Too Little, Too Late

by Marta Tandori

  The banquet scenes were shot in tandem, with the wide shots covering all of the actors. The scene was then reset and shot all over again in close up, with Kate’s hands and arms subbing for Divinia’s. Kate had to will her hands to stop shaking and it mercifully took only three takes to get the scene right. The murder scene was more difficult and demanding and Kate thought she would pass out when, at one point, Karl jumped out of his chair and took her by the wrist, twisting her hand this way and that, while explaining what he wanted her to do. It was well after midnight when he finally yelled, “Cut!” and shooting was finished for the day.

  Kate’s wig had begun itching shortly after the dinner break and she was happy to finally shed her hot costume. Dressing quickly in her own clothes, she gathered up her purse and made her way to where she’d parked her car. She was about to get in it when she heard her father’s distinctive voice, on the other side of the golf cart parked beside her car. After having listened to his voice for the past twelve hours, it was unmistakable.

  “What did you say?” Kate glanced around her nervously, hoping someone – anyone – would walk by so she wouldn’t have to be alone with him.

  “I knew you wouldn’t be able to pass up the money.” He casually lit a cigarette, the light from the match casting his face in shadows as he moved closer to her.

  Kate stared at him slack-jawed. “You got me this job?”

  He nodded, releasing a thin stream of smoke from his nostrils. “My stepson went to see you the next day…but you never showed up for work. Then when he found out you had vacated your apartment, he became curious.”

  “Rape has that effect on people,” she shot back angrily. “They get scared and they run.”

  “But you didn’t run very far, did you?” he pointed out. “I think it’s time you and I had a talk, Kate.”

  “Why? So you can try and intimidate me—”

  “So we can have a proper reunion.” He moved closer, breathing harder. “Katya.”

  All the blood drained from her face and she felt lightheaded as she leaned against her car for support. “How did you find me?”

  He laughed. “It’s not that difficult to obtain the right information – as long as you’re willing to pay for it.”

  “So you must know about Sonja, then.” She stared at her father with contempt.

  For the longest time, he said nothing. When he finally spoke again, his words seemed forced. “We need to talk privately, just the two of us.”

  “I don’t want to be alone with you.”

  He cleared his throat. “Come to the house. Tomorrow night, eight o’clock.”

  With that he left, not waiting for her response.

  CHAPTER 6

  “Marcus!” Kate hurried over to the man about to enter one of the classrooms at the end of the hall.

  “Ah, my beautiful Kate desires me,” he joked dramatically. “I knew my persistence would eventually pay off.”

  “You are such a ham!” His banter was infectious and Kate found herself smiling for the first time since last night.

  “It’s all part of the Stanton charm,” he told her as he led her into one of the deserted classrooms. “Want to catch a bite to eat? I’m almost done the repairs on the glass house set.”

  Kate had met Marcus Stanton in Mastonson’s while he was buying his girlfriend a pair of gloves. He’d accidentally toppled over a glove display and when they both tried to prevent the display from crashing to the floor, the impact of their colliding bodies had knocked Kate on her derriere. Marcus had been most apologetic and extremely charming, managing to talk Kate into having lunch with him. By the end of their lunch, they were fast friends. Kate had told him about Sonja, and Marcus had told her about the music he wrote and hoped to sell one day.

  It wasn’t much of a surprise to either one of them when Marcus eventually broke up with his girlfriend and made it abundantly clear to Kate that he wanted to date her. Although she was attracted to Marcus Stanton in a way she had not been to any other man, she insisted that their relationship remain platonic. The last thing she needed in her complicated life right now was the demands of a relationship. Although Marcus took her rejection in stride, he refused to give up, joking with Kate that she’d come around to him one day. When her agent convinced Kate to take acting classes, Marcus had suggested that she take lessons with a drama coach from the acting company where he worked as a handyman.

  “Can I get a rain check?” she asked. “I’ve got to rehearse tonight.”

  “Want me to help you run lines?” he asked. “Some of the guys will be coming over to my place to work on our music but that won’t be until later on.”

  “Thanks, but…I’ve kind of got to focus and you know I can’t do that when you’re around.” Kate hoped she sounded convincing.

  “Look at you! One movie role and you already think you’re Ethel Barrymore.”

  “It’s not what I think at all.”

  “That’s what they all say,” he replied airily.

  She felt herself blushing under his close scrutiny. There was something so damned appealing about his unbridled devotion and sincerity that Kate just wanted to sink into the comfort of his arms and let him take care of her. And she knew he’d do it in a heartbeat if she let him.

  “Actually, I kind of need a favor.”

  “Ask and ye shall receive.” He ran his finger along her bare arm. “All I ask is that you don’t trifle with my weak heart.”

  “Would you be serious?” She cleared her throat nervously. “Do you think you could get me a gun from the prop department?”

  His hand fell to his side, his playful banter replaced by a look of seriousness. “What do you need it for?

  “It would help me get into character if I got used to handling one.” The lie sounded lame and Kate inwardly cringed.

  “What’s the role?”

  “Does it matter?” she parried nervously.

  “Can’t you use a brush or something?” When she didn’t answer, Marcus tilted her chin and forced her to look at him. “Hey. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” She blinked away the tears that had formed behind her lids. “Can you help me or not?”

  Something closed over his features and his expression became unreadable. “Follow me.”

  Kate followed him down the hall to the room where all the props were kept under lock and key. Marcus removed a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, pulling her inside, before closing the door behind them. He unlocked a cabinet on the far wall and removed one of the guns hanging on a peg before bringing it over to her.

  “This is a .44 Magnum prop.” He placed it carefully in her hands.

  It felt heavy. “It’s not dangerous, is it?”

  “Even a prop gun, loaded with blanks, can be dangerous if it’s fired at close range near the head.” He gave her a strange look. “Needless to say, you’re not getting any blanks. I need the gun back by tonight so I can replace it first thing in the morning before anyone notices that it’s missing, okay?”

  “Thanks, Marcus.” Her bottom lip trembled.

  “Promise me you’re not going to do anything stupid.”

  Kate nodded, not trusting herself to speak. If there was one thing she had learned in dealing with her father, being stupid wasn’t an option. She needed insurance.

  ***

  He answered the door himself. “You came.”

  “You didn’t give me much choice.” Kate followed him back to his study. There was no sign of any servants and she could tell by the way her father was weaving back and forth that he’d been drinking. This immediately put her on her guard. “Where’s your wife?”

  “Somewhere in the Napa Valley, I think,” he replied, before going over to the bar and pouring himself a liberal amount of scotch. “Do you want a drink?”

  “No thanks.” Kate surreptitiously glanced at the carpet on which she’d been raped. The carpet was clean now. There was nothing left to bear witnes
s to the humiliation she had endured. She watched as her father lumbered over to a wing chair and sat down heavily. “And your stepson? Is he in another room, lying in wait?”

  “He doesn’t know who you are.”

  “How comforting.” Her voice was laced with sarcasm.

  “You look just like your mother.” He took a swallow of scotch. “I don’t know why I didn’t notice it before.”

  “When would you have noticed?” she asked, unable to keep the contempt from her voice. “While you were screwing your stepson or while you were raping me?”

  “You have a filthy mouth.” He watched her through hooded eyes.

  Kate ignored his comment. “Don’t you want to know what happened to her?”

  “To who?”

  “My mother.”

  His hand shook as he lifted the glass to his lips. “That was another lifetime ago.”

  “Well, I’ll tell you anyway,” she continued as her courage grew. “Mama was raped and beaten before her nude body was dumped in a field like a piece of garbage.” Kate leaned forward deliberately. “And let’s not forget Lilly, another one of your defenseless victims. She ended up being tortured by some animal who would’ve also killed me had Mama not shot him first.”

  “Himmler thought he was creating a master race.” He stared at her with unseeing eyes. “More like a race of emotional imbeciles!”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “She should have been able to overcome confrontation and come out victorious.” He shook his head sadly, as if unable to come to terms with what had happened. “Lilly wasn’t made of the right stuff, but you obviously were.”

  “Just barely!” she cried. “No thanks to you, I might add.”

  “War always has casualties,” he told her vehemently, “and there must always be those who are sacrificed for the greater good.”

  “Is that all we were to you - human sacrifices?”

  “What’s done is done.” Her father cleared his throat. “Himmler’s Lebensborn program had its flaws; flaws which should have been corrected but there had been no time. No one expected the defeat of the Third Reich.”

  “And yet it was defeated.” The time for chit-chat was clearly over. “Now that we’ve caught up on old times, what did you want to talk to me about?”

  He got up and went to his desk. Picking up a leather billfold, he brought it over to the coffee table. “How much will it cost me to get rid of you and that little noodle brain?”

  Kate turned pale as a ghost. “What did you just call her?”

  “Exactly what she is, a little half-whit,” he told her succinctly.

  Each of his words had the impact of a physical blow and Kate recoiled from his presence by sinking as far into the sofa as she could.

  “Do you know what we used to do with little half-whits like her?” Karl’s tone was taunting, contemptuous. “We used to tie sacks over their heads and drown them!”

  “You sick bastard!” Kate cried. “That little noodle brain, as you so callously called her, is a part of you. Wouldn’t it be ironic if she grew up to look exactly like her grandfather?”

  “How much?” he asked again. Picking up his glass, Karl finished off the rest of his scotch in a single gulp. His glass missed the table and landed on the carpet.

  His clumsiness only made Kate more incensed. “You think buying me off will make me forget about you and Irving going at it or the fact that you both raped me? Not a chance!” she spat out. “I wonder what your wife will say when she finds out she married a sick monster who gets his kicks fucking her son,” she continued coldly, “or that her beloved son, the future governor of California, is a sadistic rapist like her husband?” Kate gave him a cold smile that never reached her eyes. “I bet that would thrill her plenty, maybe enough to divorce you and disown him.” She stood up, ready to leave.

  Karl crossed his arms over his massive chest. “It’ll be your word against ours.”

  Kate faltered, but only for a second. “About Sonja, perhaps. But I’d like to see you try and explain each of the entries in your little black notebook.” She watched him go pale. “You do remember that notebook, don’t you, Papa – the one that detailed the daily executions at the extermination camp? Did I mention I have it and that I plan on using it to destroy you?”

  “You bitch!”

  It looked like he was about to attack her but Kate was ready for him. “Don’t even think of touching me.” Reaching into her purse for the gun, Kate held it in front of her, trying to stop her hands from shaking.

  Karl Bauer came up short at the sight of it. “You wouldn’t dare!”

  Kate pointed the gun at her father’s chest. “Do you really want to take that chance?” she asked.

  Her father suddenly laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” she demanded.

  “You,” he replied. “You had me going for a minute with that silly prop gun.” His voice was soft, almost menacing as he slowly circled around her, the effects of the alcohol impeding his movements. “You, my dearest Katya, are a formidable product of superior genetic breeding.”

  Her father’s words stung. “I’m a person, not a god-damned science experiment!” Tears filled Kate’s eyes and she swiped at them angrily.

  In that split second, her father lunged across the coffee table at Kate and clumsily tried getting his hands around her throat but she was able to knee him in the groin. Gagging, Karl reeled backwards, only to have his heel catch on the leg of the coffee table. Losing his balance, he hit his head on the corner of the heavy wooden table as he fell to the ground.

  Kate went around the table so that she was directly behind his head just as his body began convulsing. The convulsions were soon followed by huge spurts of vomit. Karl’s drunken state and the knock on his head had left him disoriented and unable to get up. Without thinking, Kate brought her foot down firmly on her father’s left shoulder, effectively pinning him to the carpet. His arms and legs flailed about but he was powerless to call for help as he slowly choked on his own vomit. Soon, the flailing stopped and her father lay perfectly still.

  Kate stared at his lifeless form without emotion. “Goodbye, Papa,” she whispered. “I hope you rot in hell.”

  ***

  Kate could hear music behind the door of Marcus’ apartment. She knocked several times, becoming more insistent when he didn’t answer. She was about to leave when he finally threw open his door.

  He gave her a worried look when he saw her wan features. “Are you all right?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” Kate asked. She solemnly held out a bulky envelope which had the prop gun in it. “I came to give this back to you.”

  “Thanks.” Taking the package from her, he put it in his hall closet.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Kate turned to leave.

  “Wait!” Marcus pulled her into his apartment. “Don’t go yet.”

  “Look, Marcus. I don’t think I’m very good company tonight.” Kate tried pulling away from him but he wasn’t about to let her go.

  “You don’t have to be.” He led Kate over to two men around his age who were lounging on a sofa that had seen better days. “Come meet the guys. This weird-looking carrot-top flexing his fingers is Rob. He plays guitar and that there’s Graham. Guys, this is Kate.”

  When the introductions were over, Kate again tried to leave. “It was nice meeting you. I can see you’re busy—”

  “We were just about to give Marcus’ new tune a test run,” Graham told her. “Why don’t you stay and give us some feedback?”

  “That’s the first brilliant idea you’ve come up with all night,” Marcus told him approvingly before looking at Kate with hopeful eyes. “What do you say, Katie? Are your ears up to the challenge?”

  Kate was torn. She was an emotional wreck; on the one hand, euphoric at the realization that she was finally free of the ties that bound her to her father yet on the other, mired by an inexplicable, gut-wrenching loss. And she really didn’t want – n
o, couldn’t be – alone right now. Perhaps the rowdy camaraderie between Marcus and his friends was exactly what she needed.

  “All right,” she acquiesced, “but just for a little while.”

  “Great! Now take a load off.” Marcus gently pushed Kate down onto the sofa while Rob grabbed the half-eaten box of pizza and put it beside her.

  The thought of food nearly made her gag so she focused on Marcus, who looked uncharacteristically nervous as he went and sat down behind a tired looking piano.

  “The song is called, Make a Wish,” he told her as his fingers nimbly slid over the keys. “I haven’t gotten around to writing any lyrics yet.” He gave her a lopsided grin that almost made her heart melt.

  Marcus’ tune was catchy and upbeat without being predictable; a reflection of his personality and his enormous talent, Kate thought. It was also clear that they were all accomplished musicians and she couldn’t help but be impressed. When it was over, she clapped enthusiastically. “That was really terrific!”

  “Methinks the fair maid liked the tune,” Marcus remarked, a silly grin plastered on his face.

  “You’ve got to come up with some lyrics for it,” Kate told him. “Then it’ll be absolutely fantastic!”

  “Now that the serious portion of the program is over with,” Graham joked, “we’ll be happy to take requests from the audience.”

  Marcus’ music had the much-needed effect of stabilizing her inner turmoil and Kate was more than willing to go along with their fun. “Okay.” She gave his suggestion some thought. “Do you guys know These Autumn Days?”

  “Sure.” Rob strummed the first few notes on his guitar before Marcus joined in with Graham bringing up the rear on drums.

  “There are days that are good, there are days that are bad, there are days that are happy, there are days that are sad…and then there are autumn days…these autumn days…” Marcus’ well-modulated baritone filled the room while his friends hummed along. When he got to the second verse, it was as if a giant weight had fallen from Kate’s shoulders and she impulsively began singing in a vibrant alto. The chorus was followed by two more verses before Marcus and Kate finished in perfect harmony. It was at that precise moment, when the song had ended and the last note ebbed to silence, that they all realized something magical had just happened.