Nick, I would not have begrudged her that for anything in the world. Not for anything. She deserved that night with Nick and I let her have it. Besides, I had stopped seeing him as a threat and just started to see him as someone else in her life, someone she loved and needed.

  She didn’t come back on Monday, of course. Or the next day either. She spent the next few weeks with Nick in Mexico. Late one night, I got a desperate call from her, “Caddy! They’ve picked Nick up! They said he violated parole!”

  “What?”

  “Oh, Caddy it was terrible. They just charged in here and took him.”

  She was sobbing so hard I could barely understand a word she was saying.

  “He wasn’t supposed to leave New York!” she wailed. “They took him to a Mexican prison! You know what they do to guys in Mexican prisons?”

  No, I didn’t. And I didn’t want to.

  “Call my lawyer, Caddy! Tell him I need him and I need him quick!”

  “Okay! Okay, calm down!”

  She took a deep breath, then began to cry again, “We were asleep, Caddy, and they pulled him off the bed and beat him like that night Duncan was there.”

  Duncan. His name reverberated in my ears. Duncan. I began to feel that chill of panic; it started at the bottom of my feet and went to the top of my head. Duncan. Duncan had done all this. Duncan.

  “I’ll call you right back!” I said and slammed the phone down. I picked it back up and dialed Duncan’s home number. I let it ring over and over again. No one answered. He didn’t answer because he wasn’t there.

  I called her right back. “Get the fuck out of there!”

  “What?”

  “Now! Leave!” I yelled. “Get in the car and go!”

  “What is wrong with you?”

  “Now!”

  “Caddy, calm down. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  I couldn’t. I couldn’t tell her. She’d go crazy. She’d do something stupid. She’d end up in a Mexican prison.

  I forced myself to calm down and said, “Get in the car and come home, now. Come home to my house. Now.”

  “Why?”

  “I think…I think Duncan is behind this.”

  “Duncan?” she asked.

  “Yes, please just get in the car and leave, Carmen.”

  “I don’t have a car,” she said.

  “What?!”

  “The one I bought broke down. We took it into a shop and caught a ride back with our neighbor.”

  “I don’t give a shit about that!” I said. “Go to the neighbor and offer him anything to bring you home.”

  “I can’t do that! It’s two in the morning.”

  “I don’t care what fucking time it is! Get your ass out of that house!”

  “I can’t leave now!” she said. “They’ve got Nick!”

  What could I do? What could I say? It was a long drive down there. I said, “Call the police.”

  “Yeah, right, after what they did to Nick, no thank you.”

  “Are you not listening to me? Duncan isn’t home, Carmen!”

  “So?”

  “Think! Duncan isn’t here. Nick is mysteriously taken from your home late at night! Now who knows where you are? Who knows, Carmen?”

  “Duncan’s harmless.”

  “No, he isn’t,” I said. “You know that.”

  I heard her sigh. “Why don’t you come down and help me? I need you.”

  “It’s a long drive, but I’m getting in my car right now.”

  “Okay, baby,” she said, sounding relieved. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” I said. “Don’t answer the door unless it’s me. Promise me that, would you?”

  “Yeah, okay, will do. Bye. And hurry! I miss you!”

  I nearly smiled. “I miss you too. See you in a little bit.”

  Marabel, this next part is very hard for me. I will need a little time. I will send it to you as soon as I finish. It will take a little while, so please be patient.

  With warmest wishes and kindest regards,

  Ms. C.V. Weeks

  * * * * *

  September 17th

  Dearest Marabel,

  It is with regret that I write this part. It is with regret that what I knew would happen, happened. It is with regret, with remorse, that I tell you what I have to tell you now.

  Carmen had bought a gun. I never knew about it. I never knew she had one or that she could shoot one, at least not until one day she and I went on a drive and she pulled up to an old building and we went inside. Inside, she pulled out a small gun from her purs
e and shot several cans that were lying around.

  Back then, there were no stalking laws. Nothing really to protect you against someone who would do you harm before it happened. Nothing to protect the innocent. It might not be so different now.

  “I’m a good shot, Caddy,” she said, grinning. “Learned it from my old man.”

  “Why did you buy a gun?”

  “Everyone needs a gun, Caddy,” she said. “Especially someone like me.”

  When I had called her that night, she had the gun with her. She always kept it with her. It was one of her prized possessions.

  I left immediately after I hung up with her. But of course, I was still in my nightgown. So, I just grabbed a dress and pulled it over my head. I didn’t even care that it was much too fancy a dress to wear on a drive or that I had a pair of sneakers on with it. It was the first thing I found. So, I put it on.

  Funny, the things you think of when you remember things, isn’t it?

  I drove all night and got there right at dawn. There was no movement. No one was on the beach or the street. A few lights were on, here and there. Everything seemed peaceful, tranquil.

  I was relieved. I had made my plans. We were leaving. I was going to force her to leave. She would leave with me that day. I didn’t care how, when or where. But it’d happen. That much I was sure of.

  I had made it in time and I was almost smiling when I hopped up the steps and unlocked the door. As soon as I entered, I knew my deepest fears had been confirmed.

  First of all, Duncan was there.

  He sat on the bottom step. He was bent over, sobbing. His face was red, his nose snotty, like a child’s. His clothes rumbled. His shirt ripped. He didn’t move or look up when I entered. It was like he was frozen in time, frozen on that bottom step.

  “Where’s Carmen?” I asked.

  His head shot up and he stared at me like a wild animal. A trapped wild animal.

  “Where is she?” I asked and stared into the living room.

  “Don’t go in there,” he said.

  I froze and turned to him. “What did you say?”