A Fatal Affair

by Carolyn L. Dean

  “You’re just too cheap!” she said shrilly. “You led me on! I should’ve known you’d never want to get married. You men are all alike!” She glared at him. “Go home and sleep with your stupid cat!

  “But, honey…” he started saying, but Olivia swiveled her head so she was looking through the windshield, bottom jaw thrust out in anger, and stomped on the gas pedal. The car lurched forward and sped away, with Max trying to catch his balance from her hasty exit.

  “It’s okay,” he said to himself softly. He was cradling the front of his corduroy coat with one curved arm and started slowly walking toward the employee door in front of the warehouse.

  As Max trudged up the stairs to the loading dock Edwina tried to hang back in the shadows a bit and pretend she hadn’t overheard the exchange outside, but as soon as Max got to the top of the stairs he locked eyes with her.

  “Well, that was real sweet, wasn’t it?” he said, his voice flat and unhappy. “Can you believe that broad? Dumped me like a hot rock.”

  There was a plaintive meow from under his jacket.

  Max looked down and used his free hand to unbutton the top two buttons.

  The large head of a black-and-grey striped cat instantly popped out, and two yellow eyes peered at Edwina with frustration and suspicion. The torn left ear the cat sported gave him a rakish look.

  Edwina nodded toward the gray cat.

  “So, you’ve got a new friend?”

  A slow smile spread across Max’s face as he looked down at the cat. “Yeah, I guess we should be friends. You know how many cans of sardines I had to buy to get this guy to let me touch him? If he’d kept dodging me I would’ve had to give up. I couldn’t afford any more fish.”

  “I see.”

  “Besides, shouldn’t every bachelor own a cat or two? Tanner says he has one named Cupcake.”

  Edwina walked over and reached out to scratch the cat behind the ear, then under the chin. He instantly closed his eyes in happy acceptance, stretching forward to be sure she could access every bit of his head.

  “I’m going to call him Snerd,” Max said, shifting the weight of the big tomcat under his coat.

  “Why Snerd?”

  “Oh, I saw a guy once in vaudeville that had a puppet with the name Snerd. I just think it sounds like a funny name.”

  “Snerd.” Edwina scratched the cat’s head again, and could feel him begin to purr.

  She glanced up at Max. “Are you okay?”

  He gave a committal shrug, not meeting her eyes. “Yeah, sure,” he said. “She picked quite a day to do this, though. I’ve been trying to quit smoking and all I want to do right now is punch a wall or something.”

  Edwina bit back a smile. “Don’t do it around here, okay? You’d break your hand on these bricks.”

  Max sighed as he held the door open for Edwina.

  “Fine. Take all my fun away.”

  **

  As soon as Edwina walked into Gloria Linwood’s dressing room, she knew something was terribly wrong.

  The actress was kneeling in front of a large tin bucket, her face pale and her eyes shut, as Bunny tied her hair up out of her face. When Bunny saw Edwina, she jerked her chin at her, silently commanding her to get out. Edwina knew exactly what Bunny meant, that no one wanted to be watched while they were being violently sick, so she grimaced a bit in apology as she silently backed out of the room and closed the door behind her.

  A couple of minutes later, Bunny joined her in the hallway.

  “I’m sorry you had to see that,” she said, and Edwina shrugged.

  “I guess she really is sick,” she said. “Has she been unwell for very long?”

  “Just since she got back from Mexico,” Bunny said, looking down the hall to be sure no one was nearby. “It comes and it goes.”

  Edwina glanced over Bunny’s shoulder, at the closed door. “If she’s this sick, she needs a doctor, Bunny. We know someone’s out to blackmail her for cash, and who knows if they’re poisoning her or not?” She paused. “Or something could have happened in Mexico that we don’t know about, like a parasite.”

  Bunny burst out laughing, then clapped both her hands over her mouth, her eyes closed tight as she tried to stifle her reaction. After a breathless moment or two, she peeled back her hands, her face full of humor.

  “Oh, something happened in Mexico all right, or maybe a bit before it. Our big Hollywood star is carrying around a little souvenir. Should be arriving in about seven months or less.”

  Edwina took a deep breath, then shut her eyes in sudden understanding. “Oh, I’m such an idiot. I can’t believe I missed the signs.”

  “Yep,” Bunny agreed. “Some detective you are! Why do you think she’s always trying to get Serena to loosen those corset laces, too? She needs to work through this movie to get some cash, and then I’m not sure what she’s going to do.”

  “She hasn’t told you what’s she/s planning?”

  Bunny shook her head. “We’re not particularly close, when it comes to personal matters. Maybe that’s the reason she hired me. I just wish she’d pay me what I’m worth.” She put her hand back on the doorknob, then paused. “She has reasons she is the way she is, you know. She’s not some monster.”

  “Maybe not, but that’s beside the point. I still think she needs a doctor,” Edwina said, her voice firm, and Bunny sighed.

  “I know, I know. She says as soon as the film wraps up she’ll go see a doctor,” she said, before going back in the dressing room, and shutting the door in Edwina’s face.

  Chapter 21

  Edwina did her best to make herself useful to the movie crew, even if it wasn’t easy. Everyone seemed upset and distracted, and the energy in the entire warehouse was frenetic and unsettled. She knew Miss Linwood and Bunny didn’t want her anywhere near the dressing room while Linwood was still feeling ill, so she asked around for errands and ways to help. She spent a bit of time washing out coffee cups in the cafeteria, then sweeping up after the carpenters putting together a wooden backdrop painted to resemble the night sky. When Mr. Baxter asked her to carry two rolled of undeveloped film to the office and set them on the back table, she held them as though she was carrying the crown jewels. There was no telling how much trouble she’d been in if anything she handled got damaged, especially the raw movie footage.

  As she rounded the doorway into the office, she could see someone crouched down by the far wall, his denim-covered backside up in the air, his head near the floor, and banging sounds coming from by the sofa.

  “Hey! Just what do you think you’re doing?”

  The man in front of her slowly turned his head toward Eddie, his eyes wide with surprise. With a soft sigh of resignation, Gustavson reached over and closed the metal toolbox next to him, then put his grimy hands on the floor, and pushed himself to a standing position.

  “Well, miss, I was just fixing this sofa leg when you walked in. I’m doing a job for Mr. Baxter. Now, are you going to let me get back to my job, or am I going to have to tell my boss that you’re interrupting my work?”

  Edwina’s eyebrows went up in mock shock, and the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile. “Clyde Baxter hired you?”

  “Sure as I’m standing here.” Gustavson’s jaw was thrust forward, as if daring Edwina to prove him wrong.

  She wasn’t going to let that slide. “That’s a lie,” she said. “You know you’re not supposed to be here, and I know it, too.” She kept a close eye on the man’s posture, ready to react.

  “Look, little miss,” Gustavson blustered, shaking a finger at her, “you need to be more careful with your language. No one calls me a liar and gets away with it!”

  “We’ll see about that,” Edwina said firmly, and walked out, heading straight to where Clyde Baxter was sitting in his chair, talking with Wickett. They were pointing to something written in the script, and Baxter looked up in surprise when Edwina walked up. “Did the film get delivered?” he asked, a note of fear in his voice.

&n
bsp; “Yes, no problems at all,” she assured him. “I just wanted to know if you’d hired anyone to fix a sofa in the editing office?”

  Baxter appeared to consider for a moment, then said, “Yes, I did. A big guy who works next door. Said he was a handyman looking for work, so I thought I’d give him a trial. Was there a problem?”

  “Not really, no,” Edwina said, thinking back over her encounter with Gustavson. He did seem to be working on something on the sofa, but there still was an air about him that made all the alarm bells in her head go off.

  And why had he been so aggressive with her?

  Chapter 22

  “What do you mean, barging in here like this?”

  Gloria Linwood’s heavily lined eyes were snapping fire at Edwina, who was still holding the doorknob to the movie star’s dressing room.

  “I’m sorry, but they’re calling for you on the set, and Bunny sent me to be sure you were ready.”

  “Well, they’re going to have to wait for a few more minutes,” Linwood said, turning back to her mirror. “Have a seat.”

  Edwina looked at the two extra chairs, both covered in discarded clothes, plates, and other items. “Thanks, but I think I’ll stand.”

  “Suit yourself,” Linwood said. “This gives us a chance to talk, and if you want to do it on your feet, that’s fine by me. Do you have any idea at all about who’s sending me those awful letters?” Gloria Linwood paused from rubbing cold cream on her forehead and looked at Edwina through narrowed eyes. “You know, it would be just thrilling if you’d actually do your job and discover who the creep is who’s trying to squeeze me out of my hard-earned money.”

  “Okay, that’s it. I’ve had it,” Edwina said with an exasperated sigh. She shoved a discarded newspaper off a nearby chair and plopped down in it, turning it to face the startled actress. “Let’s get our cards out on the table, shall we?”

  Linwood was instantly suspicious. “What are you talking about?”

  “This affair in the papers. The baby that’s coming.”

  Linwood’s eyes rounded in absolute shock.

  “That’s none of your business! That’s personal!” she stammered, slamming her hands down on the top of her vanity with a resounding smack.

  Edwina clamped her lips together and shook her head. “No, it isn’t. You hired me to find out who’s blackmailing you, and whatever is going on in your life that is part of that puzzle is pertinent.”

  “No, it’s not!”

  Edwina leaned forward in the chair and pointed at Linwood’s left hand. “I’m sorry I barged in like that, but if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have caught you wearing your wedding ring.”

  Mouth agape, Linwood glanced at the small gold band on her ring finger, as if she had never seen it before.

  “I… you see…” she began, but Edwina held up her hand and waved away her explanations.

  “It’s all right, Miss Linwood. It is a wedding ring, isn’t it?”

  Silently, eyes wide, Linwood nodded and protectively covered her left hand with her right, as if to hide the ring again.

  “So,” Edwina said quietly, “are you Mrs. Baxter?”

  A slow, quiet smile spread across Linwood’s face, and it was the first time Edwina had seen the actress truly happy. There was a simple, pure beauty to it that went far beyond all the makeup and artifice that Hollywood could contrive.

  “Yes, I am,” she said, her face pinkening with emotion.

  Edwina smiled and put out her hand to shake Linwood’s. “May I offer my congratulations?” she asked, and Linwood actually giggled when she shook it.

  “It’s customary to offer best wishes to the bride and congratulate the groom,” she corrected, but her delight was obviously genuine. “And yes, thank you.”

  “Was that why you went to Mexico?”

  “Yes, we got married there.” She coughed, seemingly embarrassed. “It was kind of sudden, due to…reasons you already know.”

  Edwina nodded. It was starting to make some sense. “So, why not just tell people you’re married to Mr. Baxter? Why all the subterfuge?”

  Linwood glanced at the door, as if to confirm it was still locked. “I didn’t want the publicity while we had to deal with this blackmail issue. I wanted to announce our marriage to the press and fans in a way that they’d know it was genuine. There are a lot of news stories about movie stars that are completely contrived.” She shrugged. “You’d be surprised. If the blackmailer’s information got out the same time as a sudden wedding, we’d be living under a cloud of scandal. It could kill my career.”

  Edwina leaned back in her chair, her face troubled. “Okay, so that means the information the blackmailer has isn’t about you and Mr. Baxter, right?”

  When Linwood nodded, Edwina looked past Linwood’s shoulder, her mind far away as she tried to untangle the facts. “What does the blackmailer have that you don’t want made public?”

  Looking back at Linwood, she could see the uncertainty in her eyes. “It’s okay,” Edwina urged. “I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

  There was a moment of hesitation, then Linwood’s shoulders slumped a bit. “I have a daughter.”

  “You… have a child?”

  “Well, I had a child, five years ago. She was illegitimate, and I gave her up for adoption the day she was born.” She leaned forward, clasping her hands together tightly in her lap. “The blackmailer says he has photos, and a letter from the two nurses who were there the day my daughter was born. Do you know the scandal that would erupt if that got out? The studio would drop me, and I knew I couldn’t support her on my salary as an extra in movies. It wasn’t until recently that I was making enough money to have a normal life.” Her voice had an emotional quaver to it Edwina had never heard before. “She’s better off with a good family who can take care of her.”

  “Okay, now I’m confused,” Edwina said, frowning to herself. “What about the photos that were in the paper? I mean, I know the press hasn’t caught wind of your secret marriage yet, but how did they get alerted to get pictures of you and Mr. Baxter kissing in public?”

  “I’m not sure about that,” Linwood admitted. “Someone must’ve tipped them off I was with him, and then the press tried to make it into some big movie star news.” She grimaced. “They do stuff like that all the time. Someone tells them where to get lurid photos, and they pay them for the information. It’s just the first time it’s happened to me. They don’t care how their supposed news hurts people’s lives.”

  Edwina’s heart twisted at the actress’ words. She had an inclination to jump up out of her seat and hug Linwood, but there seemed to be miles between the two chairs in the dressing room. Finally, she sighed and said, “So the blackmailer knew about the child, but not about your marriage.”

  Linwood blinked. “No, he didn’t. The letters started coming about a month before that. No one knew about me and Clyde.”

  “No one?”

  “Well, just Bunny, but she’s harmless. If she’d blabbed too much I’d be in real trouble.” She turned back to her mirror, almost as if she dismissing Edwina. “Tell Mr. Baxter I’ll be out in five minutes.”

  “All right,” Edwina replied, getting up from her chair. She looked back at Linwood, who was scrupulously cleaning the cold cream off her face with a tissue. “And Mrs. Baxter?”

  “Yes,” the actress replied, distractedly.

  “Don’t forget to take off your ring.”

  Linwood laughed and looked back at Edwina. “Hey, if I’ve kept the secret this long, I can keep it until the movie’s over and done with. You go find that blackmailer, and then I’ll be able to wear my wedding rings whenever I want.”

  Chapter 23

  “Somebody’s here to see you,” Max said as walked up to Edwina. She’d been sitting with Serena on a long bench outside of the cafeteria, putting her much-neglected hand-sewing skills to use by hemming a pair of tweed trousers for the costume mistress. Serena had seemed delighted at the offer of some help, and Edwina was
doing her best to keep any memories of fashion classes at finishing school at bay.

  She glanced up, then grinned widely. “What are you doing here?” she asked, setting her sewing project on the bench and giving her best friend, Agnes, a huge hug. “I told you I’d see you tonight!”

  “Aw, how could I wait that long to see you?” Agnes said, and Edwina bit back a grin. She knew exactly why Agnes was there. Her friend always wanted to be in the thick of things, and with a Hollywood movie crew in town, Edwina on a case, and possible hunky men to meet, it was just a matter of time before she showed up.

  “Is it okay if I take a break, Serena?” Edwina asked. “I’ll come back in just a bit and finish up those pants, I promise.”

  “Fine, leave me, abandon me to my work, see if I care,” Serena said glumly, and Edwina frowned. She honestly couldn’t tell if the seamstress was being facetious or not.

  Deciding to take it at face value, she hooked her hand through Agnes’ elbow and pulled her away from the cafeteria. “Come on, chickie, and I’ll give you the ten-cent tour,” she said.

  Just as she’d expected, as soon as they were out of earshot of anyone else, Agnes began to pepper her with questions.

  “What did you find out? Have you discovered who the blackmailer is yet?”

  Edwina didn’t say anything, but kept walking. Looking around to be sure no one was near them, she pulled her friend into an alcove on the far side of the warehouse.

  “Now I can talk,” she said, then crossed her arms and stared at Agnes. “You know I can’t give you any details about the investigation!” she said, her brow furrowed in irritation. “I’ve got to keep my client’s concerns confidential. You need to be more careful about running your mouth around other people.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, little Miss High and Mighty,” Agnes snapped back, “but I thought by now you’d be dying to talk about what’s going on here.” She dug into her purse and pulled out a wax bag. “Also, I stopped by your house first, because I thought you might be there, and Mrs. O’Doul said I could give you these.”