Stardust

“No, it explains why she gets away with it.”

“So which is it? Protect her or investigate the incidents, whatever the hell they are, no one seems too clear on that.”

“I know,” Salzman said. “The truth is, nobody pays a hell of a lot of attention to Jill beyond keeping her in shape to go on. Line producer earns his money on one of her shows.”

“So you don’t know what you want me to do,” I said. “But you haven’t got time to deal with her.”

Salzman tapped the sharpened end of a prone pencil on his desk, causing it to flip up and somersault in the air.

“Exactly,” he said and jabbed his forefinger toward me while he said it.

There were pictures all around the office, most of Salzman; a couple with actors, the rest with dead pheasant and elk and trout.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll talk to Jill and I’ll decide what I should do. If I decide I need to do both, I’ll hire someone to watch Jill while I investigate.”

“You have someone in mind?” Salzman said. “Jill is very tough about people.”

I gri

Salzman frowned a little, but he let it pass. He was affable in the Hollywood way, and permanently pleasant, but behind it there was a pretty good mind working. And most of the time it was working on getting his show made on time, on budget. He knew when to go with the flow, and if I’d take the matter of Jill Joyce’s harassment off his back he’d agree to hiring Geraldo Rivera as a bodyguard if I said so. He knew that. I knew that. And he knew that I knew that.

“We got you through the police commissioner,” Salzman said. “Commissioner himself said you were good.”

“Man loves me,” I said.

“Actually,” Salzman said, “he remarked that he didn’t like you a bit, but you were the best at what you did. ”

“Same thing,” I said. “Where’s the lovely Miss Joyce?”

“We’re shooting here today. Too cold out for fill.” Salzman got up. “I’ll take you down. Ever seen film being made?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“Exciting?”

“Like watching ice melt.” I said.

“I can see you’re a fan,” Salzman said.

We went out through the outer office where two young women hunched over typewriters. There was a fax machine on the window sill, and six file cabinets, and on the wall a big, and detailed, map of Boston.

“I’ll be on the set,” Salzman said to one of the young women. She nodded without looking up. “Remember you’ve got the teamster guys at eleven forty-five,” she said.

“Page me when they arrive,” Salzman said. We went down the corridor past glassed-in office space where people labored over computers and drawing boards and typewriters. We went down the stairs and through the lobby, with a huge promotional poster of Jill Joyce on the wall, and a receptionist at her desk, and down another corridor, past the wardrobe office and the property room and the carpenter shop to a sound stage. On the thick door to the sound stage was a big sign that said DO NOT ENTER WHEN RED LIGHT IS ON. Above the door was a red light. It was on. Salzman opened the door quietly and we went in. We were on the back side of some walls that had been assembled from plywood and two-by-fours. On the other side of those walls the space was brightly lit. I followed Salzman around the cluster of ragged crew members loitering off camera, waiting to do what they were employed to do.

The set was of an office, or two walls of an office, in-which a psychiatrist, Dr. Sha

“You make any sudden moves, Doc,” the demented man was saying, “and you’re go

Dr. Cassidy’s smile was caring and brave. “Don’t you realize, Ke

She slowly extended her hand. “I care.”

She held her hand out toward the guy, whose face ran the gamut of emotions from A to B. His face contorted, the gun shook.

“You’re not alone if someone cares,” Doc Cassidy said softly.

The demented guy suddenly lunged forward and put the gun into her hand. The director said “Cut.”

And the demented guy straightened up and took his hands from his face and stopped being demented. “Who writes this stuff?” he said.

A grayish woman with ample hips came around the desk where Jill Joyce was sitting. She wore a hand mirror on a ribbon around her waist and she held it in front of Jill while she made small dabbing notions at Jill’s hair with a little bristly brush. A make-up woman also appeared and dusted Jill’s face with a small, soft brush, the kind you might use to baste a spare rib. A young production assistant in jeans and a man’s fla

“Places,” the director said. Without his earflaps he was a thin-faced man with short reddish hair.

An assistant director said, “Quiet, everybody.” Then he said, “Rolling for picture.”

The director said “Action.”

And they did the scene again. The sound man with earphones, hovering over the sound console, said “Cut” after the demented guest star said his first line.

“We’re picking up a whir, Rich.”

Somebody went around the corner of the set and said something I couldn’t hear and came back. “Okay?” he said.

The director looked at the sound man. “Okay,” the sound man said.

And the scene rolled again, and then again. “First one was the cover shot,” Salzman whispered between takes. “Others are for close-ups, so when they get it back in L.A. in the editing room, Milo and the film editor can cross-cut, you know?”

“Un huh,” I said.

“What do you think?” Salzman said.

“I think you’re hiring me for the wrong job,” I said. “I think you should hire me to go beat up the writers.”

Salzman shrugged. “Hard cranking out a script a week,” he said.

“Obviously,” I said.

Chapter 6

“WELL, Well,” Jill Joyce said as she came off the set. “The cutie-pie cop with the big muscles.”

“I didn’t think you’d noticed,” I said.

“You here to take care of me?” she said. Her on-camera make-up was a little heavy, but standing there in front of me she was fresh-faced and beautiful. Her cheeks dimpled as she spoke. Her skin was clear and smooth, her eyes sparkled with life and a hint of i

“I’m here to discuss it,” I said.

“Your place or mine?” Jill said and dimpled at me.

“Your place,” I said, “but remember, I’m armed.” Jill giggled deep in her throat.

“I hope so,” she said. She looked at the director. “Half an hour, Rich?”

“Sure, Jilly,” the director said. “No more, though, I’m trying to bring this thing in under, for once.”

“Maybe you could make your mind up where to put the fucking camera, Rich,” Jill said. She spoke without heat, almost absently, as she walked away. I followed her, watching her hips sway as she walked. Her back was perfectly straight. Her hair was glossy and thick. The skirt fit smoothly over her elegant backside. We went out a side door into the cold, walked twenty feet to Jill’s mobile home and went in. Jill was all business today. She sat in the driver’s seat sideways, crossed her legs, rested her left arm on the steering wheel.