Lovers and Gamblers (24 page)

The voice, slow and distinct, was instantly recognizable. ‘Tonight,’ it whispered, ‘the three bombs due to go off in New York, they’ll be set tonight instead. Three-minute intervals.’ The phone clicked dead before Bernie could say a word.

‘Who was it?’ asked Al.

‘Wrong number,’ sweated Bernie. His stomach had not been wrong. The thing that worried him was that this had sounded like a local call. Same thing in New York. OK, so nothing had happened in New York, but maybe this was the build-up. And where did the quiet, nothing voice obtain the private dressing-room numbers?

He would have to discuss it with Paul. Maybe it would be wise to contact the police.

Luke appeared at the door.

‘The Promises just went on,’ he informed Al.

* * *

Sitting near the front Evan felt nervous being amongst so many strangers. The girl next to him chewed gum and wore the AL IS KING T-shirt. She joggled around on her seat like a caged puppy. On his other side were two middle-aged women in flowered dresses. They chatted together in low, controlled voices. They reminded him of his mother.

He was glad when the lights dimmed and a red flash from the darkness of the stage produced The Promises.

He fell in love instantly. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She stood to one side of the tall black girl in the middle. She was coffee-coloured, with long jet black hair, and a beautiful little face. She was dressed the same as the other two, but on her, somehow it looked different. The other two were stridently sexy. She was almost demure. They swayed together.

Come on sweet stuff

Sure can’t get enough

Ohhh – you’re sugar sweet

Ohhh – babee

Ohhh – babee

Love you like a bomb

Gotta love you long

Ohhh you’re my desire

Ohhh – babee

Ohhh – babee

Evan opened up his souvenir programme, found their picture. Her name was Nellie. She was seventeen. Only a year older than he was. And he would meet her, of course he would. They would be travelling across the country on the same plane.

* * *

‘This is my son.’ Proudly Al introduced Evan to everyone at the party. They all gave him the scarcely hidden look of amazement. At least Evan thought they did.

‘Have some champagne, son.’ Al thrust a glass at him. ‘Go on, drink it up, get used to the good things in life early.’

‘I’ve never…’

‘Drink it down like a man, won’t do you any harm.’

Evan gulped at the fizzy liquid. It had a revolting taste, much too bitter.

‘You liked the show?’ asked Al.

‘It was all right,’ mumbled Evan. He had liked The Promises, but when Al had come on, his toes had curled with embarrassment. Was that man on the stage posturing and gesturing really his father?

The girl sitting beside him had gone into a frenzy of madness. Even the two middle-aged women on his other side had appeared to go berserk.

The whole place was full of screaming women. They must be mad.

‘It’s a good job that I know “all right” from you means sensational!’ laughed Al. ‘You’re Mr. Cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you crack a smile!’

Evan smiled weakly, and gulped at the champagne just to have something to do. He didn’t see Nellie until she was right behind Al, putting her hands over his eyes from behind.

‘Peekaboo!’ she trilled.

Al removed her hands. ‘Oh, it’s you,’ he said. ‘This is my son, Evan.’

‘Hi there, Evan.’ She had a very high sing-song voice. She was even prettier offstage, wearing red trousers and a peasant blouse. ‘Lovely show, Al, really something.’ She tucked her arm into Al’s, her eyes shining with adoration.

Al deftly removed her arm. ‘Nellie’s one of The Promises. She’ll look after you a minute, I’ve just got to see about something.’ He strode off, leaving them together.

Evan was speechless. Frightened to open his mouth in case his voice let him down and cracked horribly – a circumstance that had been occurring of late.

‘I didn’t know Al had a big boy like
you
,’ sighed Nellie in her funny little voice. ‘How old are you?’

‘Sixteen,’ replied Evan, his voice staying at a nice deep level. ‘I’ll be seventeen soon.’ Soon was about six months off.

‘You don’t look like him.’ Nellie narrowed her eyes. ‘Not at all.’

Evan was glad to note that he was taller than her. He drew himself up to his full height and thrust his glass at her. ‘Have some champagne,’ he suggested. Unfortunately his voice broke right in the middle of champagne.

Nellie giggled, but she took the glass anyway, sipped a little, sighed dreamily, and said, ‘Your old man sure is something,
really
something.’

Al returned at that point with Bernie and a hard-faced redhead.

‘This is my son,’ announced Al. ‘Evan, say hello to Susie.’

Evan nodded quickly and returned his attention to Nellie, who was taking sips of the champagne like a little bird.

Susie said in a loud voice, ‘Hey, now – what a looker! You told me he was nice – but what a
looker!
’

Evan stared at her in amazement. She was talking about
him.

She placed her hands firmly on her waist and rocked back and forth, ‘Hmmm… If you’re an import – then I’m in the import business!’

Nellie giggled. ‘I think you all just got lucky,’ she whispered at Evan.

He blushed. Susie reminded him of one of the girls from his magazines. She was wearing a green dress, low-cut and split up the side. She had jammy red lips and flinty brown eyes. Her red hair straggled down her back. She winked at Al in an obvious fashion. ‘Mind if Evan shows me around?’

‘Around where?’ croaked Evan anxiously.

‘Go ahead,’ said Al. ‘Show Susie the rest of the suite.’

‘But there’s only the bedrooms,’ objected Evan.

‘I
love
bedrooms,’ enthused Susie. ‘I love to see how other people decorate. That’s what I am, y’know. A decorator.’ She grabbed Evan by the arm. ‘Come on, handsome. Show me the sights.’

Tensely Evan pulled away. Firmly Susie hung onto him again. ‘Pretty please,’ she pouted. ‘Be a good boy, you won’t regret it.’

Panic-stricken, Evan turned to Al. ‘Show her around,’ said Al smoothly. ‘We’ll see you later.’ And he turned away.

Susie dragged a reluctant Evan towards the bedroom.

‘See no one goes in,’ Al instructed Bernie.

‘What was
that?
’ asked Nellie. ‘She looks like a hooker.’

‘She is a hooker,’ agreed Al. ‘Little present for Evan.’

‘Some present!’ Nellie rolled her eyes. ‘Poor kid was frightened to death.’

‘He’ll love it.’

‘Oh yeah?’ questioned Nellie. ‘With a gorilla like that?’

‘You should have seen
my
first fuck. Next to her that one’s a princess!’

Nellie giggled. ‘You are
bad
!’ Then her voice softened, and her fingers touched his cheek. ‘It was wonderful today, somethin’ I bin dreamin’ about since Vegas. You know I was fifteen then, just a little kid.’

‘Listen, Nellie, don’t go getting big ideas. This afternoon was nice but…’

‘Mr. King! Remember me? Betty-Ann-Joe. We met at the airport this morning and Mr. Suntan got me tickets for your show and you were sensational but of course I knew you would be and I just had to come over and tell you how I felt because…’ She droned on with a breathy enthusiasm whilst Al inspected her. Pretty, young, clean-looking. He had had it with celebrities and rich bitches. What he needed was a girl who wouldn’t answer back. A girl who would be overwhelmed just by being in his company. He certainly didn’t need Nellie, with fawn-like love slurring out of her eyes. Best to discourage her right from the start. He regretted the fact that he had ever invited her to share his bed. Rosa was right – he
was
a shit.

He put his arm around Betty-Ann-Joe. ‘So you liked the show. Come with me, young lady, and I’ll show you something you’ll like even better!’

Paul watched the scene from across the room, Linda by his side.

‘I don’t know how he does it,’ she commented drily. ‘How come he’s not a walking advertisement for the clap? I mean do you realize how many there have been in the last couple of weeks?’

‘He’s always been like that,’ replied Paul. ‘Now that he can have anything he wants I guess he feels he’ll be losing out if he doesn’t.’

‘He can’t
enjoy
it. Do you think he enjoys it?’

‘Who knows? I don’t discuss his sex life with him.’

‘Oh, come on – of course you do.’

‘Of course I don’t.’

‘He’s probably a lousy lay, always having to prove himself the way he does.’

‘That he’s not.’

‘How do
you
know?’

‘I just know.’

‘Oh. Have you indulged at the same time then?’

‘When we were young – yes.’

Linda laughed. ‘Confessions of a raver. And I always thought you were so straight.’

‘I was about eighteen at the time.’

She kissed him on the cheek. ‘I wish I’d known you when you were eighteen.’

He looked around anxiously. ‘I told you to be careful when Evan’s around.’

‘He’s not around. He’s locked in the bedroom with that dreadful hooker. I think it’s an awful way to treat a young boy, it could put him off sex for life.’

Paul shrugged. ‘My brother – he knows it all. Meanwhile little Nellie’s in a state over there – apparently he found time to give her one this afternoon…’

‘Oh, no.’

‘Oh, yes. See if you can cheer her up before Rosa zeros in. I can see the shit hitting the fan any day now. Go on, I’ve got to have a talk with Bernie.’

* * *

‘Take your clothes off,’ commanded Susie for the fifth time.

Evan sat miserably on the corner of the bed. ‘I don’t want to.’

Susie sniffed. ‘Jesus, kid! I’m trying to do a job of work around here but you are not makin’ it easy.’

‘I haven’t asked you to do anything,’ snivelled Evan, wishing he was back in England, wishing he was anywhere except trapped in a hotel bedroom with this large red-haired monster.

‘Listen, kid,’ said Susie firmly, ‘I got orders to fuck you. F-U-C-K. You understand what that means? I got paid already. I gotta reputation to consider, so at least unzip your fly, at least do that, goddammit!’

‘I don’t want you,’ muttered Evan, scarlet with humiliation. ‘I don’t know who paid you and I don’t care.’

‘Your daddy paid me. Your daddy wants you taken care of.’ Suddenly she took off the belt of her dress, and the whole thing seemed to disintegrate, falling to the floor, and leaving her stark naked, except for a laddered pair of tights. ‘OK, sonny. Here’s the goods.
Now
can you flip it out?’

‘Go away,’ mumbled Evan. ‘Go away and leave me alone. I think I’m going to throw up.’

‘Sheeit!’ Susie scooped up her dress and threw it back on. ‘Why couldn’t I have had the daddy? Listen, kid, I ain’t givin’ nobody back no money. You want me to go, say somethin’ happened. All right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Oh, and say it was great, outasight, mind-blowing! OK? I’ve got me a reputation to consider.’

‘Yes.’

‘Right on, kid. We’re a team.’ She inspected herself in the mirror, smiled secretly and added, ‘You don’t know what you’re missing… Tell your daddy to give me a try – no charge.’ She winked and left.

Evan remained huddled on the bed. He was so confused. He had wanted a girl. But not like this. Not paid for and arranged by his father. And what about Nellie? Did she know? If she knew, he wanted to die, simply and quietly die.

Damn his father. Damn his bloody famous father. He wished something terrible would happen to him, something really terrible…

‘I think,’ said Dallas slowly, ‘that you have made a mistake.’

Lew Margolis chuckled. ‘A mistake! Don’t talk crap. I recognized you the moment you walked into my office. No one could possibly forget
that
body.’

‘Am I supposed to be flattered by that remark?’

Lew leaned back in his chair, enjoying every minute of the confrontation. ‘You can be what you like, suit yourself –
Mrs.
Margolis.’

Dallas shook her head in amazement. ‘You’re sick, you know that? You’re really sick.’

‘Why?’ he snapped, suddenly angry.

‘Because if I
were
 the girl you thought I was…’

‘Which you are…’

Dallas ignored the interruption. ‘If I
were
 that girl, what makes you think that in a million years I’d go back to doing what I was doing?’

‘Everyone has a price,’ said Lew flatly, ‘and all women are whores anyway. Take my wife.’ He picked up a photo frame and stared at a glossy smiling photo of Doris Andrews. She had a scrubbed fresh look familiar to moviegoers the world over. ‘She’d screw a snake if it had the bad sense to venture onto our estate. I know all about her, so I take my revenge. Can you blame me?’

‘Divorce would seem like a better idea.’

‘Why should I divorce her? I love her. Take your clothes off, Dallas, put on those things. I only have fifteen minutes. I want to be a real estate agent. This is my office and you’ve come to discuss selling your house and buying a bigger property.’

‘Forget it.’

‘Don’t be a silly girl.’

‘What are you threatening me with if I don’t, Mr. Margolis?’

He raised his eyebrows in a gesture of surprise. ‘I am the man who is going to make you into a star.’

‘I know. I signed the contract already.’

‘Contracts can be broken.’

‘People can sue.’

‘In this town power rules. Surely you know that by now?’

She shrugged, trying to conceal her sudden nervousness, trying to maintain an outward calm. ‘People can also tell true life stories.’

Lew laughed loudly. ‘Who would believe
you
? A girl who got fired because she wasn’t a good enough actress for the part. Besides, you’re forgetting, I’m married to Doris Andrews – her reputation is public domain and pure, pure white. Anyone trying to throw mud would end up covered in it.’

‘Why did you hire me? Why did you agree to pay me all that money? Why would you even
think
of making me a star?’