Deuces Down

Neither of them said anything else for a number of blocks. “How do you think she kept him working solely for her?” Fi

“Probably threatened to have him killed,” came the equally morose answer.

“Doesn’t seem like her style.”

“The guy could have made a fucking fortune,” Benton said. “Gone from studio to studio, set to set, keeping actresses young.” Benton reflected for a moment. “Probably a good thing he didn’t. It would have killed the industry. The public wants a new flavor at least every few weeks.”

Fi

“What?”

“The break-in a few days ago. Nothing was taken, but the files had been rifled. The insurance policies are in there, and a medical exam is attached. It would prove that Kelly wasn’t a wild card.”

“So, what’s your point?”

“They’d know it was somebody near her, and Stan is the only constant.”

“Hey, I’ve directed most of her movies,” Benton argued.

“Most, not all. You heard her. Stan’s done her make-up ever since High Noon. She’s never married, and she never stays with any leading man much past a few months. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out who held the wild card.”

“So who took him?” Benton. “And did they kill him?”

Worms seemed to suddenly go crawling through the pit of Fi

Fi

His mom was full of questions, and Fi

“… Grace is down with the flu. I’ll be rearranging the schedule, but it’s no problem.”

Since Fi

“So we find him,” Benton said. “You find him.”

“What!?” Fi

“You’re a joker.” Fi

We all have our griefs, Fi

After di

The front door opened directly into a long living room with hard-wood floors underfoot and several throw rugs. Fi

There was a double glass door that divided the living room from the dining room. It was a charming room with built-in buffets on either side of the west window, and an array of china displayed behind the glass mullions in the doors. There was a plate on the table with the remains of fried chicken and mashed potatoes. A salad on a salad plate. A glass of red wine. It was sad and very uninformative.

Feeling like a voyeur, Fi

After another look at the lights in the movie star’s house Fi

On the dresser was a framed picture of Stan standing next to a marlin hanging by its tail from a wooden scaffold. This was a familiar picture to Fi

“Must have been really proud of that fish,” Fi

The date hit some memory or association. Fi

The start of principal photography was delayed on To Catch a Thief due to Kelly’s exhaustion. She recuperated for several weeks in Mexico before returning to begin work …

There was more, but Fi

Odds makers in Vegas were offering two to one that Kelly would wed the dashing prince, but it was the cynics who didn’t believe in fairy tales who made the best choice-in 1955 Hollywood’s princess declined the offer to join European royalty.

Fi

It was an idiotic thing to say, but it was the only thing that made any sense. The only explanation for why the make-up man had stayed so loyal for all those years.

“All those years while she was fucking every new leading man. You were a schmuck, Stan.” Fi